some flaws I noticed

I see that nobody has answered your post in almost two years, so I decided to give it a try...

I have always called my dad, "Daddy" when I was a child, and now that I am a grown-up, "Dad", but when I was in high school, I had a friend, who usually called his dad, "Dad", but sometimes when he wanted to be funny—or when he wanted something special from his dad, he would hug him and say, "Hi Pop!" Therefore, I don't see the "Dad" and "Pop" thing as a flaw.

I think my long post in the thread called "Question about the ending SPOILER" you may understand more of what was going on in this movie series. I think if you watch the "Back to the Future" series, and "The Time Traveler (2002)" then you would understand this movie series better. That is because those movies EXPLAIN the concepts of time travel—whereas this series ASSUMES that you already know them. In addition, I noticed that this series seems to be based on those movies, so if you watch them, you might get more out of this.

Carl wasn't necessarily "flipping out". He was a student of the Professor, and he believed everything that the Professor had taught him, and that included that if you go back in time, then you must not alter the timeline, because if you do, serious repercussions could occur. This concept is explained in great detail by Doc in the "Back to the Future" series, in the first movie. He also explained that if you DO time travel, then you must never allow yourself in that timeline to see yourself because if you do, there could be serious psychological damage. Whether these concepts are right or wrong, or true or not true, they are the theme concepts in this type of movie, so if Carl seemed a bit crazy then it was only because of his fanatical desire to keep things as they are supposed to be, so as to avoid any possible serious repercussions. This, however is not necessarily out of fanaticism, as I mentioned, but rather, out of FEAR—fear of what WOULD happen if the timeline were altered.

Brad was "flipping out" because his wife was leaving him. I haven't seen the movie series since it aired here in Norway about 3 or 4 years ago, so I don't remember all the details, but wasn't Brad the Professor's brother-in-law? Wasn't he unemployed? and wasn't his wife about to leave him if he didn't find a job? Whatever the reasons, I remember that he saw a huge opportunity—not only to become rich beyond means, but to get his wife back—and the latter is what was driving him. He loved his wife dearly, and the thought of her leaving him was making him go insane, even to the point of killing his brother-in-law if he wouldn't give over the briefcase—so he could then "invent" the material and then become rich again—and then have his wife back.

I do not remember the "Roy" character, so I cannot comment on him. Sorry. I wish I could.

Does this put it into a better perspective for you?