Before establishing himself as the “master of disaster” with the 1970s films The Poseidon Adventure and The Towering Inferno, Irwin Allen created four of television’s most exciting and enduring science-fiction series: Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, Lost in Space, The Time Tunnel and Land of the Giants.
These 1960s series were full of Allen’s favorite tricks, techniques and characteristic touches, and influenced other productions from the original Star Trek forward. Every science-fiction show owes something to Allen, yet none has equaled his series’ pace, excitement, or originality.
This detailed examination and documentation of the premise and origin of the four shows offers an objective evaluation of every episode—and demonstrates that when Irwin Allen’s television episodes were good, they were great, and when they were bad, they were still terrific fun.

Freelance writer Jon Abbott has written more than 400 articles on American television and related topics for more than 20 magazines. He lives in Brighton, England.

Jon Abbott
Format: softcover (7 x 10)
Pages: 352
Bibliographic Info: 19 photos, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2009 [2006]
pISBN: 978-0-7864-4491-5
eISBN: 978-0-7864-8662-5
Imprint: McFarland

Preface      1

Irwin Allen: An Introduction      3

1. Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea      11

(September 1964–March 1968)

2 .Lost in Space      113

(September 1965–March 1968)

3. The Time Tunnel      201

(September 1966–April 1967)

4. Land of the Giants      271

(September 1968–March 1970)

Bibliography      323

Index      327

“well-researched…invaluable…excellent”—Filmfax; “covers the series completely”—Big Reel; “highly detailed…a treasure trove of information…comprehensive”—The Dark Side; “a detailed appreciation of the four television series produced by Irwin Allen”—Critical Mass.