Frequently Asked Questions About Time Travel is a 2009 British sci-fi comedy directed by Gareth Carrivick and written by Jamie Mathieson. It’s a low-budget gem that combines British pub humor with clever, mind-bending time-travel paradoxes — something like Shaun of the Dead meets Doctor Who.
Detailed Summary
The Setup: Three Friends and One Pub
The film follows three friends: Ray (Chris O’Dowd), Toby (Marc Wootton), and Pete (Dean Lennox Kelly) — three ordinary guys and unapologetic geeks spending a Friday night at their local pub, The White Horse. They talk about science fiction, time travel, and their mundane lives. Ray, in particular, is obsessed with time-travel theories and has a bit of a reputation as “the weird one.”
The Mysterious Woman
Things take a strange turn when Ray meets a mysterious woman named Cassie (Anna Faris) in the bar. She claims to be a time traveler from the future who has come back to fix a “temporal leak.” She tells Ray that something he and his friends are about to do will cause a time loop. Naturally, he thinks she’s joking or a bit mad.
The Bathroom Incident
After Cassie leaves, the guys head to the bathroom — and this is where things get delightfully weird. When they return to the main bar, the place is suddenly deserted, and everything looks subtly off. Moments later, they realize they’ve somehow jumped forward in time.
They see posters for a memorial event that suggests they died tragically in the pub. The confusion quickly spirals into panic — and excitement for Ray, who’s thrilled that time travel is actually real.
Time Loops and Pub Chaos
They begin piecing together what’s going on and end up repeatedly entering different versions of the pub — each from a slightly different timeline. At one point, they run into future versions of themselves, creating hilarious and confusing paradoxes.
The trio tries to “fix” the situation by retracing their steps and analyzing what caused the loops — all while drinking more beer and arguing over time-travel logic.
The Dystopian Future Pub
In one of their time jumps, they arrive in a post-apocalyptic future where the pub has become a museum dedicated to them. They’re regarded as heroes who caused “The Great Time Leak,” and the patrons worship them as gods of time travel. Naturally, they love it — until they realize they still haven’t figured out how to get back to their original timeline.
The Tragic Death Scene (That Isn’t What It Seems)
Eventually, they find a timeline in which they are supposed to die in an explosion in the pub — the event that Cassie had warned them about. They realize that the leak Cassie mentioned was caused by their interference in time.
The Reveal: Cassie’s Role
Cassie reappears and admits she’s been watching them closely. She isn’t a random traveler; she’s part of a time-travel maintenance team from the future, ensuring paradoxes don’t destroy the timeline. Ray realizes that his encounter with her wasn’t chance — it was meant to happen.
Movie Ending
At the climax, Ray, Toby, and Pete realize that their only way to restore the timeline is to allow events to play out exactly as they were supposed to — meaning they must appear to die in the explosion that the future records mention.
They set up the scenario, expecting to perish, but at the last second, Cassie intervenes and pulls them out of the timeline just before the explosion. To everyone else, history records that they died as legends, preserving the loop.
In the final moments, the trio wakes up in what seems like another version of the pub — except it’s subtly futuristic. Cassie greets them and reveals that they’ve been recruited as time agents. She hands Ray a new uniform, implying that his obsession with time travel has finally become his life’s purpose.
The film closes with the group leaving with Cassie, joking and bickering like usual — but this time, as actual time travelers.
It’s a perfectly circular ending: their destiny as “heroes of time” was both caused by and dependent on their own actions throughout the movie.
Are There Post-Credits Scenes?
No, Frequently Asked Questions About Time Travel does not have a post-credits scene. Once the film ends, that’s it — no secret hints, no Marvel-style stingers. However, some fans note that the ending itself feels like a soft setup for a sequel that was never made.
Type of Movie
This is a sci-fi comedy with elements of time-travel mystery and British pub humor. It’s self-aware, packed with witty dialogue, and plays with genre tropes in a tongue-in-cheek way.
Cast
- Chris O’Dowd as Ray
- Marc Wootton as Toby
- Dean Lennox Kelly as Pete
- Anna Faris as Cassie
- Meredith MacNeill as Millie
- Michael McElhatton as The Landlord
Film Music and Composer
The film’s score was composed by James L. Venable, who balances lighthearted comedic tones with sci-fi tension. The soundtrack complements the film’s quirky energy and includes atmospheric electronic cues that emphasize its time-bending moments.
Filming Locations
Filming took place primarily in Ealing Studios, London, and in a real pub setting. The decision to keep the story almost entirely inside a pub was both a creative and budget-conscious choice. It gives the film an intimate, stage-play-like feel and helps ground its complex time-travel narrative in a familiar, relatable location.
Awards and Nominations
The film didn’t win major awards but gained a cult following among sci-fi fans and festival audiences. It received praise for its clever writing and low-budget ingenuity, often appearing in lists of “underrated British comedies.”
Behind the Scenes Insights
- Gareth Carrivick, the director, was a well-known British TV comedy director, making this his only feature film before his death in 2010.
- Anna Faris shot her scenes in just a few days due to scheduling constraints with her U.S. projects.
- The time-travel logic was heavily revised during editing to make the story coherent.
- Much of the banter between the three leads was improvised.
Inspirations and References
- Inspired by British sci-fi fandom culture, especially Doctor Who and Red Dwarf.
- The writer, Jamie Mathieson, later wrote episodes for Doctor Who, clearly continuing his fascination with time travel.
- The idea of a “pub as a central time loop setting” was a nod to The World’s End and other British “pub-centered” genre comedies.
Alternate Endings and Deleted Scenes
The main alternate ending considered was one where the trio actually died in the explosion, ending the film tragically. This version tested poorly, and the lighter, “recruited as time travelers” ending was kept. Some minor deleted scenes expanded on Toby’s obsession with writing sci-fi fanfiction, but they were cut for pacing.
Book Adaptations and Differences
There is no book adaptation of this film. However, the screenplay reads much like a stage play, and fans have often discussed adapting it for theater due to its contained setting and dialogue-heavy structure.
Memorable Scenes and Quotes
Key Scenes
- The first time jump in the pub bathroom — a simple yet chillingly effective scene.
- Meeting the future versions of themselves, leading to hilarious confusion.
- The museum scene where they’re worshiped as time-traveling legends.
- The final reveal that Cassie is from a time agency.
Iconic Quotes
- Ray: “It’s not the end of the world. It’s just the end of the pub.”
- Pete: “You can’t have a paradox before you’ve even had your pint.”
- Toby: “This is exactly how The Terminator started.”
- Cassie: “You think too small, Ray. Time’s bigger than your imagination.”
Easter Eggs and Hidden Details
- The pub’s name, The White Horse, is a nod to a recurring motif in time-travel fiction (symbolizing cycles and return).
- A poster in the pub reads “Live Forever,” foreshadowing the trio’s eventual time-travel immortality.
- The chalkboard beer specials subtly change after each time jump — a detail easy to miss.
Trivia
- The film’s budget was under £3 million.
- Chris O’Dowd shot this before his international breakout in Bridesmaids.
- The script was written in 2004 but shelved until funding was secured years later.
- The pub set was redressed multiple times to depict different timelines.
Why Watch?
Because it’s a smart, funny, and tightly written sci-fi comedy that proves you don’t need a massive budget to tell an engaging time-travel story. It’s packed with wit, charm, and brain-twisting paradoxes — perfect for fans of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy and Black Mirror.
Director’s Other Works
- The Vicar of Dibley (TV, director)
- Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps (TV)
- The Complete Guide to Parenting (TV)
Recommended Films for Fans
- Safety Not Guaranteed (2012)
- Hot Tub Time Machine (2010)
- The World’s End (2013)
- Timecrimes (2007)
- Primer (2004)
