Excellent Adventures: The Time Travel Movie Podcast

Episoade

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  059: J'taime J'taime (1968): An Excellent Adventure 03.07.2026 56min

  Ellen, Paul and James take on Je t’aime, je t’aime, Alain Resnais’s unsettling and deeply original twist on time travel. A man agrees to take part in an experiment that will send him one year into the past for one minute. It goes wrong. Instead of returning safely, he is pulled through fragments of his own memories, especially moments from a complicated relationship, replayed out of order and slightly differently each time. In this episode, the team explore how Resnais turns a simple science fiction premise into a study of memory, regret and repetition, and ask whether this is really a film about time travel at all, or about being stuck with the past.
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  058: Mr Nobody (2009) & Toto the Hero (1991): A Mini Excellent Adventure with Guest Dr Jamie Steele 05.06.2026 35min

  In this Mini Excellent Adventure, Ellen is joined by special guest Dr Jamie Steele, Programme Leader and Senior Lecturer in Film and Screen Studies at Bath Spa University, to explore two distinctive visions of time, memory, and identity in Belgian cinema: Jaco Van Dormael’s Mr Nobody and Toto the Hero. Together they discuss how both films approach time travel not through machines or paradoxes, but through memory, imagination, and the shifting perspective of a life remembered. Dr Jamie Steele is the author of Francophone Belgian Cinema (Edinburgh University Press) and writes widely on French-language cinema, transnational film culture, and Belgian filmmaking. Alongside his academic work, Jamie curates and hosts the Peacock Cinema Podcast, featuring conversational discussions and guest insights connected to films screened at the Peacock Cinema in Dunfermline.
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  057: River (2023): An Excellent Adventure 01.05.2026 49min

  It's time to relax & take in the mountain air with Paul, Ellen & James as they enjoy watching the same 2 minutes repeat over & over for the staff of a winter ryokan and restaurant in Kibune, Kyoto. A Japanese comedy film directed by Junta Yamaguchi, written by Makoto Ueda, and starring Riko Fujitani. 
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  056: We're Back! A Dinosaur Story (1993): A Mini Excellent Adventure 17.04.2026 5min

  1993 was the year not of one but two dinosaur movies from Steven Spielberg. The first was Jurassic Park (in a sense  maybe the DNA was a time travel device…) and the second movie is a much lesser-known title in Spielberg’s filmography as producer; namely We’re Back! A Dinosaur Story. Adapted from a book by Hudson Talbot, this animated movie (produced by the Amblimation studio that was established in London in 1989) tells the story of time travelling dinosaurs who find themselves transported to late 20th century New York. Comic adventures ensue as does a slightly more menacing scenario involving a circus. A playful and bright cel-animated movie, We’re Back! deserves discovery if animated time travel movies are your particular interest and if you’re a completist in relation to Spielberg’s dino-movie productions. 
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  055: Field of Dreams (1989): An Excellent Adventure 03.04.2026 1h 20min

  Field of Dreams is a landmark fantasy / sports movie that was released in spring of 1989 across the US. It arrived in the UK late that same year. An adaptation of W.P.Kinsella’s novel Shoeless Joe, the movie proved to be very popular in America and found an appreciative audience overseas.  Amidst the story’s richly expressed Americana, and its strain of fantasy and whimsy, the overarching character stories are convincingly explored and presented. Whatever else the film might be, it’s an affecting family drama.  Elegantly filmed, with appealing performances from its cast, Field of Dreams continues to enjoy recognition and popularity as a piece of Americana with international appeal.  As a fantasy movie, Field of Dreams offers up a satisfying time-travel story element that feeds into the emotional, and perhaps even melodramatic, quality of the movie. 
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  054: The DeLorean Time Machine: A Mini Excellent adventure with Guest Matt Peerless 20.03.2026 36min

  Paul invites longest-serving chum & model builder extraordinare Matt Peerless to chat about the time machine of Back to the Future: the DMC DeLorean sports car. They discuss its history as a collectible, the versions across the trilogy & what makes the car the Star!
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  053: Tomorrowland (2015): An Excellent Adventure 06.03.2026 43min

  A somewhat forgotten, lavishly produced science fiction road trip movie, Tomorrowland (2015) owes much to the folklore around Walt Disney and Disneyland. An adventure story about a trek to reach Tomorrowland, the movie has its time travel / time warping element to it as protagonists Frank, Casey and Athena embark on a journey that explores the value of pursuing dreams, the dynamic between humans and technology, past / present and future and the ever-appealing idea of rocketeering through the skies by virtue of a rocket backpack. Directed by Brad Bird, Tomorrowland is a heartening movie that sits well with Bird's earlier films Ratatouille and The Iron Giant
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  052: A Samurai in Time (2023): A Mini Excellent Adventure 20.02.2026 20min

  In this mini excellent adventure, Ellen and her mum Joy dive into Samurai in Time, a film that blends some of their favourite cinematic flavours: slick swordplay, time-travel twists, and a peek behind the curtain of the film industry. Recorded on the drive home from Chichester Cinema at New Park, after a screening presented by the Japan Foundation Touring Film Programme in 2025. Links:https://www.jpf-film.org.uk/ https://chichestercinema.org/ 
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  051: Your Name (2016): An Excellent Adventure 06.02.2026 1h 2min

  Join Ellen, Paul and James in a wide-ranging discussion that begins with Makoto Shinkai’s Your Name.   What starts as an exploration of the film’s narrative - two strangers connected across time and space - expands into a conversation about memory, identity and the human desire for connection.   They consider how films like Your Name reflect deeper cultural questions about fate, loss, and longing and why stories of chance encounters continue to resonate.
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  050: A Fiftieth Episode Excellent Adventure 16.01.2026 34min

  Celebrating a whopping 50 episodes of Excellence. Ellen, James & Paul reflect on highlights of 2 years Podcasting together, lessons learned & what the Future still holds. Tune in & celebrate along with them!
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  049: Warlock (1989): An Excellent Adventure 02.01.2026 1h 10min

  This episode, Paul Hosts & invites Ellen & James to a mini quiz on the cinema of the Summer of 1989. With the picture painted, it’s a race against Time to stop a devil of a scheme to undo creation itself.   Discussing the performances of Richard E Grant, Julian Sands & Lori Singer, there’s also much praise for Jerry Goldsmith’s score.   Oh & Paul was really pleased to finally suggest something Time Travelly that Ellen hadn’t already seen!
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  048: A Christmas Carol (2009): Part Two of An Xmassy Adventure - WITH BONUS! 19.12.2025 58min

  Robert Zemeckis, co-writer  and director of Back to the Future (1985), returns to the world of the time travel movie with this lively and very faithful adaptation of the Charles Dickens story.  Produced as a performance capture movie, and released in 2009, the film has a visual dynamism and invention to it that makes it an especially effective version of the source material.  Jim Carrey’s performance across several roles is fascinating and the sense of atmosphere and place, and of menace and of whimsy, are beautifully realised.    Amidst the visual spectacle of the movie, the core ideas that Ebenezer Scrooge’s journey articulate are not overshadowed.    For James, this adaptation of A Christmas Carol is one of the very best there has ever been. The movie also works as an excellent double-bill with Zemeckis’s other Christmas movie, The Polar Express (2004).   BONUS: Stay tuned at the end for a short report from Alexandra Palace by Ellen & Paul of the stage adaptation by Mark Gatiss, showing to 4th January 2026.
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  047: Scrooge (1951) & Muppet Chistmas Carol (1992): Part One of An Xmassy Adventure 05.12.2025 1h 28min

  Our Christmas special two-parter takes a festive leap through time (and film history) as we each pick our favourite Christmas Carol adaptation.Obviously, the correct choice is The Muppet Christmas Carol - which I selected, of course! Michael Caine delivers a perfectly straight-faced Scrooge performance amid singing frogs and bantering ghosts, but it’s Gonzo (as Charles Dickens) who truly steals the show. Narrating the story with unexpected heart and a fair bit of slapstick help from Rizzo, he brings both the comedy and the classic text to life. It’s that rare adaptation that’s both hilarious and genuinely moving - and proof that the Muppets really can improve any classic.   Oh, & Paul's pick - the 1951 Scrooge starring Alastair Sim. That's not too shabby either. Bring a bag of humbugs. Put your feet up in front of the fire. Enjoy Part One...
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  046: Jane Austen & Time Travel with Hallmark: A Mini Excellent Adventure with Guest Jen Francis 21.11.2025 53min

  This week, Ellen is joined by Jen Francis - a freelance TV producer and writer whose work spans original scripts, television development and sharp-eyed film criticism. Jen is also the author of Steve McQueen: In The Scene (2025), a new non-fiction study of the director’s craft. https://www.aurorametro.com/product/steve-mcqueen-book/   Together, Ellen and Jen dive into the irresistible world of time-traveling Jane Austen adaptations: Love & Jane (Hallmark, 2024), An American in Austen (Hallmark, 2024), and ITV’s cult miniseries Lost in Austen (2008).   Why do these stories of portals, swaps and “out-of-time” heroines keep captivating a udiences? And what do they reveal about the enduring appeal of Austen herself?   They also celebrate their joint contribution to Encounters with Jane Austen — a brand-new anthology of short stories, essays, and poetry marking the 250th anniversary of Austen’s birth in 2025 (Supernova Books). A thoughtful, celebratory collection — and an ideal Christmas gift for Austen fans everywhere. https://www.aurorametro.com/product/encounters-with-jane-austen/
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  045: The Green Knight (2021): An Excellent Adventure 07.11.2025 58min

  A visually arresting adaptation of the poem ‘Sir Gawain and the Green Knight’ , David Lowery’s film is fascinating. It’s a Christmas movie , for sure, and it includes a time travel thread in the tapestry of its tale. What more could you ask for? Inventive, and imbued with a tangible sense of magic, the film prompts an enthusiastic conversation between James and Ellen for this episode.
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  044: Hallmark Movies Time Travel Special: A Mini Excellent Adventure 17.10.2025 19min

  James and Paul are MIA, but Ellen is forging ahead solo into the wonderfully absurd world of Hallmark Time Travel Movies. From pocket watches that open wormholes to Victorian men horrified by toasters, she breaks down the rules, the romance, and the time-bending tropes that make this subgenre so irresistibly unhinged. Buckle up—time travel waits for no one!
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  043: A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court (1949): An Excellent Adventure 03.10.2025 1h 7min

  Time travel, medieval mayhem, and a crooning Yankee - what more could you want? Ellen, Paul, and James dive into A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court (1949) and its literary origins in Mark Twain’s groundbreaking novel.   Join them as they explore the surprising legacy of this fantastical fish-out-of-water story - complete with an eclipse, a sneaky almanac, and Bing Crosby bringing swing to Camelot.
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  042: The Joy of Back to the Future: A Mini Excellent Adventure - with Guest Joy Cheshire 15.09.2025 16min

  Recorded over a 13 month period - the Excellent Adventurers are proud to present a chat with possibly the only person left on the planet who had not seen the Back to the Future trilogy - Ellen's Mum! Paul captures the initial & eventual reactions to Parts I & III, while Ellen gets the complicated one in the middle with II! 
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  041: Back to the Future Part III (1990): An Excellent Adventure 05.09.2025 1h 8min

  The Time Travelling Trio return to the third in the trilogy for the second time. Huh? Episode 14 was a Mini Excellent Adventure with guest Nigel Smith, who pipped for this as a favourite to chat about. James & Paul felt left out, so promised Ellen she could do an episode about Hallmark movies, & so this grand revisit came about. In so many ways, the romance with Christopher Lloyd & Mary Steenbergen is just a big tease for Ellen & Paul, who promise to get to Time After Time one of these days!
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  040: Lost Highway (1997): A Mini Excellent Adventure with Guest James Tully 15.08.2025 43min

  Paul's been wanting to explore David Lynch's twisty Noir nightmare with a like-minded admirer for ages. Is it Time Travel or Not? Paul asked this at a screening of the movie in 2024 at the Worthing Connaught - & is here joined by Film Manager of the cinema James Tully, to definitively put to bed & answer all mysteries of the film. I mean, how hard can it be? Find the Worthing Connaught here: https://wtm.uk/  And here on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/connaughtcinema/?igsh=c3VwbnVkbzJ3Mmw2