"The Time Tunnel" (1966) TV series 1966-1967

Creator:

Irwin Allen
(more)

Seasons:

1

Release Date:

9 September 1966 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Sci-Fi

Plot:

Scientists Tony Newman and Doug Phillips are the young heads of Project Tic-Toc, a multi-billion dollar...

Plot Keywords:

Titanic | Historical | Cult Favorite | Cult TV | 1910s

Cast

James Darren	...	Dr. Tony Newman / ... (30 episodes, 1966-1967)
Robert Colbert	...	Dr. Doug Phillips / ... (30 episodes, 1966-1967)
Whit Bissell	...	Army Lt. Gen. Heywood Kirk / ... (30 episodes, 1966-1967)
John Zaremba	...	Dr. Raymond Swain (30 episodes, 1966-1967)
Lee Meriwether	...	Dr. Ann MacGregor (30 episodes, 1966-1967)
Dick Tufeld	...	Announcer / ... (22 episodes, 1966-1967)

Series Directed by
Sobey Martin		(14 episodes, 1966-1967)
Nathan Juran		(5 episodes, 1966-1967)
William Hale		(4 episodes, 1966)
Harry Harris		(2 episodes, 1966-1967)
Herschel Daugherty		(2 episodes, 1967)

Series Writing credits
Irwin Allen		(29 episodes, 1966-1967)
Bob Duncan		(9 episodes, 1966-1967)
Wanda Duncan		(9 episodes, 1966-1967)
William Welch		(8 episodes, 1966-1967)
Leonard Stadd		(3 episodes, 1966-1967)
Carey Wilber		(3 episodes, 1966-1967)
Ellis St. Joseph		(2 episodes, 1966-1967)

Series Produced by
Irwin Allen	....	producer (30 episodes, 1966-1967)
Jerry Briskin	....	associate producer (29 episodes, 1966-1967)

Series Original Music by
Herman Stein		(18 episodes, 1966-1967)
Lyn Murray		(3 episodes, 1966)
Robert Drasnin		(2 episodes, 1966)
Paul Sawtell		(2 episodes, 1966)
Leith Stevens		(2 episodes, 1966)
Daniele Amfitheatrof		(unknown episodes)

Series Cinematography by
Winton C. Hoch		(30 episodes, 1966-1967)

Series Film Editing by
James Baiotto		(11 episodes, 1966-1967)
Dick Wormell		(10 episodes, 1966-1967)
Axel Hubert Sr.		(9 episodes, 1966-1967)

Series Art Direction by
Jack Martin Smith		(30 episodes, 1966-1967)
Rodger Maus		(27 episodes, 1966-1967)
William J. Creber		(3 episodes, 1966)

Series Set Decoration by
Norman Rockett		(30 episodes, 1966-1967)
Walter M. Scott		(30 episodes, 1966-1967)

Series Makeup Department
Margaret Donovan	....	hair style supervisor / hair stylist supervisor (30 episodes, 1966-1967)
Ben Nye	....	makeup supervisor (30 episodes, 1966-1967)

Series Production Management
William Self	....	executive in charge of production (30 episodes, 1966-1967)
Jack Sonntag	....	production supervisor (30 episodes, 1966-1967)
George E. Swink	....	post-production supervisor (30 episodes, 1966-1967)
Robert J. Anderson	....	unit production manager (29 episodes, 1966-1967)

Series Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Fred R. Simpson	....	assistant director (15 episodes, 1966-1967)
Steven Bernhardt	....	assistant director (7 episodes, 1966-1967)
Ted Butcher	....	assistant director (7 episodes, 1966)

Series Art Department
Noel Quinn	....	storyboard artist (30 episodes, 1966-1967)

Series Sound Department
Bob Cornett	....	sound effects editor (29 episodes, 1966-1967)
Don Hall	....	supervising sound effects editor (29 episodes, 1966-1967)

Series Special Effects by
L.B. Abbott	....	special photographic effects (30 episodes, 1966-1967)

Series Stunts
Charlie Picerni	....	stunt double: James Darren (20 episodes, 1966-1967)
David Sharpe	....	stunt double: James Darren / stunts (4 episodes, 1966-1967)

Series Editorial Department
Robert Mintz	....	post-production coordinator (29 episodes, 1966-1967)

Series Music Department
Leonard A. Engel	....	supervising music editor (30 episodes, 1966-1967)
Lionel Newman	....	music supervisor (29 episodes, 1966-1967)
John Williams	....	composer: theme music (29 episodes, 1966-1967)
Sam E. Levin	....	music editor (28 episodes, 1966-1967)

Series Transportation Department
Chris Haynes	....	driver (2 episodes, 1967)

Series Other crew
Hal Herman	....	production associate (29 episodes, 1966-1967)
Paul Zastupnevich	....	assistant to producer / assistant to producers (29 episodes, 1966-1967)
Les Warner	....	production coordinator (28 episodes, 1966-1967)
Arthur Weiss	....	story editor (28 episodes, 1966-1967)

Production Companies

• American Broadcasting Company (ABC) (1966-1967)
• 20th Century Fox Television
• Irwin Allen Productions
• Kent Productions

Distributors

• American Broadcasting Company (ABC) (1966-1967) (USA) (TV) (original airing)
• 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (2006) (USA) (DVD)
• 20th Century Fox Television
• World Beyond Video (????) (USA) (VHS)

Runtime:

60 min (30 episodes)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Certification:

USA:TV-PG

Filming Locations:

20th Century Fox Studios - 10201 Pico Blvd., Century City, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

American Broadcasting Company (ABC)

Trivia:

The series aired in 1966-67 but used 1968 as the present year.

Quotes:

Announcer: [opening narration for most episodes] 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.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Mystery Science Theater 3000: Master Ninja II (#4.24)" (1992)

Nifty '60s FX, Clichéd Plots; Great Escapism for Kids!

Believe it or not, both "The Time Tunnel" and "Star Trek" debuted in the same week, back in 1966...and for a 13-year old comic-book loving SF fan, the TT premiere, placing our heroes on the doomed Titanic, beat Trek's 'salt-sucking-monster-disguised-as-a-wife" first episode, hands down! Irwin Allen obviously thought he had a winner with the time-traveling concept. Leads Robert Colbert and James Darren were very familiar faces to TV audiences, with Darren still idolized by a legion of fans from his "Gidget" movies (He told me, several years later, that he hoped the series would finally establish him as an 'adult', capable of the same range he'd displayed in "The Guns of Navarone"). Gary Merrill and Michael Rennie as the first guest stars certainly added luster to the Titanic episode, as did a wonderfully intricate main set (with the famous Op Art time portal), a supporting cast including pre-Catwoman Lee Meriwether and veteran character actor Whit Bissell, and, best of all, the extensive 20th Century Fox film archive to 'lift' stock footage from (giving the show a MUCH more expensive look than the series' tiny budget could have supported).

Unfortunately, while "Star Trek" improved in subsequent episodes, the opposite was true for TT. The series faced the fundamental incongruity of time travel as a film or TV subject; EVERYBODY from the past, by necessity, had to speak understandable English! Seeing Greeks and Trojans, bedecked in ancient armor, conversing in 20th Century American English, was pretty jarring! Even worse, the plots soon became painfully predictable. Our heroes, try as they might, could NOT change history, so you knew, each week, that they would either have to allow a tragedy to happen (like Pearl Harbor, in one of the series' best episodes), or that their actions would serve to keep an event aligned the way we currently remember it. When you add a minuscule 'per-episode' budget, insanely short shooting schedules, and the overworked Allen often unavailable to supervise the series or to 'stand up' to ABC and demand improvements, TT never really had a chance.

Still, you had to respect Irwin Allen for attempting to make something more profound than "Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea" (which had deteriorated into campy 'rubber-masked monster of the week' hokum), and "Land of the Giants" (which quickly wore out it's novelty value). While TT failed, many 'baby boomers' still remember it fondly...and that isn't a bad legacy for a one-season show!