Timecop (TV series)

In 2007, time travel is a reality using time sleds to enter the time stream. However, the technology has leaked beyond the United States government. Rogue time sleds built by other parties are sending criminals into the past for a price. The Time Enforcement Commission was formed to retrieve and arrest the criminals, preventing the alteration of history.

• Ted King as Officer Jack Logan
• Cristi Conaway as Officer Claire Hemmings

Hemmings was originally part of the TEC’s science and research division providing support at headquarters. She eventually accompanies Logan in the field on missions. Originally adversarial, she becomes Logan’s romantic interest.

• Don Stark as Captain Eugene Matuzek

Matuzek is in charge of the TEC and is the only character carried over from the film the show is based on, although recast with Stark replacing Bruce McGill.

• Kurt Fuller as Dr. Dale Easter

The TEC's chief historian, Easter has a range of historical interests and is a film buff who can cite the major historical events in the year any film was released.

{{Episode table |total_width= |background=#DBD3CD |overall=7 |title=28 |director=20 |writer=25 |airdate=20 |episodes=

{{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber = 1

| Title = A Rip in Time

| DirectedBy = Allan Arkush

| WrittenBy = Alfred Gough, Miles Millar

| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1997|09|22}}

| ShortSummary = Ian Pascoe, a time traveler from the mid-21st century, kills Jack the Ripper in 1888 and takes his place.

| LineColor = DBD3CD

}}

{{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber = 2

| Title = The Heist

| DirectedBy = David Grossman

| WrittenBy = Mark Verheiden

| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1997|09|29}}

| ShortSummary = An infamous jewel thief returns to 1977 New York City to steal $10 million in diamonds that were never recovered when his robbery was foiled. Logan and Detective Langford (William Devane), who originally captured the thief in 1977, return to try to stop him and find the gems.
Note: 1977-era Langford is played by Joshua Devane, William's son.

| LineColor = DBD3CD

}}

{{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber = 3

| Title = Stalker

| DirectedBy = Philip Sgriccia

| WrittenBy = Elliot Stern

| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1997|10|06}}

| ShortSummary = Ian Pascoe returns to 1956 to stalk and kill a popular Hollywood actress who would eventually give birth to a US President.

| LineColor = DBD3CD

}}

{{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber = 4

| Title = Public Enemy

| DirectedBy = Chris Long

| WrittenBy = Alfred Gough, Miles Millar

| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1997|10|13}}

| ShortSummary = Ian Pascoe escapes from his cell and kidnaps Hemmings to ransom for his time watch, demanding that Logan meet him with it in 1928 Chicago, where Al Capone and Eliot Ness also become involved.

| LineColor = DBD3CD

}}

{{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber = 5

| Title = Rocket Science

| DirectedBy = Robert Singer

| WrittenBy = Mark Verheiden

| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1997|10|20}}

| ShortSummary = In 1944 Germany, Logan tries to find out who is providing advanced technology to the Nazis to turn the V-2 into a nuclear missile.

| LineColor = DBD3CD

}}

{{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber = 6

| Title = Alternate World

| DirectedBy = Martha Mitchell

| WrittenBy = Alfred Gough, Miles Millar

| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1998|06|20}}

| ShortSummary = Logan desperately revisits his own past in 1989 after a disgraced TEC member changes it, turning Logan into a notorious fugitive in 2007, hated by all of his colleagues.

| LineColor = DBD3CD

}}

{{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber = 7

| Title = Lost Voyage

| DirectedBy = Jim Charleston

| WrittenBy = Mark Verheiden

| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1998|06|27}}

| ShortSummary = On board the transatlantic cruise liner Empress of the Americas in 1939, Logan and Hemmings battle hijackers from the future seeking to steal her cargo of gold bars. They are aided by Hemmings’s future grandmother (Melora Hardin).

| LineColor = DBD3CD

}}

{{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber = 8

| Title = D.O.A

| DirectedBy = Philip Sgriccia

| WrittenBy = Linda McGibney

| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1998|07|11}}

| ShortSummary = After Logan and Matuzek are murdered, Hemmings goes back to earlier that day to warn them so they can try to find and stop the murderer.

| LineColor = DBD3CD

}}

{{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber = 9

| Title = The Future, Jack, the Future

| DirectedBy = Oz Scott

| WrittenBy = Art Monterastelli

| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1998|07|18}}

| ShortSummary = In 1990, Logan pursues fellow timecop and best friend Tommy Maddox (Bruce Campbell), who is double-crossing a business mogul who had hired him to sabotage TEC equipment in order to win the next multi-billion dollar contract.

| LineColor = DBD3CD

}}

}}

In 1996, the Los Angeles Times reported that ABC ordered a new prime-time series based on the 1994 science-fiction movie Timecop. The pilot was written by series creator Mark Verheiden.

Based on differences in cast, characters, costumes, TEC procedures and technology, episode 5, "Rocket Science," appears to be the original pilot episode and changes were made when the series entered production. Among them:

• Amy Fuller and a young character named Kreutzer are in the historical department whereas Easter is the sole historian appearing in the series. Easter is present as chief historian here but his assistants do the mission research. He also appears to be angry, jaded, unfriendly, cynical and even more sarcastic than the laid-back history nerd of the series. Fuller and Kreutzer are not seen in any other episodes.
• A scene was inserted to try to explain Hemmings' absence wherein Matuzek says Fuller was substituting for Hemmings, but Hemmings' specialty was science and technology, not historical research.
• TEC headquarters is busier, with more personnel and numerous captured time fugitives in period costumes being led through in restraints.
• Matuzek, Easter and other personnel in TEC headquarters were costumed in unconventional business suits suggesting the near future, while in the show, Matuzek reverted to contemporary suits and Easter wore aloha shirts.
• Logan uses a handheld device for data retrieval while on the mission.
• Logan protests being sent on missions, unlike in the rest of the series where he enjoys going on missions.

Due to low ratings and poor advertising, the series was cut short after less than a season, and only nine out of the thirteen episodes were aired.{{cite book|title=Science Fiction Television Series, 1990-2004: Histories, Casts and Credits for 58 Shows |last=Garcia|first=Frank|work=McFarland|date=April 20, 2017}}

{{Blockquote|text=“ In 20/20 hindsight, I wish the show had been darker and grittier both in terms of the storytelling and stylistically. But we were trying to deliver an 8:00 pm show. That meant doing something 'suitable for children,' so gritty wasn't going to happen. We were just getting our sea-legs, story-wise, with our last episode, which was a sweet story about Don Stark's character Matuzek trying to reconnect with his teenage son. But we were canceled as that episode was wrapping production, and that, as they say, was that."|author=Mark Verheiden, about the cancellation of Timecop.}}

Daniel Parkinson was hired to write an adventure spin-off trilogy based on the series that continues the adventures of Officer Jack Logan. The trilogy consisted of The Scavenger (August 1998), Viper's Spawn (September 1998) and Blood Ties (March 1999). It was published by Del Rey Books.

On April 1, 2021, all aired episodes except #2 "The Heist" became available to stream for free at TubiTV. For unexplained reasons (possibly{{weasel inline|date=February 2023}} music clearance issues with use of The Sylvers' "Boogie Fever"), that episode was skipped, and episodes 3-9 were renumbered as 2-8. Episode #2 can be found on YouTube.

{{reflist}}

• {{IMDb title|id=0118492|title=Timecop}}
• {{cite web| url = http://www.scifi.com/timecop/ | title = Timecop | publisher = Official site (Sci Fi Channel) | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20050205071153/http://www.scifi.com/timecop/ | archive-date= February 5, 2005}}

{{Timecop}}

{{Dark Horse Comics}}

Category:1997 American television series debuts

Category:1998 American television series endings

Category:1990s American science fiction television series

Category:1990s American time travel television series

Category:American Broadcasting Company television dramas

Category:Television series by Universal Television

Category:Live action television shows based on films

Category:Speculative crime and thriller fiction television series

Category:Television series based on adaptations

Category:Timecop (franchise)

Category:American time travel television series

Category:Television series set in 2007

Category:Television shows based on Dark Horse Comics

Category:Television shows set in Washington, D.C.