Ya gotta love Irwin Allen. His shows will never make the critics' list, but for sheer fun, they can't be beat. Last night I watched the pilot episode and the one where the guys go to the moon. To quote, MST3K, boy those time travelers sure can fight:) Things I also love, in random order: opening credits, with those mod graphics. The dog-trotting security guards, whose leader really should hit the gym more often. The fact that the tunnel cannot be damaged by those same guards firing machine guns. The tunnel itself, which proves that time travel is accomplished by lots of explosions. Also, the knowledge that when are visiting the past, our clothes never get dirty and our hair is always perfectly coiffed. The way the tunnel sends Doug and Tony to the perfect historical moment, every time... even when the scientists can't figure it out. The bank of mainframe computers, which really should have gotten a SAG card, they were in some many shows. Discovering that time travelers are either ruggedly handsome or resemble young rock stars. The security alarms, which include fire sirens AND an air-raid klaxon. The yellow hourglass logo. The humor of naming the biggest project since the Manhattan Project Tic Toc. And of course... Whit Bissell. It just ain't science fiction without Whit Bissell. And who knew that history looked so much like the Fox film library? I hear there's a new series coming on Sci-Fi. I'm sure it will have smarter stories and better special effects, but the original will always hold a place in my heart. Best seven billion the government ever spent... after all, how do we really know this all didn't happen--Arizona is just a hop, skip, and jump from Area 51. :)
All kidding aside, the kaleidoscopic time-travel patterns that the guys go through are still wonderful--mysterious, yet familiar. I've seen a lot of time-travel special effects, but this is still the best. And the set designers and matte painters for the Tic Toc complex should have won Emmys. Great casting of Micheal Rennie and the lovely Susan Hampshire, too.
