This 2002 abortive attempt to revive "The Time Tunnel" plays much like a Sci-Fi Channel movie-of-the-week. It has nothing to do with the classic TV series, other than lifting a few character names and a brief "sampling" of the original theme. Rather, it comes out like a bad copy of "Stargate". For the most part poorly and cheaply made, it is just as well the pilot was unsuccessful. However, there are some very interesting ideas going on.
In this one, scientists accidentally create a "time tunnel" when trying to make "hot fusion". Instead, they cause a storm in the time stream, and it takes them four hours (240 minutes) to lock down one end of it. The other end sweeps through time. After the "two-forty", random changes have been made to history, and the scientists in the fusion complex are the only ones left who know what the correct history of the world is supposed to be. Now they must send teams back in time via the "time tunnel" and try to correct the errors. Teams (a la "Stargate"), can go back in time, but are limited to random time limits in which they can stay there (a la "Sliders"). Unlike the classic series, the teams can return to the present whenever they wish by activating a small laptop-type device.
The World War 2 battle stuff is really pretty good. It plays well for the most part. Things get stupid when newly-recruited team member Doug Phillips meets his grandfather in the trenches and they have a heart-to heart talk. Further lapses in logic occur when the team consists of two women dressed as GIs, one of whom is black (units were not integrated at this point in WW2, let alone allow for women in combat). And then there's the whole element of mission control being able to see, hear, talk with, and translate languages for the travelers via a magic computer chip injected into them.
Interesting to see once, but not if you're expecting a classic "Time Tunnel" update. The music is incredibly annoying, and the CGI very weak (it looks more "early '90s" quality than 2002).
Available as an extra on "The Time Tunnel, Vol. 2" US DVD set.
In this one, scientists accidentally create a "time tunnel" when trying to make "hot fusion". Instead, they cause a storm in the time stream, and it takes them four hours (240 minutes) to lock down one end of it. The other end sweeps through time. After the "two-forty", random changes have been made to history, and the scientists in the fusion complex are the only ones left who know what the correct history of the world is supposed to be. Now they must send teams back in time via the "time tunnel" and try to correct the errors. Teams (a la "Stargate"), can go back in time, but are limited to random time limits in which they can stay there (a la "Sliders"). Unlike the classic series, the teams can return to the present whenever they wish by activating a small laptop-type device.
The World War 2 battle stuff is really pretty good. It plays well for the most part. Things get stupid when newly-recruited team member Doug Phillips meets his grandfather in the trenches and they have a heart-to heart talk. Further lapses in logic occur when the team consists of two women dressed as GIs, one of whom is black (units were not integrated at this point in WW2, let alone allow for women in combat). And then there's the whole element of mission control being able to see, hear, talk with, and translate languages for the travelers via a magic computer chip injected into them.
Interesting to see once, but not if you're expecting a classic "Time Tunnel" update. The music is incredibly annoying, and the CGI very weak (it looks more "early '90s" quality than 2002).
Available as an extra on "The Time Tunnel, Vol. 2" US DVD set.