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| From the same stable as “Lost in Space” and “Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea,” comes another science-fiction offering with some novel twists, “The Time Tunnel,” which should soon be entertaining viewers of all four New Zealand channels. |
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The three scientists (above), masters of TV’s latest “Time Machine.” |
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If ever there was a show that could be classified as a “writer's dream,” it must surely be “The Time Tunnel,” Hollywood’s most expensive, most extravagant piece of Television fiction that NZBC is now moving into an early-evening time slot on all channels.
There are absolutely no restrictions whatever on either the era or the story-lines—the main characters can (by stepping into the tunnel, of course) find themselves moving either forwards or backwards in time. It makes for imaginative writing—and some entertaining viewing as well. |
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Out of the past . . . into
the distant future— |
| Your Chance To See A
‘TV Writer’s Dream’ |
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The show is produced by Irwin Allen who, as the leading exponent of the science-fiction/science-fact adventure entity, has given vent to two of Television’s most popular hits—Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea and Lost in Space, both firm favourites with New Zealand’s younger set.
Producer Allen has stocked his “Tunnel” with perceptive care. Three bright, young, handsome and talented faces will share the spotlight as the continuing stars of the series.
They are: James Darren, who essays the role of Dr Anthony Newman, the serious-minded young physicist who has dedicated himself to proving the feasibility of time travel; Robert Colbert as Dr Douglas Phillips, heading up the vast team of time travel technicians; and lovely Lee Meriwether as Dr Ann McGregor, possibly the most attractive scientist in the modern field of technology. |
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—as Dr Anthony Newman
Darren, already firmly entrenched in the affections of younger viewers as a result of his numerous beach-party motion pictures, takes a TV starring role in The Time Tunnel. His has been a meteoric rise to fame in show-business. Born James Ercolani, he first ventured into the world of commerce as a junior assistant in his uncle’s jewellery shop, but quickly tired of the job and while still in his ’teens, began an association with show-business as a boy singer in Philadelphia back in 1956. It was in Hollywood a year later that he was screen-tested, gained a role in a movie, “Rumble on the Docks,” while a subsequent role in the motion picture, “Gidget,” set him on the road to show-business success. He has starred in two other “Gidget” movies, had an important role in “Guns of Navarone,” and then began a round as a guest star on TV shows. A man who believes in the active life, Darren’s spare time occupations include swimming, tennis, baseball, and sports-car driving. He is married (to Evy Norland, the 1959 Miss Denmark), and they have two sons—Christian (7), and Anthony (4). Darren has another son, Jimmy Jnr., by a previous marriage. | |
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—as Dr Douglas Phillips
Portraying Dr Douglas Phillips in The Time Tunnel is Robert Colbert, ex-oil driller, marksman, and one-time radio disc jockey. Colbert’s younger brother, Glen, also has a part—as a stuntman and stand-in in the series. Colbert was born and educated at Long Beach, California. He enlisted in the United States Army after injury cut short his career as an oil driller. Eventually posted to Okinawa, he first came to grips with the entertainment business when a radio station in Shury advertised for a late-night announcer. When an air force entertainment officer heard his late night show, she convinced him that he had potential as an actor. Discharged from the army, though, he returned to civilian life as an appliance salesman, keeping his acting for off-duty hours when he appeared with a repertory company. It was in 1957 that an agent gained for him a bit part in a movie, and this in turn led to several TV appearances, probably the best known (for New Zealand viewers) being that of the brother to Jack Kelly in Maverick. Married in 1961 (to fomer actress Dot Harmony), Colbert is now a dedicated family man. They have a young daughter, Connie. | |
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—as Dr Ann McGregor
Adding the glamour to the series is Lee Meriwether (Dr Ann McGregor), a talented actress who had originally aimed at a teaching career until her beauty propelled her into show-business. She is the wife of Frank Aletter, whom many New Zealand viewers will remember as star of the Bringing Up Buddy series. They have two children. Lee was born in Los Angeles, and was studying at San Francisco’s City College when friends persuaded her to enter a Miss America contest. She won, and her plans to enter the teaching profession were shelved when the winner’s contract stipulated that she travel around the United States for her 12 months’ reign as America’s top beauty. She played in many stage productions, though, before and during this time, and when her husband moved to Hollywood for the Bringing Up Buddy series she, too, found interest in TV work, and was eventually persuaded to test for a show. She won the contract and has since appeared in many films and TV top-liners, among them Perry Mason, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., and 12 O’Clock High. She still maintains her interest in the live theatre, claiming that only on the stage can she keep herself at the “correct acting pitch.” | |
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The Time Tunnel itself is located miles beneath the surface of the great Western Desert and is an amazing secret scientific installation—a tunnel that is capable of launching man in the great vortex of time itself. Beyond this electronic threshold lie all the adventure, drama, thrills and suspense of man’s past and future, from prehistoric days to other civilisations millions of light years into the future.
“There is no limit, either in space or time, as to just how far we can go with The Time Tunnel,” says Allen. “We have a story concerning Halley’s Comet and its plunge to earth, as well as stories built around Dunkirk, the American Revolution, Columbus’ discovery of America, the storming of Troy and the Babylonian revels.”
“One week we could be showing the glory of Rome, next the majesty of the Incas. We can switch from the scenery of the Grand Canyon to a South Sea island; from the era of cavemen to the height of ancient Egyptian civilisation; from the bombing of Pearl Harbour to the trenches of World War One!”
Like they’re saying in Hollywood’s TV circles—a writer’s dream show! |
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New Zealand
TV Weekly
Sept. 16, 1968 |  |  | | | Cover | |
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