11 time traveling television shows

11 time traveling television shows

​Don't have access to your own time machine or TARDIS? No Drama, I've got 9 time traveling television dramas for you(and two comedies, so really it's not no drama, it's actually lots of drama, but not the bad kind of drama, oh you know what I mean. And yes I have watched almost all of the shows on this list, so you might even call me a bit of a drama queen. 

Penny Dreadful-British/American-  supernatural horror 
This series set in Victorian London. When wealthy explorer Sir Malcolm Murray's daughter Mia is lost under the spell of a vampire. His ward, medium and witch, Vanessa Ives, employs the assistance of  american gunslinger Ethan Chandler and Dr Victor Frankenstein in order  to recover her lost childhood friend. But after a steamy liaison  with Dorian Gray, it's Vanessa who needs rescuing. Is this a group united in their efforts to combat the monsters  preying on the city of London, or are they in fact the monsters? Penny Dreadful has two seasons so far with a third coming in 2016.

Downton Abbey - English period drama  
​ This series is one of the most widely watched television drama shows in the world. Set in the fictional Yorkshire country estate of Downton Abbey. The series depicts the lives of the  aristocratic  Crawley family and their servants in the post-Edwardian era.  Downton Abbey has  six  seasons.

Underbelly: Razor- Australian crime  drama
​This  drama    is set in Sydney during the 20's  and   30s. It  depicts the story of the bloody battle between the era's most feared "vice queens", Tilly Devine and her rival Kate Leigh, plus the "razor gangs" which controlled the Sydney underworld during that time. Underbelly: Razor  is  the  forth  and  final  season  of the underbelly series, it has 13 episodes.   

Miss Fishers Murder Mysteries   -  Australian mystery crime drama  
Set in Melbourne  during  the 1920's, the series is based on author Kerry Greenwood's novels. (which are also very good). Miss Phryne Fisher is a wealthy, glamorous, sassy, women's rights advocate who works as a private detective and solves mysteries  using resources unavailable to the all male Victorian  police force.  I am a big fan actress Essie Davis and every outfit that she wears in this series is to die for. I confess that Miss Fisher inspired me to dye my hair dark and have it cut into a bob.   Miss Fishers Murder Mysteries currently  has three  seasons.  

The Sullivans,  mini-series -    Australian family drama 
The Sullivans are  an average middle-class  Melbourne       family who are affected by the    Second World  War. The Sullivans  is the only  series  in  this  list  that  I  haven't actually watched so I can't give it a rating but I thought it was worth adding to the list just  the same. The Sullivans has sixteen episodes.   

Mad Men -  American  drama 
  Set at the beginning of the 1960s, the series is  about one of New York's most prestigious ad agencies. The main  character   is  the firm's  ruthless,  manipulative, self-serving,   womanizing  ad executive, Donald Draper.  I  very much  enjoyed  the  first  few  seasons,  but  Drapers  is such  a cad  that  he  started  to  really  annoy  me.  I  kept  watching  long  after  the  story-line  lost  it's  appeal,   just  because  I  loved  the  clothing  and the sets so much.    Mad  Men  has  seven  seasons.  Personally  I think  it would  have  been  better  if  it  had been  condensed.

Love Child - Australian  drama
Set in Sydney in 1969.  A  group  of  young  women  from  different  walks  of  life  form a special bond when they are  brought  together  at   Stanton  House,  a  home  for  pregnant  unwed  mothers. The women work   together  in  the  Kings  cross  hospital  laundry,  while  awaiting  the  birth  of  their  babies,  which  they  are  expected  to  give up for  adoption.  Their  lives  become  intertwined  with  the  staff at  at   Kings Cross Hospital and Stanton House. Love Child  has  two  seasons.  

Puberty Blues- Australian coming of age drama
Set in Sydney in the late 1970s,  the producers  of  this  show  have  captured   70's  Australian  suburban  life  brilliantly.
If you  only have time watch one series from this list than make it Puberty Blues. Yes it is a coming of age story  but it is also a whole lot more. With the story line extending to  lives of the teens parents, it  tackles   many adult  themes,   including  infidelity   within  marriage    and  parenting issues.  It is unfortunate that the marketing of this series gives it the appearance of being for young teens,  which it is not.  I  wouldn't  let  anyone  under  fifteen  watch  it, and  only  then if they were a very mature fifteen/sixteen year old . The characters    in this series are affected by some massive issues such as teen sex, child abuse, rape, drug use, death,  sexism,  racism and   alcoholism   in  a  way  that  is  sensitive,  honest and real.   This series is  worth watching just for the clothes, sets and  fantastic  70's sound track alone. Puberty Blues has two  seasons.
​P.S I have put  together   a very comprehensive Puberty Blues sound track on You-tube.  

Life on Mars- English  surreal   crime  drama
 After being hit by a car in 2006,  Sam Tyler   awakens in 1973 to find himself working for the predecessor of the GMP, the   Manchester and Salford Police, at the same  station    and location as in 2006.  An  enjoyable  show  that  leaves  you  guessing  right  till  the end.  Life on Mars  has two seasons.

The Carrie Diaries-  American  coming of age drama
​Set in the eighties, The Carrie Diaries tells the story  of  a  teenage    Carrie Bradshaw, yes the one from sex and city,   and her close friends. Personally I found the parts of the series which focused more on Carries  friends kind of boring.  But it was Carries bottomless, amazingly over the top eighties wardrobe, which kept me watching, right till the end. Oh and the 80's sound track was pretty good too.   Sometimes you just want to veg out and watch something light and puffy, that you don't have to think about and this is a  good series to do this with. The Carrie Diaries  was  canned after just two seasons which left a bit of an annoying cliffhanger. I suppose one would have to read the books to find out what happens between Carrie and love interest  Sebastian, but clearly they don't end up together since he's not in sex and the city. I also wonder how Miranda and Charlotte  come  into  Carries  life  since she  hasn't  met them in this  series.    

​Okay so Seinfeld and Friends were not set in the past  like  the  other  shows, they were set in the late eighties and early  nineties  because  that's   when they were made,  but hey the  nineties   was a long time ago now so I'm including them in my list.

Seinfeld-    American  sit com
The show  about  nothing  went  from  1989 until  1998. If  you  were too  young to  have  watched  Seinfeld  when  it  was  on TV then  you  should watch  it.  If  you  watched  Seinfeld  when it  was  first  on TV  then  you  should  watch  it  again.  Because it's  just  a classically  funny  show. There are nine seasons of Seinfeld  to enjoy.

Friends  - American     sit com
Friends went from  1994–2004, it   follows the lives of six 20-something friends living in Manhattan.  I  was  talking  to  my  hairdresser  last  week  and  the  topic  of  friends  came  up.  She  told  me that  if  she  has  had  a bad  day  or  has  watched  a  scary   movie then  she  likes  to  watch  an  episode  of  Friends  before  going to bed,  Friends,  she  said  is  her  happy  place.  And  that  sums  up  why  you should watch  friends,  because  it's  a  happy  place. There are ten  seasons of friends.