catchphrase / said by James
Let's go back in time
What does "Let's go back in time" mean on Small Town Murder?
James's segue from the present-day town into the case's backstory, usually followed straight away by a year and the time-machine sound effects. It signals that the scene-setting is over and the story proper is about to start, ahead of the murder itself.
- Kind
- catchphrase
- Usually said by
- James
- First heard
- Episode 35, 13 September 2017
The story behind the phrase
Where did "Let's go back in time" come from?
The earliest use in these transcripts is episode 35. After James sums up the town as quiet and nonviolent, he says "now let's go back in time" and gives a date from 1953 where the case begins. It is a plain transition with no jokes attached.
It marks the move from the present-day town profile to the backstory of the case. By episode 45 James is playing it up, with a time machine, calendar pages flying and legs kicking as they go.
How is "Let's go back in time" used now?
It stayed as the hinge between the town section and the story. James says it, or hands it to Jimmie, and follows it with the year, sometimes adding a comment on what life was like then, such as phones or Jimmie's hair. It is still used in 2026.
When was "Let's go back in time" first said?
It was first heard in episode 35, "Dr. ... enstein Has Lost Control, in LaPorte, Indiana", on 13 September 2017, at about 0:22:47.
"Uh now let's go back in time."
After summing up the town as quiet and nonviolent, James says 'uh now lets go back in time' and at once fixes the date at January 29th 1953. There is no time-machine pantomime yet and the line arrives as an established transition rather than a new joke.
Heard in these episodes
Found by searching the transcripts; speech recognition can miss a use.
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