For his tenth birthday, Joe receives a mysterious blue book from his magician uncle and namesake, "Joe the Magnificent," known only as "The Book". Using a number of often unpredictable and/or unintentional voice and print cues, The Book frequently transports Joe and his friends, Fred and Sam, to a variety of places in history, like Ancient Egypt, the Old West and to the year 2105, where they meet their own great-granddaughters, Jodie, Samantha, and Freddi. The only way they are able to return present-day Brooklyn, New York is to find The Book again within whatever time period they are in. Later in the series, Joe's evil uncle, Mad Jack, makes several attempts to capture the children and The Book with his crafty tricks, whether stranding them in Antarctica or trying to make their new home in China.
Characters
Main Characters
These members of Time Warp Trio are the main characters from the show.
Joseph "Joe" Arthur – An up-and-coming magician and the present-day owner of The Book, Joe is the unofficial leader of the Time Warp Trio. While his penchant for carrying The Book around with him and experimenting with it often results in many of their adventures, his talent for magical tricks also helps them out of many tough situations. Joe is at one point awarded the title of Time Page and is said to eventually become a Warp Wizard. According to Freddi and Jodie, Joe will fight his uncle, Mad Jack, in a great battle that will determine the fate of time itself. He lives in Brooklyn with his archeologist father, his mother, and his little sister Anna.
Sam – A friend of Joe and Fred who contributes his intelligence and historical knowledge to the group's problems. He wears thick glasses and is allergic to wool. Sam is also very wary of time travel, convinced their doom is imminent every time they open The Book. An amateur inventor, he is told by Freddi that he will invent something very important in the future.
Fred – A friend of Joe and Sam who is a sports fan and known for being headstrong, sometimes to the point of idiocy. Fred is known for being the one of the group most interested in using The Book for material gains, whether hunting for treasure or patenting future technology. He has a bullying older brother named Mike.
Jodie Arthur – Joe's great-granddaughter from the year 2105, who occasionally cross the paths of the trio with her friends Samantha and Freddi. She is known for being bossy, complaining, loving fashion, and allergic to cats. Jodie is also a third-level warper.
Samantha – Sam's great-granddaughter from the year 2105, who occasionally cross the paths of the trio with her friends Jodie and Freddi. She is known for being teasing, daring, and klutzy, the exact opposite of Sam. Samantha owns a robot cat named Rivites and a time-traveling pocket watch that belonged to Sam.
Freddi – Fred's great-granddaughter from the year 2105, who occasionally cross the paths of the trio with her friends Jodie and Samantha. She is usually shy, timid and seems to be the exact opposite of Fred.
Recurring Characters
Anna Arthur – Joe's annoying younger sister, who shows having more knowledge of The Book than her brother.
Joe the Magnificent – Joe's uncle, a would-be magician who fails at live performances. He originally sent his nephew Joe The Book, which he didn't know how to use, and instead traverses time and space with an enchanted pocket watch. He believes in the Tooth Fairy and Easter Bunny.
Mad Jack – A character created for the TV series, Mad Jack is the evil brother of "Joe the Magnificent" and Mrs. Arthur. He is intent on getting his hands on The Book so that he can be the sole ruler of eternity, shadowing the trio in many of their travels and even once facing his nephew Joe down. Mad Jack travels through time and space with a scepter with an hourglass on top.
Mrs. Arthur – Joe and Anna's mother. She understands how to use The Book, originally giving it to her brother.
Mr. Arthur – Joe and Anna's father. He is a world-famous archeologist, whom Joe was talking about in the episode "Jinga All The Way".
Mike – Fred's mean older brother who appears in "See You Later, Gladiator" and "Viking It and Liking It".
