The Fantastic Journey

But probably a little dated now. I only just remember a few details about this show. Jared Martin playing what I assume was an alien with some kind of glowing tuning fork that could do just about anything - except get him out of the predicament he was in.

I was surprised to see how short a run this show had. When you're a kid these things seem to go on and on for ever. In reality there were only 10 episodes, including the pilot.

I've also never seen this in re-runs, which is a shame, because I'd like to do the nostalgia trip once more. I'd probably laugh through much of it now, but despite its short run, the memory of it has stayed with me all these years, so it must have done something right at the time.

Fantastic Journey was an exceptional fantasy about a group of disparate characters who were trying to return to their own dimension after being lost in the Bermuda Triangle. They encountered a new dimension in nearly every episode. In one of the earliest episodes they picked up an ill-tempered scientist, wonderfully played by Roddy McDowell, who walked a line between villain and hero. School teachers and television critics hailed the show, and Roddy McDowell appeared on talk shows trying to get people interested, but the show was cancelled for poor ratings.

A previous reviewer compared The Fantastic Journey to shows like Stargate SG-1 and Sliders. He listed 8 similarities between the shows. He should have listed a 9th. Which show, you ask? What about Lost? You have a doctor, (Fred in TFJ, Jack in Lost), a psychic, (Liana in TFJ, Desmond in Lost,) a man of faith, (Varian in TFJ, and Locke, in Lost,) see the similarities? If you don't, I do. In TFJ, you have a scientific expedition lost in the Bermuda Triangle. In Lost, you have 48 survivors from a plane crash on an island somewhere in the South Pacific. In TFJ, our little group of travelers is trying to get back to their times. In Lost, that's not so clear. Jack wants to go home in the first three seasons. Locke doesn't. When you consider the similarities between the two shows, you can't help but recognize the fact that this '70s show was an influence on Lost. J.J. Abrams and Co., say that the game Myst, was one of the influences. Did I leave someone out? I did? Well, my bad. You also have another man of science, in Jonathan Willaway. Did I leave anyone else out? I don't think so. If I did, too late to change it now.

Fantastic Journey was a great show and was one of the original 'Sci-Fi Collection' tv shows aired during the Sci-Fi Channel's(USA) original beginning. Jared Martin did a great job in this show. Roddy McDowell was a nice addition after his introduction episode. It paved the way for shows like 'The Otherworld' and 'The Bermuda Triangle'. Fantastic Journey was an entertaining show. They had a great looking female actress too.

THE FANTASTIC JOURNEY found some after-life as an edited and syndicated TV film called LOST IN TIME,dated (1980). I saw this once, on a UHF channel in the early to mid-90's on a Sunday afternoon. What they did was edit the first 90 minute pilot, and second hour long show into something like an hour and 45 minute movie to play in two-hour time slots in syndication and thus have a complete movie. It also had a narration of sort at the end, as the group walked off to the usual "time zone" beam-out effect, and as I recall that said something like "And so their quest to find their rightful place in time, is just beginning" or something like that. It was a terrific show in it's day and for the fact we had almost no SF shows at all on TV aside from the re-runs of STAR TREK and SPACE:1999.