What I’m Watching: Making History

Making History: Season 1, Episode 5 “The Touchables” (B+)

So much for any elaboration on the themes we encountered last week, like affecting your own future by going back into your past and saving someone only to have her kill another twenty years later. Instead, we get a lesson in poor planning, namely going back to the time of Al Capone without much of a cover story leading to being discovered and marked for execution within a remarkably short amount of time. I couldn’t figure out where I knew Capone portrayer Tim Robinson from, and it turns out I just saw him in the pilot of “Detroiters” a few weeks ago. I thought he was terrific here, and I loved that Capone was more concerned with not being included or thought of than actually doing any mobster business. Listing out the reasons that he had heard in the past for why he shouldn’t kill someone so that they would know what wouldn’t work was entertaining, but the best part really was his continued insistence that he be invited to join the band or be given an extra ticket. Deb bonding with his chef wife was a nice subplot, and I’m glad to see that she has her own ideas of feminism and taking charge of life that come from an incredibly chauvinistic time, with a few pieces of modernity still not filled in. I was worried that the money was going to be transported to the future with no way for them to get back, but I think I’m imagining far too dire consequences for this clear comedic interpretation of time travel.