11.22.63 – A mini series

Genre: Drama, Mystery, Sci-fi

Total episodes: 8

Run time: 40-60 mins

Stars: James Franco, Sarah Gadon, George MacKay, Daniel Webber

About the series.

11.22.63 is the date President John F. Kennedy was assassinated. The series based on the book by Stephen King is a story of time travel back to the sixties in order to prevent the assassination of the President.

Jake Epping (James Franco) is a high school teacher who happens to pass through a time portal in a local diner that takes him back to a day in October 1960. The owner of the diner is dying of cancer and wants Jake to go through that portal back in time and stop the assassination of J.F.Kennedy because he believes that if this assassination is prevented, the Vietnam war won’t happen and the world would be a better place. Years spent in that alternate time would amount to passing of just a few minutes in present time.

Jake goes back to the sixties with a mission to save the president but in the course of time encounters various obstacles along the way including falling in love that jeopardizes his mission.

Likes.

I loved the concept of the series. I have always been fascinated by the idea of time travel and ‘butterfly effect’. I was hooked to the series from the first episode itself.

The set and the fashion of the sixties is so well done. Watching the series is going back to the life in the sixties.

The series had a definite message to convey – everything that happened, happened for the best – and the series ended on a happy note.

Dislikes.

The thrill and excitement of the first episode continued to dwindle as the series progressed. There were a few episodes that seemed to be simply stalling the show as nothing much happened in them. The story could have easily been wrapped up in a total of 4 episodes rather than making the show slow-moving.

The last episode of the show wraps up everything in a concise manner. But I wish the ending could have explained how the world came to be the way it became in a bit more detail perhaps in a short succinct manner (may be in the form of flashbacks or a visual narration).

Afterthoughts.

The last lines of the series has stuck with me: “We did not ask for this room or this music. We were invited in. Therefore, because the dark surrounds us, let us turn our faces to the light. Let us endure hardship to be grateful for plenty. We have been given pain to be astounded by joy. We have been given life to deny death. We did not ask for this room or this music. But because we are here, let us dance.”

Rating.

4.0/5.0