MeTV's SuperSci-Fi Saturday Night

Interesting. In my experiment, the video embedded and the [yt] tags were visible like normal text. I can't even remember the last time I embedded a video, anyway.

Like Casablanca, I can't think of a single thing wrong with it.

That's the one (although she did have one good song after that).

Yeah, I like that. "Rhiannon" is also one of my all-time favorite songs.

 

Land of the Giants: “The Marionettes”: Another show-biz episode, this one set at a carnival. A kindly puppeteer (Frank Ferguson) auditioning for the show hurts his hand rescuing Betty from a trap, so Betty and an uncharacteristically generous Fitzhugh choose to impersonate his marionettes so he can get the job -- but the nasty carnival boss (Robert Hogan) catches on and takes the LP prisoner. Unfortunately, it takes forever to get to that part of the plot, since the first act is mostly about a runaway giant gorilla (Janos Prohaska) making Valerie his Fay Wray, with the giant puppeteer eventually (far too eventually) saving her. Which is doubly pointless given that he then has to save Betty a couple of minutes later anyway. It doesn’t help that the gorilla captures Val again later in the episode, when she unwisely runs past its cage.

It's also implausible that the puppeteer just happens to have costumes that fit Betty and Fitz perfectly, as well as clown makeup and a bald cap for Fitz. After all, when we see his real marionettes, they’re clearly far larger than the Earthlings. And, as with the John Carradine movie episode, we again get the implausible situation of a showman planning to get famous by building a show around the Little People, ignoring the fact that it’s illegal to possess them. In this case, we don’t even get a token acknowledgment of that fact. So it’s pretty silly overall.

Still, there are some fun moments watching Kurt Kasznar and Heather Young dance and sing “Be a Clown” while pretending to be marionettes. Young looks pretty fantastic in her skimpy performing outfit, and she has a strong, brassy singing voice that’s quite impressive. Further loveliness is provided by Victoria Vetri as the puppeteer’s sweet young ally, though she doesn’t contribute much to the story beyond being an audience too gullible to distinguish a Little Person from a marionette.

 

Hmm....

If Stan Lee had his way back in 1978 (when he was pushing a Human Torch TV series), it would have been...

A dog??? Hulk fling Mixer into rush hour traffic!

To be fair, we don't know where Banner was when wearing the coat, or the time of year. From the characters in this episode, most are wearing full suits, with David in his traditional long sleeves (rolled up) shirt while indoors.

Give him a break--he's lost more than enough times to earn a vacation. Further, season four had a wealth of "all-time" TIH episodes, so the occasional run-of-the-mill story is acceptable, particularly because Bill Bixby is the lead.

I was well aware, but two things prevented posting his credits--one, I was at business meetings well into Friday, so with what free time I had, I picked Barth as he was the lead guest, Shelley out of respect for his long, Golden Age career, Heineman as she was the lead (and only) female guest of some importance to the plot, and Marin since he was the main villain. O'Reilly would have been the "best of the rest", but there was not enough time between work, and any time usually scheduled for TIH reviews.

 

And it didn't really last very long in the grand scheme of things. Videos are still around, though, but I'm not even sure where people watch them anymore.

Well, you can't say it's not entertaining.

Actually, not bad. I listen to it if it comes up on the radio.

Yeah, the Stones still had it at this point.

 

Sounds like an infected hernia.

Yeah, the Go-Go's. I like most of their stuff, especially the first album. There's also an interesting version of this by Fun Boy Three that has quite a different tone.

The Police in their heyday. Good stuff.

I have no recollection of this whatsoever.

I wish I had no recollection of this whatsoever. Poor Olivia. She should have stuck with her nice girl image-- she was a failure as a sex kitten.

 

^^ Oh, I know she was popular. All opinions expressed are strictly my own. I loved her in her "Have You Never Been Mellow?" days and the makeover did not work for me.

 

The Incredible Hulk - 5th & final season--
"The Phenom"

Heading to Miami's Cotton Labs, David Bedecker is on the road to Florida with semi-pro baseball pitcher Joe Dumming. Considered a "phenom", Dumming has captured the attention of many, hence the reason he's travelling to the West Palm Beach (spring) training camp of the New Jersey Roosters. Stopping for the evening, Joe convinces David to stay, at least to watch his tryout at the spring training camp. Joe is worried that failure means a return to laborious jobs like driving tractors, etc., and could use the encouragement to show his best.

At spring training, Joe's pitching impresses--particularly Bernard Devlin and Audrey (sports agent & bait), and aging, drinking sports reporter Cyrus T. McCormack, who has been tailing Joe and David since their arrival in West Palm Beach. McCormack advises David to keep Joe away from Bernard and Audrey, as they are utterly unethical, and would lead the young man to a life of being ripped off and generally corrupted.

Devlin intercepts McCormack, trying to play into his light alcoholism with a new bottle, softening him up to help push Joe his way. McCormack angrily rejects the request, adding David into the mix as Joe's partner, but Devlin reminds the writer that he owes him for providing years of insider information that boosted McCormack's career. Realizing he's in a bind, McCormack agrees to help the manipulative Devlin.

That evening, Joe opens up to David about his apparent lack of a formal education, thanks to his father abandoning the farm, leaving Joe to leave school to work--and sharpen his pitching skills. As David leaves to get a bag of ice, he comes across McCormack--drunk and sitting in the motel parking lot--the distraction Audrey needs to visit Joe's room. Banner helps McCormack back to his room, where the drunk man rattles off the fact he was once in the running to win the 1954 Pulitzer prize, but his editor calls, threatening to fire this once prominent writer if he fails to file his story in two days. Too drunk to complete his story, McCormack begs David to use his notes to flesh out the story. Davd reluctantly agrees, spending all night writing...leaving the inexperienced Joe to the lascivious plans of Audrey.

At spring training, David (with bag in hand) looks o say goodbye to Joe, and runs into a grateful McCormack, who was so impressed with his journalistic skills that he offers David $200 per ghost written story for the month-long spring training period while McCormack dries himself out from his drinking problem. David agrees, finding the offer irresistible. McCormack comes clean about Devlin's screw-turning set up of Joe--who happens to be with Audrey after a night of drinking and other (implied) pleasures. The young man is so taken by her act that he professes his love for her--exactly the mental state needed to fall into Devlin's hands. McCormack (knowing where Audrey lives) sends David to prevent Devlin from ruining Joe's life.

When Banner shows up at Audrey's hotel, Joe excitedly runs to Banner, spilling all of Devlin's attempt to sign him to an exclusive (bad) management deal. Unfortunately, Devlin's influence has a hesitant Joe (who also claims he's "almost married" to Audrey) ask David to leave. With that, Devlin's henchmen twist Banner's arms, finally tossing him head first down a stairwell, ending with Banner's face crashing through a glass door. As you might expect, this triggers a Hulk out, and soon, the creature yanks the hallway carpet out from under the men, sending them crashing into a planter. Breaking into Devlin's room, the Hulk grabs the agent (as Joe protects Audrey with a chair) and sends him out of the window, falling a few stories into the hotel pool before running away.

Audrey is touched Joe placed his life on the line for her, remarking that his act was the first time anyone treated her in such a way. Joe mentions the attack on David, and her tricking him, leading Audrey to say--

Audrey: "But I've also been tricking myself for a very long time."

As Joe leaves to track down Banner, David--as usual--prepares to leave, despite McCormack's pleading on Joe's behalf. Back at the hotel, Audrey announces her desire to leave Devlin's operation, only for the man to remind her of how unintelligent she is, and just how involved she was in her chosen, lowlife profession.

Devlin: "I saved your soul, honey!"
Audrey: "I sold you my soul."

McCormack bumps into a frantic Joe, who learns Banner is on his way to Miami. McCormack tries to reason with Joe--to participate in the evening's showcase in front of the Roosters' general manager, but Joe--feeling guilty--is determined to atone for his earlier behavior with David.

Devlin--although through with Audrey--tells her to warn the "little hayseed" (Joe) against showing up at the training camp...or else. On the highway, the apologetic Joe catches up with David, realizing that he was caught up in the promises and sleaze of Devlin's world. Joe agrees to make the game--only if David is there for moral support. That evening, everyone--Joe, David, Audrey, McCormack...and Devlin's crew make their way to the stadium; Audrey tries to question McCormack, but is rebuffed, as he believes she's still working for Devlin.

In the parking lot, Joe & David head toward the stadium, but are attacked by Devlin's henchmen. Joe's valuable arms are twisted behind his back, as David is beaten and tossed in front of a car, triggering a Hulk-out. In moments, the Hulk hurls the bruisers into a row of parked cars, then carries Joe to the field...

Days later, McCormack finishes his story on Joe--who has been signed to the New Jersey Roosters. Joe--now with support from legitimate girlfriend Audrey. McCormack promises to introduce Joe to a decent agent, and asks Audrey to help him learn how to read. Joe's only regret is that he cannot thank David, who is on some random road, reading McCormack's article on the investigation of Devlin.

NOTES:

This episode is on the outer fringes of being cure-related, since David mentions Cotton Labs, but never reaches the facility, or speaks of its importance to him, though viewers can just assume there might be a cure interest behind it all.

Jack McGee does not appear in this episode.

Audrey's "But I've also been tricking myself for a very long time." could be taken literally, but if one considers the nature of her services for Devlin, "tricking" could be a slightly veiled reference to prostitution.

Banner has another skill: Undercover Journalist. or Ghost Writer, whichever you prefer.

McCormack is a bit surprised David does not know anything about the well-syndicated writer's column, which is realistic, as David--being a fugitive--is either always on the move, or only pays attention to news stories related to Hulk incidents.

The coach mentions that a player named Jesús might be the best hitter in the league, "even if he can't speak English" -- a timely nod to the early wave of non-English speaking players from Puerto Rico the Dominican Republic, Mexico and other regions, that would soon change the ethnic and public face of MLB like never before.

The game announcer names "Alan Cassidy" & "Craig Schiller" as two of the players. Of course, Cassidy & Schiller were The Incredible Hulk's associate producers.

GUEST CAST:

Brett Cullen (Joe Dunning)

• V - The Series (NBC, 1985) - "The Littlest Dragon"
• Freddy's Nightmares (Syndicated, 1989) - "Cabin Fever"
• Alfred Hitchcock Presents (USA Network, 1989) - "Night Creatures"
• Tales from the Crypt (HBO, 1989) - "Only Sin Deep"
• Prehysteria! (Full Moon Entertainment, 1993)
• Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (Syndicated, 1994) - "Meridian"
• The Omen (FOX, 1995) - TV movie pilot of an unsold series
• The Killing Jar (Paragon Pictures, 1997)
• Levitation (Tenth Muse, 1997)
• From the Earth to the Moon (HBO, 1997) - TV miniseries
• The Outer Limits (Showtime, 1998) - "Final Exam"
• Ghost Whisperer (CBS, 2006) - "Melinda's First Ghost"
• Ghost Rider (Columbia Pictures, 2007)
• Beneath the Darkness (Raincreek Productions, 2011)
• The Dark Knight Rises (Warner Brothers, 2012)
• The Shallows (Columbia Pictures, 2016)

Anne Lockhart (Audrey) returns to TIH after season three's "Captive Night" (1979). As noted in that review, she could be called the "first daughter" of bad TV sci-fi--she was a supporting cast member of Battlestar Galactica (ABC, 1978-79) while her mother June was the matriarch of the Robinson clan on Lost in Space (CBS, 1965-68). Her first role opposite Bill Bixby was in the pilot for The Magician (NBC, 1973). Other fantasy roles--

• The Sixth Sense (ABC, 1972) - "Dear Joan: We're Going to Scare You to Death"
• The Hardy Boys / Nancy Drew Mysteries (ABC, 1977/'78) - "The Mystery of the African Safari" & "The Last Kiss of Summer" (2 parts)
• Project U.F.O. (NBC, 1979) - "Sighting 4019: The Believe it or Not Incident"
• Buck Rogers in the 25th Century (NBC, 1980) - "A Dream of Jennifer"
• Earthbound (Taft International Pictures, 1981)
• Darkroom (ABC, 1982) - "Exit Line"
• E.T. the Extra Terrestrial (Universal, 1982)
• Tales of the Gold Monkey (CBS, 1982) - "The Lady and the Tiger"
• Voyagers! (NBC, 1983) - "Merry Christmas, Bogg"
• Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends (NBC, 1981-83) - as Storm, Lightwave & additional voices
• Automan (ABC, 1984) - "Death by Design"
• Troll (Empire Pictures,1986)
• Dark Tower (Forum Home Video, 1986)
  
• Freddy's Nightmares (Syndicated, 1989) - "Heartbreak Hotel"
• The Highwayman (NBC, 1988) - "Road Lord"
• Wishman (1992)
• Quantum Leap (NBC, 1992) - "Star Light, Star Bright"
• Bionic Ever After? (MCA Television, 1994)
• Bug Buster (Prism Leisure, 1998)
• Level 9 (UPN, 2000-01)
  
• Route 666 (Lions Gate, 2001)
• The Time Traveler's Wife (New Line Cinema, 2009)
  
• Lockhart: Unleashing the Talisman (2015)

Dick O'Neill (Cyrus T. McCormack) returns to TIH after guest starring in "Fast Lane" (1981) from season four.

• Gamera the Invincible (Daiei, 1966)
• The UFO Incident (NBC, 1975) - with James Earl Jones
• Wonder Woman (CBS, 1978) - "Pot of Gold"
• Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color (NBC, 1980) - "The Ghosts of Buxley Hall" (2 parts)
• Wes Craven's Chiller (CBS, 1985)
• Timecop (ABC, 1997) - "Public Enemy"

Robert Donner (Bernard Devlin) is yet another returning guest; his first TIH role the unstable Benedict in "Sideshow" (1980) from season three.

• The Spirit is Willing (William Castle Productions, 1967)
• Circle of Fear (NBC, 1972) - "Creatures of the Canyon"
• The Six Million Dollar Man (ABC, 1974 / '75) -"Stranger in Broken Fort" & "The White Lightning War"
• Damnation Alley (20th Century Fox, 1977)
• Voyagers! (NBC, 1983) - "Buffalo Bill and Annie Play the Palace"
• Allan Quartermain and the Lost City of Gold (Cannon Films, 1987)
• The Rocket Boy (1989)
• Alien Nation: Dark Horizon (FOX, 1994)

 

Well, isn't that appropriate.

 

Hulk: “The Phenom”: In contrast to “Danny,” which I don’t remember at all, this is an episode that I remember very well for some reason. It’s not that it’s particularly memorable; it’s a very routine standalone, and it’s one of the most contrived situations ever for David to get dragged into. The drunk sportswriter character is borderline endearing, but having him talk as floridly as he writes is a bit overdone, and “sports column ghostwriter” has got to be the most off-kilter job David’s ever found himself doing, given that there’s never been any indication that Doctor David Banner, physician/scientist/all-around handyman, counted journalistic writing among his skills. And the rest of the characters don’t amount to much. Of all the random schmoes that have dragged a reluctant David into their troubles, Joe is not a particular standout, and his constant goading to keep David around comes off as needy and a bit whiny.

I think maybe this is just one of those episodes that I kept happening across disproportionately often in syndication by the luck of the draw, so I remember it well for that reason. Maybe it’s partly that this was my first exposure to the word “phenom,” so I would think of it whenever I heard that term used. Maybe it’s that it’s the episode where I first noticed the show’s tendency to use the names of the show’s staffers in PA announcements, like the team lineups in the tryout game here. Or maybe it’s that it has so many familiar guest stars returning from past episodes -- Anne Lockhart from “Captive Night,” Robert Donner from “Sideshow,” and Dick O’Neill from “Fast Lane.” Although the most familiar face to me now is unrecognizably young here -- Joe is Brett Cullen, Person of Interest’s Nathan Ingram. I never imagined they were the same person.

 

I caught it first run, and thought it was another Fugitive style human interest story (a more obvious callback to the Quinn Martin show is coming in three weeks).

No, as is not relevant to the plot, or a moment when the Hulk is confused and/or fascinated by something for an interesting character reason (e.g. the green mannequin from "Captive Night")

He seems to be remarkably adept at many trades (except the oil business), so quickly learning, then using McCormack's style or general sports information seems natural.

True.

I can agree with that. Hers was a unique look in the 70s/80s TV landscape.

Mixer!!! That's AGEISM!!!!

 

It's easy. Football is the one where they roll around in the mud. Baseball is the one where they run around in circles and spit on the ground. Basketball is the one where they dribble. Hockey is the one where they hit each other with sticks.

 

Yeah, but promos are often misleading, such as that for "Mystery Man Part 2" & "Broken Image", which made it seem as if McGee actually discovered Banner being alive. In this case, the baseball field hijinks were just not relevant to the story, so I did not mention it.

I'm not sure its ever been established that Banner was completely sports-ignorant. He seemed to do well in the NFL environment of "Killer Instinct" (in therapy or training assistance for that profession, one cannot be clueless about how the game is played/the way the game can cause injuries, etc.)

So, you're an ageist and...Ugly-ist!!! How dare you! Time for a drum circle protest! Pass the ganja!

 

Land of the Giants--
"Wild Journey"
Airdate: March 8, 1970

Steve and Dan run into one of two new Little People on the run from a S.I.D. agent. After using a "Space-Time Manipulator" to transport all to the nearby forest, the newcomers introduce themselves as Thorg (pre-Silent Running Bruce Dern) and Berna (post-Batman Yvonne Craig), on the giant world to--

Berna: "...test the intelligence quotient of the natives."

The do-all STM also shows Steve & Dan images of their flight in the Spindrift, with Thorg confirming that the device can be programmed to send the user to any point in time. Thanks to another mishap with the S.I.D. agent, Steve--fully comprehending the promise of the travelers' technology--steals the STM, and transports himself and Dan to the Los Angeles of 1983--specifically September 25th--the day of the Spindrift's ill-fated flight. The duo try to convince Miss Collier--the head of airport operations--that the flight will end in disaster, but she rejects what she first sees as superstition, then an outright refusal to obey reasonable orders, which--by the way--is the title of the form she has the men sign.

Soon, Thorg and Berna track the heroes (or rather, the STM) to Los Angeles, but discover they simply can't transport them to the giant world. Now that the pilots are occupying their original space, they must fly the Spindrift as in the first timeline (try making sense out of that), or alter history. Steve & Dan's refusal to return to the giant world (arguing that the others will be safe on earth) is met by the travelers reducing them to Little People size in their own world--unless they agree to take that flight.

Steve & Dan choose to run and live as Little People, rather than condemn the other castaways to what they've experienced over the last two years. When they overhear the travelers mentioning the airline will simply find two replacement pilots, they hope to warn their future companions...only they need to risk their safety by contacting the travelers. Thorg and Berna give the men rather large tablets to swallow, which will restore them to normal size...along with conveniently erasing their memories of the tip to the past (IOW, Steve & Dan will simply see the world as they did back in '83). so that they will take the flight. Steve writes a warning note to himself in case the travelers were not bluffing.

The pilots fail to convince any of the passengers to cancel their trips, so they decide to sabotage the fuel--and disconnect the fuel lines of the Spindrift. As they work, the memory-erasing drug kicks in; Steve quickly reads his warning note, but its too late to be of any use. The duo briefly question their actions, but return to operations, leaving the fuel lines connected. With the pilots now agreeing to fly, the crew & passengers are soon aboard the Spindrift, and the timeline is restored to normal.

In the present day, Steve seems lost in thought and is a bit perplexed when Dan relates the details of a dream that sounds all to similar to his own (the episode's events). Before Steve heads back to camp, he pulls something from his jacket pocket: the Employee's Refusal to Obey Orders that Collier made him sign. Finally remembering his adventure in the past, a defeated Steve crumples the form, tosses it to the ground and walks away.

NOTES:

"Wild Journey" was the last episode produced for Land of the Giants, with filming completed in January of 1970. In one interview, Gary Conway had mentioned the episode was filmed as a series finale (the ABC cancellation hammer fell early), which explains a semi-nostalgic trip back to where it all started, only to wrap up with less than subtle suggestion that the Little People would never escape the giant planet.

Thanks to the episodes being aired out of order, the underwhelming "Graveyard of Fools" aired as the final first-run episode of Land of the Giants on ABC.

Irwin Allen's terrible rinse-and-repeat habits rears its head again, with a plot similar to the 3rd season Lost in Space episode, "Time Merchant" where Smith travels back to the hours before the Jupiter 2 flight, only for Chronus (the episode's villain) to warn/threaten Smith that if he's not on that flight, ultimately, all aboard will die in an asteroid collision. Steve and Dan are faced with the same kind of threat from Thorg and Berna.

Continuity screw-up: the date of the flight is said to be September 25, 1983, instead on the pilot episode's on-screen date of June 12 (also part of Allen's birthdate). According to The Giants Are Coming, the September date comes from the final revision of the pilot script, but that should have been ignored in favor of the on-screen date.

Stefan Arngim (Barry) does not appear in this episode. By necessity of the plot, a younger stand-in was used during the 1983 flashback scenes, with the stand-in carrying Chipper in front of his face.

Heather Young appears wearing her Spindrift flight attendant outfit for the first (and last) time since season one. Attractive as always.

Irwin Allen's wife Sheila Matthews--a guest on a number of Allen TV productions--is the likable, but stressed Miss Collier. Matthews would make brief appearances in Allen's disaster blockbusters The Poseidon Adventure (20th Century Fox, 1972) and The Towering Inferno (20th Century Fox/Warner Brothers, 1974).

Mark Wilson carries a completely different case than his black briefcase seen in the pilot. How that detail was overlooked is anyone's guess.

In this slight retcon, the audience learns the Spindrift was not the ship Steve and Dan were scheduled to pilot on the fateful day, with dialogue indicating the pilots were used to (or expecting) to flying a larger suborbital craft. On that note, Spindrift was not a one-off, prototype; the Shamrock (mentioned by Collier) despite the wrongheaded labeling of its fuel barrels as "rocket ship" fuel, was supposed to be another suborbital vehicle.

The Space-Time Manipulator is yet another Irwin Allen device that is no more plausible than Felix the Cat's Magic Bag of Tricks, since it can do just about anything demanded by the script. Not a surprise, the STM was used to shrink Steve and Dan, yet Thorg needed pills to restore their size...and just who needed to create pills that restored size AND erased memory of time travel?

Sigh.

Still, the intent of what should have been LOTG's swan song was interesting, and a bit predictable in its conflict (that is, if you caught that Lost in Space episode two years earlier). But I give it credit for ending the series on such a melancholy note--no sweeping finale or resolution. Probably one of the most bold finales in the Irwin Allen TV catalogue.

 

Land of the Giants: “Wild Journey”: Once again, LOTG recycles a time-travel plot from Lost in Space, in this case, the episode “Time Merchant,” in which Dr. Smith went back to before the launch of the Jupiter II to prevent it from taking off. In this version, Steve and Dan encounter a pair of what are apparently space-time researchers of some sort named Thorg and Berna (Bruce Dern and Yvonne Craig). Where they come from is never explained aside from being somewhere other than Earth, although they’re human-sized and wearing fairly normal 20th-century attire. Anyway, Thorg smugly shows off the abilities of his STM (space-time manipulator), which Steve and Dan steal in order to get back to LAX on September 25, 1983 (an unexplained retcon from the original June 12 departure date) and prevent the Spindrift from ever taking off.

I was expecting the two of them to have to dodge their own younger selves, but apparently this is the kind of time-travel story where they replace or merge with their younger selves, and apparently they take that for granted without needing it explained, because they immediately go to their boss and refuse to take out the flight. Frustratingly, she gives them a perfect excuse by asking if it’s a bomb threat, but instead of going with that, they just make vague warnings they can’t explain, which doesn’t go over well. Most of the episode has Thorg and Berna chasing after them and trying to stop them from changing history, warning them of dire consequences to reality if they try. There’s an amusing twist when Thorg miniaturizes them to try to stop them, and they get the experience of being Little People on Earth. Eventually he gives them pills to restore their size -- but they also erase their memories so that they act out the original events as destined.

That’s the interesting thing about this story -- it retroactively establishes that (aside from the date change) this was the original history all along, a self-consistent time loop where Steve and Dan’s actions in attempting to alter their past actually created its circumstances. It also helps to explain just why they were flying such a small ship with only four passengers (and a dog). It was their refusal to fly, based on their future knowledge, that led the airline to notify all but four of the flight’s 45 scheduled passengers of the cancellation, and it was their sabotage of the airport’s fuel supply that required the use of the just-repaired Spindrift, which was the right size for such a minimal complement of passengers. It’s pretty clever, aside from a few details, like the scene where Steve and Dan try to warn the others not to take the flight and are ignored/disbelieved. You’d think that after the crash, some of them would’ve remembered that their pilot and co-pilot had somehow prophetically warned them of this, and would’ve mentioned that at some point during the premiere episode. Then again, this episode does showcase how the three adult passengers were all completely self-absorbed -- Mark the driven workaholic, Valerie the spoiled heiress, Fitzhugh the jumpy thief -- so maybe they forgot the pilots’ warnings as soon as they were over. (Barry is only mentioned rather than seen, since Stefan Arngrim had aged too much in the interim.) It’s also unclear how Steve and Dan are still there on giants’ world in the present after their encounter with Thorg and Berna had passed. Logically, if they were sent back into their original bodies, then they’d just be gone from that moment on into the future. I guess the time-travelers used some kind of offscreen handwave to restore them.

I don't think a stand-in was used. As I recall, Barry was never in the scene. Chipper got away from him and ran into the lounge where the others were, and Betty went off with the dog to find him. The only footage of Barry I remember seeing was stock footage from the pilot.