11.22.63 - Bringing JFK back from the dead | *ing James Franco

Rating: 8.5 / 10

#NoSpoiler #Review

Time Travel! Those who are a regular visitor of bitsnapper knows about my love for Sci-Fi content especially when it comes to breaking the law of the time. Today, I bring you one of the most interesting mini TV-series I have seen in a while (after Fargo):

11.22.63

OG Book cover

The first time I saw the title of this show, I simply assumed that it’s an IP address of some kind (we nerds?!). I totally skipped over the cast and the excerpt of the show. But one fine day, I was surfing the depth of internet and my eye caught something about 11.22.63 and James franco!

Well, let me tell you, I just love the guy and his performance in almost all of his movies. He is a natural. If you don’t agree with me, read. Anyway, much of a fanboyism. Let’s jump right into why you should go ahead and watch 11.22.63 if you haven’t already!

But first, here is the summary:

A teacher discovers a time portal that leads back to 1960 and goes on a quest to try and prevent the assassination of John F. Kennedy, which is complicated by the presence of various other characters and the fact that he’s falling in love with the past itself but the past doesn’t want to be changed..

Pretty cool eh? The first time I read the above, it sent a shiver down my spine. JFK assassination is one of the most mysterious incidents with the plethora of conspiracy theories about it. Upon further investigating, I found that this TV series is based on Stephen King’s novel 11/22/63, which was released back in 2011. I have had read a few titles by Stephen King such as Misery, Cell etc. He is a boss when it comes to the psychological thriller genre.

So, now it was the classic case of Books v/s Media adoption (TV series here)!

I chose to go with TV series first this time as it has always been the book first with me. I wanted to experience the difference in book reading after I see the whole season of 11.22.63. I just finished with the TV series last week so I will talk about that.

Jake at Al’s Diner

This 8-episode series starts in modern times when Jake (James Franco) is at his favorite diner and the owner, Al (Chris Cooper) disappears for two minutes then returns old and sick, Jake and the audience are puzzled. It turns out that a closet in Al’s diner leads to a time portal that dumps the person onto the street in 1960. Oddly, no matter how much time may pass in the present the time traveler always ends up going back to the same day, and importantly, any repeat trips back cause the past to revert to its original state no matter what might have been changed.

The title is a reference to the event, November 22, 1963, when President Kennedy (JFK) was assassinated while traveling in a motorcade in Dallas, Texas. Kennedy in his short time in office was considered as becoming a great president, and his vision and speech gave the USA the impetus to put a man on the moon before the decade was over, and that happened in 1969.

James Franco and Sarah Gadon were spectacular

Everyone was absolutely great, but I have to special mention James Franco, Sarah Gadon, and Daniel Webber. These 3 were perfect for the roles. The screenplay, the music, the camera shots were just perfect. The story touches on paradoxes, conspiracies and a lot more to keep you from realizing that an hour has just passed in a few blinks!

I highly recommend this show if you are a fan of Time travel paradox.I will advise you to be an audience with an open mind as it is not truly based on correct facts. If you have read multiple JFK assassination conspiracies, you will notice few missing links here and there. Nonetheless, it’s one of the must watch media for 2016.

Here is the trailer to intrigue the curiosity in you: