Tomorrow and Tomorrow

by Ray Bradbury

When a typewriter appears on the floor of his boarding room and begins typing messages from the future, down-on-his-luck Steve Temple thinks it must be his old jokester friend Harry—but he’s wrong about that, and the fate of the world 500 years down the line now depends on what Steve does about a recently elected man. “Tomorrow and Tomorrow” doesn’t have the notoriety of that other Bradbury story about time travel and an elected official, but even though this one’s riddled with ridiculous ideas on time, it does accurately predict text messaging!

— Michael Main

Sorry. Not Harry. Name is Ellen Abbot. Female. 26 years old. Year 2442. Five feet ten inches tall. Blonde hair, blue eyes—semantician and dimensional research expert. Sorry. Not Harry.

“Tomorrow and Tomorrow” by Ray Bradbury, in Fantastic Adventures, May 1947.

I’m Scared

by Jack Finney

In the 1950s, a retired man in New York City speculates on a variety of cases of odd temporal occurrences such as the woman who realized that the old dog who persistently followed her in 1947 was actually the puppy she adopted several years later. And then there was the now famous case of Rudolph Fentz who seemingly popped into Times Square on an evening in the 1950s, apparently straight from 1876.

— Michael Main

Got himself killed is right. Eleven-fifteen at night in Times Square—the theaters letting out, busiest time and place in the world—and this guy shows up in the middle of the street, gawking and looking around at the cars and up at the signs like he'd never seen them before.

“I’m Scared” by Jack Finney, in Collier’s, 15 September 1951, pp. 24ff..

Unusual Tales #11

Noise in the Cellar

by Joe Gill [?] and Bill Molno

Once again, a plumber receives an emergency call from 12 Hedge Row.

— Michael Main

Will you come right over? My water heater looks dangerous!

“Noise in the Cellar” by Joe Gill [?] and Bill Molno, Unusual Tales #11 (Charlton Comics, March 1958).

Isabella of Castile Answers Her Mail

by James Morrow

A lovely series of letters between Christopher Columbus and Queen Isabella—as conveyed by messenger albatross in 1492!—describing a modern-day NYC, wondrous yet horrifying.

— Dave Hook

“Isabella of Castile Answers Her Mail” by James Morrow, Amazing Stories, April 1992.

시월애

Siworae English release: Il Mare Literal: Time-transcending love

by 여지나 et al., directed by 이현승

In December of 1997, when Sung-hyun moves into the newly built house-on-stilts above the tidal sand, he names it Il Mare from the Italian for “the sea”—and via a letter in the mailbox, he learns that Eun-joo wants him to forward any mail that may arrive for her, since she has just moved out . . . in December of 1999.

— Michael Main

Sung-hyun! Don’t go there!

[ex=bare]시월애 | Time-transcending love | Siworae[/ex] by 여지나 et al., directed by 이현승 (at movie theaters, South Korea, 9 September 2000).

The Lake House

by David Auburn, directed by Alejandro Agresti

Letters—eventually love letters—pass back and forth between Dr. Kate Foster and architect Alex Wyler who are two years apart in time.

— Michael Main

It’s kind of a long distance relationship.

The Lake House by David Auburn, directed by Alejandro Agresti (at movie theaters, Canada and USA, 16 June 2006).

When You Reach Me

by Rebecca Stead

Miranda has an odd friend named Marcus who knows a lot about time machines, another friend named Sal who has stopped hanging out with her, and a man—not really a friend—who sleeps under the mailbox out front. And then there are those mysterious notes from someone who seems to know quite a lot, but also needs her to write about everything that’s happening in her twelve-year-old life.

— Michael Main

So if they had gotten home five minutes before they left, like those ladies promised they would, then they would have seen themselves get back. Before they left.

When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead (Wendy Lamb Books, July 2009).

Dating Rules [.s1]

Dating Rules from My Future Self I: Lucy

by Wendy Weiner and Sallie Patrick, directed by Elizabeth Allen

Nice and nerdy Lucy gets romantic advice from her future self via text messages.

Fellow ITTDB indexer Janet found this one on the web, and we watched a daily installment with tea during my first September up in the ITTDB Citadel.

— Michael Main

Lucy: tell me who this is.
Unknown: I’m u 10 years in the future.

Dating Rules from My Future Self I: Lucy by Wendy Weiner and Sallie Patrick, directed by Elizabeth Allen (Youtube: Alloy Channel, 9 January 2012 to 27 January 2012 [9 parts]).

Dating Rules [.s2]

Dating Rules from My Future Self II: Chloe

by Leah Rachel, directed by Tripp Reed and Shiri Appleby

In the second season, our heroine switches to lovely and lonely Chloe (Candice Accola). Now, if we can only get writer Sallie Patrick to slip some time travel into the other show she works on, Revenge.

— Michael Main

Chloe, you have to believe me. I’m here to help you help me. . . help us!

Dating Rules from My Future Self II: Chloe by Leah Rachel, directed by Tripp Reed and Shiri Appleby (Youtube: Alloy Channel, 1 August 2012 to 20 August 2012 [6 parts]).

내가 이 나라의 평강공주다

Mai onri leobeusong English release: My Only Love Song Literal: My only lovesong

by 김수진, directed by 민두식

Diva actress Song Soo-jung drives off in a huff in her manager’s VW van—Boing Boing—only to find herself in the ancient kingdom of Goguryeo where she meets characters from her historical TV show including the real Princess Pyeonggang and the roguish hero On-Dal.

— Michael Main

The history changed because of me, right? That’s why I should go.

Mai onri leobeusong by 김수진, directed by 민두식 (Netflix, 9 June 2017).

Your Day Plus One

by John Hoggard

How would you like to receive your own tweets 24 hours before you send them?

— Michael Main

I stumbled over @yourdayplus1when I first joined Twitter [. . .]

“Your Day Plus One” by John Hoggard, in Chronos: An Anthology of Time Drabbles, edited by Eric S. Fomley (Shacklebound Books, August 2018).

Here and Now and Then

by Mike Chen

When time travel agent Kin Stewart finds himself rapidly losing his memory and stranded in 1996, he writes a journal of his life in the future and proceeds to break every rule in the book by creating a new life and family in his new present. . . until a retriever shows up in 2014.

— Michael Main

Science fiction. She thought the journal was filled with tales, like her Doctor Who or Heather’s Star Trek shows.

Here and Now and Then by Mike Chen (Mira, January 2019).

The Umbrella Academy, Season 1

by multiple writers and directors

Of the 43 children born 1 October 1989 with no gestation period, the eccentric and sometimes cruel billionaire Reginald Hargreeves brought up seven of them and turned them into the super-powered group called the Umbrella Academy when they developed powers. Nearly thirty years later, after Hargreeves dies, the five surviving members of the group gather at their family home. Oh, and: Number Six died some time ago and only Number Four can see him; Number Five disappeared about seventeen years ago, but he’s back (and in his 13-year-old body) after living 45 years in a post-apocalyptic future that’s scheduled to start in eight days.

— Michael Main

As far as I could tell, I was the last person left alive. I never figured out what killed the human race. I did find something else: the date it happens.. . . The world ends in eight days, and I have no idea how to stop it.

The Umbrella Academy, Season 1 by multiple writers and directors, 10 episodes (Netflix, USA, 15 February 2019).

ドロステのはてで僕ら

Dorosute no hate de bokura English release: Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes Literal: We at the end of the Droste

by 上田誠, directed by 山口淳太

For the first sixty minutes, a perfect static timeline seemed to be emerging from Kato’s video stream from two minutes in the future. We might even get some philosophical commentary on free will! Alas, that was not to be as the final ten minutes presented a more commonplace ending, although the single-take nagamawashi was executed with perfection and garnered this fun film an Eloi Medal.

P.S. Don’t skip the end-credits!

— Michael Main

Your monitor and the shop’s TV are linked with a two-minute delay.

[ex=bare]ドロステのはてで僕ら | We at the end of the Droste | Dorosute no hate de bokura[/ex] by 上田誠, directed by 山口淳太 (at limited theaters, Japan, 5 June 2020).

The Umbrella Academy, Season 2

by multiple writers and directors

Five’s plan for the Umbrella siblings to escape the apocalypse by going into the past ends up scattering them throughout different years of Dallas in the 1960s. They manage okay on their own until shortly after 11/22/63, when secondary effects from changes to the timeline cause a nuclear holocaust that can be averted only by recently arrived Five jumping back to 11/15/63 to exert his unique charm into getting the gang to work together.

— Michael Main

Hazel to Five: If you want to live, come with me.”

The Umbrella Academy, Season 2 by multiple writers and directors, ten episodes (Netflix, USA, 31 July 2020).

Re: Bubble 476

by A. T. Greenblatt

“Re: Bubble 476” by A. T. Greenblatt, in Asimov’s Science Fiction, March/April 2021.

Solos [s1.e01]

Leah

by David Weil, directed by Zach Braff

While talking to her mother, who suffers from Alzheimer’s, brilliant scientist Leah Salavara’s subconscious brings up just the idea that’s needed to video chat with herself in other times and eventually complete the final step that leads to actual time travel with a surprisingly complex set of motives.

— Michael Main

Okay, so in order to run a reverse dimensional location search, I need to know what the interdimensional VIN is on your computer.

Solos (s01e01), “Leah” by David Weil, directed by Zach Braff (Amazon Prime, 21 May 2021).

Unredacted Reports from 1546

by Leah Cypess

An 18-year-old history student hopes to show that her research subject, 16th-century poet Lucia of Gonzaga, was a modern woman supressed by her time period, but as the traveling student sends messages back to her 21st-century mentor, she reveals more than just history as she’d hoped it would be.

— Michael Main

You were wrong about my age, though. In the sixteenth century, I’m an adult. I am physically mature and able to bear children, and that’s all that matters. No one cares about the completeness of my frontal lobe.

“Unredacted Reports from 1546” by Leah Cypess, Future Science Fiction Digest #11, June 2021 [e-zine · webzine].

Ad Nauseam

by Josh Warriner

Illegal time travelers Jin and Rhea are stuck in a time loop in the 1950s.

— Michael Main

Was this the fourth, or the fifth time around?

“Ad Nauseam” by Josh Warriner, Daily Science Fiction, 24 June 2022 [webzine].

The Peripheral, Season 1

by Scott B. Smith, et al., directed by Vincenzo Natali and Alrick Riley

When Flynne Fisher’s ne’er-do-well brother lands a lucrative gig testing new VR tech, he drafts Flynne to do the heavy lifting, and she’s bowled over by the future world the VR has created—until she realizes it’s more than a sim.

— Michael Main

If it were time travel, as you say, you’d be here physically. This is merely a matter of data transfer: quantum tunneling is the technical term for it. I understand your confusion.

The Peripheral, Season 1 by Scott B. Smith, et al., directed by Vincenzo Natali and Alrick Riley, 8 episodes (Amazon Prime, 21 October 2022 to 2 December 2022).