Timescape (1992 film)
Encyclopedia
Timescape, released on video as Grand Tour: Disaster in Time, is a 1992 American
science fiction
film by Director David Twohy
. This time-travel-themed film is based on the novel Vintage Season
by Henry Kuttner
and
C.L. Moore.
It stars Jeff Daniels
, with Ariana Richards
(who achieved international fame the following year playing Lex in Steven Spielberg's Jurassic Park
) and features a cameo appearance by Robert Colbert
, one of the co-stars of Irwin Allen
's 1960s TV series The Time Tunnel
.
) is a widower haunted by the death of his wife, who has been killed in a freak car accident. He has recently returned to his home town and purchased an old guest house on the outskirts of town, which he is renovating with his young daughter Hillary (Ariana Richards
).
When local bus driver Oscar arrives with a tour group from "South California", their leader insists on renting out the rooms at the guest house, pointedly rejecting Ben's suggestion that they could stay at his friends' large hotel in the middle of town. Wilson soon begins to note their peculiar behaviour, manner and dress and Oscar points out the fact that, while they purport to be tourists, they do not carry cameras or take photographs. Shortly after they settle into their rooms another stranger, Quish (David Wells), arrives to join the group, and Ben notices the odd fact that Quish's clothes have a fine covering of ash.
Ben's suspicions are heightened by events of the next day. Quish has a minor accident while walking through the town and Wilson helps him, in the process recovering Quish's dropped American passport. Looking through it, Ben discovers that the stamps within include locations inside the United States and dates that are many decades apart. The local doctor then shows Ben an X-ray of Quish's head, which reveals that there is a mysterious object embedded in his skull. As they leave the surgery, Wilson confronts Quish, having deduced that the stamps correspond to the times and places of famous disasters, including the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake
, the crash of the Hindenburg
and the Mt St. Helens volcanic eruption (hence the ash on his clothing). Unnerved, Quish will only respond by warning Wilson to leave town immediately and not return until he is sure it is safe.
Meanwhile, unbeknownst to Ben, his vengeful father-in-law, Judge Caldwell (George Murdock
) — who blames Ben for his daughter's death — has secretly arranged to have Hilary taken away from Ben on the grounds that he is an unfit parent. When Ben returns home he finds Hilary gone and confronts the Judge but is threatened with arrest; defeated, he goes to stay at the local hotel. There he visited by Reeve, one of the Tourists, who confirms his suspicions about their true nature: they are time-travellers from the future who visit the scenes of famous disasters as part of a "Grand Tour" of the past. She then gives Ben a euphoric substance and seduces him, leaving him unconscious.
Late that night Ben he is found and revived by Oscar and they return to the guest house to find out why the Tourists have come, but minutes later the town is struck by a large meteorite, resulting in almost total destruction. Ben races to the Judge's shattered home, where he finds Hilary alive; heading back into town he finds the hotel destroyed and his friends dead, while the Tourists stroll through the devastation with an air of detached fascination. Ben and Hilary work through the night helping the survivors, who are taken to Hilary's local school, which has become the local disaster relief centre.
When Ben and Oscar return to the guest house the next day, Ben is alarmed to discover that, although the tourists have left the house, their luggage is still there. He and Oscar track them to an abandoned factory outside the town, where Ben realises that they are awaiting a second disaster which is about to strike the school. The tourists try to detain him but he evades them and races to the scene hoping to save Hilary. Meanwhile, maintenance workers accidentally damage a gas line in the basement of the school and just as Ben arrives a hurricane lamp in the hall ignites the leaking gas, destroying the school in a massive blast and killing most of the people inside, including Hilary and Quish, who has followed Ben to the building.
Ben regains consciousness to find that he has been taken prisoner by the Tourists and that an official from their time, the Undersecretary (Robert Colbert
), has arrived to investigate and try to remedy the disruptions to Ben's "Timescape". He explains that his people have discovered that time is more resilient than they had first believed but, because of the changes enacted by Ben and the Tourists, all time excursions have been suspended pending a full investigation. Just before they depart Ben attacks Reeve for her lack of humanity, but as she leaves she embraces him, secretly slipping Quish's passport into his hand.
On examining the passport Ben discovers that it conceals one of the Tourists' time travel devices. He eventually makes it work, and returns to the previous evening to try and save his daughter and the townsfolk from the disaster. Realising that Hilary is then at her grandfather's house, he tries to sneak her away but he is caught and thrown into jail, which is itself soon to be destroyed. However he convinces the deputy to allow him his one phone call and manages to contact his pre-existing self at the hotel, just as that self is meeting with Reeve. This alternate self helps the 'original' Ben to escape from the jail and together they manage to alert and save most of the people by ringing the bells in the old church on the other side of town.
Leaving Hilary with his 'earlier' self, the 'original' Ben walks through the scene of the impact; there he is again confronted by the Undersecretary, who had returned to take Ben back to his proper point in time. He warn Ben not to interfere any further and threatens to alter the past again to eliminate Ben's actions, but Ben challenges him by arguing that if the Undersecretary's assertions were true, his people would have already done so.
In the final scene, we see Hilary taking bookings for the now-completed guest house while Ben reads through old love letters from his late wife. When Hilary looks up, Ben has vanished, and as the movie closes Hilary suddenly hears and is drawn towards the sound of someone playing her mother's favourite tune on the piano.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
film by Director David Twohy
David Twohy
David Neil Twohy is an American film director and screenwriter.-Life and career:Twohy was born in Los Angeles County, California...
. This time-travel-themed film is based on the novel Vintage Season
Vintage Season
"Vintage Season" is a science fiction novella by Henry Kuttner and Catherine L. Moore . It has been anthologized many times and was selected for The Science Fiction Hall of Fame, Volume 2A.-Authorship:...
by Henry Kuttner
Henry Kuttner
Henry Kuttner was an American author of science fiction, fantasy and horror.-Early life:Henry Kuttner was born in Los Angeles, California in 1915...
and
C.L. Moore.
It stars Jeff Daniels
Jeff Daniels
Jeffrey Warren "Jeff" Daniels is an American actor, musician and playwright. He founded a non-profit theatre company, the Purple Rose Theatre Company, in his home state of Michigan...
, with Ariana Richards
Ariana Richards
Ariana Clarice Richards is an American actress and professional painter. She is best known for her roles as Mindy Sterngood in Tremors, Lex Murphy in the film Jurassic Park, and as Carol Wetherby in the film Prancer....
(who achieved international fame the following year playing Lex in Steven Spielberg's Jurassic Park
Jurassic Park (film)
Jurassic Park is a 1993 American science fiction adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg. The film is based on the novel of the same name by Michael Crichton. It stars Sam Neill, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum, Richard Attenborough, Martin Ferrero, and Bob Peck...
) and features a cameo appearance by Robert Colbert
Robert Colbert
Robert Colbert is an American actor most noted for his leading role portraying Dr. Doug Phillips on the TV series The Time Tunnel and his two appearances as a third Maverick brother in Maverick....
, one of the co-stars of Irwin Allen
Irwin Allen
Irwin Allen was a television and film director and producer nicknamed "The Master of Disaster" for his work in the disaster film genre. He was also notable for creating a number of television series.- Biography :...
's 1960s TV series The Time Tunnel
The Time Tunnel
The Time Tunnel is a 1966–1967 U.S. color science fiction TV series. The show was created and produced by Irwin Allen, his third science fiction television series. The show's main theme was Time Travel Adventure. The Time Tunnel was released by 20th Century Fox and broadcast on ABC. The show ran...
.
Plot
Ben Wilson (Jeff DanielsJeff Daniels
Jeffrey Warren "Jeff" Daniels is an American actor, musician and playwright. He founded a non-profit theatre company, the Purple Rose Theatre Company, in his home state of Michigan...
) is a widower haunted by the death of his wife, who has been killed in a freak car accident. He has recently returned to his home town and purchased an old guest house on the outskirts of town, which he is renovating with his young daughter Hillary (Ariana Richards
Ariana Richards
Ariana Clarice Richards is an American actress and professional painter. She is best known for her roles as Mindy Sterngood in Tremors, Lex Murphy in the film Jurassic Park, and as Carol Wetherby in the film Prancer....
).
When local bus driver Oscar arrives with a tour group from "South California", their leader insists on renting out the rooms at the guest house, pointedly rejecting Ben's suggestion that they could stay at his friends' large hotel in the middle of town. Wilson soon begins to note their peculiar behaviour, manner and dress and Oscar points out the fact that, while they purport to be tourists, they do not carry cameras or take photographs. Shortly after they settle into their rooms another stranger, Quish (David Wells), arrives to join the group, and Ben notices the odd fact that Quish's clothes have a fine covering of ash.
Ben's suspicions are heightened by events of the next day. Quish has a minor accident while walking through the town and Wilson helps him, in the process recovering Quish's dropped American passport. Looking through it, Ben discovers that the stamps within include locations inside the United States and dates that are many decades apart. The local doctor then shows Ben an X-ray of Quish's head, which reveals that there is a mysterious object embedded in his skull. As they leave the surgery, Wilson confronts Quish, having deduced that the stamps correspond to the times and places of famous disasters, including the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake
1906 San Francisco earthquake
The San Francisco earthquake of 1906 was a major earthquake that struck San Francisco, California, and the coast of Northern California at 5:12 a.m. on Wednesday, April 18, 1906. The most widely accepted estimate for the magnitude of the earthquake is a moment magnitude of 7.9; however, other...
, the crash of the Hindenburg
LZ 129 Hindenburg
LZ 129 Hindenburg was a large German commercial passenger-carrying rigid airship, the lead ship of the Hindenburg class, the longest class of flying machine and the largest airship by envelope volume...
and the Mt St. Helens volcanic eruption (hence the ash on his clothing). Unnerved, Quish will only respond by warning Wilson to leave town immediately and not return until he is sure it is safe.
Meanwhile, unbeknownst to Ben, his vengeful father-in-law, Judge Caldwell (George Murdock
George Murdock
George Peter Murdock was a notable American anthropologist. He is remembered for his empirical approach to ethnological studies and his landmark works on Old World populations.-Early life:...
) — who blames Ben for his daughter's death — has secretly arranged to have Hilary taken away from Ben on the grounds that he is an unfit parent. When Ben returns home he finds Hilary gone and confronts the Judge but is threatened with arrest; defeated, he goes to stay at the local hotel. There he visited by Reeve, one of the Tourists, who confirms his suspicions about their true nature: they are time-travellers from the future who visit the scenes of famous disasters as part of a "Grand Tour" of the past. She then gives Ben a euphoric substance and seduces him, leaving him unconscious.
Late that night Ben he is found and revived by Oscar and they return to the guest house to find out why the Tourists have come, but minutes later the town is struck by a large meteorite, resulting in almost total destruction. Ben races to the Judge's shattered home, where he finds Hilary alive; heading back into town he finds the hotel destroyed and his friends dead, while the Tourists stroll through the devastation with an air of detached fascination. Ben and Hilary work through the night helping the survivors, who are taken to Hilary's local school, which has become the local disaster relief centre.
When Ben and Oscar return to the guest house the next day, Ben is alarmed to discover that, although the tourists have left the house, their luggage is still there. He and Oscar track them to an abandoned factory outside the town, where Ben realises that they are awaiting a second disaster which is about to strike the school. The tourists try to detain him but he evades them and races to the scene hoping to save Hilary. Meanwhile, maintenance workers accidentally damage a gas line in the basement of the school and just as Ben arrives a hurricane lamp in the hall ignites the leaking gas, destroying the school in a massive blast and killing most of the people inside, including Hilary and Quish, who has followed Ben to the building.
Ben regains consciousness to find that he has been taken prisoner by the Tourists and that an official from their time, the Undersecretary (Robert Colbert
Robert Colbert
Robert Colbert is an American actor most noted for his leading role portraying Dr. Doug Phillips on the TV series The Time Tunnel and his two appearances as a third Maverick brother in Maverick....
), has arrived to investigate and try to remedy the disruptions to Ben's "Timescape". He explains that his people have discovered that time is more resilient than they had first believed but, because of the changes enacted by Ben and the Tourists, all time excursions have been suspended pending a full investigation. Just before they depart Ben attacks Reeve for her lack of humanity, but as she leaves she embraces him, secretly slipping Quish's passport into his hand.
On examining the passport Ben discovers that it conceals one of the Tourists' time travel devices. He eventually makes it work, and returns to the previous evening to try and save his daughter and the townsfolk from the disaster. Realising that Hilary is then at her grandfather's house, he tries to sneak her away but he is caught and thrown into jail, which is itself soon to be destroyed. However he convinces the deputy to allow him his one phone call and manages to contact his pre-existing self at the hotel, just as that self is meeting with Reeve. This alternate self helps the 'original' Ben to escape from the jail and together they manage to alert and save most of the people by ringing the bells in the old church on the other side of town.
Leaving Hilary with his 'earlier' self, the 'original' Ben walks through the scene of the impact; there he is again confronted by the Undersecretary, who had returned to take Ben back to his proper point in time. He warn Ben not to interfere any further and threatens to alter the past again to eliminate Ben's actions, but Ben challenges him by arguing that if the Undersecretary's assertions were true, his people would have already done so.
In the final scene, we see Hilary taking bookings for the now-completed guest house while Ben reads through old love letters from his late wife. When Hilary looks up, Ben has vanished, and as the movie closes Hilary suddenly hears and is drawn towards the sound of someone playing her mother's favourite tune on the piano.
Cast
- Jeff DanielsJeff DanielsJeffrey Warren "Jeff" Daniels is an American actor, musician and playwright. He founded a non-profit theatre company, the Purple Rose Theatre Company, in his home state of Michigan...
as Ben Wilson - Ariana RichardsAriana RichardsAriana Clarice Richards is an American actress and professional painter. She is best known for her roles as Mindy Sterngood in Tremors, Lex Murphy in the film Jurassic Park, and as Carol Wetherby in the film Prancer....
as Hillary Wilson - Emilia Crow as Reeve
- Jim Haynie as Oscar
- Marilyn Lightstone as Madame Iovine
- George MurdockGeorge Murdock (actor)George Murdock is an American actor.Known for frequently playing judges, , he also performed the role of "Big Daddy" in Tennessee Williams' Cat on a Hot Tin Roof with the Arizona Theater Company during the 1988...
as Judge Caldwell - David Wells as Quish
- Nicholas GuestNicholas GuestNicholas Haden-Guest is an American actor. He primarily works as a voice actor, but is best known for a TV role, as the principal in the NBC teen sitcom, USA High.-Personal life:...
as Spall - Robert ColbertRobert ColbertRobert Colbert is an American actor most noted for his leading role portraying Dr. Doug Phillips on the TV series The Time Tunnel and his two appearances as a third Maverick brother in Maverick....
as Undersecretary - Time WintersTime WintersTimothy G. "Time" Winters is an American television actor and voice actor. He also provided Boc's voice in the video game Star Wars Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II. He replaced Victor Griffiths in Amadeus on Broadway, and played King Pellinore in the national tour of Camelot with Michael York/Lou...
as Reverend - Anna Neill as Sue Appleton
- Willie Rack as Billy Appleton
- Mimi Craven as Carolyn
- Jacquie McClure as Mrs. Beecher
- Steven GilbornSteven GilbornSteven Neil Gilborn was an American television and film actor.Gilborn was born in New Rochelle, New York. He attended Swarthmore College, where he was awarded a bachelor's degree in English and earned a Ph.D...
as Doctor