History Series / ElMinisterioDelTiempo

* INeedAFreakingDrink: On episode 25, Alonso is overwhelmed many things in the age they have been sent to for the mission that he can't understand. When Pacino offers him a small cup of wine, he immediately downs it.

* LargeHam: Even if Julián is usually the DeadpanSnarker of the group, he isn't afraid to unleash The Hog when required. He does so twice: on episode 6, when he disguised himself as a preacher to save Lázaro by calling upon God's wrath on the true culprit, and on episode 20, when he pretends to be a demon to scare Don Fadrique and his men out of the present.

* LargeHam: Julián has twice summoned his inner hamminess: on episode 6, when he disguised himself as a preacher to save Lázaro by calling upon God's wrath on the true culprit, and on episode 20, when he pretends to be a demon to scare Don Fadrique and his men out of the present.

* RippleEffectIndicator: In episode 11, after the Americans escape with the manuscript of ''Literature/DonQuixote'', Alonso's copy of the book starts fading away.

** Episode 23 has Salvador discussing the idea when he notices Lola Mendieta's interactions with William Martin are not in her past -- at least the way he knew it. The line had also been quoted on the season 3 trailers.

** The Season 3 trailers have Salvador mention the butterfly... and saying "[[PrecisionFStrike Fucking]] butterfly.

** In episode 23, William Martin sacrificing himself to ensure the success of Operation Mincemeat.

* HeroicSacrifice / YouWillBeBeethoven: Rogelio Buendía in episode 9. [[spoiler:After accidentally getting El Cid killed in 1079 while he filmed him fighting, he took over his life, spending twenty years without seeing his family and playing someone he is not, even dying when the historical Cid did. And, according to his wife, being a much better husband that the original Cid was.]]

* SteamPunk: Arguably, the [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wQPm0mCADW8 intro]] contains a bit of this, if you can stop yourself from thinking in ''Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica'' while watching it.

** Subverted in Episode 2, where Lope de Vega ''stages'' such scenarios to sleep with women, but Amelia sees through his ruse. [[spoiler:She sleeps with Lope anyway.]]

* TemporarySubstitute: Pacino replaces Julián in Amelia's team during his absence (see WalkingTheEarth below).

* HeroicSacrifice / YouWillBeBeethoven: Rogelio Buendía in episode 9. [[spoiler:After accidentally getting El Cid killed in 1079 while he filmed him fighting, he took over his life, spending twenty years without seeing his family and playing someone he is not, even dying when the historical Cid did.]]

* ImMrFuturePopCultureReference: In episode 1, when he has to register in a 1808 inn, Julián gives his name as Curro Jiménez (the main character of another Spanish TV series, an outlaw that fought the invading Napoleonic armies). It is also a tribute to the actor's father, Sancho Gracia, who was Curro Jiménez on that series and died on 2012.

[[FollowTheLeader It has also spawned at least one local version]] (''Ministério do Tempo'', for Portugal, with an ongoing first season) and other countries are starting their own versions.

This Ministry is a secret organization within the Spanish government created in 1491, after a Jewish rabbi called Abraham Levi told the secret of the doors to Queen Isabella of Castile in exchange of protection for him and his family. The Queen sets up a secret office that will protect these gates, but in the end [[UngratefulBastard the rabbi ends up being burned as a witch]]. Its existence is only known to a few people from outside (such as the King and the Prime Minister), and civil servants from all times work to ensure the well-being of Spanish History.

* TheAgeless: Subverted. Time travellers age all the same, but they can be mistaken as not aging by people that don't know better. In Episode 11, Alonso is recognized in 1604 by a retired soldier that fought alongside him 35 years earlier. The man concludes that Alonso's lack of aging must be the result of witchcraft.

* AlternateHistory: Chapter 19, "Tiempo de lo Oculto", is the first time where this happens, and it seems to be just a few cosmetic changes. Then comes chapter 21, "Cambio de Tiempo", and Philip II completely changes history, openly using the Ministry to ensure the Spanish Empire remains together and pretty much unchanged.

* ArbitrarySkepticism: This exchange from the first episode [[spoiler: doubles as HilariousInHindsight when Americans using a time machine appear later in the series.]]

** In episode 9, Ambrogio Spinola uses one in an attempt to make Amelia back down. Unfortunately for him, Amelia knows his life quite well.

* ButHeSoundsHandsome: In Episode 17, Velázquez loves to talk a lot about himself and his paintings.

** [[spoiler:After Pacino stops Morán's father from killing his wife, adult Morán's murders are undone - and Salvador points out to him that all of the unorphaned kids' lives have completely changed.]]

** When Amelia is recruited in Episode 1, she had just had a discussion with her college teacher over wether Lope de Vega's work was influenced by the earlier work ''Orlando Furioso''. In Episode 2, she recognizes Lope de Vega because he is quoting ''Orlando Furioso''.
** Alonso is amazed when he first sees a motorcycle in Episode 1, and is seen playing with a motorcycle arcade at the beginning of Episode 4. [[spoiler:He uses a motorcycle to rescue Ernesto from 1491.]]

* CreatorCameo: Javier Olivares (co-creator) and Marc Vigil (director) appear as former Subsecretaries of the Ministry.

* DeathSeeker: Julián became one after his wife's death. He manages to lose that after joining the Ministry.

** [[spoiler:Cervantes after his chance to see one of his plays on the scenario goes bunk.]]

* FaceDeathWithDignity: The death of a career, in this case. After being dismissed as undersecretary in episode 12, Salvador declines Susana Torres' offer to join the board of directors of an electric company, settling instead for retirement. Also, he chooses to leave on the subway instead of a government car. [[spoiler: He comes out of retirement two episodes later.]]

* FishOutOfTemporalWater: Alonso and Amelia feel this way when they come to 2015. Alonso does begin to learn how to enjoy himself in the present, though.

* ForeignRemake: The rights to a remake have been already bought in Portugal and China (a first for a Spanish series). The idea has also been floated in Germany, France, Italy and the USA.

** Alonso is driving a cart with food when a bunch of French soldiers stop it, intending to steal part of it. Alonso prepares himself to kick some ass... [[RealityEnsues the next scene shows him being taken in by the French soldiers]] and imprisoned with the men the patrol was sent to free.

* HeroicSacrifice / YouWillBeBeethoven: Rogelio Buendía in episode 9. [[spoiler:After accidentally getting El Cid killed in 1079 while he filmed him fighting, he takes over his life, spending twenty years without seeing his family and playing someone he is not, even dying when the historical Cid did.]]

** Alonso is a very talented classical theatre actor.

** In episode 1, Velázquez and El Empecinado. A gate even leads to the moment when he is painting the famous [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Las_Meninas Las Meninas]].

** In episode 7, Queen Isabel II, her sister Infanta Luisa Fernanda and Queen consort Maria Christina de Borbón of the Two Sicilies.

** When Velázquez painted himself in ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Las_Meninas Las Meninas]]'', he epicted himself with a Santiago Cross on his chest, an honor he did not receive until three years after the painting was completed. In episode 3, Salvador tells him that he knows he used a door to find out the truth. Velázquez also says that he never painted ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Surrender_of_Breda The Surrender of Breda]]'', for some reason.

** The first episode shows that there is a time door leading right to the place and time in which ''Las Meninas'' was painted, likely the one through which Velázquez was recruited. This door is the doot that appears in the painting itself.

* HitlersTimeTravelExemptionAct: [[SubvertedTrope Doubly Subverted.]] The Ministry's original mission in 1940 is ''not'' to kill Hitler (they have to preserve history, after all), but after complications arise Ernesto decides that it is the lesser of two evils and prepares to poison him. In the last moment, the mission is saved and Hitler is spared, [[JediTruth technically]] adding [[FridgeBrilliance another failed attempt on his life]] to his belt.

* {{Hypocrite}}: Susana Torres criticizes Salvador's sentimentalism... and in her first full episode risks a pandemic because Irene [[spoiler:(her lover)]] got infected with the Spanish flu. She also criticizes his use of the time doors for personal needs, yet takes [[spoiler:Irene]] on a date to 2002. [[spoiler: She also intends to fire Ernesto for letting Dr Vargas, who had sold Spanish flu samples to a pharmaceutical company, go, but it turns out she is all too willing to sell the Ministry to Darrow Ltd. for a large commission.]]

* IdenticalStranger: At an anti-eviction protest, Alonso meets a lawyer named Elena, who looks exactly like his wife Blanca. (Both are played by the same actress, Susana Córdoba).

* IdiotBall: Lombardi would never have gone as far as he did if the Ministry had not breached its usual procedure and assigned an agent to either guard the door leading to 1485 La Rábida, or keep an eye on ''Christopher Columbus'' during the time before he was granted money to sail his trip west.

* InformedFlaw: Julián is alleged to have self-destructive tendencies, but this is only showcased in the first episode, when he enters a building on fire, and never seems to affect his behavior afterwards. CharacterDevelopment might play a role in the change.

* InThePastEveryoneWillBeFamous: If the mission of the episode does not involve meeting a famous historical character, the team will always run into one by accident, like El Empecinado in Episode 1 or Lázaro de Tormes in Episode 6 (who is discovered to have been a real person by the characters).
* {{Irony}}: [[spoiler:Armando saved Irene from committing suicide. When they meet again in episode 7, in the same place where they first met, Armando kills himself.]]

* StableTimeLoop: In episode 6, Amelia suggests Lázaro to tell someone of his story, saying it would make for a wonderful novel. At the end of the episode, it turns out he did (''El Lazarillo de Tormes'') - and Julián wonders one thing: would his adventures have been written if they had not read about his adventures?

* TheNeedsOfTheMany: Alonso and Julian's main struggle in Chapter 21. Do they remain in this strange timeline with the women they love, but where democracy does not exist and the Inquisition is still going on, or do they help restore the original timeline?

* TitleDrop: Several episodes have one of the characters say the title.

** Luis Buñuel appears as a college student who has no interest in filmmaking yet.

** In Episode 1, the 1808 agent is angry because the higher-ups have cut-off his Christmas bonus. In Episode 13, the clerk watching the gates asks if they will be given back their Christmas bonus.

-->'''Carrasco''': They are cutting our Christmas' bonus?![[note]]This as well as the example under BrickJoke above is based on RealLife suppression of said bonus during 2012 to civil servants because of budgetary cuts[[/note]]

-->'''Carrasco''': They are cutting our Christmas' bonus?![[note]]This is based on RealLife suppression of said bonus during 2012 to civil servants because of budgetary cuts[[/note]]

-->'''Carrasco''': They are cutting our Christmas' bonus?!