2:22: Grand Central Terminal of Science Fantasy

I don't know how I could've missed it, but I just came across 2:22, a 2017 movie, on Hulu.  And seeing as how it had a least a whiff of time travel, and its locus was none other than Grand Central Terminal in New York City, I had to watch it.  (Grand Central Terminal is also a centerpiece of my story, "It's Real Life," now being made into a radioplay -- which in itself is something we associate with the 1940s.)

I'm glad I watched 2:22, and I'll try to tell you why without too many if any spoilers.

Dylan is an air traffic controller who gets slightly pulled into some other reality at a crucial time, with the result that two planes nearly crash.  On one of the those planes is Sarah, who wanted to be a dancer but instead plays a big role in an art gallery.  Art and motion and the night sky and holograms all play a big role in the ensuing story.

Dylan and Sarah fall in love, and it's a lot more and deeper than love at first sight.  Dylan and therefore we keep seeing a murder scene in Grand Central Terminal which happened almost thirty years ago.  We gradually learn that the two are somehow connected to it, as is Jonas, an artist whose exhibition will soon open at Sarah's gallery.  Also, the two used to be a couple.

And I'm not going to tell you any more about the plot, because of what I said about limiting spoilers.  What I will say is that 2:22 captures the pace and flavor of pre-COVID New York City very well, even though at least part of the production company credits are Australian.  And though the developing story and its resolution put it in more in the realm of science fantasy than science fiction, there's enough science deftly mixed in there that the movie works for me.

Fine directing by Paul Currie, and I liked both  Michiel Huisman (who is currently playing Prince in Echo 3, which I've been enjoying and reviewing) and Teresa Palmer in the lead roles of Dylan and Sarah.

alternate reality about Grand Central & The Beatles on Amazon, and  FREE on Vocal

Why It's Hoboken Terminal not Hoboken Station

Amidst all the concern about the train crash in Hoboken Terminal today, and relief that only one life was taken, and thoughts for that family and the people and families of those who were injured, the question arose of why the train was said to have crashed into Hoboken Terminal not Hoboken Station.

Well, that's what the Hoboken train structure is called, and the reason is that when it was first constructed a century ago it was a terminus, literally the end of the line, a place were trains completed their runs, and went no further, except to turn around and go back the way they came.  In such a Victorian and Edwardian world, it made sense to call these facilities terminals rather than stations, where in contrast to terminals the train stopped but continued its journey in the same direction.

Grand Central Terminal is named terminal for the same historical reasons, even though it is often called Grand Central Station, which itself has become a metaphor for bustling with activity.   But train buffs know it should be Grand Central Terminal, and bristle when it's called otherwise. I was once sternly told by an assistant editor that I needed to change Grand Central Station to Grand Central Terminal in one of my novels. I complied and learned.

Of course, neither Grand Central nor Hoboken are true terminals these days, and have not been for years.   When you're on the New York City Subway system and your train pulls into Grand Central, you'll pulling into a station not a terminal, and your train doesn't turn around but instead continues on its way.  Same for the PATH trains in Hoboken.

But it's still charming and quaint to continue to call these places terminals, and I'm all for it.   Yet ... names and physical structures are not the same, and though we can enjoy the old-fashioned name, we want our equipment and  to be as new and crisply functional as possible.

As engineers look for the cause of the crash, and our thoughts continue for the full recovery of the survivors, we should also give a thought to improving the infrastructure of the rail system in this country.  We deserve better tracks and trains to take in and out of these "terminals".