Talk:The Time Tunnel

Krakatoa Footage
Actually, footage from "Krakatoa, East of Java" was NOT used in "The Time Tunnel" episode "The Crack of Doom"- since that movie came out in 1969, two years after "TT" was cancelled. For once, the writers did do some decent research and got their geography right, but not the actual events of the eruption, since the islands had lost their vegetation by late July, and the entire area was blacked out from afternoon of the 26th. From that time until the explosions on the morning of the 27th, there would have been NO doubt that something major was going on, and it would be best to leave the entire vicinity. One interesting point, whoever did the opening teaser (where you see a long shot of a volcano just before Tony and Doug land) animated the May photograph of Perbowatan erupting. It's a very well-done bit.

source- Krakatoa, by Rubert Furneaux (1964)- for both the eruption sequence and the May photo; also the episode's title is a chapter title from the book CFLeon 05:03, 3 January 2006 (UTC)

Time Tunnel comics
I seem to remember seeing a few Time Tunnel comics in the late 1960s. How many such comics were produced? Are they collectable? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 198.177.27.21 (talk • contribs) 08:26, 3 February 2006
 * Good question. Mile High Comics shows that Gold Key published two issues, at least . Luis Dantas 14:16, 16 June 2007 (UTC)

Similarities to Stargate SG-1??
In 2002 Fox showed interest in remaking this series...A pilot episode...was filmed but later turned down due to similarities to Stargate SG-1.

Stargate SG-1? I would have thought that a revival would be shot down for its similarity to Quantum Leap, which handled the same concept much better and for much longer. How on earth would a TT revival have been similar to Stargate SG-1? Can we get a citation to support this statement? This does not sound right. Canonblack 02:53, 12 March 2006 (UTC)


 * Stargate SG-1 also is set on a top-secret millitary base and also involves traveling through a portal. That may not sound like much, but it would give a strickingly similar milieu. Plus, as of 2002, Quantum Leap had not been in production for almost ten years. 67.171.163.212 17:21, 16 July 2006 (UTC)

The unaired 2002 Time Tunnel pilot is contained on the second volume of the Time Tunnell DVD release. After watching it, you can see where someone would think it is similar to Stargate. The time tunnel base is underground, the team consists of four members (after one dies) and they go through a portal/tunnel on missions. Unlike the original, the cast are not lost in time. It was fun to watch and a shame it didn't go anywhere. Although there was one serious plot problem, the main character Doug Phillips gains a family due to a time malfunction and every time he goes back in time he may lose his family - he therefore has no real incentive to fix the time malfunction.


 * Doug got his family because of the incident of the "240". They apparently can't fix what happenned in the "240" because they didn't have one end of the time storm anchored at the time.  Now that they have it anchored, they can fix the problems caused by the time storm.  Doug has an incentive to fix the problem so that he can keep the family that he got as a result of the "240". Val42 06:10, 2 March 2007 (UTC)

In addition to the aforementioned similarities with the pilot, SG-1 and the original Time Tunnel series share a formula. Both use a portal as a story generator (as was stated before). In the Time Tunnel, the characters go to past societies based on Western archetypes/stereotypes of history, conversely, they also visit advanced futuristic societies. SG-1 follows the same formula, especially in the first few seasons, which mostly revolve around exploring societies like Ancient Egyptians, Mongols, Vikings, etc. that were transplanted from Earth at that stage of development and put on distant worlds. They also visit human societies with advanced technologies that are superior on the development scale to contemporary humans (the Ashen, for example). In a particularly uncanny example of the similarity between the two, in both series the character of Merlin is depicted as a being capable of god-like powers using advanced technologies that appear to primitive humans as magic. To the astute sci-fi viewer (the target audience for this revival series), it can easily be seen how SG-1 comes very close to being a revival of The Time Tunnel using the veneer of the blockbuster by Roland Emmerich as a framing device that created a more cohesive storyline with a compelling cast of antagonists. It kept the "History of Civ 101 Lecture of the Week" format from getting boring. The similarities could be the subject of a lengthy critique, any network exec aware of SG-1 would have seen it right away.

Similarities to Voyagers!
The Time Tunnel sounds very similar to the TV show Voyagers!, in which a man and a boy travel through history correcting "errors" in history. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.19.49.161 (talk) 06:45, 25 May 2009 (UTC)


 * Actually it is very different. Bogg and Jones only travel into the past and tried to 'get history back on track".  Newman and Phillips attempt to change history by preventing the Titanic disaster in the very first episode and in the very next episode they go to the then "future" time of 1978.  Also Bogg and Jones could to some degree control where and when they landed while Newman and Phillips had no such direct control.--BruceGrubb (talk) 11:52, 9 March 2010 (UTC)


 * "Very similar"? well, considering that The Time Tunnel came 20 years BEFORE Voyagers, you figure which is similar to which. CFLeon (talk) 01:43, 31 March 2016 (UTC)

Irwin Allen's Re-use of Costumes and Props
''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...'' Yes, that's Irwin Allen for you. His aliens from the Khartoum episode also appeared briefly in an episode of Lost in Space involving the intergalactic con man, Farnum. In fact, I can't think of any show that Irwin Allen ever did, that did not involve some kind of re-use of costumes, props, or sets. That's one reason why Irwin Allen will always be the King of Schlock to me. --Temlakos 12:33, 3 April 2006 (UTC)

60 min?
Were the episodes actually 60 minutes long, or has someone included commercials in the running time? Arctic Gnome 16:41, 23 April 2006 (UTC)

Episodes were about 52 minutes long, add 8 minutes of commercials to make an hour of "programming". Nowadays in the US, I think there are about 8 minutes per half hour! I remember watching the Disney show on Sunday evenings in the 60s and there would actually be an intermission, or snack break,.. ahh, the old days. Heywood Kirk is listed as an actor under the sidebar picture, he is actually the "General" character played by Whit Bissel, so that name ought to be removed. maynardjr 15 July 2006\

60 min time slot. 52 min of actual programing, including teaser & credits sounds about right for the mid-60s. Nowadays, it's about 44-42 min of programing. CFLeon (talk) 01:43, 31 March 2016 (UTC)

Murray Leinster?
A loosely based novelization was written by Murray Leinster

I just finished reading an old paperback copy of Murray Leinster's "Time Tunnel" (no "The"), which was first printed by Pyramid Books in 1964. Apart from the name, it shared very little with the TV series but undoubtedly was the inspiration for it. (Apparently Leinster also wrote several novelizations based on the television show as well.)  [22:15, 30 July 2006 69.196.216.26]


 * I subsequently added text regarding this question.  Wasted Time R 12:23, 4 January 2007 (UTC)

The juvenile novel "Tunnel Through Time" was written by Lester del Rey, not Murray Leinster. Here are a couple of external references: JohnC 02:54, 27 March 2007 (UTC)
 * That's a completely different novel. Del Rey's book is about a tunnel that leads to an era dominated by dinosaurs, Leinster's book is about a tunnel to the Napoleonic era. 12.233.146.130 (talk) 02:57, 4 July 2013 (UTC)


 * Murray Leinster wrote at least 2 novels, probably 3. There was "Time Tunnel" (NO "The"), that had a similar concept, but the characters were different. Then "The Time Tunnel", a novelization of an original episode that was never aired, and I recall another novelization with the SAME TITLE. I used to have all 3 paperbacks, and it was VERY confusing to figure it out. I remember that the relationship between Doug & Ann was more played up and Doug & Tony got back to the complex at the end of one of them. Del Rey's "Tunnel Through Time" is completely unrelated, except for the similarity of name.CFLeon (talk) 01:43, 31 March 2016 (UTC)

Note on the nature of the Tunnel's "malfunction"

 *  "But the time machine was not built to handle  two  people travelling in time; it malfunctions, making Newman and Phillips' return impossible until repairs are effected." 

I just watched the pilot episode and this is incorrect. The problem had nothing to do with there being two travellers; the system was still being developed and a method for return -- even of the test animals sent off to times unknown prior to the events of the pilot -- had simply not yet been devised. (Mark Hayes) [08:15, 4 January 2007 68.122.71.188]


 * Yes, I always thought this was wrong too ... have corrected the article.  Wasted Time R 12:23, 4 January 2007 (UTC)

Time Tunnel (2002)
I watched the 2002 pilot for the Time Tunnel today. I think that there is enough information for this to have its own article. If no one objects within the next few days, I'll split it off. Val42 06:15, 2 March 2007 (UTC)
 * After thinking about it for almost a week, I think that this wouldn't be a good idea. While there is enough information for said article, I don't think that it would meet "notability guidelines" because it was an unbroadcast pilot.  I'll just expand said section in this article.  But this decision now doesn't preclude me changing my mind. Val42 05:24, 9 March 2007 (UTC)

Always historical
This sentence, "Tony and Doug's random placement in time always landed them right before an event ...", isn't correct. After reviewing the episodes (now that I've made the summaries), I found that End Of The World, Secret Weapon, Visitors From Beyond The Stars, The Ghost Of Nero, Pirates Of Deadman's Island, Chase Through Time, The Kidnappers and Town Of Terror do not deal with a major historical event, and Devil's Island, Reign of Terror, Billy The Kid are borderline. I know that "historical event" isn't what is used in the above sentence, but it is heavily implied. Val42 05:24, 9 March 2007 (UTC)

Splitting article
On my talk page, an editor suggested that the episode grid be split off into its own article, each episode be split off into its own article and he could add an episode screen shot to the table. I thought that this discussion would best take place on this talk page. Since there was only one season, I think that the episode list and summary should remain on the article page. I'd like The Time Tunnel to eventually reach the point where each episode could be on their own pages but it is far from that now. I think that we should expand the episodes in place then, when they get big enough, they can be split off into their own articles. However, adding the episode screen shot is an excellent idea; go ahead and do it. Val42 04:59, 30 March 2007 (UTC)

Agree. Let's include all the info we can, but keep the whole thing on one page. Techno Faye Kane 06:06, 30 March 2007 (UTC)
 * I mostly agree also, I would suggest placing the LOE on a "List of" page however, generally speaking most LOEs are kept separate from the parent article. Matthew 08:15, 30 March 2007 (UTC)
 * I think it's about time for someone to create a LOE article, these summaries are coming along nicely. I would like to see each with a sub-heading. I'm not very good with columns...Smarkflea (talk) 02:36, 15 August 2008 (UTC)

1968
Should it be noted that while this show was set in 1968 it was shown in 66-67? Or is that a typo? After watching the pilot, it caught my ear that Tony said he was from 1968. (unsigned)
 * No, it's not a typo. The series ran in the 1966-67 season, but was set in the year 1968. I don't think they really made much of that, though. CFLeon (talk) 01:43, 31 March 2016 (UTC)

Art of War
"Note: In this episode, Machiavelli says that he is working on his book, The Art of War. But that book was written by Sun Tzu. Machiavelli's famous work is called Il Principe (The Prince)."

In fact, there IS a book from Machiavelli called "Dell'arte della guerra (The Art of War, 1519-1520)"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Art_of_War_%28Machiavelli%29

Zwargh 18:13, 6 June 2007 (UTC)
 * Okay, please make this change then. Val42 05:02, 8 June 2007 (UTC)

2007 series dead?
Since there are no further mentions, is it safe to assume the 2007 series mentioned is dead? Nuts. --John Kenneth Fisher 00:33, 15 June 2007 (UTC)
 * I guess so. (looks at the date) --Puppy Zwolle (Puppy) (talk) 14:10, 5 January 2008 (UTC)

Carefully check your luggage when checking out of Project Tic-Toc
If you have DVD's or tapes of the pilot episode "Rendezvous With Yesterday", watch very carefully for a continuity error involving the handling of Senator Clark's luggage, first when he arrives at the Tic-Toc complex, and then when he leaves it.

Thanx-A-Lot, Frank Fgf2007 (talk) 07:24, 20 December 2008 (UTC)

Episode 30, first aired 7 April 1967
On 1 September 1967 which episode (re-)aired? Episode 30?

Movies excerpted
The plain list of original works in this section needs further clarification, such as which episodes and scenes were used. --RedKnight (talk) 20:05, 25 August 2010 (UTC)

Anomalies, Trivia, and Fancruft
In the interest of somewhat preserving what others have shared in the writing of this article I wish to post here material that has been edited from the main article for good reason: --Drboisclair (talk) 03:12, 21 December 2012 (UTC)
 * Lee Meriwether and John Zaremba both were in the "Twelve O'clock High" episode: Mutiny at 10,000 feet.
 * In "Rendezvous With Yesterday", Tony states he was born in 1938. Yet in "The Day The Sky Fell In", he is portrayed as a seven-year-old at the time of the attack on Pearl Harbor. James Darren was actually born in 1936, coincidentally consistent with Tony being 30 at the start of the show.
 * In "The Alamo", Colonel Travis states he has a twelve-year-old son. Travis' son Charles Edward was actually seven at the time of the battle. Travis, who was actually 26 at the time of his death, is portrayed in the episode as a man in his mid to late thirties, thus making the existence of a twelve-year-old child a little more plausible, except that there would still be several years of inconsistency left in Travis' age.
 * In the opening scene of "Invasion", the commander of the Cherbourg Gestapo has a portrait of Rudolf Hess hanging on his office's wall, a very unlikely occurrence for a Nazi officer in 1944. In later scenes the portrait is replaced by one of Heinrich Himmler.
 * Wild historical mishmashes, such as Niccolò Machiavelli - explained, of course - getting involved in the Battle of Gettysburg, occur. And the explanation of why he can't be killed - he has already been dead for centuries - would make Doug and Tony similarly indestructible in the future episodes, yet they clearly fear death in those episodes.
 * In "The Day The Sky Fell In", Tony's father is referred to as a Lieutenant Commander (O-4) in rank, yet his shoulder boards are three full stripes (and silver collar insignia), indicating the rank of Commander (O-5).
 * No matter where or when Doug and Tony appear, everyone speaks and understands, reasonably well, colloquial 20th century English.
 * There is never any attempt to explain how or why Doug and Tony keep landing squarely into the middle of historically significant events, even though the malfunctioning Time Tunnel is implied to be choosing destinations at random.
 * At the end of every episode, Doug and Tony always somehow reverted to the same cleaned, pressed clothes: a green turtleneck sweater and a pair of gray slacks for Tony, and a conservative Norfolk suit for Doug. Doug never takes off his tie (although he loosens it occasionally). Doug's clothes were originally meant for the 1912 Titanic, but the suit somehow changes to being contemporary style in future episodes.
 * Many times, when something is wrong with the Tunnel, or when Dr. MacGregor is feeling anxious about the circumstances the travelers are experiencing, Dr. Swain pushes her away from her control panel so he can do her job himself.
 * Almost all of the non-regular characters, even characters from sides that oppose each other, and in particular all of the aliens, are hostile to Doug and Tony and to Time Tunnel personnel, to the point of threatening death in most episodes; Doug and Tony are usually assaulted in some manner, and forced to fight back, sometimes using deadly force. On the occasions Doug and/or Tony are injured, they recover with remarkable speed or through magical circumstances.
 * Elements of pure fantasy often appeared on the series, such as Nero's ghost and the magic powers of Merlin, without any scientific explanation given.
 * No explanation is given for the frequent computer glitches which spontaneously show scenes far from Doug and Tony but which are related to the storyline. The characters themselves even noticed this, wondering aloud if the computer is trying to show them something.
 * Often characters from the past are brought forward to the Time Tunnel and characters from the installation are sent back in time. However, for some strange reason, Time Tunnel personnel can't get both Doug and Tony back, without complications (like a time warp), even though every time transfer does succeed, somehow, in transporting both of them to the same time period and nearly, but not exactly, the same geographical location.
 * Building up enough power to make a time transfer is almost always a time-consuming process, though as the episode moves along and time is short, or when an occasional 'mini' crisis arises, sufficient power seems to then be available.
 * Gen Kirk is constantly imploring MacGregor and Swain to get a 'fix' on the travelers and move them along.
 * Even after a crisis passes and there is no longer an imminent crisis apparently forthcoming, rather than Doug and Tony existing in that time period, until Tunnel personnel have perfected a means of getting them back, they get sent to another time period ( obviously to face a new crisis, providing a 'cliff-hanger' arc to the next episode).

More than two revival attempts?
According to the article Time Travelers (1976 film) there was a third attempt that predates the two mentioned in this article. Though that article is unsourced, the claim that Allen himself produced the 1976 film as a pilot for an official reboot might bear investigation (and no, I don't mean simply looking it up on IMDB). 12.233.146.130 (talk) 02:54, 4 July 2013 (UTC)

Commodore 64 video game
There is also a Commodore 64 video game with this name Barry.carter (talk) 21:48, 10 November 2013 (UTC)

Confusing sentence as edited out for discussion 2014-06-04
This sentence:

'They did travel to the future on four occasions: two in 1978, one in 8433, and part of one, in 1,000,000 AD, the latter two into an unrecognizable future.'

What? Tobermory conferre 10:51, 4 June 2014 (UTC)

The meaning of this sentence is that the episodes in which they found themselves in 8433 A.D. and 1 Million A.D. had them in surroundings that they were less able to relate to. You are right. The sentence makes no sense.Drboisclair (talk) 12:41, 6 June 2014 (UTC)

series did conclude...?
Abbythecat (talk) 01:48, 22 July 2015 (UTC)Back in the '80's I bought a magazine with a TUNNEL article in it. I think it was called SFTV magazine, issue 1 or 2, around December of 1984. I vividly recall Lee Meriwether was interviewed and she said they did film a concluding scene where Tony and Doug make it back safely to the TUNNEL. The scene was to be used in case the show was cancelled so they'd have it to 'tack on' to the ending of the last episode. But it was never used. Does anyone else recall this? Am I remembering the right old magazine? If someone has this issue (I no longer do), then please add this information citing it as the reference. I am 100% positive I read this ... just not sure where. PS - TUNNEL fans may like reading about the WALLS OF JERICHO episode (and seeing a TUNNEL photo) in the hardcover book THE BIBLE ON FILM: A CHECKLIST, 1897-1980 (Scarecrow, 1981). PSS - a book called THE TIME TUNNEL A HISTORY OF THE SERIES by M. Gram (BearManor, 2012) shows photos of Tony and Doug returning to the tunnel; apparently this ending was going to be used to make a foreign theatrical movie, but they never did. This may/may not be the same 'concluding scene' Lee described in the 1980s. AbbythecatAbbythecat (talk)

1976 Remake?
This article does not mention the 1976 Irwin Allen Production Time Travelers. On that production's Wikipedia page, the text currently states without sourcing: "The film was originally produced by Irwin Allen to be a remake of the 1960s series The Time Tunnel which ran only one season. The pilot did not sell and was repackaged as an ABC Movie of the Week." Does anyone know if that statement is correct? If so, shouldn't that fact be mentioned here in the Time Tunnel article? Siberian Husky (talk) 15:09, 16 December 2015 (UTC)

"Massacre"
I just rewatched the episode "Massacre", concerning the Battle of the Little BigHorn, 1876, after many years. There is a scene near the end where Doug and Tony overpower a couple of soldiers with Custer's battalion escorting them and leave the two knocked out when they escape. I didn't catch of the two soldiers were ever given names in the show, but I started thinking: Wouldn't it be a hoot if they had been Peter Thompson and James Watson? CFLeon (talk) 13:20, 13 December 2020 (UTC)

The physics of The Time Tunnel
It is revealed in the episode "Crack of Doom" that moving in time is all a matter of rapid acceleration. תיל&#34;ם (talk) 08:40, 18 July 2022 (UTC)

Photos of set
It would be useful to include a shot of the Time Tunnel prop, even as a publicity still. Free license from MPTV could be explored. algocu (talk) 20:01, 19 May 2022 (UTC)

Parodies
This article states: "A recurring sketch called Drunk In Time starred Alexei Sayle and Peter Capaldi as two men so inebriated that they weren't aware they were time travellers. Featuring a mock up of the original Project Tic-Toc set and animated Time Tunnel-style title sequence, the main characters are also called Doug and Tony. The six sketches featured in The All New Alexei Sayle Show in 1995." This is pretty funny - a big deal is made in the intro of this article to point out this was an American show broadcast on ABC, but this description appears to assume everyone knows this obscure parody was British and shown on BBC. Talk about anglocentric... — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2601:801:380:63E0:F96B:D5C1:FFD9:B3D8 (talk) 20:41, 18 July 2022 (UTC)