Before establishing himself as the “master of disaster” with the 1970s film hits 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. Filmed within yards of each other on the busy and successful studio lots of 20th Century–Fox, these 1960s series were full of Allen’s favorite tricks and techniques. Sometimes adapted from earlier sources, sometimes devised by Allen and his award-winning special effects teams, those characteristic Allen touches have influenced other productions from the original Star Trek to shows of the present day. Every science-fiction show owes something to Allen, and yet none has equaled his series for pace, excitement, or originality. This book documents and examines in detail the premise and origin of each of the four shows and offers an objective evaluation of every episode. In this close-up look at these television landmarks, the author proves that when Irwin Allen’s television episodes were good, they were great—and when they were bad, they were still terrific fun.
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About the Author
Freelance writer Jon Abbott lives in Brighton, England.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Thorough and thought-provoking,
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This review is from: Irwin Allen Television Productions, 1964-1970: A Critical History of Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, Lost in Space, The Time Tunnel and Land of the Giants (Hardcover)
Jon Abbott's book should not be looked on as just another TV series episode guide. There are already many of those available and that's not what Mr. Abbott's book is about. Instead, the author guides us episode by episode through the four science fiction series that Irwin Allen produced back in the '60s, giving his critical evaluations of each hour-long show. Since we're dealing with opinions here, one might find them at variance with the author. I personally find that refreshing. Others may vehemently disagree with some of his assessments. Each series, VOYAGE TO THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA, LOST IN SPACE, THE TIME TUNNEL, and LAND OF THE GIANTS is given its own section of the book, with a series overview preceding the episode appraisals. The book is professionally produced and nicely put together, making a nice addition to one's library.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Same old, same old...,
This review is from: Irwin Allen Television Productions, 1964-1970: A Critical History of Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, Lost in Space, The Time Tunnel and Land of the Giants (Hardcover)
This book is a major disappointment. The author says he is a fan, and that may be so, but the majority of the book is concerned with the guest stars of each of the episodes of the four series that Irwin created. He uses as research old articles, web info, and his own magazine work, and has obviously not done any new research into Irwin and the series. If he did, and the files ARE available for research at UCLA, he would see how he perpetrates all of the standard cliches about the man, 'he was cheap'; Real research shows he wasn't; he reused monsters and costumes because he was 'cheap'; Study the hisory of TV in the United States at the time, to understand why and how; and many more too numerous to mention. Fresh interviews with the actors, writers who are still with us, the guest stars he so often mentions the work of , and Irwin's creative staff members would have been more helpful. Interviews with Kevin Burns, Sheila Allen, Bill Creber, the Network execs of the time would absolutely have given a better picture than the same old tired information that anyone can get on the web, and not pay a ridiculous amount of money for.
After reading the book, I have to agree with the reviewer who said it was a rehash... it is... Perhaps new information would have made the book much, much better.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Worth Having,
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This review is from: Irwin Allen Television Productions, 1964-1970: A Critical History of Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, Lost in Space, The Time Tunnel and Land of the Giants (Hardcover)
Although I disagree with many of his assessments, particularly ones pertaining to "Voyage To the Bottom of the Sea"("The Human Computer" is a classic episode), the book does contain a lot of interesting information and is worth having in your collection.
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