I understood the need to introduce Bill: Jake is plotting and studying in his head for the bulk of the novel, and the only practical ways to translate that to the screen were narration or a sidekick. The problem is that Bill is so thin as a character that conversations with him might as well be narration. There were attempts to make him more of a real person -- his strange friendship with Lee and Marina, his despair over his lost sister -- but they weren't enough.

This was one of only two big problems I had with the series, though. The other: limiting Sadie's injury to a simple scar. It felt like they were reluctant to disfigure the female lead and interfere with sex appeal, and that reluctance really robbed the attack of its tragedy (and removed a fantastic subplot about Jake's desire to rip her out of 1960 to heal her, and the personal effects of another trip through the rabbit-hole).

Aside from those flaws, though, I really appreciated the series. Jake, Al and Sadie were well cast, the production value and immersion was brilliant, the score suited. Most of the diversions from the source were well-chosen and well-executed. It was imperfect, but strong, and better than I anticipated.

Al is dead on this side of the rabbit-hole and a child on the other, he can't be spoken to.

Which makes you wonder what would happen if Jake went through the rabbit-hole and simply laid low for a few decades until Al builds the diner and steps through it himself. Would it be nested, recursive? Within Al's rabbit-hole, would the past try to correct itself to the normal timeline for him, even though that's not the normal timeline for Jake? Or would it only be additive?