The Time Tunnel

This was a fascinating & superior updating of the 1966 Irwin Allen series of the same name.Unlike that(and all of Allen's sf series)show, this is an intriguing & well thought-out premise.While attempting to create a clean,renewable,& abundant energy source,the Dept.of Energy inadvertently rips open a time vortex into past ages.A timestorm then ripples throughout these distant eras which in turn causes anomalies that disrupt our present.The TT complex is shielded from these alterations & realize how history has changed.They have plotted 240 anomalies which need to dealt with,so a team of experts are assembled in order to journey back in time in order to correct the errors caused by the anomalies,& then are retrieved back to the present.This would have been a wonderful series had it been picked up.In its premise it answers the problem inherent in all time travel scenarios:the past cannot be meddled with,no matter how benevolent the intentions are,because it may produce harmful ramifications all the way into the present.But here the time-team must restore the past to what we know it should be,their missions are to make things right.While this premise is hardly original & has been used by other TV series such as Voyagers & Quantum Leap,it works.The cast was likable & you cared about them.The fx were terrific.What a shame we won't be watching them return to the past to set things right with those other pesky 239 anomalies that are left.

The Time Tunnel concept is fabulous, and I would love to see a new series, but the 2002 un-aired pilot is the typical today's sci-fi, which focuses more on the proverbial arrogant, cocky characters and the "beating-around-the bush" storyline, with an overindulgence of bad humor. Too many of today's yuppie scriptwriters have no care nor understanding of quality writing and engaging characters. The Time Tunnel (2002) unaired pilot, unlike the original 1960s Irwin Allen series, has unlikeable, cold characters and horrendous acting. It does have an interesting storyline but is far less suspenseful than the original Time Tunnel series because this new version doesn't have Doug and Tony lost in time, but can return them to the tunnel at any time.

The un-aired pilot's best attribute is a nicely done war scene with incidental background music that challenges the emotions, and snow flurries that enhances the scenic setting landscape of war.

Overall, there is no comparison between the poorly produced Time Tunnel (2002) and the fabulous Time Tunnel TV series of 1966.

-- Ed Shifres

By some miracle I have managed to obtain a copy of this film. While it is rough around the edges, as most pilots are, it has alot of potential. With additional character development and some good stories written by strong writers this pilot could have evolved into a very good series had it been given the chance. While this film bears little resemblence to the Irwin Allen series of the 60s, other that the brief hint of the original theme at the beginning, this contemporary version is well worth a look to scifi and time travel fans. I enjoyed it very much and it's a nice addition to my video archives.

Despite the negative review listed on this site, I found this pilot (only 60 minutes, not 120) to be interesting and worthy of more exploration. Despite its similarity to STARGATE, the premise is workable and deserves another shot. Perhaps Sci-Fi can take this pilot and build on it. I suggest a miniseries that would delve more into the creation of the Tunnel, the Belsky character, and the team. Making Newman a woman was a nice touch. Ending was a bit confusing, but could be expanded and explained if the concept were given more than an hour to play out. If a series were to result, it might be interesting to bring in a weekly 'guest specialist' who travels through time with the team to correct errors in the timeline. Fox's loss could be Sci-Fi's gain.

excellent, for a pilot. the characters are as fleshed out as they can be in 50 or so minutes, while still having time to explain the concept for the tunnel itself, which looks great. i found myself looking for lee meriwether or james darren in the background someplace. this is a superior reworking of the original 60's "time tunnel", except the characters return after completing each mission. the concept, a fix-the-errors-in-time-that-not-everyone-remembers scenario is somewhat more interesting than the original guys-bouncing-around-aimlessly plots that were used originally. i guess i can see why this probably wasn't picked up as a series. it would have been too closely compared to "stargate", which was a ripoff of sorts of the original. i still wish someone would start a network that shows nothing but unaired pilots. some of them are fascinating.