Comments on: Dave Davenport Has Come Unstuck in Time: September 8-13, 2003

By: Max

Max — Mon, 10 Apr 2017 14:25:49 +0000

What an amazing coincidence – I come from the Future too! 2017 in fact! Oh, and I can’t imagine where one might get the idea that time travel takes lots of energy, but I’m pretty sure the amount would have to be measured in Jigawatts…

By: So It Begins (soitbegins)

So It Begins (soitbegins) — Wed, 08 Jul 2015 20:53:15 +0000

*snicker*

By: Ed Gedeon (eddurd)

Ed Gedeon (eddurd) — Wed, 08 Jul 2015 20:53:14 +0000

(TUNE: "Earth Angel", The Penguins)

Dark angel, dark angel,
Don't lose your head!
Stick to your post ... underneath the bed!
I'm not a kid,
I'm just unstuck in time!

Dark angel, dark angel,
Don't risk your neck!
That looks quite painful,
It must hurt like ... heck?
Helping a child,
For demons, that's a crime!

I saw you here ... felt no fear,
Though you should be sheer evilness!
Your boss, irate ... can demonstrate
The magnitude of your feebleness!

Dark angel, dark angel,
You just complain
How bloody mortals ... really are a pain!
I guess you won't
Help me get back ... in time!

By: Thomas Levy (ergonomytch)

Thomas Levy (ergonomytch) — Wed, 08 Jul 2015 20:53:13 +0000

It all makes sense when you look at it from an iterative unstable time loop perspective. Each time through the time loop, Dave draws closer to solving the problem, by giving himself partial solutions on the bathroom wall.

Suppose we came in on the very last go through the time loop before it stabilizes into dave correcting his temporal situation. He would have already been working on the problem, and hence have already gotten Caliban to do his homework. Only once he actually fixes his unstuck mind does he never have smoked.

By: David Cunnius (capnq31)

David Cunnius (capnq31) — Wed, 08 Jul 2015 20:53:12 +0000

As of 12:38pm EST Saturday, I’m still seeing Friday’s strip here.

By: David Harmon (mental_mouse)

David Harmon (mental_mouse) — Wed, 08 Jul 2015 20:53:11 +0000

Agreed on “multiple iterated timelines” — maybe even more steps than that, but even so, we don’t need an XKCD-style graph — he’s just tweaking the timeline incrementally.

By: Jack Elliott (jacktus)

Jack Elliott (jacktus) — Wed, 08 Jul 2015 20:53:10 +0000

Regarding the timelines, since John Campbell was using movies as examples, this is like the Denzel Washington movie Deja Vu, in which a cop travels back in time to prevent a ferry explosion. As you watch the movie you begin to discover that the timeline has in fact already been altered by him travelling back in time once before, even though that timeline is never actually shown.

So you have Timeline A, which proceeded unaltered until 2003. In this timeline Dave never travelled back in time, but still ended up working for Helen and ultimately testing her time machine.

That creates Timeline B, in which Dave got Caliban fired and interacted with Dr. Narbon. Once again Dave eventually tests the time machine, but now understands the significance of such things as Yak-Face, and is able to leave a warning for himself.

Timeline C therefore is the one in which Dave never smoked and remained friends with Majel and so on. This timeline curiously seems to survive REDACTED when REDACTED appears at the REDACTED.

By: ribbles (ribbles)

ribbles (ribbles) — Wed, 08 Jul 2015 20:53:09 +0000

Crayon dinosaur!

By: Adam Underfoot (unnatural20)

Adam Underfoot (unnatural20) — Wed, 08 Jul 2015 20:53:08 +0000

All 'just-relax'ing aside, I think it's good to remember that in the current future of this timeline, before (as far as we know) Dave changes anything, Mell remembers him travelling in time, and he still smokes. I think the multiple iterative timelines are the only logical explanation here.

By: Ed Gedeon (eddurd)

Ed Gedeon (eddurd) — Wed, 08 Jul 2015 20:53:07 +0000

When it comes to time travel stories, I just rely on the MST3K Mantra ...