The Time Tunnel

As stated in previous Neatorama articles, the 1960's was the decade of many notable cultural things but one that has escaped the net until now was the Master of Disaster - Irwin Allen.

Irwin Allen, later known for his 'disaster' films such as The Poseidon Adventure and The Towering Inferno, was responsible for several television series during that decade - Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, Lost in Space, and - The Time Tunnel.

They all made for great watching but The Time Tunnel was an especial favorite of mine, and, as usual per my favorite TV programs of that era (like Thriller), it was canceled after just one season, for 30 episodes.

In a nutshell, the series concerned a top-secret government project to develop a method for time and space travel. But the program is in jeopardy due to its cost, and a Senator visits the secret facility in the first episode to demand an accounting. When one of the time scientists realizes that his project will be shut down unless progress is made, and fast, he takes it upon himself to prove out the time travel device, prematurely, it seems. He becomes lost in time and one of his friends and colleagues goes after him and is also lost. Now the government couldn't very well shut down the project and doom the two men, and so began a weekly series of time travel adventures. The two men could be tracked but not rescued for some technical reason, and each attempt at rescue merely launched the two men to a different time, space, and new adventure.

It was a costly program to produce, which is eventually what killed it, but Irwin Allen did the best he could - just look at those sets! Below is a short documentary about the series, with commentary by the starring actors, and below that is the first episode, wherein we see that our two lost time travelers find themselves aboard the Titanic on April 14, 1912. Gee, what could possibly go wrong?

This and other episodes are available on YouTube, but in the 'miniature' format often employed to evade copyright claims. DVD's are also available and it should surprise no one that I own the complete set. The series was remade in 2002 so be sure to look for those from 1966-1967.

Short documentary about The Time Tunnel.

Season 1, Episode 1 (small format due to copyright)


Comments (10)

Newest 5
Newest 5 Comments

Interesting; that is one cartoon that I never watched for some reason. Was probably on at the same time as something else I did watch, in a time long before VCR. We watched things like Fireball XL-5 and others that I will have to recollect. This was all in Fort Worth, Texas, and I know that our local market did not carry all programming that was available. But we did have Icky Twerp and Slam-Bang Theater; try to beat that.
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A good list. Impressive yet incomplete. How did I grow up to such a sarcastic subversive? What rotted my brain more than monsters and superheroes?

Roger Ramjet you yahoo.

How many cartoons from the 60's used words like existentialist?
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I lied because I decided to do Kolchak: The Night Stalker next instead (it's in the queue). Spur of the moment decision. Glad you like these; most people have no idea as to what I am even talking about. Congrats on your cultural advancement!

Coming sometime:
The Invaders
Fiend Without a Face
Night Gallery
Search
Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea
The Giant Claw
The Killer Shrews
Clutch Cargo
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Not sure about what. Not that it matters. All I can say is that once, for quite awhile, I did everything with my pinkie finger extended out at a weird angle. Drove. My. Mom. Nuts. Especially at the supper table.

Keep up the good work.
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This appears to be a gentleman's lice removal tool. Properly positioned by placing his organ in the lower chamber with handle pointing away from body, hot coal was placed on the upper pan. A slight tilting of the handle up and toward the body sent the hot coal off the pan, over the spikes, setting the pubic hair aflame. When the lice ran into the clearing, they were quickly dispatched by repeated stabbing from the three prongs.

Forest Hitchhikers forest green medium
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This is the original prototype Spork. During testing it was found that users would often impale their upper lip on fork portion , and that the spoon portion failed to hold any liquid. The first Spork patent, based on this prototype, was issued to Samuel W. Francis under US Patent 147,119 in February 1874.

The lesser of Two Weevils, XL Black.
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We use that every thanksgiving when carving the bird. It's a combination turkey peeler-serving fork. For use with the combination carving knife-nail clipper.

Inappropriate xl
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Ultimate s'mores tool, you place the first graham cracker & a liberal serve of chocolate in the lower tray; roast not one, not two, but three marshmallows on the prongs; whilst the marshmallows cook the chocolate melts; finally slide the final cracker off the top tray and enjoy perfection.

P and A (Medium)
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It's a rodent/mole removing tool. The flat end stops the mole from moving along in their burrow, and then the picks come down and pin/stab the mole. Krampus Greetings 2XL
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The traditional tool for preparing "Absinthe corn on the cob".
Slide your corn into the bottom tray, sugar cube (or these days, maybe a cube of slpenda) on top of the prongs, slowly pour your Absinthe.......and bingo ! A tasy treat made by green faeries !!!
* Note that this also works well with candy bars and hot-dogs, too!

Lovecraft's canned octopus
large
black
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It is obviously a sspecial device that serves for picking up cigarette stubs with the spikes, the "shovel" serves for picking up half full packs of cigaretttes and the flat part may serce as portalbe ashtray for the cigaretts recycled from colletected cigarette stubs...
Only rarely used by fashionate hobos in the early 1920th...

http://www.neatoshop.com/product/Never-Grow-Up
2X ladies fit suggested colour
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It's a cheese plate server. The bottom is used for shaving slices from large blocks of cheese. The prongs are used to fend off all the mice that show up.

Inappropriate XL
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