Journey Planet 58 - Cancelled Too Soon

Back in 2006, I wrote an article for my fanzine, Argentus, in which I discussed shows that I was looking forward to rewatching when they would finally be released on DVD. One of those shows was Voyagers!, which I have found Michael A. Burstein has a similar affection for. Voyagers! debuted on October 3, 1982 and it ended on July 10, 1983 after one season and 20 episodes. The series starred Jon-Erik Hexum as Phineas Bogg and Meeno Peluce as Jeffrey Jones. The two traveled through time together making right what once went wrong, but unlike Quantum Leap, they not only focused on more historical events, but often visited multiple times in an episode to show how earlier changes impacted later history. Voyagers! was available on DVD, but recently went out of print. It does, however stream on Peacock, Apple TV, Amazon Prime, and Google Play.

Set your Omni for Sunday, October 3, 1982, at seven o’clock in the evening, in New York City. If you get your coordinates right, you’ll land just outside a row house in Forest Hills, Queens. Peek in the window of the house and you’ll see a twelve-year-old boy sitting in front of a television set, about to watch the premiere episode of a brand new show. He doesn’t know it yet, but the show will last only one season, a mere 20 episodes. And yet, unlike most one-season shows that are broadcast, canceled, and forgotten, this one will live on in people’s memories for years to come.

Chances are that some of you already know the TV show Voyagers! and, like me, have fond memories of it. For those of you who don’t, a brief explanation can be taken verbatim from the show’s opening theme: “We travel through time to help history along...give it a push where it's needed. When the Omni's red, it means history's wrong. Our job is to get everything back on track.”

Voyagers! (including that exclamation point in the title) was a television show created mainly for one 23