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#thetimetunnel
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Remembering James Darren, my childhood hero from The Time Tunnel, on what would have been his 89th birthday.
A very happy 90th birthday to Lee Meriwether!
Lovely Lee has appeared in many of my favourite TV series and films, including, of course, Star Trek and Batman (as far as I’m concerned, she is still the best movie Catwoman). But it was when Lee played Dr Ann MacGregor on The Time Tunnel that a very young Roo first lost his heart to her.
All my very best wishes to a very special lady.
Meanwhile, at Project Tic-Toc...
The Time Tunnel team might be struggling to retrieve James Darren, but at least they’ve managed to snag some cups and saucers from the Titanic.
Replied to -karlos-
#TheTimeTunnel was originally renewed for a second season and the cast and crew even held a party to celebrate. Unfortunately, the renewal was later rescinded and Time Tunnel was replaced by Custer (starring Wayne Maunder), a short lived and entirely forgettable Western. The 'time loop' was actually a teaser for a rerun of Rendezvous with Yesterday, but over the years some fans have chosen to see it as Doug and Tony being trapped repeating their adventures in an endless cycle.
Yesterday I watched the last #TheTimeTunnel episode. The series, mainly the setting, was fascinating for me as a child. The stories are a bit to equal, jungle, fortress, future, fighting. I see a difference between USA and UK series. Invaders compared to #Thunderbirds and #DoctorWho are dull. Ok, #TheAvengers first seasons were not SF/fantasy yet. Today, Time Tunnel episodes would be more complex. An obstacle is the fixed timeline. If you can’t change anything, it’s hard to keep the suspense. Less known events would help. I could image to have a Doctor Who episode (or season) about an existing Time Tunnel alike.
Spoiler Alert!
I was afraid, the series end as a canceled one and the last episode to be just as the others. Well, it was, in a way. But then the finish as a twist: The Loop! Will our heroes just do exactly the same or do they remember the last loop (or loops)? What about the team in the cave? Did they get in that loop too? A cheap solution for the production anyway.
There was an attempt to remake the series, I did not see, but @Doctor_Roo was not amused. That Cave equipment with modern sets and CGI could be fascinating again. Like with #DasBoot they may add background stories about “All personal” and invent the Tunnel influencing our present Earth. Just good phantasy for the plots. And I wouldn’t keep the tunnel malfunctioning for more than one or two seasons. The #Tardis is working better now to, isn’t it. Reliable equipment offers more options for stories.
The early morning hours of 15 April 1912, and time is running out for time-tunnellers Doug Phillips and Tony Newman, who remain trapped aboard the sinking RMS Titanic. Only a desperate gamble by their colleagues back at Project Tic-Toc can save them.
"I've no right to take a place in one of those lifeboats..."
April 15th, 1912: As the Titanic continues to sink, Tony (James Darren) attempts to convince a reluctant Althea (Susan Hampshire) that her life is worth saving.
"It occurs to me now you may even know whether I will die tonight"
Aboard the sinking RMS Titanic, time travellers Tony Newman (James Darren) and Doug Phillips (Robert Colbert) have a difficult conversation with Captain Smith (Michael Rennie).
Replied to -karlos-
Cowboys and aliens...
'Visitors from Beyond the Stars' is The Time Tunnel episode where Irwin Allen finally gives in to temptation and starts recycling Lost in Space costumes and props.
I'm very fond of the episode, but you do have to wonder about a race of alien beings who travel light years of space for no better reason than to steal beans from cowboys.
More aliens ahead.
Gestern habe ich Folge 18 von #TheTimeTunnel gesehen. Leute aus dem Jahr 2800 laufen `rum wie die Chroma-Wissenschaftler aus #Raumpatrouille
schön mit Gartenschlauch um den Bauch gewickelt.
In bunt:
Replied to -karlos-
@karlos During the course of The Time Tunnel's run, Doug and Tony don't hesitate to use guns when they are forced to. Thankfully, as The Time Tunnel universe was governed by the self-consistency principle, our heroes are unable to create paradoxes or alternate time-lines. The can't change history because they were always a part of it (something the writers of the Big Finish reboot completely failed to understand).
Half time for #TheTimeTunnel. As a child, I was impressed by the secret big cave below the desert. And time traveling is still a good thing to think and talk about, even if time can’t be changed. That gigantic tunnel and the large computers! I found a web page with a 3D reconstruction:
https://sketchfab.com/3d-models/the-time-tunnel-wip-383bf81a8a2f48429d89f2b40c936d03
Nowadays my impressions are about like #ST_TOS. And I know about resting sets and scenes from other films.
How does that partly ready time machine manage to always transport your hero’s to well known and dangerous places (and times). I think it did a mind-merge with an other time machine with that habit, Aled #TARDIS.
The TT plots are a bit to equal: They get prisoned, do some fist fighting, find help and finally solve the trouble. Often they manage to transport things or people, but not Tony and Doug.
The Nazi Episode 15 was a bit odd for me as a German. The spoken German was good. An unusual body count. Has one of our heroes ever shot someone in other episodes?
Who wore it better?
Dick York as Darrin the Bold in a third season episode of Bewitched, 'A Most Unusual Wood Nymph,' which originally aired 13th October, 1966.
Robert Colbert as Dr Doug Phillips in the 'Merlin the Magician' episode of The Time Tunnel, which aired 17th March, 1967.
Continued thread
James Darren as Tony Newman and Vitina Marcus as Sarit in The Time Tunnel episode, 'Attack of the Barbarians.'
Just finished watching The Time Tunnel episode, 'Chase Through Time,' and I got to wondering if guest star Vitina Marcus is still with us. Turns out she is and it was actually her 88th birthday yesterday!
Vitina is probably better known to fans of classic Sci-Fi as Athena, 'The Girl from the Green Dimension' in Lost in Space, but here she is in gold face-paint instead from the aforementioned episode of The Time Tunnel.
Will these reboots, IF they happen, manage to capture the charm and the spirit of the original series? Stay tuned.
https://deadline.com/2025/02/akiva-goldsman-irwin-allen-sci-fi-legendary-television-1236297827/
Deadline · Akiva Goldsman To Reimagine 3 Classic Irwin Allen Sci-Fi Titles For TV With Legendary Television
Legendary Television and Akiva Goldsman will be developing new versions of classic TV series 'Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea", "Land of the Giants" and "The Time Tunnel", possibly creating a shared universe.