Same pandemic backstory as the movie, similar names for the characters, no Bruce Willis, and a mishmash of time-travel tropes along with tuneless minor-key chords in place of actual tension and slowly spoken clichéd dialogue in place of actual plot. Random discussions of fate brush shoulders with an admixture of possible time travel models from narrative time (when a wound sprouts on old JC’s shoulder while watching young JC get shot), to skeleton timelines (JC thinks that his timeline will vanish if he succeeds), to a fascination with a single static timeline (you’ll see it in Chechnya) and time itself has an agenda. Primarily, we’d say that the story follows narrative time from Cole’s point of view.

By the end of the first season, one principal character has seemingly been trapped in the 2043, and Cole is stuck in 2015, having just gone against fate in a major way, but with a third principal character poised to spread the virus via a jet plane.

P.S. Whatever you do, whether in narrative time or elsewhen, don’t bring up this adaptation as dinnertime conversation with Terry Gilliam (but do watch it if you can set aside angst over a lack of a consistent model and just go with Cole’s flow).
Michael Main
About four years from now, most of the human race will be wiped out by a plague, a virus. We know it’s because of a man named Leland Frost. I have to find him.

—from “Splinter” [s01e01]

Tags

(24)

Variants

(14)
  1. 12 Monkeys, Season 1, written by Terry Matalas, Travis Fickett, et al., directed by multiple people (SyFy, USA, 16 January 2015 to 10 April 2015).
  2. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . written by multiple people
    David Webb Peoples as by David Peoples (based on a work by)
    Janet Peoples (based on a work by)
    . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . directed by multiple people
    . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . created by Chris Marker (inspiration)
    Terry Matalas (developer)
    Travis Fickett (developer)
  3. “Splinter,” written by Terry Matalas and Travis Fickett, directed by Jeffrey Reiner (SyFy, USA, 16 January 2015).
  4. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . written by Terry Matalas
    David Webb Peoples as by David Peoples (based on a work by)
    Janet Peoples (based on a work by)
    . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . directed by Jeffrey Reiner
    . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . created by Chris Marker (inspiration)
    Terry Matalas (developer)
    Travis Fickett (developer)
  5. “Mentally Divergent,” written by Natalie Chaidez, directed by David Grossman (SyFy, USA, 23 January 2015).
  6. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . written by Natalie Chaidez
    David Webb Peoples as by David Peoples (based on a work by)
    Janet Peoples (based on a work by)
    . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . directed by David Grossman
    . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . created by Chris Marker (inspiration)
    Terry Matalas (developer)
    Travis Fickett (developer)
  7. “Cassandra Complex,” written by Rebecca Kirsch, directed by Michael Waxman (SyFy, USA, 30 January 2015).
  8. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . written by Rebecca Kirsch
    David Webb Peoples as by David Peoples (based on a work by)
    Janet Peoples (based on a work by)
    Sean Tretta (other contribution)
    . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . directed by Michael Waxman
    . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . created by Chris Marker (inspiration)
    Terry Matalas (developer)
    Travis Fickett (developer)
  9. “Atari,” written by Terry Matalas and Travis Fickett, directed by David Grossman (SyFy, USA, 6 February 2015).
  10. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . written by Terry Matalas
    David Webb Peoples as by David Peoples (based on a work by)
    Janet Peoples (based on a work by)
    Sean Tretta (other contribution)
    . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . directed by David Grossman
    . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . created by Chris Marker (inspiration)
    Terry Matalas (developer)
    Travis Fickett (developer)
  11. “The Night Room,” written as by Richard E. Robbins, directed by David Boyd (SyFy, USA, 13 February 2015).
  12. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . written by Richard Robbins as by Richard E. Robbins
    David Webb Peoples as by David Peoples (based on a work by)
    Janet Peoples (based on a work by)
    Sean Tretta (other contribution)
    . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . directed by David Boyd
    . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . created by Chris Marker (inspiration)
    Terry Matalas (developer)
    Travis Fickett (developer)
  13. “The Red Forest,” written by Christopher Monfette, directed by Alex Zakrzewski (SyFy, USA, 20 February 2015).
  14. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . written by Christopher Monfette
    David Webb Peoples as by David Peoples (based on a work by)
    Janet Peoples (based on a work by)
    Sean Tretta (other contribution)
    . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . directed by Alex Zakrzewski
    . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . created by Chris Marker (inspiration)
    Terry Matalas (developer)
    Travis Fickett (developer)
  15. “The Keys,” written by Sean Tretta, directed by John Badham (SyFy, USA, 27 February 2015).
  16. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . written by Sean Tretta
    David Webb Peoples as by David Peoples (based on a work by)
    Janet Peoples (based on a work by)
    Sean Tretta (other contribution)
    . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . directed by John Badham
    . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . created by Chris Marker (inspiration)
    Terry Matalas (developer)
    Travis Fickett (developer)
  17. “Yesterday,” written by Oliver Grigsby, directed by Michael Waxman (SyFy, USA, 6 March 2015).
  18. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . written by Oliver Grigsby
    David Webb Peoples as by David Peoples (based on a work by)
    Janet Peoples (based on a work by)
    Oliver Grigsby (other contribution)
    Sean Tretta (other contribution)
    . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . directed by Michael Waxman
    . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . created by Chris Marker (inspiration)
    Terry Matalas (developer)
    Travis Fickett (developer)
  19. “Tomorrow,” written by Rebecca Kirsch, directed by T. J. Scott (SyFy, USA, 13 March 2015).
  20. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . written by Rebecca Kirsch
    David Webb Peoples as by David Peoples (based on a work by)
    Janet Peoples (based on a work by)
    Oliver Grigsby (other contribution)
    Sean Tretta (other contribution)
    . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . directed by T. J. Scott
    . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . created by Chris Marker (inspiration)
    Terry Matalas (developer)
    Travis Fickett (developer)
  21. “Divine Move,” written by Christopher Monfette, directed by Magnus Martens (SyFy, USA, 20 March 2015).
  22. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . written by Christopher Monfette
    David Webb Peoples as by David Peoples (based on a work by)
    Janet Peoples (based on a work by)
    Oliver Grigsby (other contribution)
    . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . directed by Magnus Martens
    . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . created by Chris Marker (inspiration)
    Terry Matalas (developer)
    Travis Fickett (developer)
  23. “Shonin,” written by Sean Tretta, directed by Mark Tonderai (SyFy, USA, 27 March 2015).
  24. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . written by Sean Tretta
    David Webb Peoples as by David Peoples (based on a work by)
    Janet Peoples (based on a work by)
    Oliver Grigsby (other contribution)
    . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . directed by Mark Tonderai
    . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . created by Chris Marker (inspiration)
    Terry Matalas (developer)
    Travis Fickett (developer)
  25. “Paradox,” written as by Richard E. Robbins, directed by Dennie Gordon (SyFy, USA, 3 April 2015).
  26. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . written by Richard Robbins as by Richard E. Robbins
    David Webb Peoples as by David Peoples (based on a work by)
    Janet Peoples (based on a work by)
    . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . directed by Dennie Gordon
    . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . created by Chris Marker (inspiration)
    Terry Matalas (developer)
    Travis Fickett (developer)
  27. “Arms of Mine,” written by Terry Matalas and Travis Fickett, directed by David Grossman (SyFy, USA, 10 April 2015).
  28. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . written by Terry Matalas
    David Webb Peoples as by David Peoples (based on a work by)
    Janet Peoples (based on a work by)
    Oliver Grigsby (other contribution)
    . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . directed by David Grossman
    . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . created by Chris Marker (inspiration)
    Terry Matalas (developer)
    Travis Fickett (developer)

Previous Works

inspired by La jetée written and directed by Chris Marker (1962), based on 12 Monkeys by David Webb Peoples and Janet Peoples, directed by Terry Gilliam (1995)