The beauty of time-travel fantasies is that nobody knows how it works. As a result, stories don’t bog down in technology or theoretical science. From H.G. Wells’ “The Time Machine” to “Doctor Who” and “Hot Tub Time Machine,” portals to other eras simply seem to work. You hop in, and, in the words of Jackie Gleason, “away we go”!
That’s very much the spirit of “Timewasters” on IMDbTV, the free streaming service owned by Amazon. Four members of a South London jazz quartet that nobody wants to hear discover that a local homeless addict has built a time machine in the smelly and dilapidated elevator of a housing project.
The contraption delivers them to London in the 1920s, where their jazz skills are more appreciated, but their Cockney slang and utter Blackness inspire stares, hostile reactions and condescending curiosity.
The musicians project a certain knuckleheaded wonder at their predicament. At least as long as they assume they can get home in time to get back to the pub for the night’s trivia contest. Complications ensue after they realize they may be there to stay. The funniest aspects involve absurd spoofs of Bright Young Things and “Downton Abbey” types, dazzled by their new exotic visitors.
Speaking of shifting perceptions of time, “Timewasters” may be just getting started here, but it has already been canceled in the U.K. A second season, also streaming on IMDbTV, takes the gang to the 1950s, another era receptive to their sound. Although the series has entered TV’s great hereafter, an Americanized version of “Timewasters” is being developed for ABC.
— The movie adaptation of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s “In the Heights” hits movie theaters today and also streams on HBO Max. A celebration of a neighborhood and Dominican culture based around the 181st Street subway station in Manhattan, “Heights” was nominated for 13 Tony Awards in 2008, a hint of the fame Miranda would receive with his musical biography of Alexander Hamilton.
“Hamilton” began streaming on Disney+ shortly after it was launched, in the hopes that it would make that service as essential for streamers as Netflix had become. In many ways “Heights” performs a similar role for HBO Max.
— If popular musicals offer big “tentpole” events that draw viewers to streaming services, “Zenimation” is something else entirely. Now streaming its second season on Disney+, “Zenimation” offers a sonic tonic, a dialogue-free series of clips of classic Disney cartoons, putting the emphasis on sound effects. The purpose is to move viewers away from the emotional aspects of cartoon storytelling and offer a soothing, meditative soundscape. Is it smart to turn your classics into wallpaper?
Also entering its second season on Hulu, “Love, Victor” stars Michael Cimino as a high school student and transplant to Atlanta whose life changes after he comes out to his family, friends and frenemies.
— “Betty” (11 p.m., HBO, TV-MA), a series set in New York City amid a group of female skateboard enthusiasts, enters its second season. Not to be confused with the Indian-American sports drama “Skater Girl,” a standalone film debuting on Netflix.
— Streaming on Discovery+, the documentary “The Devil Made Me Do it” recalls an actual case of a man on trial for murder who used an explanation of Satanic possession as part of his defense. This case became part of the story that inspired the popular “Conjuring” films.
TONIGHT’S OTHER HIGHLIGHTS
— The voice of Sandra Bullock animates the 2015 comedy “Minions” (8 p.m., NBC, TV- PG).
— Frank does damage control for Gormley on “Blue Bloods” (10 p.m., CBS, r, TV-14).
CULT CHOICE
— Psycho bikers make sure the funeral home has steady business in the 1966 horror spoof “The Undertaker and His Pals” (2 a.m., TCM). Released to drive-in theaters as part of a triple feature, along with “The Embalmer” and “The Corpse Grinders”!
SERIES NOTES
On two episodes of “Magnum P.I.” (CBS, r): death foretold (8 p.m., TV-14); a funny uncle (9 p.m., TV-PG) … “WWE Friday Night SmackDown” (8 p.m., Fox, TV-PG) … Luke Wilson hosts “Emergency Call” (8 p.m., ABC, TV-14) … Nobody’s perfect on “Charmed” (8 p.m. CW, TV-PG) … “Dateline” (9 p.m., NBC) … “20/20” (9 p.m., ABC) … Fallon wants to dominate on “Dynasty” (9 p.m. CW, TV-PG).
LATE NIGHT
Jimmy Fallon welcomes Kathryn Hahn, Jon M. Chu and Polo G on “The Tonight Show” (11:35 p.m., NBC) … Michael Che, Dave Chappelle, Cillian Murphy and the Linda Lindas drop by “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” (11:35 p.m., ABC, r) … Anthony Mackie and Jean Smart visit “Late Night With Seth Meyers” (12:35 a.m., NBC, r) … Angela Bassett and KSI featuring Yungblud & Polo G appear on “The Late Late Show With James Corden” (12:35 a.m., CBS, r).
