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The Internet Time Travel Database

12 Monkeys, Season 1

written by Terry Matalas, Travis Fickett, et al., directed by multiple people
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]

DEBUT
12 Monkeys, Season 1 (SyFy, USA, 16 January 2015 to 10 April 2015).
VARIANTS
1 English variant
PRIOR 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)
TAGS(SPOILERS!)
Time Periods
  • Circa AD 1970 to 1999: Cole and Ramse both travel to 1987, and Ramse subsequently lives 28 years in this timeline.
  • Circa AD 2000 to 2099: The post-holocaust world and most of the earlier times are in the 21st century.
Timeline Models
  • Narrative Time: Seen as early as (s01e01) with the scratching of Cassie’s watch, but clearest example of narrative time is when old Cole develops a wound as he’s watching younger Cole get shot (s01e06). And despite pulling in many tropes of different kinds of time travel, the overall arc of the first season follows the model of narrative time from Cole’s point of view.
  • Remembering Different Timelines: When Cole first changes the timeline and goes forward to the changed 2043, he still remembers the old timeline! He didn’t go poof!
  • Single Static Timeline: At some level, Terry Matalas and Travis Fickett know that 12 Monkeys (and La jetée before it) are all about a single static timeline where each event that happens meshes perfectly with all the events before and after it. We noticed this, for example, in (s01e07) when Cole is given precisely the information that’s needed to make his Chechnya mission work out in the way that it worked out. But on the other hand, the two developers can’t seem to resist pulling in other incompatible models of time travel, and even in the Chechnya episode, it seems like they’re obsessed with the idea of a reset switch that allows Cole to end up in a pandemic-free Florida Keys.
  • Pruned Timeline: The theory being that if our timeline is reset . . . poof!, . . . and we’re all just erased. (s01e05) But don’t worry about this too much because if you happen to poof the wrong timeline, you can reset things back to the poofed line by undoing the poof that poofed it in the first place, as is done in (s01e06). Whew!
Time Travel Methods
  • Hypnosis, Potions, and Drug-Induced Travel: The time travel mechanism is vague, but Cole is prepared for travel by an injection of some sort.
  • Time Tethers: For the most part, the machine appears to shoot Cole into the past and retrieve him, although it also seems to have the capability of shifting him from one time to another when a mistake has been made. At one point, a character says that they’ve lost the “tether.”
Themes
  • Causal Loops: As one example: Cassie Railly sends a message specifically mentioning Cole, so he was sent, which causes her to mention him in her message.
  • Entanglement of Concurrent Copies: When a watch is scratched, a simultaneously existing older copy also becomes scratched.
  • Fix History!: Throughout the first season, Cole and the 2043 scientists are trying to stop the virus altogether, but there are also hints that this may not be possible.
  • Fix Your Time Travel Screw-Up!: In (s01e06), Cole must fix the screw-up he made in (s01e05).
  • Making Things Worse: The first major change that Cole manages to make by accident in (s01e05) makes 2043 radically worse.
  • Object Meets Self with Bizaare Consequences: Among other things, the watch explodes (s01e01). Sigh.
  • Self-Defeating Acts: Despite a belief that the timeline can be changed and previous timelines can disappear, the characters still have minor worries about self-defeating acts, as when Cassie declares You can’t kill me, Cole, ’cause that would mean you’d have no reason to come for me in the first place (s01e01). But clearly they don’t worry about this overly much.
  • Self-Visitation: Cole first meets himself in the 2043 firefight of (s01e04), and there are two other self-meetings in Season 1.
  • Time Cabal: the pallid man et al. and possibly the Army of 12 Monkeys, although in Season 1, the composition and purpose of the army is murky
  • Time Itself Has an Agenda: After (s01e09), [urlx=https://twitter.com/TerryMatalas/status/576561532357599232)Terry Matalas tweeted[/urlx]: Time seems to want to make sure that Cole finds that watch unscratched so he can go back to 2013 and meet Cassie . . . But why? Nothing comes of this, though, at least not in Season 1.
  • Time Travel Sickness, Injuries, and Mixed-Up Body Parts: Despite the drugs, Cole gets sicker and sicker due to repeated time traveling. Oh, and there were the various failed attempts, too, including the body that ended up far in Japan’s past.
Real-World Tags Fictional Tags Groupings
TIME TRAVEL ITINERARY (SPOILERS!)
  1. From Raritan National Laboratory, 2043 ⋙ to a campus in or near Washington, DC, 2013. Note: At the start of [s01e01] in 2043, Cole retrieves Cassie’s watch from her skeleton in a CDC office, and whispers to her “See you soon.” Shortly after this, off screen, he embarks on his first “splinter,” aiming to find find the key person—Dr. Cassandra Railly—and stop the plague with her help. But he lands in 2013, two years earlier than expected, throwing some kinks into the plan. Among other things, Cole scratches Cassie’s watch, and she sees a new scratch appear in the later version of the watch that he brought with her. Seems like a changeable timeline with narrative time.
  2. From an alley in or near Washington, DC, shortly after Cole’s arrival in 2013 ⋙ to near the John Adams Hotel, Philadelphia, 2015. Note: Because Cole still has the wound from the alley in 2013, we believe that the 2043 scientists realized he was too early and sent him straight to 2015 Philadelphia. [s01e01].
  3. From a Markridge facility in or near Washington, DC, a week or so after Cole’s arrival in 2015 ⋙ to Raritan National Laboratory, 2043. Note: Cole returns to 2043. [s01e01].
  4. From Raritan National Laboratory, 2043 ⋙ to somewhere in North Korea, 2006. Note: Cole ends up in the wrong spot again. Somebody’s gotta get a better calibrator. [s01e02].
  5. From North Korean prison, 2006 ⋙ to near the J.D. People’s Mental Hospital, Philadelphia, 2015. Note: named for Janet and David Peoples [s01e02].
  6. From the bookstore in or near Washington, DC, 2015 ⋙ to Raritan National Laboratory, 2043. Note: Cole’s return to 2043 [s01e02].
  7. From Raritan National Laboratory, 2043 ⋙ to in or near the bookstore, 2015. Note: Coles starts [s01e03] in 2015, where he’s training Cassie to shoot a gun, so we presume he traveled there offscreen.
  8. From in or near the bookstore, 2015 ⋙ to Raritan National Laboratory, 2043. Note: Cole returns where Jones et al. discuss where to send him next. [s01e03].
  9. From Raritan National Laboratory, 2043 ⋙ to Haiti, 2014. Note: In 2014, Cole’s must ensure that Henri never reveals the location of the Night Room to the Army of the 12 Monkeys. [s01e03].
  10. From an unknown time ⋙ to Raritan National Laboratory, 2043. Note: Cole momentarily splinters back to 2043 with a nosebleed due to temporal interference caused by a solar flare . . .
  11. From an unknown time ⋙ to Haiti, 2014. Note: . . . and then he’s back in Haiti where he interacts with the pallid man and Henri Toussaint. [s01e03].
  12. From Haiti, 2014 ⋙ to Raritan National Laboratory, 2043. Note: A brief return to 2042 . . .
  13. From an unknown time ⋙ to near a wooded area, 2015. Note: . . . and back to 2015 to continue training Cassie. [s01e03].
  14. From an unknown time ⋙ to Raritan National Laboratory, 2043. Note: At the end of [s01e03], Cole returns to the usual 2043 timeline for a confab with Ramse.
  15. From Raritan National Laboratory, 2043 ⋙ to in or near the bookstore, 2015. Note: Once again, Cole starts an episode back in 2015, so we presume an offscreen jump from 2043 to the 2015 bookstore. [s01e04].
  16. From an unknown time ⋙ to Raritan National Laboratory, 2043. Note: Cole splinters back to 2043, landing in a firefight for the lab (which is explained by some backstory from 2032). [s01e04].
  17. From an unknown time ⋙ to the Raritan lab again, still in 2043, but two days earlier. Note: Cole goes back just a couple days to save the lab (and see an earlier Cole). [s01e04].
  18. From an unknown time ⋙ to Cassie’s bookstore, 2015. Note: The episode ends back in 2015, where Cole and Cassie bond. [s01e04].
  19. From an unspecified location, 2015 ⋙ to Raritan National Laboratory, 2043. Note: Offscreen, Cole must have traveled back to 2043, where the future gang gets drunk on Gödel and the possibility of resetting timelines. [s01e05].
  20. From Raritan National Laboratory, 2043 ⋙ to an unspecified location, 2015. Note: Back in 2015, Cassie has figured out where the lab is, so she and Cole head up there, where they (and Jennifer, too!) are captured. Lots of mean stuff, and Cassie is taken away, before Cole and Jennifer run from the lab . . .
  21. From outside of the Night Room, evening of 6 July 2015 ⋙ to Raritan National Laboratory, alternate 2043. Note: . . . and Cole is pulled back to 2043—but it’s an alternative 2043! [s01e05–06].
  22. From Raritan National Laboratory, alternate 2043 ⋙ to a random department store, about 11:20 a.m., 6 July 2015, so there are now two Coles on that day. Note: After returning to 6 July 2015 in [s01e06], Cole recruits Aaron, returns to the Night Room, watches himself and Jennifer emerge from the Night Room, sees himself shot by Aaron, and eventually (by saving Cassie), hopefully resetting 2043 back to how was before the screw-up.
  23. From in the greenhouses after Cassie is rescued, probably early morning hours of 7 July 2015 ⋙ to Raritan National Laboratory, the original 2043. Note: Cole returns to the familiar 2043. Whew! [about 34:00 of s01e06].
  24. From Raritan National Laboratory, 2043 ⋙ to near the bookstore, 7 July 2015 [our guess]. Note: The story’s not clear, but we believe that Cole’s next jump is to July 7 July since Cassie says But you just left. As he walks into the bookstore, Cassie scalds her hand, and over the next few hours they try to get information from a man named Garrett at a fancy dress affair. Not much happens there, but afterward, just before splintering, he tells Cassie and Aaron that he’ll be back in a week, so they need to find out as much as they can about whatever Garrett said. Then Cole is gone. It’s possible that this scene occurs for Cole after he goes back to get that information or even after he’s been to Chechnya and back (and that now he is making sure that they gather the needed information), but the writers never make this explicit.
  25. From the bookstore, later on 7 July [our guess] ⋙ to Raritan National Laboratory, 2043. Note: Cole returns and presumably heads back to one week later.
  26. From Raritan National Laboratory, 2043 ⋙ to in or near the bookstore, 10:00 p.m., 14 July 2015 [our guess]. Note: This jump and the next few jumps are listed here in the order that Cole experiences them, which differs from the order they are shown in [s01e07–09] and also differs from the chronological order in 2015 (which we are just guessing at). With that said, this is Cole’s first jump from the newly restored 2043 back to roughly 16 July 2015. The scene begins at about 39:00 of [s01e07], with Cole eating a feast of fast food and asking What’s the occassion?, and continues until the end of the episode, during which time Cassie and Aaron tell him when and where in Chechnya he must go to intercept the virus. If they are acting strange, it’s because they already know his fate—they’ve already lived through it!
  27. From the bookstore, 11:00 p.m., 14 July 2015 [our guess] ⋙ to Raritan National Laboratory, 2043. Note: The jump shown at the end of [s01e07], must have taken Cole back to 2043, although we don’t see him there.
  28. From Raritan National Laboratory, 2043 ⋙ to southern Chechnya, about noon Chechnya time [7:00 a.m. EDT] on 8 July 2015 [our guess]. Note: With detailed Chechnya info from Cassie and Aaron, Cole must have jumped from 2043 to Chechnya on the day after he previously left (according to something Aaron says), although the actual jump is offscreen. His mission: Destroy the virus with bleach! We see two flashforward parts of his mission in the early parts of [s01e07] when he is on the phone with Cassie (at about 0:30 and 12:40 in [s01e07]) Chechnya time. After that, the narrative quickly jumps back to earlier in the day (we estimate his arrival at about noon) and continues until what must be the morning of the next day in Chechnya, when the missles strike Cole at about 37:30 of [s01e07].
  29. From Wexler’s bunker in southern Chechnya, the morning of 8 July 2015 ⋙ to the same bunker, sometime in 2017. Note: Near the end of [s01e07], we saw the bunker blown up, but we didn’t know what happened to him until his personal timeline is picked up at about 7:30 of [s01e08]. Apparently he survived and is still in the bunker. His scene plays out over [s01e08], interspersed with Cassie in 2015 and the rest of the gang in both 2043, but it’s not until the end of [s01e08] that he (and the viewers) realize that an aborted attempt to pull him out of the missle strike had taken him to 2017 and left him in the bunker. Finally, after lots of other interspersing including backstory from 2041, a determined Cassie—who has all along believed he must have survived—is finally reunited with Cole (at about 18:45 of [s01e09]).
  30. From Cassie’s lab, sometime in 2017 ⋙ to Raritan National Laboratory, 2043. Note: Cassie dies [35:00 of s01e09]. These things happen. [Don't fret. They also unhappen.] And with a new power source online, Jones pulls Cole from shortly after Cassie’s 2017 death to 2043.
  31. From Raritan National Laboratory, 2043 ⋙ to near the bookstore, circa August 2015. Note: Near the start of [s01e10], we hear that the new core is now functioning at maximum capacity, and [offscreen] Mr. Cole was sent back to 2015 at a point where Cassie and Aaron believe that Cole is dead and the virus was cured. The story is free to continue on a new timeline where Cassie won’t die in Cole’s arms in 2017. Hurrah! (Although we never did spot the moment when Cole told Cassie where to find him in 2017 Chechnya. Never mind.).
  32. From in a bar, circa August 2015 ⋙ to Raritan National Laboratory, 2043. Note: Cole returns with information about the origin of the virus in 1987 Tokyo. [s01e10].
  33. From Raritan National Laboratory, 2043 ⋙ to Tokyo, 1987. Note: Ramse heads back, hoping to stop the whole effort to stop the plague and thereby save his son. [s01e10].
  34. From Raritan National Laboratory, 2043 ⋙ to Tokyo, 1987. Note: Cole follows! [s01e11].
  35. From Tokyo, 1987 ⋙ to in or near the bookstore, 2015. Note: Cole splinters to 2015 but Ramse stays behind, living the years from 1987 to 2015 without aging!
  36. From Raritan National Laboratory, 2015 (really!) ⋙ to Raritan National Laboratory, 2043. Note: The final two first-season episodes [s01e12–13] take place entirely in 2015 until the end when Cole uses the final power of the machine to send a dying Casssie (!) to 2043 to save her life, while Cole is left behind, stuck in 2015. Could this be how the story ends? Maybe, but Cole also buck fate with his final action of the season finale.