User reviews

The Time Tunnel first appeared on TV when I was 11 years old, and it has been four decades since I have seen any of Tony's and Doug's adventures. Thanks to the Starz Action Channel, I've recently had the opportunity to view a few of the episodes once more. Yes, it's a little more goofy than I thought all those years ago, especially when story lines start to turn around the appearance of aliens. But the show is also much better than some of the younger critics seem to be saying.

How so? Well, think about the assumptions behind the Time Tunnel. The producers of this program ASSUMED its audience, back in 1966, had at least a passing familiarity not only with the history of the Titanic, the Alamo, the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, and Custer's Last Stand but also ASSUMED its audience was aware of the outlines of the story of the Trojan War, the War of 1812, the Siege of Khartoum, and the Dreyfuss Affair--and remember this was long BEFORE the making of PAPILLON. Imagine an hour long TV series today turning one of its plots around the Dreyfuss Affair! It couldn't happen. Today's audiences haven't heard of Dreyfuss and can't even tell you what CENTURIES Pearl Harbor or the American Civil War took place in.

As strange as it may sound to the ears of the contemporary TV viewer, the truth is the Time Tunnel was geared towards a much more sophisticated audience than today's viewers, who are illiterate in their own culture and history. Could a TV series today do a story about the attempt to assassinate Abraham Lincoln--in 1861! The ability of the producers to take this all but forgotten historical incident and turn it into a hour long story could only have worked had the 1966 TV audience been well founded not only in the history of the American Civil War but in Lincoln's assassination in 1865.

The fact is the Time Tunnel could not work for today's dumbed down TV viewers. You can't assume they know what they had for lunch yesterday, much less the history of their own nation or Western Civlization. It's so much easier--and necessary--to develop films and TV shows around cartoon heroes with no baggage and no grounding in all that nasty history.

It is ironic that years later a Senator threatening to cut off funds for a time travel project started Quantum Leap when the original Senator was here, all in the Arizona Desert doing the same thing. Makes you really wonder if our people in politics now are just as hung up on their powers? This show had an imaginative premise but little budget to work with. Irwin Allen did premiere a great idea with this concept.

They economized by recycling some plots with twists from other shows of the period. The Night of The Long Knives borrowed a bit from The Wild Wild West series for example.

The pilot to this series got a lot of attention. It is one of the earlier times that the baby boom generation got exposed to the Titanic. I was fascinated by that as well as the series premise of getting to meet a lot of historic figures alive. In a way, this series brought some history to life for me.

History had to be revised, but this show fit an image of an all powerful centralized government which could spend any amount of money to do anything. That is exactly what 1960's government was in the U.S. It ruled the media then to the point that all news & entertainment was censored by the government. At the time, this show provided the perfect escapism from that oppressive government.

James Darren provided the teenage girls with a hear throb. Lee Merriweather provided teen age boys with eye candy. Sadly, this show got beaten in the ratings because marketers back then we blissfully unaware of when they were reaching their target audience. Unlike Star Trek, this show did not get long enough to develop a cult following.

This is Irwin Allen's most imaginative work. Sometimes the plots on this were more complex than you could imagine. This show is actually the model used to create Quantum Leap years later. It is now running Thursday evenings on Sci-Fi night on the American Network along with Lost In Space & Voyage To the Bottom of the Sea. If you have this channel & are into Irwin Allen, it makes an interesting triple.

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.

I am 10 and I love this show. My teacher Sister Mary Francilla said to please remember that not everyone speaks English in history, but I just think she's being negative.

I like it when the time travelers are just dropped into a place and then they have to fend for themselves and make sure they don't change history or that things happen that need to happen to make sure we're actually here today.

My other favorite show is Lost in Space. All the aliens speak English. Sister doesn't bring up Lost in Space.

It gets a ten because James Darren is one of my all time favorites. I will admit that my favorite episodes happened in the first part of the series. Rendezvous with Yesterday has to rank as one of the ten best pilot episodes better. It would be followed up with the series' best episode, The Day the Sky Fell In. James Darren had the right amount of innocence to play Tony Newman, the younger, impulsive, scientist. Robert Colbert was good as his older mentor. (I'll admit in 1966, I didn't appreciate Robert Colbert. I thought he was bland. In retrospect, he's considerably better than I remembered. I do have to admit that the main attraction for me is still James Darren). I liked that there were people back home (Lee Merriwether, Whit Bissel, John Zaremba and for a time Sam Groom) who were trying to get them back. You could identify with the people back home who were trying to get them back. Yes, there were a few too many alien episodes, and a few too many times when they retrieved someone from the past by accident but all and all it was a good effort that should have lasted longer in my humble opinion. Irwin Allen, despite his critics, certainly knew how to entertain. Today's producers could take a page from his book.

"The Time Tunnel" when it premiered in the fall of 1966,was creator- producer-director Irwin Allen's third science fiction series for television following the success of "Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea",and "Lost In Space". "The Time Tunnel" was also Allen's second television series produced for ABC-TV. The series was placed on ABC's prime-time Friday night schedule on September 9,1966 which in fact survived a season run of 30 episodes in color until it left on April 7,1967. The reason why this show didn't survive was that the network put this show opposite the hugely popular "The Wild,Wild West",and against "The Man From UNCLE" that clobbered it in the ratings. "The Time Tunnel" was an escapism of a series that was big in production,big in casting and big in the array of guest stars that were featured each week. With Art Direction William J. Creber, Rodger Maus and Jack Martin Smith; Set Decoration by Walter M. Scott and Norman Rockett; Special Visual Effects by L.B. Abbott;and Cinematopgraphy by Winton C. Hoch,with an opening theme from composer John Williams(who also composed the themes to other Irwin Allen produced shows from "Lost In Space" to "The Land of the Giants" before he became famous of his theatrical scores of films like "The Poseidon Adventure","The Towering Inferno","Jaws",and "Star Wars")."The Time Tunnel" upon it's short-lived run won the Prime Time Emmy in 1967 for Individual Achievement in Cinematopgraphy and Photographic Special Effects(L.B. Abbott),and was nominated that same year for Outstanding Achievement in Cinematopgraphy(Winton C. Hoch). Most of the props used for the series were borrowed from other Irwin Allen shows like "Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea",and "Lost In Space".

Top name directors ranging from Nathan Juran, William Hale, Harry Harris, Herschel Daugherty, Murray Golden, Jerry Hopper,and Paul Stanley with Irwin Allen contributing directing the pilot episode of the series. Great writers also came from creator-producer Irwin Allen,but also from Bob and Wanda Duncan, William Welch, Carey Wilber, Allan Balter, Barney Slater, Leonard Stadd, Robert Hamner, William Read Woodfield, Theo Apstein, and Shimon Wincelberg.

Believe it or not, Irwin Allen's "The Time Tunnel" debuted in the same week as "Star Trek", "The Green Hornet",and "Tarzan",the premiere episode of "The Time Tunnel" had our heroes traveling through the portals of time ranging from them going back to the days of Pearl Harbor, The Old West, Sherwood Forest, going aboard the doomed Titanic,through the Roman Legions, Greek Mythology,and in one episode transported back to the Prehistoric/Jurassic Period. The starring leads Robert Colbert and James Darren were very familiar faces with TV audiences especially Darren himself who was still idolized as a "teen idol" from his stint in the theatrical "Gidget" movies and starring opposite Gregory Peck and David Niven in "The Guns of Navarone". The series also starred Whit Bissell,John Zaremba,and former Miss USA Lee Meriwether(in her first-ever television series). Each episode had our heroes going from one dimension of history to another and still you had to respect Irwin Allen for attempting to make something more and interestingly profound than "Voyage",but it survived as one of the shortest of the Irwin Allen produced series. Big name guest stars ranging from Michael Rennie, to Gary Merrill appeared in the pilot episode. Other guest stars were Lew Gallo, Michael Ansara, Malachi Throne, Rhodes Reason, Kevin Hagen, Anne Dore, Michael Pate, Perry Lopez, Rodolfo Hoyos,Jr., John Hoyt, Carroll O'Connor, Paul Fix, Vitina Marcus, Linden Chiles, Scott Marlowe, David Opatoshu, Nehemiah Persoff, to Victor Jory, Ellen Burstyn, Ben Cooper, Torin Thatcher, Mako, John Lupton, Jim Davis, Dee Hartford, R.G. Armstrong, Regis Toomey, Ford Rainey, John Napier, Vince Howard, Susan Flannery, Don Knight, Robert Riordan, George Matsui, Abel Fernandez, Richard Jaeckel, Robert Duvall, Gunnar Hellstrom, Allen Case, Eduardo Ciannelli, Paul Mantee, Jan Merlin, Heather Young, John Saxon, and Robert Walker, Jr.

The best episodes from this short-lived science fiction/fantasy series were very good and I start with the series pilot episode "Rendezvous With Yesterday". The other episodes included were "The Day The Sky Fell In", "The Revenge of the Gods","The Revenge of Robin Hood", "The Alamo", "The Invasion", "The Walls of Jericho", "The Pirates of Deadman's Island", "The Last Patrol", "A Chase Through Time", "Crack of Doom", "The Death Trap","The End of the World",and "The Idol of Death".

When the series was abruptly canceled on April 7, 1967 the network didn't take long to find a replacement on it's Friday night schedule for the 1967-1968 season. The series that replaced "The Time Tunnel" was a Western which was also short-lived as well......"Hondo" that was produced through John Wayne's production company Batjac Productions for ABC-TV that lasted 26 episodes in color and starred Ralph Teague in the title role.

The show was Okay as it showed time travel, a subject I love to chat about. Now some people or experts say it is impossible to time travel and if anything, you CAN go into the future, not the past. I disagree. Anything is possible, just not probable. So maybe there are some specific elements that we are not aware of that would allow time travel into the past as well as the future. I personally have always loved Time Travel TV episodes or even some odd movies that have been done. But the part that got me was they never went back to a date in time in which "nothing happened". You would think that this Time Tunnel, if it is randomly throwing the two all over the place in time era's, it would once.... just drop them into the middle of Kansas in 1926 on August 3rd, when not a thing happened that day. I'm sure there are plenty of days the Alamo was not being attacked, no president was in the process of being assassinated, two airplanes collided in mid-air killing 300, etc., etc. Days happen where nothing major occurred. I would have loved to write an episode in which they land on a "nothing" day yet this episode would be just as good. Oh well........

I love time-travel shows and have recently started watching this mid-60's American Irwin Allen series which I don't recall from my youth, possibly it was one of those Stateside shows which didn't cross over the Atlantic to here.

Anyway, it's a thoroughly enjoyable show, like so many U.S. series of the time ("The Man From U.N.C.L.E.", "I Spy", "The Wild Wild West" etc) featuring two male leads getting into unlikely adventures. The Tunnel itself doesn't look much different from the sort of treadmill you'd see at a fun-fair and it's funny to see the two adventurers drop in on their next time zone at the start, supposedly from a great height but very obviously suspended from a distance of not much more than three feet using a stop-action shot. The swirly time-travel sequences are similarly amusing but once they arrive at their destinations, their escapades are invariably entertaining.

I've only watched three of the shows to date, the best of them centring on a stay aboard the Titanic and while the two male leads are good-looking and act proficiently enough, it's crying out for a female co-lead I feel. There is a Miss Moneypenny-type back at control but it's a shame they couldn't walk her down the tunnel too to add a little more excitement, intrigue and of course, glamour to proceedings.

Still, chalk up another escapist mini-classic from the 60's, alongside "Land Of The Giants", "Lost In Space", "Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea" and many more, nostalgic reminders of my long-gone youth.

Another brilliant fun show from Irwin Allen and a show where I began to realise that Mr Allen was a master of 'Recycling'.... I remember seeing the distinctive looking Del Monroe,(..Kowalski from Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea..),as a silver suited Alien,I spotted 'Catwoman' Lee Meriweather,(..not a hard thing to do as she was/is so glamorous...),and I recognised old film clips when our heroes went back in time. They were great in their parts,(..I had a soft spot for Mr Colbert from a part he had in an episode of the original 'Hawaii 5-0',called,I think,'The Big Kahuna',where he and the late,brilliant,Sally Kellerman we're trying to scare an old geezer to death by her dressing up as a Demon....bloody thing gave me Nightmares for years...),always engaging and resourceful. Anyhoo,a super little show and I'm guessing quite influential if you think what came later,ie Quantum Leap,Sliders etc. Super stuff.

The Time Tunnel

Summary: Good concept with lots of potential. Under-developed script. Horrible acting, painful to watch at times. Too serialized. Predictable episodes

More Detailed: Seemed to have been designed to teach people not to try to mess with history. Shows very little realism, mostly over acted and mostly completely fabrication of how some fantasy writer envisioned military security and scientific methods to be. The acting is very much 50's: stiff, over-done, and comical. And of course, they wear the same clothing, which miraculously, no matter how dirty they get, are completely clean in the following episode. Not to mention their hair...

The characters, supposedly the two head scientists of the project, act like little oblivious children, who seem not the slightest worried about all their interfering in past events, during most episodes; where they are usually emotionally affected by, and repeatedly attempt to change history. Instead of focusing on preserving it by not interfering and working out a way to get back to their own time, in good health. With the rest of the scientific team, back at project central, monitoring their experiences and trying to keep them alive by having them time jump out of danger to unknown periods, always continuing in the episode following the current one. The series was suddenly ended by ABC, so there was never a "return home" episode aired.

Believe it or not, both "The Time Tunnel" and "Star Trek" debuted in the same week, back in 1966...and for a 13-year old comic-book loving SF fan, the TT premiere, placing our heroes on the doomed Titanic, beat Trek's 'salt-sucking-monster-disguised-as-a-wife" first episode, hands down! Irwin Allen obviously thought he had a winner with the time-traveling concept. Leads Robert Colbert and James Darren were very familiar faces to TV audiences, with Darren still idolized by a legion of fans from his "Gidget" movies (He told me, several years later, that he hoped the series would finally establish him as an 'adult', capable of the same range he'd displayed in "The Guns of Navarone"). Gary Merrill and Michael Rennie as the first guest stars certainly added luster to the Titanic episode, as did a wonderfully intricate main set (with the famous Op Art time portal), a supporting cast including pre-Catwoman Lee Meriwether and veteran character actor Whit Bissell, and, best of all, the extensive 20th Century Fox film archive to 'lift' stock footage from (giving the show a MUCH more expensive look than the series' tiny budget could have supported).

Unfortunately, while "Star Trek" improved in subsequent episodes, the opposite was true for TT. The series faced the fundamental incongruity of time travel as a film or TV subject; EVERYBODY from the past, by necessity, had to speak understandable English! Seeing Greeks and Trojans, bedecked in ancient armor, conversing in 20th Century American English, was pretty jarring! Even worse, the plots soon became painfully predictable. Our heroes, try as they might, could NOT change history, so you knew, each week, that they would either have to allow a tragedy to happen (like Pearl Harbor, in one of the series' best episodes), or that their actions would serve to keep an event aligned the way we currently remember it. When you add a minuscule 'per-episode' budget, insanely short shooting schedules, and the overworked Allen often unavailable to supervise the series or to 'stand up' to ABC and demand improvements, TT never really had a chance.

Still, you had to respect Irwin Allen for attempting to make something more profound than "Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea" (which had deteriorated into campy 'rubber-masked monster of the week' hokum), and "Land of the Giants" (which quickly wore out it's novelty value). While TT failed, many 'baby boomers' still remember it fondly...and that isn't a bad legacy for a one-season show!

I started watching this show as a teenager and still enjoy it. I grew up watching James Darren in those Gidget movies and always liked him. Him and Doug do a lot stunt work in every episode and it's fun to watch the fight scenes. I did wonder about a few things how is their clothes appear to get washed as they jump to another time? Well now I know the truth, in an interview with Darren he said the studio cleaned his sweater every day. I have to say I really enjoyed that interview James Darren is a nice gentlemen. too bad they didn't have him sing some songs in any of the Time Tunnel episodes He's a very talented actor. Anyway I miss these action adventure shows, they were my favorite shows.

Very cheap production values and two of the most wooden male leads in history. Yet. 50 years on you would be hard pressed to find and more entertaining show. Dialogue and storyline are hilarious, although some basic knowledge of history is required. Loved it as a kid - love it more as an adult. THE GHOST OF NERO gets my vote for sheer off the wall lunacy - with a twist ending to end all twist endings.

Senator Leroy Clark arrives at a secret underground base in the Arizona desert demanding results from Project Tic-Toc. The American government has spent billions and ten years in constructing the base for the time travel tunnel. Dr. Tony Newman decides to make the attempt by himself and ends up on the Titanic. Dr. Doug Phillips tries to rescue him. They are both stranded as the group back at the base struggles to return them to the present. They are able to monitor, communicate, and even send people/things back. However, the two scientists are constantly being diverted to other times.

I remember watching reruns of the show as a child. It was dated but compelling enough for a kid. Essentially, they go from one historical event after another. Most of the time, they struggle to convince people of an impending doom and try to escape. The most compelling part of the show is often the last five minutes when the two men are sent to some place new. It's always interesting to see where they go next. Some of it is nonsense like how everybody speaks English no matter where. The basic premise is interesting but even as a kid, I knew something is missing. The show is simply missing the antagonist. In theory, the men could find a quiet place during one of these jumps and live out their lives. Somewhere along the way, the show does figure that out and makes space aliens as the villains. Although it would be better to have only one alien race to battle. Instead, it's more like a villain-of-the-week.

This is early sci-fi TV. It's interesting. There are big sets. I don't know from which movie they got the Trojan horse. They used old footage and imaginative editing to put a lot into the show. Despite some drawbacks, the show is an iconic forerunner and it's a solid attempt although it did not get renew.

The 1960's were filled with science fiction TV shows. Lost in Space, Land of the Giants. The classic Star Trek made its debut on another network in the same week as The Time Tunnel.

The premise of The Time Tunnel was great. A multi-billion dollar Government Project goes awry; two men get lost in a time warp. In each story, Doug and Tony arrive at some monumental event in American or World History. While taking considerable liberty with The Magna Carta, the Explosion of Mount Krakatoa, and other events, the series left viewers wanting to learn more. (When the evening's show concluded, families reached for their World Book Encyclopedia to get the facts about Pearl Harbor, or Jericho, or Cortez, or the Alamo).

Obvious problems which have been discussed exhaustively here on IMDb, are "how could everybody speak English?" and "why don't Doug and Tony ever change clothes?" Those two issues are not peculiar to The Time Tunnel; a host of television shows and movies have done the same.

One plus for the Time Tunnel was the interjection of scenes from blockbuster Hollywood movies. The attack on the Alamo is a great example. Another plus was using the sound tracks from Hollywood movies. You will hear the background music from "The Day the Earth Stood Still" on at least two episodes of The Time Tunnel. Read the Trivia notes here on IMDb under each episode; it is amazing to see the classic films that were used to boost the show's grandeur and excitement.

For reasons unknown, the series shifted from historic events to aliens and other planets. One episode even dealt with magic (Merlin the Magician). The producers had used aliens in episode 18 (Visitors from Beyond The Stars); the last four shows were entirely about aliens. From reading the many reviews here on IMDb and other websites, the fans as a whole were not pleased with the outer space and magic episodes. That may be why the show was abruptly cancelled after one short season.

The Time Tunnel is a definitive 1960's classic show. The shows are still enjoyable (excluding perhaps the alien shows, which is why I dropped my rating from 10 to 9). Appropriately, most episodes of The Time Tunnel have stood the test of time!

Looking at the other reviews, there is little I can add, except that I too originally watched this as a kid. At the time of its release in the U.K. there were only 3 TV channels. Thus anything new from America was a must-see. Most of us kids were familiar with Irwin Allen's cinema work and, had enjoyed the TV follow up to Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea. Consequently the idea of Time Tunnel was intriguing. Certainly next weeks preview was always a hook. However, as someone else has already mentioned, I felt I must have missed something when the series ended without the lost time travellers getting home. Only now am I aware of what really happened. So far as the historical aspect was concerned, I never troubled myself with regard to accuracy. Although, from the start, the series suffered from that period phenomenon of American actors portraying Brits with decidedly dodgy accents. Even Michael Rennie came across as too mid-Atlantic (inadvertent pun there!) as captain of the Titanic. I am currently watching the series on the Horror Channel, and thoroughly enjoying myself. Allen's pyrotechnic budget must have been huge judging by the number of flashes and bangs issuing from that computer. Fortunately there always seems to be a soldier on hand with a CO2 extinguisher. And, it's fun trying to guess which film the added footage came from. Have to say resorting to silver-skinned, tin-foil suited aliens does indicate a dearth of ideas but, hey it's nostalgia. I can forgive that. So, ever onward/backwards Doug and Tony. And don't forget to wave your arms about and land with a forward roll before beating the living daylights out of the first period character you come across!

What a shame this fun series only lasted a single season (over money).

This series had one of the coolest time machines to ever hit the screen (with only the DeLorean time machine from the "Back to the Future" rating higher among my personal favorites), a veteran cast and dared to do special effects at the cutting edge (for its time, if you'll pardon my choice of words).

The freedom to pick any time and location let the writers use reckless abandon when they prepared plot lines (which admittedly were corny and predictable, especially for historic events where we knew the expected outcome).

If they could make a movie out of the MUCH cheesier (but still lovable) "Lost in Space", why not revive this as a movie or a series? The effects available today (and trend toward realism) would make this a natural!

Gimme a break. I was going through puberty at the time. Dr. Ann MacGregor was my dream woman - brilliant and gorgeous!

The prolific Irwin Allen brought a string of science fiction series to TV in the mid-1960s, The Time Tunnel probably being his most ambitious project due to the high production costs. The studio where the Tunnel scenery was set up was truly impressive. The stories were pretty straightforward like all Irwin Allen series. Two scientists are transported in time through the famous tunnel to prove that it works and prevent the United States Government from funding the project, this is how both are lost wandering through different times while a group of scientists does the same. Possible to return them to the present time. Supported by archival material from historical Fox films, Tony and Douglas go through the Titanic, Nazi Germany, the bombing of Pearl Harbor, the Wild West and are even transported to another planet. It is said that despite the success obtained, the series did not get to have a second season since the archival film material had run out, this was noticed at the end of the series since the last episodes dealt with invaders of extraterrestrial beings, which which allowed the scriptwriters not to have to adjust to historical facts and to have more freedom to invent stories.

Viewed from the 1960's this was an excellent series (I'm old enough to remember watching it first time round on a black and white TV). Views nowadays it's dated but nostalgic. However like any time travel genre prior to the 60's and after there's always a fundamental flaw when it comes to the script writing. They always get it so wrong. But saying that just fit back don't think too hard and wonder at how the 60's treated female scientists.

This series had potential. A device that could send our heroes to any location in time and space. In theory, they could see the crucifixion of Christ, visit the grassy knoll, witness the assassination of Lincoln -- the story ideas could be endless.

But as the series progressed, we instead were treated to the same old low-budget Irwin Allen plot retreads involving silver-suited aliens. What a waste! Remember, Star Trek was a low-budget show too, and THEY managed to do much better shows.

The difference comes down the the show's producer. Star Trek's Gene Roddenberry wanted to use the science-fiction stories to comment on our current social problems. In contrast, Irwin Allen had a 5-year-old's interest in neato explosions, gee-whiz spaceships, and cool monster suits. It's a shame that a visionary like Roddenberry was not in charge of this show. It could have been so much better.