TIME TUNNEL! - Where Are You? - Page 4

This is just Volume 1 - the first 15 episodes plus the unaired pilot. Somewhere down the road, Volume 2 should come out. The set is gaining in popularity on the amazon site. Yesterday it was ranking up to #66 in their DVD sales.

I too ordered it online on advice I got here. I got the confirmation email on Wednesday that it had shipped from Indiana. That's just two states away - so I might get it soon.

Harry
...looking for the mailman, online...

Got mine!

One word quickie review of the A/V: Wow!

Rob

Got mine too. It came in today's mail.

We just finished watching the aun-aired pilot and episode 2, "One Way To The Moon".

WOW! is right.

No-one's ever seen these look and sound this good. I'm seeing things I've never been able to see before, like reading numbers on the Tic-Toc badges - seeing beads of sweat on everyone's face in the pilot (I guess the air conditioning wasn't cranked up that day!) - visible blue light above the Tunnel during the time transfers of both Tony and Doug (something that's always been overscanned out, I suppose).

The second episode was just as good looking, something it hadn't been in years. I'd seen decent prints of the first episode in syndication, but the second always looked like it was sourced from a 16mm faded print. This one is pristine, with the colors just popping off my HDTV screen. The clarity of the image is just amazing.

If I have any negatives at all (and they are all minor in my book), it would be these:

a) The opening "In Color" bumpers are not on the episodes themselves. (I haven't yet explored the extras to find if they are there - I suspect they might be.)

b) The announcer telling us that "THE TIME TUNNEL is brought to you by..." isn't on the episodes I've looked at. This is both a positive and a negative. Purists of course would love to have that right where it was originally supposed to be. Modern day viewers probably wouldn't want those little network TV intrusions into their viewing experience.

c) The sound quality on the unaired pilot leaves a little to be desired, distoring on some of the loud passages. But the aired version I sampled sounded fine.

A positive I've discovered is that they used the original 20th Century Fox Television logos at the end, just like it appeared in the '60s.

I am one happy camper tonight and can only ask one more thing - Where's Volume 2?

Harry
...all smiles...

I did a bit more poking around at some of the extras on the third disc. The "Network Title Sequence" is the normal opening credits with the announcer's "...brought to you by..." included.

There were three network promotional announcements, which are the "This is the incredible TIME TUNNEL in the weeks to come" promos. ABC used these at the conclusion of each of the first three episodes as they aired, showing a large chunk of next week's episode, along with a few snippets of other episodes that were in the can at the time.

Then came the ABC commercial for THE TIME TUNNEL. This is what aired over the summer of '66 to grab viewers for the fall TV season, complete with the "Fridays at 8 Eastern/7 Central on abc" text.

Finally in this group was the syndication promo. This was made up for those stations buying the show after it completed its network run.

There were a couple of eye-opener moments in the unaired pilot for me. I'm now sure that I'd never seen the whole thing complete before. Years ago I got hold of a VHS copy of a copy of a copy of it. It was missing the opening credits - and that was an eye-opener for me, with a slightly different version of the theme music. Also, several of the additional lines that didn't make it onto the aired version had little jump/cuts on this old VHS of mine, so I'd never heard all of Doug's introductory speeches to the Senator about Ann and Ray.

I've not yet explored the Irwin Allen Home movies section, not the radio promos or still galleries. I'm so happy I got this over a weekend to explore.

Harry

I received my review copy on friday. I'm working on my review and hope to have it up tomorrow or Tuesday. I do like the work that went into the DVD Set of TT V1.

Thanks David. I'll be eager to read your review.

Harry

Is this the show that had the theme...

"It's about time, it's about space...." forget the rest. I remember vaguely that theme from some show so many decades ago and not sure what show it belongs to.

Uh, no. That song is from It's About Time, the forgotten Sherwood Schwartz series that aired on CBS during the 1966-67 season. As with all of his shows, the theme song was great and the show was awful (unless you are in elementary school). Uncharacteristically for a SS show, he saw the show stunk (or was told by CBS) and they changed the format about 3/4 of the way through, complete with a new version of the theme song. The second version, which ran about 6 episodes is actually not quite as bad.

IT'S ABOUT TIME and TIME TUNNEL aired in the same season and were linked in one other way - IT'S ABOUT TIME star Frank Aletter was married to TIME TUNNEL's Lee Meriwether.

Now that Michael reminds me, I seem to recall in the deep recesses of my mind that the newer format for the show was that they somehow managed to take the show's lead cave-people (Imogene Coca and Joe E. Ross, I think) up to the present day.

Harry

Thanks gents. I always wondered what show that theme belonged to but had no idea.

I vaguely remember Time Tunnel but am intrigued by the posts here. I was but a wee lad then. I may have to add this to my collection.

Just to be clear, It's About Time was a comedy whereas The Time Tunnel wasn't.

"Its about time, its about space, about two men in the strangest place....."
It also had stop-motion dinosaurs in it, which was pretty unusual for a tv show at that time

When I was in grade school, we changed that theme song slightly:

"It's about time,
It's about space,
It's about time
I slapped your face." {SLAP!}

Man, you guys are taking me back...

Rob

Today is January 24th, 2006, release day for THE TIME TUNNEL VOLUME 1. I'll be interested to hear the opinions of those who pick the set up, both new people to the series, and longtime fans.

Harry
...where the countdown has reached zero, online...

Ditto, Harry

After all, when we've got a real-life celebrity like Gord (TSoD) hooked on this series, we've got it made, right?

(I wonder if Dave's "dancing around the room" about this one?)

I'm going to be watching TT Vol 1 with Mom and my "millenium-kid" nephew. The nephew shocked the TV/DVD shoes right off of me when I found out last fall that he liked the original Dick Van Dyke Show "Anything's possible".

My Mom missed the orignal airings of TT due to her working evenings but this is one that Dad and I never missed "Set up the TV Trays and enjoy"

The countdown has reached zero. Today is National TIME TUNNEL Day! Now everyone can travel back in time to September of 1966 and re-live what we who were around back then did.

Look at all the traffic around the Best Buys, Blockbusters, and Circuit Citys...



Harry
...with tongue firmly planted in cheek!, online...

Picked my copy up over lunch. Funny thing is two of my local Circuit city's didn't have it in stock for some reason. Of course nobody knew why. Either way finally went to Best Buy and they had it on sale for $29.99 so score. Can't wait to experience this...

I just now drove over to Best Buy to pick up my copy during lunch also. I was so excited about it that I had no appetite for food. Actually got a bit exasperated when it seemed the TT sets were nowhere to be found. Finally saw them (just 4 copies) on a table near the middle of the store. (When VTTBOTS comes out, I'll probably be in the parking lot, waiting for the store to open...)

I know I'm going to enjoy this set immensely. In a way, it'll be like seeing the series for the first time, given that the prints are pristine and un-cut. Whenever it was shown on the SCI-FI channel years ago, I had little patience for it--too many commercials, lackluster prints, missing footage, etc. Prior to that, I hadn't seen an episode since original airing.

I was out and about doing some shopping for other things at lunchtime today, and I thought I'd check the TIME TUNNEL situation in the stores I went into.

Target was the first store I entered - nada - nothing.

Best Buy was second, and they had about 10 copies in the "TV on DVD" racks, nothing in the "New Release" section.

Then I was in a mall with both a Sam Goody and a Suncoast. BOth of those are part of the Musicland group that just went into Chapter 11. I noticed that they had no new releases at all - not surprising.

So it looks like Best Buy is the sure-bet brick and morter to head to, and their price was right too, on sale at $29.99.

Harry

Yup, forgot to mention that as well. It was the same at my BB. TT was not on the New Release aisle. Either way, it's in hand, and that is GOOD!

I went to Target first as well--not there. Doofus had no clue what I was talking about. Went to Sams Club, not there either. Ask salesperson about Superman S2 while I'm thinking of it and he hands me "Smallville". Folks at BB helped bring my blood pressure back down to normal state, thankfully.

From now on, if I don't purchase from DDD or Amazon, it's back to BB for me.

Laser's Edge Boofed Me No TT When I got Home and I was all ready for it

THE TIME TUNNEL Vol 1 DVD Review

I will try to get back with more specific comments about the series later in the week (but I mostly focused on the DVD set and the extras).

David - thanks for the review.

May I respectfully submit one minor factual error?

You wrote:

In fact, "End Of the World" is on Disc 1, Side A along with the other two episodes. Disc 1, Side B is exclusively the Unaired Pilot and Irwin Allen's Home Movies.

It seems odd, given that in every other case, there are only two main episodes per side. I suppose it was the length of the home movies that used up a lot of "bits" on that side.

Jeff HR wrote:

The packaging on this set certainly isn't going to win any awards, that's for sure, but at least they didn't use those awful overlapping discs. Now THOSE, I really hate.

This packaging is good enough for me to leave alone. It holds the discs and allows me to get them in and out without scracthing them. I can live with this.

Harry

Same, watched the first two episodes last night and man it was great. This is coming from a 26yr old that had no personal ties to the show beyond seeing a rerun or two a while back. I am truly impressed with the transfer and enjoyed the hell out of the show. You HAVE to love the classic 60’s/70’s karate chop move that seems to show up in all the old action TV shows. I can’t wait for VTTBOTS & Land of The Giants. Now I just need some “Get Smart” and I will be on my way to TV bliss man….

When I was a kid I watched this show and Lost in Space! (I have no idea why I wasn't watching Star Trek... I didn't discover that until syndication!). Anyway, picked up my set yesterday and am looking forward to revisiting it!

Ric

Yeah, Marco "Let's hear it for the Millineum Kids" Man, that absolutely amazes me that you all are out there liking the old classics that we 'Boomers grew up with My nephew's 26 as well. He likes the Dick Van Dyke Show! He hasn't seen TT yet, but he will TT's one that I'm going to see if my Mom and he likes the series. I'm betting the farm that they'll like this series. However, my nephew wasn't too keen about my beloved "bionic" series. "Can't win 'em all"