Paradox: The Time Travel Podcast

Episode 25: Hot Tub Time Machine

Finally, we’ve come to the smoking-hot group of middle-aged friends reliving their cocaine-fueled glory days in an ’80s comedy of time travel that is “Hot Tub Time Machine.” There aren’t a ton of time travel comedies out there, but “Hot Tub Time Machine” manages to be pretty funny, when it isn’t being a little overly sexist and very 2010. Still, a few great time travel and 1980s comedy gags thanks to the very solid casting of Crispin Glover. Turns out, “Hot Tub Time Machine” has a lot in common with “Back to the Future,” in that it has some pretty sad and weird implications about traveling back in time, changing everything about your life, and then returning to the present to a life you don’t recognize with loved ones you’ve never met before. Hilarious!

Bonus Episode: Paradox Q&A

Finally, we’ve come to a smoking-hot question and answer episode of time travel, rounding up some interesting questions from our amazing listeners. It’s Q&A time! In this bonus episode, we dug up a bunch of questions listeners have put to us on the various social media channels for Paradox, like its Facebook page, the Facebook page for “So You Created a Wormhole,” and our Twitter accounts, @philhornshaw [http://twitter.com/philhornshaw] and @hewizard [http://twitter.com/hewizard]. (You can use them to ask us questions too!) While we always get back to people on those social places (or at least we think we do), we figured it might be nice to make the answers a little more public. We also figured that we owed a second episode for the last couple of weeks, given that we were absent for a bit thanks to work obligations, child rearing obligations, and Comic-Con obligations. We didn’t go this year, but it’s Comic-Con; you never really leave. So here’s a bunch of questions about various movies we’ve covered on the podcast. Below you’ll find the timestamps for each question so that if you’re not up on a particular movie or episode, you can skip it to avoid being ruthlessly spoiled by questions and answers. You’ll also find links to the episodes for each question, should you need a refresher. Super mega huge thanks to all our Paradox listeners and to everyone who took the time to write us questions — you’re amazing and we appreciate you! Hopefully these answers are up to spec, but if not, feel free to catch us on The Internet, where we’re always excited to dig into the nitty-gritty even further. In this episode: * 6:20 – “Back to the Future” * 22:57 – “Edge of Tomorrow” (“Live.Die.Repeat”) * 30:46 – “Predestination” * 37:01 – “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban” * 45:58 – “Primer” * 54:32 – “12 Monkeys” * 1:01:17 – “Deja Vu” After this, check out our new episode for “Hot Tub Time Machine!”

Episode 24: Triangle

Finally, we’ve come to the hellish murder cruise of parenthood of time travel that is “Triangle.” For real, this is one Phil, as the resident horror movie fan, has been looking forward to for a while. This is definitely one of those movies you need to watch before we talk about it. More than the usual spoiler warnings here! “Triangle” is best experienced with zero understanding of it. The fact you’re reading about it here, on our time travel podcast, is already a spoiler! Did you watch it? Okay. Moving on. “Triangle” is a 2009 horror movie that sneaks up on you as a time travel film. Though it never received a lot of fanfare, it’s pretty impressive as both a horror movie and a time travel movie, getting a lot of the usual issues right throughout. Melissa George’s protagonist character, Jess, is a solid time travel protagonist who understands her plight pretty quickly. Of course, things still don’t go well for her. It’s also a testament to writer and director Christopher Smith that “Triangle” is among the most internally consistent time travel movies we can think of. That’s doubly impressive because it’s a horror movie, where playing fast and loose with “rules” is often part of the approach, since feelings like fear and dread are paramount. So kudos to Chris! At least one of us is also excited to talk about a horror movie, something we don’t get to do too often. Sorry if it sounds like Phil is gleeful about murder and dismemberment — he’s not! At least, not outside the confines of horror films. Probably. We also talked about the similarities between “Triangle” and another movie: Nacho Vigalondo’s “Timecrimes,” or “Cronocrimenes” in its native Spanish (an altogether even-cooler-sounding title, really). We recommend checking out the movie, then listening to the Paradox episode on “Timecrimes” as well.

Episode 22: Edge of Tomorrow

Finally, we've come to the smoking hot cycle of endless, painful death matched only by the endless monotony of life (but, you know, funny) that is "Edge of Tomorrow." Tom Cruise’s foray into time travel takes a lot of cues from Bill Murray’s “Groundhog Day,” but adds a sci-fi angle and throws in aliens. It’s cool, goofy, and hilarious, and it has a terrible title. “Edge of Tomorrow” puts together a pretty solid time loop movie from those ingredients, and does well to avoid some of the issues loop movies struggle with by placing itself right in the middle of the loop, fully aware. And that works out pretty well, all things considered. And Cruise is pretty great at getting murdered repeatedly, but in hilarious ways. Oh, and that book Phil was trying to find at the end of the episode? It’s called “Replay,” by Ken Grimwood. Not Recall. That’s not a thing. Anyway, you can find it at the bookseller of your choice — it’s Paradox recommended!

Episode 21: Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure

Finally, we've come to the smoking-hot mystery at the Circle K of time travel that is Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure. Strange things are definitely afoot for Bill and Ted, but as far as time travelers are concerned, the two confused San Dimas high schoolers are actually pretty damn good at this. Ted intuits how nonlinear causality works on pretty much his first try, which is something that is often the undoing of most other time travelers. And while “Bill & Ted” might be a bit heavy on deus ex machina for getting its heroes out of tight spots, it still pretty funny and only slightly cringy.