"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)

It's only a 1960's TV show... but I love it!

Whenever the nit-pickers and cynics get started on THE TIME TUNNEL, you can bet your life that the same things will come up....

The first thing is usually to point out how smelly Doug and Tony must be because they never change their clothes. This will usually be followed by a comment about the length of their hair and fingernails. Anyone who has actually watched the show will be able to give the answer that the two travellers are returned to the condition they were in when they were extracted from the RMS Titanic at the conclusion of their first adventure "Rendezvous With Yesterday" - it's a part of the transference process. Likewise any injuries that they may have suffered (such as Tony's damaged ankle in "Kill Two by Two") are undone. OK, I'm not denying that the real reason for this is so that they could use the same stock footage of Doug and Tony in the vortex week after week... but it is addressed.

Point two on the nit-picker's agenda is usually: "why do Doug and Tony always materialise in one of history's hotspots rather than someone's backyard or a field on an historically insignificant day?" The quick answer to which is that it would be pretty boring watching Doug and Tony sitting in a field scratching themselves for a whole hour - well I'd find it boring at any rate.

Point three is invariably: "How come every historical figure they meet - no matter where and when they hail from - speaks perfect English?" Likewise, this can easily be dismissed by pointing out that watching Doug, Tony and Historical Figure of The Week making hand signals and drawing pictures in the sand for an hour just to say "Hi", might make for pretty dull viewing. Anyway, surely it is conceivable that one or more of those many computer banks we see at Project: Tic-Toc might be doing the translating for Doug and Tony (a bit like the Universal Translator in the original Star Trek).

The thing that the nit-pickers always seem to forget is that THE TIME TUNNEL was a weekly television show meant to entertain the masses for 50-odd minutes a week. It was made in 1966 and so, yes, it has dated and doesn't look as sophisticated as the SF shows of today - but don't forget that those modern shows are building on what came before. Thirty-odd years on I can promise you that Babylon 5, Farscape and whatever Star Trek show is currently airing, will look just as dated and unsophisticated.