The Time Tunnel

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For the Living Colour album, see Time Tunnel (video).
The Time Tunnel
Format Science fiction
Created by Irwin Allen
Starring James Darren
Robert Colbert
Whit Bissell
John Zaremba
Lee Meriwether
Country of origin Flag of the United States United States
No. of episodes 30
Production
Running time approx. 52 minutes
Broadcast
Original channel ABC
Original run September 9, 1966 – April 7, 1967
External links
IMDb profile
TV.com summary

The Time Tunnel is a 1966–1967 U.S. color science fiction TV series. The show was created and produced by Irwin Allen, his third science fiction television series. The show's main theme music was Time Travel Adventure. The Time Tunnel was released by 20th Century Fox and broadcast on ABC. The show ran for one season of 30 episodes. A pilot for a new series was produced in 2002[citation needed], and another series pilot is in production as of 2007[citation needed].

Contents

[edit] The series

[edit] Summary

Project Tic-Toc is a top secret U.S. government effort to build an experimental time machine known as "the Time Tunnel." When the costs of the project approach those of the entire U.S. space program, a United States Senator Leroy Clark (Gary Merrill) launches an investigation of the project. The Senator feels that the tunnel has cost too much money for too little reward. At his request the Senator is allowed to visit the project base and be given a tour. Once he reaches the central control room the Senator explains his complaints to the project heads. The Senator then says that he wishes to close down the project as a waste of time and money that has not worked.

Key Time Tunnel scientist, young physicist Dr. Tony Newman (James Darren) turns the machine on and sends himself back in time in an attempt to prove that the Time Tunnel project funds were not wasted. In so doing, Newman becomes "lost in time." The Time Tunnel top personnel can see through the Tunnel that Tony Newman is aboard the soon to sink Titanic. They can also see that he cannot escape before the sinking, and they cannot retrieve him.

In an attempt to rescue his younger friend, another key Tic-Toc scientist Dr. Doug Phillips (Robert Colbert) enters the Time Tunnel as well. However, the system was still being developed and tunnel operations was never able to bring them home. As the series progresses, the two time travelers are swung from one period in history to another, allowing episodes to be set in the past and future. Each episode begins with the following narration:

"Two American scientists are lost in the swirling maze of past and future ages, during the first experiments on America's greatest and most secret project, the Time Tunnel. Tony Newman and Doug Phillips now tumble helplessly toward a new fantastic adventure, somewhere along the infinite corridors of time."

By luck (or lack thereof) the travelers, Tony and Doug, frequently found themselves thrown onto the precipice of major historical events: on board the Titanic before it hits the iceberg, in Pearl Harbor before the Japanese attack, on Krakatoa before it erupts, and so forth. They would try to warn people about the event, or try to prevent it from happening, while the Time Tunnel crew (led by two scientists and a military general), who once gaining a "fix" can view through the Tunnel the action taking place in the different time, would try to rescue the travelers before the historical calamity befell them too. Sometimes, when rescue was impossible at the time, the Time Tunnel scientists would often try to help Tony and Doug in other ways or in some cases, communicate with them whenever possible. The final episode provides no resolution, as the series was initially scheduled to continue into a second season.

The series used a precursor to the Novikov self-consistency principle as its time travel model. Recorded history could not be altered because all attempts to do so were destined to fail. In other words: They will not change history because they haven't. However sometimes Doug and Tony’s actions were essential to cause history to unfold as recorded. The lives of individual people could be influenced by the actions of the travelers or the Time Tunnel scientists.

The base for Project Tic-Toc was huge and located underground in the Arizona desert, with no visible entry. The only way in was a very big secret panel that when it opened a car could quickly go through the entrance. Once the panel closed all any one could see was ordinary desert. Tic-Toc base was a futuristic series of complexes 800 floors deep and employing over 36,000 people ("12 thousand people in each of those complexes"). It was under the command of General Heywood Kirk (Whit Bissell). The center of the base was The Time Tunnel control room where the tunnel was located. In charge of operating the Tunnel were Dr. Ann McGregor (Lee Meriwether) and Dr. Raymond Swain (John Zaremba). The date at which it was operating was stated as 1968, which would have been two years into the future for the initial TV audience.[1]

[edit] Production

The production basis of the show was the large number of period dramas made by the 20th Century Fox film company. Even black-and-white shots of the Titanic sinking were tinted to fit them into this color production. Only a few actors were costumed for a given episode, interspersed with cuts of great masses of people similarly dressed from the original features. The plots were not noted for historical accuracy.

Certain episodes featured aliens who wore costumes and carried props originally created for other Irwin Allen television and movie productions. Prop sets were similarly re-used. Only in episodes 18, 24, 28, 29, and 30 did aliens appear; only the second and third of these were set in the far future.

The Titanic-based premier episode, "Rendezvous with Yesterday" (based on the original series pilot[2]), was well written, and featured good production values, albeit with an error in that the Captain Smith of the Titanic was called "Malcolm" rather than "Edward" or "EJ". The names of the secondary officers are also fictitious and do not reflect the actual officers of the Titanic, though Walter Lord's best-selling book A Night to Remember had been available for nine years.

The prop computer looked realistic because it was actually an array of memory modules from the Air Force's recently-decommissioned SAGE computer.

The quality of subsequent episodes varied considerably. However, some particularly memorable aspects were:

  • The colorful, dynamic opening credits sequence.
  • The impressive introduction to the scale of the project (over 36,000 people and huge underground buildings) that fails to be repeated beyond the first episode.
  • Tony and Doug always reverted to the same clothes when they transfer, a green turtleneck sweater and a conservative Norfolk suit, which were magically cleaned and pressed before their passage to the next time.
  • Whenever something is wrong with the main control panel, we see Dr. Ray Swain pushing Dr. Ann MacGregor away from it.
  • Tony and Doug's random placement in time mostly (22 of 30) landed them right before an event like D-Day, the attack on Pearl Harbor, Custer's last stand, Krakatoa, The Titanic sinking, Lincoln's assassination, Biblical events, etc.
  • The tunnel could send objects and people back to help Doug and Tony. It also brought the wrong people from the past several times, but it never could retrieve Doug and Tony.
  • Wild historical mishmashes, such as Niccolò Machiavelli getting involved in the Battle of Gettysburg.
  • Mixing history and mythology such as Robin Hood being involved with the signing of the Magna Carta.
  • No matter how hard they tried, they could never change history.
  • They almost always landed somewhere prior to 1968, and very rarely in the future. When they did travel to the future, it was, with one exception, hundreds of years into an unrecognizable future.
  • Classic 1960s "action" sequences, such as hand-to-hand fighting in which the protagonists fall onto their backs and kick-flip their adversaries over them.[citation needed]
  • At the beginning of almost every episode, no matter when or where they materialized, they were immediately attacked.
  • Doug and Tony knew they were being monitored by their colleagues, but (after the first couple of episodes) rarely spoke to them or asked for help.
  • Doug and Tony worried about being held captive or trapped in a certain time, but they needn't have. Their colleagues inevitably rescued them, usually within a day.
  • At the end of most episodes, when Doug and Tony were finally safe, the tunnel transferred them to another dangerous, random place and time for no reason.
  • In some episodes, the tunnel control crew saw that Doug and Tony were in a dire predicament. They would immediately transfer them out of that time zone to another picked at random one that was just as bad.
  • Some episodes had guest stars who decided that they had nothing left for them in the present so they agreed to go to the past to help Tony and Doug. The guest star would agree to spend the rest of their lives in that specific time knowing that Tony and Doug would resume time traveling.
  • In episode 2 ("One Way To The Moon"), circumstances find Doug and Tony on the moon in a fight sequence where the combatants are shown brawling on the surface in space suits with punches and kicks in earth-like speed without acknowledging the moon's reduced gravitational effects. Also, an explosion in a lunar fuel depot shows a massive fire burning when, in fact, because of the lack of oxygen there, fire would not be able to exist.
  • Everywhere they went people always spoke 20th-century American English.

The Time Tunnel was not a commercial failure, as it received higher viewer ratings than many other shows of the network. It was picked up for the following year, and four episodes for season 2 were scripted (and falsely rumored to have been filmed) before an abrupt cancellation - after the "cast renewal party" had been held.[citation needed]

The series won an Emmy Award in 1967, for Individual Achievements in Cinematography. The award went to L.B. "Bill" Abbott, for his photographic special effects.[citation needed]

[edit] Episodes

While the episodes were first shown in 1966, the show's setting begins in 1968, two years ahead of when the episodes originally aired.[3]

Title Original Airdate Arrival Date Arrival Location Episode #
Rendezvous With Yesterday September 9, 1966 April 13, 1912 RMS Titanic 1
The pilot episode. United States Senator Leroy Clark (Gary Merrill), who was once a paratrooper under General Kirk, arrives from Washington, D.C. to observe the status of Project Tic-Toc. Clark threatens to cut off funding unless the time travel technology can be successfully demonstrated before he leaves the following day. Late that night and against orders, Dr. Anthony Newman powers up the time tunnel, enters, and is successfully sent back in time. He arrives on board the RMS Titanic. Realizing what is going to happen, he tries to convince the captain of the impending disaster but the captain orders that he be locked in a cabin. Dr. Doug Phillips convinces the commanding general that he needs to be sent back to rescue Dr. Newman. After breaking Dr. Newman out of the cabin, they send a message requesting immediate, emergency assistance, but they are both captured and locked back in the same cabin. After the iceberg is struck, the captain comes to them to find out what happens next. They are released to help with the evacuation, but are thrown overboard during the shaking that accompanies the sinking. To avoid certain death, the team in charge of Project Tic-Toc shifts them to another time. Senator Clark promises that no action regarding funding of the Time Tunnel will be taken until Newman and Phillips are either safely returned or beyond all possible help.

Production Note: There is a continuity error involving Tic-Toc Security's handling of Senator Clark's luggage.
One Way To The Moon September 16, 1966 1978 2
The two time travelers arrive on a rocket ship forty seconds before lift-off. The ship is the first manned mission to Mars, but their extra weight leaves the ship without enough fuel to make the trip. The shipboard radio has also been damaged, so rather than turn around, the captain decides to pick up extra fuel at a fuel depot on the moon built for just this contingency. But there is also a saboteur aboard.

Production Note: On the surface of the moon the saboteur tells Doug to not touch the intercom. Still he manages to talk to him though he would need the intercom to make himself heard as vacuum does not allow sound to travel.
End Of The World September 23, 1966 May 21, 1910 Emperor Mine 3
During the 1910 pass of Halley's Comet, the two time travelers arrive inside of a mine just before a cave-in. Dr. Newman is stuck behind the cave-in. After unsuccessfully trying to convince people to help him, Dr. Phillips digs Dr. Newman out. They then have to convince the locals that the comet will not impact, that it is not the End Of the World, so that they will help them dig out the miners.
The Day The Sky Fell In September 30, 1966 December 6, 1941 Honolulu, Hawaii 4
The time travelers arrive inside of the Japanese consulate in Honolulu, Hawaii the day before the Attack on Pearl Harbor. They leave the embassy, but are followed. The young Anthony Newman was living in Honolulu at the time, but Dr. Newman has no memory of what happened that day except that his father was never seen again. When they try to warn the American military of the impending attack, they are questioned as to how they came upon this information. Dr. Newman also discovers that his younger self is staying overnight at a friend's house, a house that will be destroyed by the bombing. The travelers must save the young Anthony Newman, find out what happened to his father and avoid the Japanese who are now trying to kill them.
The Last Patrol October 7, 1966 January 6, 1815 near New Orleans, Louisiana 5
The time travelers arrive in Louisiana the day before the final battle of the War of 1812. They are taken prisoner by the British troops, court martialed as spies and sentenced to be shot at dawn. A British general, General Southall, played by Carroll O'Connor, is brought to the time tunnel so that the team can establish the location of their scientists. Recognizing his ancestor, Colonel Southall, and confessing that he does not have long to live anyway, General Southall insists on going back to order his ancestor, also played by Carroll O'Connor, to release the two scientists and to find out why he led his troops into the strong point of the opposing army, resulting in their deaths.

Note: This episode said that the battle occurred on January 7; it actually occurred on January 8.
Crack Of Doom October 14, 1966 August 27, 1883 Krakatoa 6
The time travelers arrive on the island of Krakatoa the day of its eruption. They have only a few hours to convince the scientists, with their native guides, to leave the island before it blows up; the biggest explosion in recorded history.
Revenge Of The Gods October 21, 1966 13th or 12th century BC Near Troy 7
The time travelers arrive near the city of Troy after the tenth year of the siege by the Achaeans (Mycenaean Greeks). (See Trojan War.)
Massacre October 28, 1966 June 23, 1876 Eastern Montana 8
The time travelers arrive a few days before the Battle of the Little Bighorn. Dr. Newman is captured by the Indians and taken to their camp. Dr. Phillips is found by a young courier and goes with him to the camp of the 7th Cavalry. Dr. Phillips tries to convince Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer to rescue Dr. Newman, which Custer will not do. Failing that, Dr. Phillips tries to convince Custer that his regiment will be totally wiped out so he should not go to battle. Custer has him arrested to prevent him from telling this to the rest of the troops. Meanwhile, the Indians threaten to execute Dr. Newman, but for his bravery in facing this, he is adopted by Sitting Bull. Dr. Newman convinces Sitting Bull to not attack the soldiers but to talk peace. Dr. Newman is sent to convey the message of peace to Custer. Custer has Dr. Newman arrested, but Dr. Phillips has already escaped. Sitting Bull remains in his tent for the duration of the battle, waiting for Custer to come talk peace.
Devil's Island November 11, 1966 March 14, 1895 Devil's Island 9
The time travelers arrive on the French penal colony of Devil's Island just as new prisoners arrive. They are mistaken for two of the prisoners who have escaped and are imprisoned in their stead. The other prisoners are not interested in escape until, a few days later, Captain Alfred Dreyfus arrives on the island. (See the Dreyfus Affair.)
Reign Of Terror November 18, 1966 October 8, 1793 Paris, France 10
The time travelers arrive in Paris, France during the French Revolution. A shopkeeper offers to help them get out of the city if they will help him to get to Marie Antoinette, in an attempt to free her. Instead, they end up helping the Dauphin, Louis XVII, to escape. In this effort, they end up meeting a young artillery lieutenant by the name of Napoléon Bonaparte.

Note: This episode said that Marie Antoinette was executed shortly after noon on October 15; the execution actually took place on October 16.
Secret Weapon November 25, 1966 June 16, 1956 southeastern Europe 11
A general in The Pentagon takes advantage of them arriving at the right time and location to send them on a spy mission. They are sent a message to meet a contact who will get them in to a secret, Soviet project, A-13. A-13 turns out to be a project very similar to Project Tic-Toc, but it is not quite functioning. Also, the chief scientist of that project is currently (in 1968) defecting to the United States. The two time travelers pose as scientists and return valuable information on the project and the defector.
The Death Trap December 2, 1966 February 2, 1861 Baltimore, Maryland 12
The two time travelers arrive in a barn while a meeting is occurring of people conspiring to kill Abraham Lincoln. These followers of John Brown are hoping to make it look like southern secessionists had done it, thereby sparking a war with the South and resulting in an end to slavery.
The Alamo December 9, 1966 March 6, 1836 Alamo Mission in San Antonio 13
The two time travelers arrive just outside of the Alamo Mission on the final day of the siege. Knowing that the defenders are doomed, they attempt to convince the commander to have the men abandon the fort or at least evacuate the wounded.
The Night Of The Long Knives December 16, 1966 mid May, 1886 northern India, near the border of Afghanistan 14
The two time travelers arrive in a desert in India just outside of Afghanistan (now Pakistan) and Dr. Phillips is almost immediately captured by Afghanistan rebels. Dr. Newman was shot and presumed dead, but is found by Rudyard Kipling and taken to the local British fort. Rebellion against the British occupiers is rising, and the local commander has been ordered to not attack the rebels. But one of the scientists has escaped and must convince the British to attack the rebels, freeing Dr. Phillips and stopping the Night Of The Long Knives, the signal to begin the general uprising.
Invasion December 23, 1966 June 4, 1944 Sainte-Mère-Église, France 15
Two nights before the D-Day invasion of Europe, the two time travelers arrive in Sainte-Mère-Église. The two are almost immediately taken captive by the local Gestapo. Dr. Phillips is taken to be brainwashed while Dr. Newman is allowed to escape so that he can be followed.
The Revenge Of Robin Hood December 30, 1966 June 1215 King John's castle, England 16
The Earl of Huntington, formerly Robin Hood, is petitioning King John to sign the Magna Carta, or the barons (who have raised armies) will overthrow the king. Dr. Phillips has arrived just outside of the throne room and overhears the end of the conversation. When King John orders his men to arrest the Earl of Huntington, Huntington puts up a valiant fight (with swordplay) but is apprehended when he runs into Dr. Phillips on his way out. They are questioned by the king as to where the barons are meeting, but when they don't give up the information, they are taken to the dungeon to be tortured for the information. Dr. Newman had arrived earlier in the dungeon, and when the time is right, he overcomes the guards and frees the two prisoners. The two time travelers escape first, but Huntington is recaptured on his way out. On their way to warn the barons, the two travelers are caught by the Merry Men. After escaping the king's men, rescuing the Earl of Huntington and kidnapping the king, the episode ends with King John reluctantly signing the Magna Carta.
Kill Two By Two January 6, 1967 February 17, 1945 Minami Iwo 17
The two time travelers arrive on the island of Minami Iwo, one of two islands off the coast of Iwo Jima, two days before the invasion of Iwo Jima. They manage to overpower the observer left on the island to radio the position of the U.S. Navy ships but are captured themselves when a Lieutenant Nakamura surprises them. Instead of imprisoning them or killing them, he offers them an opportunity to capture or kill the Japanese soldiers. Nakamura gives them a one-hour head start but no weapons. Dr. Newman has a badly sprained ankle, so Dr. Phillips sneaks back and manages to take five grenades from the supply room. The two sides play a dangerous game of cat-and-mouse, but Lieutenant Nakamura seems strangely suicidal.
Visitors From Beyond The Stars January 13, 1967 1885 In space above the Americas 18
The time travelers arrive on an alien spacecraft in space above the Americas. Two aliens soon appear, pull a gun, and force the travelers into an area that translates between their different languages. The aliens tell the two travelers that they are going take all of the protein from Earth and that there will be no life left when they leave, just as they have done with other planets. The aliens also tell them that there are three kinds of people: those who cooperate, those who can be made to cooperate and those whom they must kill. "Resistance is impossible," they say.

The aliens (from Alpha 1) land their ship at a farm near Mullins, Arizona (approximately 112°W 34°N). Their first objective is to take over the farm house, which they do. Their second objective is to take over the town, which they almost succeed in doing. Dr. Phillips has been made cooperative by the aliens. Dr. Newman has to get help from the sheriff and the bar owner in order for his plan to take the aliens' control unit away from them to succeed. Meanwhile, two the same species of aliens (who no longer need to raid planets for food) appears in the Time Tunnel control room and demand that they prove that they didn't destroy the ship or face the destruction of the Earth. After they are shown an image of the ship leaving Earth safely, the aliens disappear.
The Ghost Of Nero January 20, 1967 October 23, 1915 Villa Galba, northern Italy 19
The travelers arrive outside of the Villa Galba during World War I, and enter the cellar to avoid the shelling. A German advance team has just arrived at the villa. While one German is investigating a tomb marked Nero, he is mysteriously stabbed to death. Fearing that the Germans will think that they did it, the travelers hide and accidentally find a secret passage. They find another exit on one of the upper floors where the owner of the estate, an Italian noble of the family Galba, offers to protect them from the Germans. When the Germans arrive at the room, Galba tells the Germans that the two travelers are guests of his, and that they have been locked in this room to avoid people who have been robbing the estate.

A German officer is possessed by the ghost of Nero and tries to kill Galba. After fighting him off and knocking him unconscious, the ghost of Nero leaves him. When the Italian army retakes the Villa, the ghost of Nero enters a young Italian officer by the name of Benito Mussolini who vows to drive the Huns from his country.
The Walls Of Jericho January 27, 1967 1550 BC Near Jericho 20
The travelers arrive outside of the tent of Joshua during the night, two days before the end of the Israelite siege of Jericho. Thinking that they are either spies from Jericho or that they are who they say the are, Joshua asks them to tell him why he has his troops marching outside of the walls of Jericho. After they answer his question, Joshua sends them to be the two spies whom they told him about. He then marches his troops to the south wall to provide a distraction so that the two spies may go over the north wall.

After saving a young virgin from being sacrificed, Dr. Phillips escapes but Dr. Newman is captured. Entering a house with an unlocked door, Dr. Phillips hides. When the resident arrives, he calls her by name (Rahab) because, from the biblical account, she is the one who sheltered the two Israelite spies. After Dr. Phillips rescues Dr. Newman, they take refuge in her house, but are betrayed by her servant. Dr. Phillips escapes to tell Joshua the information that he seeks. Dr. Newman and the girl are tied up against a wall and are about to be stoned to death, but when the Israelites complete their march, blow the trumpets and shout, the walls of the city fall down as what appears to be a tornado traces the destruction. Ann, a skeptic, decides that since a tornado is a natural phenomenon, that the fall of the walls was not a supernatural event, while Ray is convinced it was supernatural (perhaps because tornadoes are not known to strike in the Holy Lands).
Idol Of Death February 3, 1967 October 1, 1519 near Veracruz, Mexico 21
Hernán Cortés has captured the remaining royal family of the Tlaxcalan people, and is questioning them about the location of a golden mask, the symbol of ruling authority to this people. The two travelers arrive before the torture starts. While trying to save the royals the travelers are also captured. Once Cortés gets the information, he kills the king and queen but keeps the royal heir because he may be needed later. While Cortés is away watching the burning of his ships to prevent the rebellion of his troops, a member of the tribe frees the royal heir and the two travelers. The four of them try to retrieve the mask before the Spaniards do.
Billy The Kid February 10, 1967 late April 1881 Lincoln, New Mexico 22
The travelers arrive in Lincoln, territory of New Mexico, but a gang on horses chase them into the sheriff's office. The gang then kills the deputy who is guarding Billy the Kid, and almost kill the travelers. Billy goes after them and catches them in a small farmhouse a few miles outside of town. The travelers then overpower Billy and tie him up. Dr. Newman goes back to town to get help from the sheriff, but is arrested as Billy the Kid by the remaining deputy. When Billy's former friend and now sworn enemy sheriff Pat Garrett arrives back in town he verifies that Dr. Newman is not Billy the Kid, but the townspeople are convinced that he is, so they besiege the sheriff's office. Garrett sends out his deputy to start a cattle stampede in order that he and Dr. Newman can escape. They find that Billy has escaped and Dr. Phillips is nowhere to be found. Dr. Phillips has arrived back in town, but Billy and his gang are waiting for him. They are about to shoot him when Garrett and Dr. Newman arrive and save him. Garrett arrests Billy and his remaining man.
Pirates Of Deadman's Island February 17, 1967 April 9, 1805 A ship near the Barbary Coast 23
The travelers arrive on one of two ships involved in a battle and are captured by the victorious pirates. Later on an island Captain Beal, the captain of these Barbary pirates, orders that they be shot. However, the nephew of the king of Spain, Armando, was also captured and asks that the two travelers be spared so that they can insure that he stays well until a ransom can be paid. When several U.S. Navy ships arrive, the pirates attempt to flee. Dr. Newman is hit by a shot from off shore and presumed dead. The pirates take Armando and Dr. Phillips onto their ship which quickly comes under attack.

Dr. Newman has recovered and swims out to one of the U. S. ships, captained by Captain Stephen Decatur. The Time Tunnel personnel transfer Armando and Dr. Phillips back to the island before the pirate ship is destroyed. They then transfer Armando to Captain Decatur's ship. Dr. Phillips is soon recovered from the beach. Dr. Berkhart, the Time Tunnel staff doctor, who is now retired (and suffers an incurable disease), insists on going back to save the life of Dr. Phillips and as many of the other wounded as he can. Dr. Berkhart is planning on living out the remainder of his life in this time period.
Chase Through Time February 24, 1967 1547 Grand Canyon, Arizona 24
Raul Nimon (Robert Duvall) is a spy who has been in the Time Tunnel complex for an unspecified amount of time. Now that his mission is over, he has planted a nuclear bomb somewhere in the complex, but the timer has been placed in the Time Tunnel control room. In order to place the timer, he killed the person monitoring the time tunnel just before a security check. No other avenue of escape is left, so he escapes through the Time Tunnel. The Time Tunnel had been tuned to the location of the two time travelers, so he arrives near the Grand Canyon at the same time. The two travelers are told about the problem, that they must apprehend Nimon and get him to tell them the location of the bomb. But the lock on the time period drifts and moves Nimon to another time so the two travelers are sent after him.

They arrive in the year 1,000,000 A.D., ten years after Nimon has arrived. Nimon is helping the inhabitants of this future age to build a time machine so that they can spread their "ultimate human society" throughout time. The two travelers are pressed into service to help him build the time machine, but the Time Tunnel personnel are able to move them again before they can complete the machine. However, two people from that time are also moved, a soldier and a worker. All five of them arrive in 1,000,000 B.C. and the chase continues. Once all five people are together again, Nimon is reminded that if the Time Tunnel is blown up, they will all be stuck here. Nimon tells them where the timer is located and it is disabled. But the Time Tunnel can only transfer two people at a time; Drs. Phillips and Newman first, the two from the future second, but Nimon is left there at the end of the episode.
The Death Merchant March 3, 1967 July 1 – July 3, 1863 Battle of Gettysburg 25
The two travelers arrive in the battlefield of the Battle of Gettysburg of the American Civil War. Dr. Newman is hit by an artillery blast and is killed. Dr. Phillips retreats from the battlefield with a small group of Union soldiers, whose commander tells him to put on a Union uniform to avoid getting shot. The Time Tunnel personnel send a shock through time to revive Dr. Newman and he is found by a small group of Confederate soldiers. He does not remember who he is, so he takes on the name of the courier whom the Confederate soldiers were expecting and dons a Confederate uniform. The Union soldiers had intercepted the courier so they know that a man named Michaels, who has stolen some gunpowder from the Union army, is going to sell it to the Confederate army. Both sides are attempting to find Michaels first and get the gunpowder.

But Michaels is really Machiavelli who has somehow been moved to this time period by the Time Tunnel at some point unknown to the Time Tunnel personnel. When the Confederates show up, Machiavelli is willing to give them the gunpowder because the war is much more interesting when the sides are evenly matched. Dr. Newman and Dr. Phillips are pitted against each other, but Dr. Phillips ends up briefly knocking out Dr. Newman after which Dr. Newman regains his identity. The Time Tunnel transfers Machiavelli back to his own time (January 3, 1519) and transfers the two travelers in order to prevent them from being killed by the explosion of the gunpowder.

Note: In this episode, Machiavelli says that he is working on his book, The Art of War. This should not be confused with the book by Sun Tzu, which bears the same title when translated into English.
Attack Of The Barbarians March 10, 1967 1287 26
Soon after they arrive, the two travelers are captured by Mongols and taken to the tent of Batu, grandson of Genghis Khan. Batu wants to reconquer the former empire of Genghis Khan. Dr. Phillips is thought dead, so Dr. Newman is tortured for information on the weaknesses of the nearby fortress. Batu and most of his guards leave once Dr. Newman passes out. Dr. Phillips wakes up and knocks out the remaining guard. He carries Dr. Newman away from the camp, is found by Marco Polo (John Saxon) and his band, and they are taken to the fortress. We then find out that Batu wants to kidnap the Princess Sarit, the only daughter of Kublai Khan, and marry her, thereby uniting the Mongol armies so that he can overthrow Kublai Khan. Batu's men do succeed in kidnapping Sarit, but she is freed.
Merlin The Magician March 17, 1967 544 Coast of Cornwall 27
A man in a dark cape and cap appears in the Time Tunnel control room and freezes the personnel. He then brings the two travelers out of their "time limbo" (between destinations) back to the Time Tunnel control room so that he can instruct them to do what he asks, though they may die in the effort. He then sends them back to the "time limbo" and directs them to their destination, Cornwall in the year 544. There, they fight off a band of vikings and encounter a young man named Arthur Pendragon whose father has been killed by the Viking raiders. The strange man then appears and tells the travelers to protect Arthur at all costs. A band of Vikings then attack and Dr. Phillips is stabbed in the chest and presumed dead while Dr. Newman and Arthur are captured. The mysterious man prevents the Time Tunnel from moving the two travelers out of this time because there is only so much that magic can accomplish.

When Dr. Phillips awakes, he is in the castle of King Leodegrance of Cameliard and is being cared for by the king's daughter, Guinevere (Lisa Jak). The mysterious man heals Dr. Phillips, sends Guinevere off on an errand, introduces himself to Dr. Phillips as Merlin then disappears. Dr. Newman has escaped from his bonds and frees Arthur, but they are soon recaptured. Dr. Phillips goes to rescue the others and is followed by Guinevere, and they are captured as well. Merlin frees them from their bonds, but tells them that they must free themselves from the locked room. Dr. Phillips goes for help from King Leodegrance and bring his troops back to fight. But Merlin says that the vikings will not be frightened by these "gentlemen knights," so he changes their clothing to that of vikings. The knights storm the castle and drive the vikings out.
The Kidnappers March 24, 1967 8433 Planet orbiting Canopus 28
An alien appears in the Time Tunnel control room and kidnaps Dr. Ann McGregor. After the kidnapping, a punch card is discovered that has a set of time and space coordinates. The two travelers are directed to those coordinates. When they arrive, they find out that the aliens wanted them, as the first time travelers on Earth, and Dr. McGregor was just the bait to get them here. Rather than submit, they decide to fight against having all of their knowledge drained, leaving their bodies as empty shells. Several attempt fails, but they finally succeed when they discover that the aliens have a significant vulnerability: they derive their energy directly from the light of their sun and so they are inactive at night.

Note: This episode gives the distance to Canopus as 98 light years when it is actually 96 ± 5 parsecs (or 310 ± 20 light years).
Raiders From Outer Space March 31, 1967 November 2, 1883 Near Khartoum, Sudan 29
The two travelers arrive in the middle of a battle between British and Arab forces in the Sudan. This chapter is loosely based on the campaign of General Gordon. In their efforts to hide from the battling armies, they encounter two aliens who take them prisoner. The alien leader (from Aristos) then contacts the Time Tunnel control center and tells them not to interfere. Rather than kill them, the aliens are ordered by their leader to bring the two travelers back to their base. After explaining their plan to conquer Earth, the aliens order Dr. Newman to be taken out in the desert and killed with a dehydration ray while Dr. Phillips will be put in a machine to extract all of his knowledge. But the alien ordered to kill Dr. Newman leaves when they are encountered by two British soldiers. Dr. Newman is thought to be an Arab spy, so he leads them to the alien base where one of the soldiers is killed. The Time Tunnel is also able to move Dr. Phillips out of the alien machine to where Dr. Newman is. But in response, the aliens send a bomb in to the Time Tunnel control room that will explode in sixty minutes unless all personnel are evacuated to the upper levels of the complex.

Unable to attack the aliens effectively with the resources they have on hand, the two travelers and the British soldier return to Khartoum. There, they acquire grenades and gunpowder. When they return to the alien base, they attack it successfully enough to enter, but have insufficient resources left to destroy it. However, just before the bomb explodes in the Time Tunnel control room, they use the Time Tunnel to transfer the bomb to the alien base thereby destroying it.
Town Of Terror April 7, 1967 September 10, 1978 Cliffport, Maine 30
The travelers arrive in a cellar containing sophisticated equipment. When they get to the lobby of the hotel, the proprietor tells them that there is no cellar. When they attempt to show her, she immobilizes them. The Time Tunnel is able to move them, freeing them from their immobilization. They flee and are pursued. A force field around the town prevents their escape, but two young people, Joan and Pete, soon encounter them. The travelers find out that the townspeople have been immobilized and aliens are using the forms of the townspeople to appear as humans. The aliens are almost ready to begin transporting all of the oxygen from Earth's atmosphere to their home planet. The travelers ask where they can get some dynamite and Joan and Pete tell them. The travelers use these explosives to destroy the alien control room, destroying their ability to remove Earth's oxygen and freeing all of the townspeople. In the last shift they end up back on the Titanic.

[edit] Movies excerpted

[edit] Novel versions

Prolific science fiction author Murray Leinster had published a 1964 Pyramid Books novel titled Time Tunnel with cover art somewhat similar to the television series' Tunnel.[4], although the actual plots were quite different — the 1964 novel was set in France, the tunnel was built by a professor, and it only established a fixed connection between 1964 and Napoleonic era 1804.[5]

In any case, in 1967 Leinster wrote a loosely based novelization of the television series, entitled The Time Tunnel and also published by Pyramid. This was followed later in the year by Leinster's TIMESLIP! Time Tunnel Adventure #2.[citation needed]

[edit] After the original run

In 1967, a feature length film, Aliens from Another Planet, was produced using a compilation of three of the TV episodes.[6]

Despite the series having only been on the air for one year, the number of websites and fan reminiscences concerning it attest to the series having made an impression on its audience.

The series was re-shown on American television in the early-mid 1990s, and it was re-shown on British television after the success of the 1997 Titanic movie due to the Titanic-related content of the first episode. It was also parodied by Alexei Sayle as Drunk in Time on British television. In the U.S., it can now be seen on the Encore Action cable network at various times.

The first 15 episodes were released on DVD in North America on January 24, 2006. The second volume, containing the final fifteen episodes, was released June 6, 2006. It also includes the unaired 2002 pilot and the made-for-TV film The Time Travelers as special features.

The Time Tunnel is being shown on the American Life cable channel, as of September, 2007.

[edit] Remakes

[edit] 2002

In 2002, Fox showed interest in remaking this series. A pilot was produced by Twentieth Century Fox Television, Fox Television Studios and Regency Television in association with Irwin Allen Properties. Executive Producers were Kevin Burns and Jon Jashni. Sheila Allen was credited as one of the producers. It was not picked by Fox, in order to make room in its schedule for Joss Whedon's Firefly.

The new series had a much much darker, serious tone. Doug Phillips (David Conrad) is the main character, and Tony Newman is now Toni Newman, a female secondary character. The unaired pilot episode is available on DVD from Fox Home Entertainment on The Time Tunnel: Volume Two, Disc Four.

[edit] "Pilot"

The Time Tunnel is a Department of Energy research project into "hot fusion", producing nearly limitless energy. When they initiated the reactor, it had the unintended side effect of starting a "time storm". For four hours—240 minutes—the time storm was uncontrollably whipping around in the past, making changes. The DOE was able to anchor one end of the storm by using the Tunnel as a sort of lightning rod.

On their way into the complex, Flynn tells Doug Phillips, a former friend, that Phillips has been recruited because he has a detailed knowledge of the Battle of Hürtgen Forest. The head of the Time Tunnel likens their team to FEMA, in that they don't send a team back for a rain storm but they do for hurricanes. However, they can only go through time to where the other end of the storm is at the current moment, so they have a limited amount of time in which to fix what is wrong and to be retrieved by the Time Tunnel.

The team (Doug, Toni, Flynn, J.D. and Wix) must go back to the Battle of Hürtgen Forest and retrieve the person who was deposited there from the year 1546. During the trip, Doug Phillips meets his grandfather, a soldier who will be killed in this battle. Doug knows this, but cannot tell him and save his life because it would change history. This is when Toni Newman tells him that she used to have three brothers and two sisters before the initial incident but now is an only child because of the "240". They find out that the displaced person is a (very confused) medieval monk who is carrying The Plague. A number of the team have to pretend that they are Germans and switch uniforms. Two of them say they are Colonel Klink and (Sergeant) Schultz. Once he and everyone who came in contact with the monk has been given an antibiotic injection, the time ripples stop. But Flynn has been fatally stabbed, so he reveals that Phillips was a bitter man before the "240", but he now has a family. Flynn told Phillips this information to give him incentive to keep the timeline the way that it is.[7]

[edit] Differences

In the pilot, there are some notable differences between the series universe and the real world:[8]

  • Traffic lights use red for "go" and green for "stop" while yellow retains its meaning.
  • There are 49 states in the United States. The title sequence shows New Jersey disappearing and the territory being divided between New York and Pennsylvania.
  • The title sequence shows the USSR winning the race to the moon as the American flag dissolves into the Soviet flag.
  • The New York Yankees are now the Boston Yankees.

[edit] 2007

The SciFi Channel (US cable network) announced on April 13, 2005 that it was going to create a new pilot for its 2006/07 season. Two of the producers of the FOX project, Kevin Burns and Jon Jashni, along with Allen's wife, Sheila, are producing SciFi's pilot. John Turman (Hulk) is writing the script.[9] The series never materialized.

[edit] References

  1. ^ The Time Tunnel: Volume One and The Time Tunnel: Volume Two DVD sets
  2. ^ Original, unaired pilot
  3. ^ The Time Tunnel: Volume Two and The Time Tunnel: Volume Two DVD sets
  4. ^ Time Tunnel cover art
  5. ^ Time Tunnel review
  6. ^ Aliens from Another Planet plot summary
  7. ^ The Time Tunnel: Volume Two, Disc Four, side B
  8. ^ The Time Tunnel: Volume Two, Disc Four, side B
  9. ^ IMDB link for 2007 series

[edit] External links