User Reviews

Voyagers! was a time travel series that aired Sunday nights on NBC from 1982-'83. I was 7 years old and instantly hooked. The lighthearted fantasy concept involved a kid, a pirate and cool watch like time machine (the Omni) that was worn on the belt. As a kid I wanted my own Omni more then I did a Jedi lightsaber.

The show was about a recently orphaned 12 year old named Jeffrey Jones (Meeno Pulce). Jeff is living a dreary life in his Manhattan high rise with his aunt and uncle, who don't like the idea of suddenly raising a kid themselves. One night a time traveler named Phineas Bogg (Jon-Erik Hexum) crashes into Jeff's bedroom. Bogg is a ruggedly handsome man that's dressed like a pirate from the 1700s, who happens to be a member of a mysterious organization called "Voyagers". "I am a Voyager" Bogg says, "You ever hear of one? Course not, no one has", Bogg continues to tell Jeff. Voyagers are people that are trained to "travel through the ages" to keep history on track and make sure it's always on the right path. They don't get into the philosophical aspects of what is the right or wrong history, and there is no need to in a fun show like this. If the Omni flashed red then something was wrong with history. Once the good guys fixed the problem it became a solid green. The Voyagers seems to exist out of our linear time, they appear to be from the past but use technology from the future. Through a series of mishaps Jeff winds up as Bogg's time traveling companion, and Bogg is unable to take Jeff back to 1982 because his Omni would only go up to 1970. Apparently it was malfunctioning, which led him to land in Jeff's 1982 high rise apartment in the first place. Jeff is a child genius who knows everything there is to know about history. Bogg doesn't know much about history so Jeff proves valuable to Bogg, as Bogg left his Guidebook back in Jeff's 1982 bedroom (remember they can't go back). Jeff basically becomes Bogg's new Guidebook and the two improvise their way through solving problems the best they can.

This was created as an educational series for children, and it worked. They hit it out of the ballpark with this one. I probably learned more about history from Voyagers! then I did from any of my 2nd grade classes. There was always a main plot and then a secondary story line where Jeff and Bogg visited another time line. Sometimes a brief third time story would be thrown in. The best episodes had two story lines that mirrored each other in some way. "Agents of Satan" had Jeff and Bogg land in New England during the Salem witch trials, after escaping being burned at the stake the duo land in 1924 Boston during a séance that just happens to have Harry Houdini in the audience. Houdini never believed in real magic or the supernatural, only the incredibly well staged illusions that he performed. He famously went around the country debunking phonies swindling people out of money, so when Houdini sees our heroes appear out of nowhere and then immediately vanish into thin air he is convinced that ghosts are real. Jeff and Bogg inadvertently turned a green light zone into a red one. This kind of story telling was just flat out AMAZING for a kids show. The writing was top notch. Other great episodes were "Worlds Apart" (Thomas Edison and Lawerence of Arabia), "The Travels of Marco Polo", "Barriers of Sound" (Alexander Graham Bell), "Voyagers of the Titanic", "The Trial of Phineas Bogg" (we get to see the Voyager school) and "Jack's Back" (Jack the Ripper).

I have acquired all the episodes in recent years, complete with the NBC bumpers ("Voyagers will be back after these messages"). A few of my episodes even have some of the old NBC ads from the time, with Meeno and Jon-Erik dressed in costume and telling us "Sundays are the place to be on NBC!", which was a precursor to the "NBC Let's All Be There!" ads a couple years later. I get a flood rush of magical childhood nostalgia when I see stuff like that. I was nervous that show would look just too ridiculous and immature for my adult eyes. I was proved wrong. Sure there are a couple of forgettable episodes and yes there are some corny moments here and there where you can tell this was a children's series, but it's damn entertaining one. The acting can be silly at times, but sometimes you have to just accept a well made show's faults and just roll with it. The stories and the writing were what really attracted me. This was a series aimed at children but written with older audiences in mind, so I can still watch this one as an adult and not feel guilty. The series always dealt with famous historical figures, but who cares? The show had plenty of wit and zany enthusiasm going for it. That other great time travel series Quantum Leap would be there later to deal with the more regular folk. At the end of each episode Meeno Pulce would give a quick narration over the closing credits, telling you that you could learn more about the historic figures visited in this episode through reading, "Take a voyage down to your local library, it's all in books". Unfortunately NBC canceled the show after 1 season. The show couldn't compete against the hard hitting 60 Minutes, and perhaps the complex plots was something that couldn't be sustained. I'll always remember this show though. It's a shame that back in the 80s moron shows like The Dukes of Hazzard lasted for six years and Voyagers! only stayed on the air for one.

What a pity this show only lasted for one season and twenty episodes. What a tragedy that the freak death of Jon-Erik Hexum a couple of years later precluded any revival of this show.

This was the real fantasy for any young person. Metaphysically we are shown here that history goes off course than how the books we read have it. So whoever is running the Universe sends out certain guides to put it back on track. In this case that was the hunky Jon-Erik Hexum who time travels with a stop watch and stops at various points. The watch was called the Omni and if it had a red glow something was wrong. Green meant history was flowing as it should. Red meant he had to stop and fix things.

But Hexum loses his guidebook and he has no clue what to fix. That's where young Meeno Peluce comes in. Peluce was a 12 year ol history genius. What better than a reference book that walks and is charming in youthful innocence.

The two made a great team for 20 episodes righting all the things that go wrong in earth's time and space. Hexum and Peluce had a nice chemistry between them.

Such a pity Voyagers was not carried into a second season. In his brief time left Hexum was doing more adult type material. Who knows, he might still be with us if Voyagers wasn't cancelled.

Can someone with an Omni fix that?

A lot of fans of this show were half my age in 1982-83. I was 14 and in high school. I had a terrible crush on Jon-Erik but the show was so good his beauty just enhanced a great show. I am 43 now and I never forgot it. I was reading an article on Solei Moon Frye and remembered her big brother Meeno Peluce. Then I thought about Voyagers and how I hadn't seen it in almost 30 years. I went hunting. I found several episodes...Thank You Youtube! I also thought I would look at the show with critical eyes like I do Dallas and Dynasty now. I was so wrong; I was thrust back to a simpler time, it really was a great way to learn, if we had more educational shows like that today maybe the United States children wouldn't be so "dumbed-down".

I didn't get the chance to watch that show as a child, since it was only aired once here in 1989. However, I recently found out this show exists (I love time travelling shows) and it's still a great pleasure to watch it. It's kind of obvious that the show must have had quite a small budget, but they still managed to put a lot of details into the episodes. They even travel to Austria (where I live) once and I'm surprised at how accurate the whole scenery was (although it was doubtlessly filmed in the states). street names, signs, accents, German words. Everything perfectly right. I also love the moral values that the show brought to its viewers. Phineas Bogg - although he's a hopeless womanizer and knows practically nothing about history - repeatedly claims he doesn't drink alcohol and he doesn't want Jeffrey to play with weapons. The interaction between Jeff and Phineas is one aspect I truly love about the show. He's the perfect father (or rather big brother) figure any kid could have.

Sure, the special effects are really funny for modern viewers - but we have to admit we are spoiled by cgi effects, so it's no big deal. Let's just hope they release the show on DVD sometime. That one is really worth remembering.

Voyagers! was an excellent show that could have gone far and taken us on many historical adventures, it was appealing both to children and adults. The teaming of late actor Jon-Erik Hexum and Meeno Peluce was wonderful, they had great chemistry and timing in their roles as Voyagers Phineas Bogg and Jeffrey Jones. Most of the plot lines were so fun to watch and follow, you really did learn some interesting facts along the way. This show is a great addition to the time travel genre and it even inspired another excellent show, 'Quantum Leap.' Jon-Erik was strikingly handsome, funny and charming as the confused pirate/Voyager and Meeno Peluce had a rare natural talent that only children could have, the ability to be lovable and a pain all at once! I highly recommend finding and watching this show to any sci-fi/time travel buffs!

Released by Scholastic Books, this series is clean, fun, and full of historical tidbits and settings. Voyagers are time travelers who basically give historical figures a nudge in the right direction so they fulfill their destinies, and history goes right.

In each episode there are 2-3 different places/events covered that relate to a main story (i.e. Slavery with Harriet Tubman/Spartacus with a message we are "all created equal"). You see presidents, Lawrence of Arabia, Titanic, Salem witch hunts, Thomas Edison, Harry Houdini, World War I and II, Marco Polo, Mona Lisa, etc., along with brief cameos of famous figures for added historical fun, like Francis Scott Key (Star-Spangled Banner) and baby Moses.

This series is great for kids and everyone interested in history. Even my 71-year-old father enjoyed Voyagers (and remembers it when it aired in 1982 when I was young). It has action, adventure, amusing situations, and the characters never stay in one setting too long so there is no time for boredom.

I see many people not know simple historical facts like who is the first U.S. President. This ignorance is horrifying. Get Voyagers! and enjoy an entertaining show while learning history in the process.

I saw this when I was a teenager, and the combination of Jon Eric Hexum who was a young man, teamed up with a kid (Meeno Peluce) was perfect. Hexum wanted to do his job, fixing events in time, and Peluce saw everything through the eyes of a child. It was a fun TV series. Lots of funny moments mixed with serious events in time that had gone off the rails. The pair of time travelers would get things right in a light-hearted fashion. The stories were full of wonderment, and the two lead actors had a good chemistry.

I remember this series very well, because in the mid eighties it kept me occupied as toddler! As a Uni-History student, and someone for who history is a hobby, I think Voyagers was the best.

It gave to history what no other documentary or series could for a toddler. It let you walk through that era while actually captivating a young mind whose attention span would be hard to grasp on such great historical episodes. Literally seeing a time through the present day eyes of the heroes. Okay I do admit, the kids dodgy stripped t-shirt could have been changed. But it worked, doing assignments and reading books that weigh a ton, my mind still wonders down the streets of whatever era or battlefield, much in the same way that the heroes did. I am eternally grateful to whoever made this series! Its a shame that this series isn't out on DVD. Its an even bigger shame that they don't make series like this or movies like this either. The love of history is all but extinct. Current Cinema and movie makers who concentrate on blood and guts and twisting the historic facts to please an audience of adolescents who know nothing of the rich tapestry of the past is now the norm. Sad!

I loved Voyagers! the moment I watched the pilot episode in 1982. I was 8 years old. Years later I wanted to share the show, so I posted on youtube.com all 20 episodes (just type in litlbit2001)for anybody who doesn't own the show on DVD. As soon as I heard it was available on DVD I ran out and bought it for less then 50 dollars. The show is what made me pass my history tests in school. I fell in love with the show. If the show would of had a second season Jon-Erik would still be with us. The chemistry between Meeno and Jon-Erik on the show is amazing. Meeno even wrote back to me in an email and said. "Jon-Erik was an amazing guy." You could tell that the chemistry between the two was real. I often wonder what a second season would of been like and if we could see Jeffrey experiencing a few things teenagers do while traveling through time with Bogg. Me I'll always remember the show as part of my childhood.

I used to watch this show as a kid and absolutely loved it. Sci-Fi channel re-runs it from time to time and I heartily recommend you recording it for younger children to watch. It's cool and educational too.

The big thing with Voyagers was the chemistry that developed between Meeno and John. I remember watching the first show and becoming immediately hooked!!!! I can't remember one bad episode. I have also watched them recently and yeah it was the 80s so it can be a bit dated and cheesy, but the two actors seemed to be very fond of one another and it showed in their relationship on screen. so sad John Hexum had the on screen incident, I really think he would have been the next big thing like Selleck, etc. surely missed.

If you look at most series that are based on any science or history, there are all kinds of errors in goofs. If you review this series, you will find very few errors, and this was at a time prior to the internet. Perhaps they took it to heart to go to the library as was spoken over the credits.

The series wasn't bad. It was predictable, but then again is was a historical series so that's kinda of to be expected. The storylines were interesting, the acting was very good, there were lots of actors that are seen across the years of tv.

One has to wonder if it had lasted longer if Jon-Erik Hexum might have lived.

As a kid, I loved this show but already knew most of the history. But was fun to see how they solved history. Jeffery was Boggs guide book.

Back in the 80s they knew how to make exciting TV for kids. This show is no exception and unlike The A-Team and Knight Rider this show actually teaches kids history and literature in a fun and exciting way.

Sometimes the pro-American sentiment lays a bit too thick on it but we've to remember that this was the early 80s. Also at times the historical accuracy is a bit simplified for the younger viewers and to facilitate the required conflict for the story. Time Travel is in theory very sensitive to the butterfly effect but that is often skimmed over, which keeps it possible to focus on the story.

I do really love the little of the cuff facts as for example: Jeffery sees a German soldier barely older than him. He exclaims the fact and his co-star explains that the Germans uses everyone in this stage of the war, young or old.

Kids these days have a very poor and black and white understanding of history. A shot like this could polish their poor knowledge up in a fun way. Therefore I think this could be brought into the 21st and rebooted targeting the ages 10-16. We've had Quantum Leap for the older audiences in the 90s which did very well.

I don't know about you, but I would LOVE to see this old gem of a series come out on DVD. Much like the previous review, I remember the show when I was just a kid, and it would be great to be able to relive the episodes again. I'll never forget that opening episode...and that red and white striped shirt Jeffrey Jones always wore. Just goes to show you the power of good storytelling.

Also, if memory serves, the production value of each episode was pretty good considering the fact that each episode spanned the course of many centuries. It sure was a fun show to watch, and I would imagine there is still a group of fans floating around out there somewhere between the past and present! Just my two cents...but I'd be curious to see if anyone else agrees with me out there.

I remember this show clearly from when I was in 4th grade and was quite devastated when it was cancelled. This show helped spawn a love-affair with History and learning. I so greatly wish that more shows like it were to be made....but instead we must be flooded with cr*p like, "Making the Band" and "Full House". If anyone knows when the Sci-Fi Channel plays these episodes -- please let me know!!

Has anyone thought to create a new version of the voyagers? You could have Meeno come back as Jeff (High council member) or something. with all the crap TV out there today it'd be nice to see a program that taught a little history.Somebody out there has to have the clout to try it. I for one would raise my children on it.(if it was done with respect to the original). I'm pretty sure Universal would like to see the extra revenue. I just wish someone would do it. didn't they used to have a ride at universal studios ? well thats all I have to say on that. P.S. any word on a new Tron? I heard the idea as that Flynn would be running a new tech company and that it would be about antivirii and the like

I was 10 years old when this show came out. I absolutely loved it, and can't believe it was only on 1 season. I only remember bits and pieces of episodes, but I do remember that it was my favorite show. it made me love history, which I still do today. I have occasionally looked for it on DVD, to no avail. there was another show that was similar that we watched in elementary school called " read all about it " that had kids travelling through time to learn about history. I love historical books and movies about all kinds of different time frames, events and figures, but would love to put my hands on the voyagers. I am currently reading a book by jeff shaara entitled "the rising tide" that every WWII buff must read.

I wanted to watch this because I miss Jon Erik Hexum and I need to see his gorgeous face again, but it ended up being a really great way to learn about history, also,. Of course, it's a little bit corny, but it makes the stories about historical events come to life. They travel through time. Trying to figure out what is wrong in the historical setting and then they have to fix it. It's just an adorable way to get to know. History a little bit better. Of course it's also a wonderful way to see Jon in action again, and the kid he's with is fun to watch too. I wish there were more options to watch it.

Note: This review is being made after re-watching the entire series via the DVD set of the time traveling, history righting series.

Though this series does have a slightly archaic early 1980's feel, the accents sometimes off, special effects that can look antiquated, and an obviousness of it having been shot on a California studio lot and in other Southern California locales, the content still holds up quite nicely.

Seeing this show, decades later has brought about a different viewing perspective like:

--It is refreshing to watch a time traveling show where characters interact with historical figures in a more genuine, sometimes reverent manner and aliens from outer space do not figure into the messing up of the history.

--Although the characters are for all intents and purposes equal partners, Phineas Bogg is still the adult and does put his foot down when Jeffrey's actions are that of a normal eleven-year-old kid. Bogg takes his sudden guardianship of the young boy very seriously. He cares. So does Jeffrey to the point where Bogg is looked upon affectionately as a surrogate parent of sorts.

--Jon-Eric Hexum makes full use of his very blue eyes and facial expressions and his acting improves as the series goes along.

--The character of Bogg enjoys what he does. He takes this responsibility earnestly and is able to come up with solutions to fit the situations in which he is placed. This means that physical action doesn't necessarily have to come into play. Phineas will also listen to Jeffrey when the boy is able to come up something better.

--Jeffrey Jones is refreshingly normal. He's neither cynically streetwise nor head in the books innocent. I like his acceptance of the situation that he's been accidentally thrust in plus his still being awed at meeting historical figures.

And as a history buff:

--At the end of each episode, to stimulate the viewers' curiosity, Jeffrey Jones' portrayer, Meeno Peluce would do a voice over during the credits saying, "If you want to know more about (insert history lesson here) take a voyage down to your public library. It's all in books." Then we'd see the Scholastic Productions logo shaped like an open book appear after the credits were over. A promotion of reading that wasn't pushy at all.

This show is absolutely the best show ever. Meeno Peluce and Jon-Erik Hexum are perfect together. A classic.

There are several things to note about "Voyagers!" The first is that this was a part of a master plan by NBC Program chief Brandon Tartikoff to merge entertainment with education, and to provide kids with intelligent programming, not the usual dreck that seemed so prevalent in the 1980s.

The concept of the show was deceptively simple. There are a team of men and women who keep track of "history." These "voyagers" each have a hand-held device called an "Omni" which gives them their location, the date and a signal if history is "wrong." They all go back and forward through time to correct any "mistakes" that may have occurred in time and keep the world on track.

One voyager is named Phineas Bogg (an obvious play on Jules Verne's Phileas Fogg from "Around The World In 80 Days"). However this particular voyager didn't pass his history exam and landed on the windowsill of Jeffrey, who just happened to be a whiz kid in history. Together, they became "Voyagers!"

The serious problem the program had was in its construction. In one episode, Germany had somehow won World War I. The voyagers traveled back in time and discovered that famed flying ace Eddie Rickenbacher had nothing to do. That's because the Wright Brothers hadn't invented the airplane. So they had to travel again and discovered Orville and Wilbur were arguing over a girl in their bicycle shop instead of working on their flying machine. So the Voyagers had to set them back on track.

It had to have been extremely difficult to write such elaborate plots that both were well known enough for an audience to relate to and yet capable of making sense in the plot of the show. As brilliant as some of these episodes were, the question is how many related subplots could there be for any moment in history, before you get into material that isn't in the library? With such a limitation, with production costs being what they were for an early 1980s s/f program and with ratings being lower than desired, "Voyagers!" was not viable for more than a year. Looking at the series now, it would have made for a brilliant "Harry Potter" style string of films, since there really aren't enough historic events to have made it to the famed 100 episode level.