Post-58th Anniversary Viewing
The Time Tunnel
"The Walls of Jericho"
Originally aired January 27, 1967
MeTV said:
Warrior-prophet Joshua sends Tony and Doug into Jericho as spies before he attacks the Biblical city.
And Joshua the son of Nun sent out of Shittim two men to spy secretly, saying, Go view the land, even Jericho. And they went, and came into an harlot's house, named Rahab, and lodged there.
--Joshua 2:1
The guys tumble into a tented encampment during a storm and quickly find themselves in a tussle with some anciently armored types. They're dramatically allowed to lose this one to find themselves at the mercy of Joshua (Rhodes Reason), commander of...
3,500-ish years later, Ann expresses skepticism regarding the biblical account, though Kirk affirms his belief, while Swain hedges in-between. Joshua thinks that the strangers may be spies of the King of Jericho, whose city Joshua is preparing to lay siege to, but Tony's Scripture Fu convinces him that they're serving the same God, so he decides to use them as his spies instead.
Joshua has his army march toward a wall of the city as a diversion for Tony and Doug to climb in garbed in native attire. The oracle-informed faith of King Malek (Arnold Moss) that Jericho's walls are impregnable is affirmed when the Israelites retreat. The guys break cover to intervene as the king publicly offers a young virgin named Shala (Cynthia Lane) as sacrifice at the altar of Khemosh, and are overcome in the ensuing brawl...but the girl is saved by the king's belief that she's now been soiled by their touch after Doug carried her off the altar.
Tony finds an opportunity to make a break for it, and as the captain of the guard (Michael Pate) leads a search for him, he takes refuge in what happens to be the dwelling of Shala's grateful older sister, who was at the canceled sacrifice. Tony recognizes her from the scripture as Rahab (Myrna Fahey), and realizes that he's now part of an actual biblical account of two Israelite spies who were sheltered by her! While Rahab fears the power of the Israelite God, her servant, Ahza (Lisa Gaye), a believer in Khemosh, advises against hiding Tony from Malek. Meanwhile, Ann insists that Doug be transferred to save him from being tortured on the rack--a position from which he briefly debates Malek about the Israelite God's might--but Kirk falls back on the biblical account to assert that Doug's going to be alright, and the Tunnel loses its fix.
Rahab shares her longtime dreams of the fall of Jericho--her resentment of the city fueled by the dishonorable occupation via which she supports her family--and Tony informs her of a book of divine revelation called the Bible that tells of how the fall will come to pass and names her as the only survivor. Ahza brings Rahab's father (Abraham Sofaer), an architect who designed the palace before being blinded by Malek as a security precaution. The architect describes for Tony a secret passage into the dungeon, and Rahab takes Ahza with her to keep an eye on the entrance location as Tony sneaks in to free Doug...which involves overcoming the brawny torturer (Tiger Joe Marsh) via TV Fu. While they're sneaking back out the passage with the help of Rahab distracting the captain, a Bible-consulting Kirk and the others watch as their fix drifts to Joshua giving a speech to his army about God's plan to have them circle the walls seven times before blasting their horns. Malek informs the captain of the second spy's escape and orders a house-by-house search for the pair.
The guys return to Rahab's, where she hides them on her walk-up rooftop as the captain's party comes to search the place. Rahab's father supports her in covering for the guys, but Ahza, when questioned, glances upward in a signal to the captain. The captain goes up and thrusts his sword into the flax behind which the guys were hiding, but Rahab sees that they've escaped through an opening in the roof and distracts the captain again from finding it. Ahza takes interest at the captain's parting announcement of a hefty reward for information leading to the capture of the spies, and rushes out to tell a guard while Rahab finds the guys; but is caught sneaking back in. Ahza confesses while expressing her resentment of being the servant of a harlot. Tony sets up a red sash to signal the Almighty while reaffirming the Holy Word that her house will be spared. Doug has time to climb out the window before the captain arrives to catch Tony, and Ahza is disappointed that her only reward is the jewelry that Rahab is wearing, as the captain plans to claim the reward himself.
As the two of them are chained to an outdoor temple wall, Tony promises Rahab that a miracle will save them, then foretells the future to Malek by quoting scripture, even as Joshua's men are heard marching around the walls. In 1968 A.D., Ann's ready to defy Kirk as he insists that the Bible has got the guys' backs, but a panel short-circuits to stop her.
Kirk: The decision has been taken out of our hands.
Doug is returned to Joshua, and as Ahza incites the surrounding peasants to stone Rahab and Tony, Joshua has the horns sounded.
On cue, a tornado appears from nowhere...cue fellow Hoosier:
Ann adamantly insists that this is a natural phenomenon, not a miracle.
Dr. Swain: Whatever creates faith is a miracle.
Doug finds the architect and rushes to free Tony and Rahab, stopping Malek from stabbing them before the Heavy Hand of God topples the not-so-heavy statue of Khemosh onto the king. Tony bids Rahab to return to the safety of her home and promises that he'll always be with her before the guys are pulled out in front of her eyes.
Wiki said:
In some time zones, during the original broadcast of this episode, the program was interrupted by an ABC News Bulletin regarding the death of three astronauts (Virgil "Gus" Grissom, Edward White and Roger Chaffee) in a fire in the Apollo 1 command module, while preparing for launch of the first Apollo space mission, on the launch pad at the Kennedy Space Center. In other time zones, the interruption came while Rango was airing.
Photos:
Rhodes Reason in The Time Tunnel (1966)
www.imdb.com
I could've loaded this post with
Raiders references, there were so many similar beats.
The Time Tunnel
"Idol of Death"
Originally aired February 3, 1967
MeTV said:
In 1519, Tony and Doug vow to slow down Cortez's conquest of Mexico.
Tony and Doug tumble onto a tropic set that's not supposed to be an island this time, to witness a pair of conquistadors pursuing a native, the crossbowman (Abel Fernandez) shooting him in the back while overseen by Capt. Alvarado (Lawrence Montaigne). Some movie footage of a larger force cues the guys in that they've landed in the middle of Cortez's invasion, which Doug describes as "one of the biggest bloodbaths in history". They subsequently come upon Alvarado threatening a chief and his family, all tied to trees, for information with a torch. The guys jump into action and are quickly captured.
The guys soon find themselves in the presence of Hernando Cortez (Anthony Caruso), who assumes that they're spies for Governor Velasquez of Cuba. Cortez proceeds to personally interrogate the chief's wife about the location of a golden mask important to his plans, getting her to squeal off-camera (so she doesn't have to be credited) by burning her husband. Cortez then breaks his promise to her, ordering her and the chief executed, though their adult son (Teno Pollick) is spared. TT estimates that it's early October 1519, and research Cortez's movements to determine that he's now in the Veracruz area. While Cortez is questioning Tony about which of his ships brought spies, Tony relieves a soldier of his 19th-century US Navy cutlass and holds it to Cortez's throat to have him release Doug and the Indian lad, but is quickly resubdued and ordered to be executed along with his friend.
Cortez exposits to Alvarado that the mask is a symbol of authority that will enable him to control the Tlaxcaltec tribesmen, then oversees the burning of his ships to dedicate his men to the conquest. Meanwhile, an elder retainer (Peter Brocco) sneaks out of the jungle to free the chief's son and his companions. When Cortez returns, Doug threatens to ignite a barrel of gunpowder to give the others a chance to escape; and explains to Cortez his motivation of being unable to stand by while one of the worst butchers in history goes to work. Doug makes a break after igniting the spilled line of powder leading to the barrel, which one of Cortez's men promptly moves.
Tony and Doug encourage the chief's son--who's timid because he's a surviving third son who wasn't taught useful chiefly skills like the arts of battle or how to grow crops--to help his people resist the Spaniards. He agrees to help them locate the sacred cave where the mask is kept before the Spaniards do. Along the way, after testing a barrel of inadequate gunpowder that they brought with them, the guys come upon some potassium nitrate that will help them make it more potent. In 1968, Kirk has the Mexican Embassy rush in an expert in the Veracruz area, Mr. Castillano (Rodolfo Hoyos), to help them identify landmarks that will help them to pull the guys out. A newcomer to time travel, he's amazed at the sight of TunnelVision, which Kirk describes as showing "the living past".
At some ruins that serve as a waypoint, the retainer knifes a Spanish soldier, and Tony gives the young chief a stern little lecture about having no stomach for killing--like Tony knows so much about these things. The retainer is in turn crossbowed by Alvarado's man while scouting for other Spaniards. (Found 'em...!) When Alvarado arrives to inspect the ruins, the guys go into hiding and trigger a gunpowder trap that turns out to be ineffectual, only tossing the Spaniards off their balance for a bit. When Alvarado calls for the guys to come out of hiding, they learn of the servant's fate, which ignites in the young chief a thirst for vengeance. Back in 1968, a belated background check turns up that Castillano is an archaeologist with a history of illegal artifact removal. When confronted, Castillano admits that he's been searching for the golden mask for decades; and Kirk gets the impression that their guest is playing games with them. Back in 1519, Tony keeps Alvarado occupied on the trail with a crossbow while Doug and Young Chief proceed to the beachfront cave everyone is looking for. YC enters and is taken down by Alvarado's crossbowman, who's taken a shortcut to beat everyone there. Tony and Alvarado arrive at about the same time, the guys finding themselves surrounded.
As everyone's entering the cave, back in 1968, Castillano offers a deal--the location of the cave if TT will bring back the golden mask. In the cave, the mask is found, displayed on a pile of gold. Alvarado taking the mask spurs YC into a rage, and the guys use the distraction to initiate a brawl and some sword fighting. Alvarado gets his sword point to Tony's neck and compels the guys to serve as his pack animals in hauling the gold out. TT pulls the mask out, but the energy surge involved threatens to collapse the cave. As Castillano tries to stop them from sending the mask back (which will somehow patch the cave back up), Ann puts the living past on pause to keep the guys alive, and Castillano grabs an MP's gun to hold everyone at bay while he takes the mask out of the Tunnel. The TT crew determine that they have to send back the mask to restore the time fix and unfreeze the guys. While Castillano is cradling and talking sweetly to his precious, Kirk has his men make their move, initiating an exchange of gunfire in which the general participates. When Castillano runs out of ammo, he defiantly tosses the mask back into the Tunnel to keep anyone else from having it...which is exactly what the TT crew needed him to do, at the exact last second before they lost their fix.
Castillano is taken into custody, and the time freeze is released. (As IMDb points out, the torches in the cave continue to flicker as everyone's "frozen in time".) As the cave threatens to come down on everyone, Alvarado tries to compel the guys to carry out the gold, and the chief takes out the crossbowman with a hunk of gold. While the guys proceed to exit, Alvarado refuses to leave the treasure, killing his other man for trying to get him to leave. Young Chief also won't leave without the mask, going back in to take it as Alvarado is preoccupied with gathering the other gold. Reuniting with the guys, the YC learns some wisdom from Alvarado's avarice.
Tony: I think, at last, you're ready to lead your people.
Doug: Yes...now you are a chief!
How fortuitous that you guys happen to be around to determine such things! As Young Chief exits the cave, the guys are transferred out.
Photos:
Anthony Caruso, Robert Colbert, James Darren, and Lawrence Montaigne in The Time Tunnel (1966)
www.imdb.com
This guy must be thirty years old.
Just turned.
What does he know about Rock'n'Roll?
This is why the world needed an Elvis.
Now I want to hear the real thing.
I wonder if there are surviving outtakes....
This is a pretty good song, but it's funny to think of it co-existing with early Rock.
This is why the world needed rock 'n' roll.
Bah! I don't buy into this Flash Gordon stuff.
I'm guessing that all of this talk of our intent to send satellites up back in '55 is setting us up for being asleep at the switch in '57.
It was a continuation of a popular radio drama starring William Conrad as Matt Dillon. I'll never understand why they didn't let him play the part on TV.
I have an odd episode of the radio series in an early radio cassette set.
Matt Dillon is a pretty solid guy. The wind is blowing so hard in that clip that it makes the gravestones sway like they were made of cardboard, but it doesn't faze him a bit.
I hadn't noticed that.
He forgot to sound like Elvis.
George liked it.
This is pretty good....
But I wouldn't go that far.
Fair enough.
It didn't hurt his re-election prospects any, which seems to me pretty amazing for the 50s. Of course, you have to take the competition into consideration, too, I suppose.
He also seemed to be one of those Teflon-coated chief execs.
I always thought Martian Manhunter was pretty cool, even though he always seemed to remain a minor character.
This is a stepping stone into the Silver Age, though not generally recognized as its launching point. There's a difference between continuity and real-world historical impact.
It's a shame that he died so young, but he's one of those major heartthrobs of the era, like Marily Monroe, whose appeal I never understood.
Those two are, first and foremost, icons of the era, in the true sense of the word before it got so badly watered down with overuse in recent decades.
Cool, can't wait.
And there ya go.
I vaguely remember this one. I think the Joker fought against the Red Skull because the Joker may be a psychotic criminal, but he's an American psychotic criminal.
It was a pretty nifty, enjoyable one-shot. Its coda, in which Dick Grayson's Batman and Bruce Wayne Jr.'s Robin find the frozen Cap in '64 in place of the Avengers, was the launching point of Byrne's
Superman/Batman: Generations series, which I recall you being familiar with.
Yes, and a drinking game.
That, too.
Either way, it's an odd place for Nero to be decomposing, and the story didn't seem to offer any justification.
Yeah, history aside, I was wondering how his body ended up on the estate of his enemy's family.
Exactly. A weird loose end, like the missing saucer in the last one.
I went back to check, the last scene was in the count's study, which was fine and dandy with no explosions or shaking going on.
It's kind of a pain in the neck that they expire. I recorded the pilot of Adam-12 for my Sister and it was gone when she went to watch it.
My old cable DVR's recordings didn't expire, but I'd have to manage them for space or they could auto-delete.
dc.fandom.com
He subsequently holds the room full of hardened outlaws at bay and rides off with Tony, firing his gun into the air. What the hell were the people making this show on and do they still make it?
