Thoughts on time travel The three spatial dimensions are objective and travelable, but the time dimension is subjective, a product of human mind, and may not be travelable. Outer-space traveling may slow body aging, but that is not time travel (Smith, 2013). History may be recorded in certain formats and can be accessed or even edited with more advanced scientific technology, but changing it may have no impacts on the present.

1. A Comparison of the Most
Popular Time-Travel TV Series
in English and Chinese
Q. J. YAO, PH.D.
DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNICATION, LAMAR UNIVERSITY
FOR PCAS/ACAS 2018’ ANNUAL CONFERENCE

2. Everyone Wants to Travel in Time
 A 1976 study found out (according to Nahin,
1999):
with a cost of $10,000, 10% people would like to
travel to time before birth for an hour, 22% for a
day, and 36% for a year
At no cost, almost 100% wanted to travel

3. Why Travel?
 Young women surveyed in 1988 mostly wanted to
travel to the past for romance (Nahin, 1999). But
many other time travelers’ goal was to fetch some
facts significant to the present (Grey, 1999).
 In Chinese movies, people are more likely to
travel for romance, while in English movies, they
travel for a task.

4. How to?
 Traveling methods: time traveling facilities;
supernatural (super power, magic channels, etc.); or
accidents (knocked, bumped, falling, etc.)(Nahin,
1999).
 Chinese movies use more supernatural, magic
methods or incarnation. English movies use more
time machines or apparatus.

5. Where to Travel?
 Travel directions: forward, backward; parallel.
 In Chinese movies, people travel to the past, but
finally get back to the starting time, while in English
movies, they explore more of the future, and tend to
stay (or died) in the time of destination.
 In Only one movie people travel to the parallel
universes.

6. Grandfather Paradox?
 Is the history changeable to create the time travel
paradox (One kills his own grandfather in the past
before he was born. Lewis, 1976; Grey, 1999)
 In almost all movies some events can be changed,
but in some movies the impacts on the present
are not noticeable or emphasized.

7. The Top Ten Popular Time Travel TV
Series In English and Chinese
 Selection Criteria: on a reliable ranking list by audience or the media; describing common people (or
gods incarnated in human format) traveling along time dimension.
American TV Series (based on IMDb voting):
1. Supernatural (2005-), 8.5, 336674 votes
2. Doctor Who (2005-), 8.7, 175130 votes
3. The Flash (2014-), 7.9, 257019 votes
4. Outlander (2014-), 8.5, 81313 votes
5. Lost (2004-2010), 8.4, 439427 votes
6. Legends of Tomorrow (2016-), 6.9, 72450
votes
7. Dark (2017-), 8.6, 80399 votes
8. Stargate SG-1 (1997-2007), 8.4, 74784 votes
9. Timeless (2016-2018), 7.7, 26713 votes
10. Fringe (2008-2013), 8.4, 200961 votes
Chinese TV Series (Based on China Daily & KKNews):
1. Scarlet Heart (步步惊心, 2011), 35 episodes.
2. A Step into the Past (寻秦记, 2001), 40 episodes.
3. Love Across Time (穿越时空的爱恋, 2002), 28 episodes.
4. A Chip Off The Old Block (巴不得爸爸, 2009), 21 episodes.
5. Palace (宫锁心玉, 2011), 35 episodes.
6. The Secret Order Across Time (穿越时空的密令, 2012), 100
episodes.
7. Dream Back to Tang Dynasty (梦回唐朝, 2013), 31 episodes.
8. Wives and Concubines (妻妾成群, 2014), 10 episodes.
9. Love Weaves Through A Millennium I (相爱穿梭千年1,
2015), 24 episodes.
10.Magical Space-Time (奇妙的时光之旅, 2016), 24 episodes.

8. Why Travel?
Seven Chinese TV Series portrayed time travel
caused by an accident, only two English TV series
doing so. In other English TV series, people travel to
investigate or change something.
 Six Chinese TV series portray one or two girl(s) in the
present traveling to a past imperial family and
struggling in the romantic and political relationships.

9. How to?
Six English TV series use time traveling
vehicles; only two Chinese TV series use
such machines. The traveling methods in
other Chinese TV series are car accidents
(2), a magic pillow, pendant, or hair clipper
(3), or a magic camera (1).

10. Where to Travel?
Only one Chinese TV series portrays a man
travelling from the far past to the present, all others
are about travelling from the present to the past. No
traveling to the future.
Seven English TV series have travelling backward to
the past and forward to the future, six having
parallel traveling.

11. Grandfather Paradox?
 Seven English TV series clearly describe how changing
timeline in the past impacts the present, while only one
Chinese TV series does that.
 Most English time travel TV series can be classified as
sci-fi, having their own time-traveling rules, while most
Chinese time-traveling TV series are probably soap
operas. Time is not seriously thought through.

12. Discussion
 Thoughts on time travel
 The three spatial dimensions are objective and travelable, but the
time dimension is subjective, a product of human mind, and may
not be travelable.
 Outer-space traveling may slow body aging, but that is not time
travel (Smith, 2013).
 History may be recorded in certain formats and can be accessed or
even edited with more advanced scientific technology, but changing
it may have no impacts on the present.

13. Discussion
 Thoughts on Chinese Culture’s Lack of Scientific Interest.
 Over-matured and dominated by the collectivism Confucianism,
Chinese culture highlights examination of relationships among
people within the society, and despises research on the relationships
between natural objects or between them and human beings.
 The Scientific Revolution following the European Resonance ignited
the motivation to explore the external world to meet human desires,
having cultivated strong interests in science and created the modern
civilization.

14. References
 Deutsch, D., & Lockwood, M. (1994, March). The quantum physics of time travel. Scientific
American, 68-74.
 Gott, J. (2002). Time travel in Einstein’s universe: The physical possibilities of travel through time.
Boston: Mariner.
 Grey, W. (1999). Troubles with time travel. Philosophy, 74, 55-70. Doi:
10.1017/S0031819199001047
 Lewis, D. (1976). The paradoxes of time travel. American Philosophical Quarterly, 13(2), 145-152.
 Nahin, P. (1999). Time machines: Time travels in physics, metaphysics, and science fiction (2nd ed.).
New York: Springer-Verlag.
 Smith, N. (2013). Time travel. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, retrieved on Oct. 4, 2017 from:
https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/time-travel/
 Suddendorf, T., & Busby, J. (2003). Mental time travel in animals? Trends in Cognitive Science, 7(9),
391-396.