TV Series: The Time Tunnel
James Darren and Robert Colbert Star in Irwin Allen Sci-Fi Show
American scientists Tony Newman (James Darren) and Doug Phillips (Robert Colbert) traverse the infinite corridors of time in Irwin Allen's TV classic, The Time Tunnel.
The storyline possibilities were limitless, with time travelers Tony Newman (James Darren) and Doug Phillips (Robert Colbert) "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." With Whit Bissell (Lt. General Heywood Kirk), John Zaremba (Dr. Raymond Swain) and Lee Meriwether (Dr. Ann MacGregor) in support, Irwin Allen's The Time Tunnel produced 30 fantastic hour-long episodes from 1966-67.
Irwin Allen Creates The Time Tunnel
The Time Tunnel was created by Irwin Allen (1916-1991), whose other sci-fi television productions included Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (1964-68), Lost in Space (1965-68) and Land of the Giants (1968-70).
Called the "Master of Disaster," Allen also plied his talents on the big screen, bringing us such disaster fare as The Poseidon Adventure (1972), The Towering Inferno (1974) and The Swarm (1978).
The Cast
Heading the cast of The Time Tunnel were James Darren (born 6/8/36) as Dr. Tony Newman and Robert Colbert (born 7/26/31) as Dr. Douglas Phillips. Other regulars included Whit Bissell (1909-1996) as Lt. General Heywood Kirk, John Zaremba (1908-1986) as Dr. Raymond Swain, Lee Meriwether (born 5/27/35) as Dr. Ann MacGregor and Wesley Lau (1921-1984) as Master Sergeant Jiggs.
Project Tic-Toc
As the show's premise went, the U.S. government had built a $7 billion complex beneath the Arizona desert called "Project Tic-Toc." The focus of their attention was time travel, with an experimental Time Tunnel serving as the conduit.
Working on the top-secret project are Tony Newman and Doug Phillips, two research scientists who strongly believe that the Time Tunnel is ready to go operational. Overseeing the entire project is Army Lt. General Heywood Kirk.
The Time Tunnel Debuts
The Time Tunnel made its ABC television debut on Friday night, September 9, 1966, with the episode "Rendezvous with Yesterday." Appearing in the 8-9 PM (ET) time slot, The Time Tunnel's network competition included The Wild, Wild West and Hogan's Heroes on CBS and The Man From U.N.C.L.E. on NBC.
In order to convince an influential Senator Leroy Clark (Gary Merrill) of the Time Tunnel's capabilities, Tony Newman hurls himself into the swirling electronic maze in the show's opener, landing on the R.M.S. Titanic during its fateful maiden voyage from Southampton to New York in 1912. As a detained Tony stews in a locked cabin aboard the doomed White Star liner, he is soon joined by his friend, Doug Phillips, who has come to his aid.
With the assistance of Time Tunnel Control, whereby Drs. Swain and MacGregor can get a "fix" on the two time travelers, Doug and Tony are "frozen" just as they are about to plunge into the frigid waters of the North Atlantic. Escaping the fate of the "unsinkable" Titanic, the two are then shifted to another random point in time and space.
Fantastic Episodes
The Time Tunnel lasted but one season, generating a total of 30 episodes spanning past and future events. Among the notable segments and their time settings were "One Way to the Moon" (despite the title, a perceived 1978 manned expedition to Mars), "The Day the Sky Fell In" (Pearl Harbor, December 6, 1941, one day before the Japanese attack), "The Last Patrol" (War of 1812), "Massacre" (Custer's Last Stand of 1876), "Invasion" (June 4, 1944, two days before D-Day) and "The Death Merchant" (the 1863 Battle of Gettysburg).
Many of the episodes began with a good fistfight, as Tony and Doug were immediately jumped by the bad guys upon arriving at their new destination. In fact, Drs. Newman and Phillips -- a.k.a. "the fighting physicists" -- usually dished out more punches than a vintage Ali-Frazier boxing match.
Stock Movie Footage Used
Oftentimes, the producers used stock movie footage from various big screen productions to spice up the historical scenery. Among the films utilized were Destination Moon (1950), The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951), Titanic (1953), Prince Valiant (1954), The Buccaneer (1958), Taras Bulba (1962), The 300 Spartans (1962) and Khartoum (1966).
The Time Tunnel officially exited the airwaves on September 1, 1967, with a repeat of the episode "Chase Through Time" featuring guest star Robert Duvall as Raul Nimon. Joining Duvall in the list of notable guest stars during the show's run were Michael Rennie, Tom Skerritt, Mako, Jan Merlin, Robert Walker Jr. (as Billy the Kid) and John Saxon.
All 30 episodes of The Time Tunnel, which won an Emmy for its Bill Abbott-supervised special effects, are available on DVD.
A remake of The Time Tunnel is currently in production for the Sci-Fi Channel.
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