"The Time Tunnel" Kill Two by Two (1967)

User Rating:

8.0/10   

Director:

Herschel Daugherty

Writers:

Irwin Allen (creator)
Bob Duncan (writer)

TV Series:

"The Time Tunnel" (1966)

Original Air Date:

6 January 1967 (Season 1, Episode 17)

Genre:

Action | Sci-Fi

Plot:

Stuck on a Pacific island that is about to be bombarded by the American Navy in February 1945, Doug...

Plot Keywords:

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

Cast

James Darren	...	Dr. Tony Newman
Robert Colbert	...	Dr. Doug Phillips
Mako	...	Lt. Nakamura
Kam Tong	...	Sgt. Itsugi
Philip Ahn	...	Dr. Nakamura
Whit Bissell	...	Army Lt. Gen. Heywood Kirk
John Zaremba	...	Dr. Raymond Swain
Lee Meriwether	...	Dr. Ann MacGregor
Brent Davis	...	Marine Sergeant
Vince Howard	...	Medic

Goofs:

Continuity: When Doug takes a crow bar and breaks the lock with it, he tosses the crowbar on the ground outside the door and opens the door and steps inside, The next scene when he steps inside he is holding the crowbar in his hand and places it on some boxes.

One of the series best episodes

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

Two of the best TIME TUNNEL episodes were related to World War II. One was "The Day the Sky Fell In," where Tony meets his father at Pearl Harbor. The other is this lesser known gem, a solid engrossing drama from start to finish.

For once Tony and Doug don't land on the eve of some pivotal historic event. This time they land on a seemingly deserted Japanese island during World War II. They encounter and capture an old Japanese sergeant, left behind as a spotter. Then a young Japanese lieutenant captures them, announcing he plans to kill them. But he seems to be compelled to humiliate them first. Soon he releases them with a head start intending to hunt them down. But this isn't just another version of a hunter tracking human prey, and the young soldier isn't just a sadist, as described by Ann early in the episode. As the drama unfolds, we slowly learn who this soldier is, and the secret he is hiding.

Meanwhile, at the Tunnel complex, a doctor from the Japanese consulate is brought in to help them locate the island so that Tony and Doug can be removed from it before American soldiers invade. The visitor discovers he has a connection to the Japanese soldier, forcing Kirk, Ann and Ray to have to make a decision that might force them to leave either Tony or Doug behind. Both the dramas in the Tunnel and on the island come to plausible and satisfying resolutions.

The dramatic nature of the story brings out the best in all of the regulars. They also receive solid support from guest stars Kam Tong as the sergeant and Phillip Ahn as the man from the Japanese consulate. But what makes the episode so powerful is the outstanding performance of Mako as Lt. Nakamura, the young soldier. He ranges from a brutal sadist early in the episode to a tortured soul as the story progresses. Either way, he plays the character with such vulnerability that you find yourself caring about him and what his ultimate fate will be. Doug describes him at one point as "a man...fighting his own private war" and indeed that is just what Mako portrays brilliantly. This was my first encounter with this fine actor, and as the years went by I never forgot his superb performance in this episode. Sadly, Mako died just last year (2006). He left behind an impressive array of roles and characters, even being nominated for an Oscar for his work in the film THE SAND PEBBLES. But to me, this role will always stand as one of his best works, and this episode as one of the series' finest.