Excellent Adventures: The Time Travel Movie Podcast

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.

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!

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/

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!

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.

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/

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!

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!

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

Join Ellen and special guest Jamie Dyer, founder of Old Time Review and host of The Quo-Cast and Vintage Animation Millennial, as they embark on a mini excellent adventure through the classic 1960 film The Time Machine, directed by George Pal. In this episode, Ellen and Jamie delve into a broad discussion of the film’s enduring appeal, from its imaginative take on time travel to Pal’s pioneering stop-frame animation. They also take a closer look at three key scenes: the mesmerising first journey through time, the unsettling arrival in 1966, and the poignant discovery of crumbling books in the far future. Blending thoughtful analysis with personal memories, this episode is a must-listen for fans of classic cinema and sci-fi storytelling.

Paul finally gets off his chest a decades-long theory about Kubrick's classic, & finds all new aspects of the film to (maybe) support it. This kicks off a l'il sideline of episodes in which he poses the question: Is it Time Travel or Not? There will be more. As with all such things, it's just a matter of making the time!

Paul puts his trainers back on for this Indian Hindi-language comedy-thriller film directed by Aakash Bhatia. It's an official adaptation of the award-winning German film Run Lola Run by Tom Tykwer, and stars Taapsee Pannu and Tahir Raj Bhasin in the lead roles.