The Time Tunnel s01e03 Episode Script

Two American scientists are lost in the swirling maze of past and future ages during the first experiments on Americas greatest and most secret project- The Time Tunnel, Tony Newman and Doug Phillips now tumble helplessly toward a new fantastic adventure somewhere along the infinite corridors of time, Tony! - Wheres the rest of the crew? - Trapped.
Trapped.
Over 200 ofem.
All trapped.
This way! Its blocked off here.
Go the other way.
Hey.
you! Get out of here! Hold on! - Whats happened? - Some men trapped back there.
- How many? - Must be 200.
You better get out of here.
Therell be more explosions.
- Weve got to get them out! - No! Thatss my job! Now you get out of here! Tony! Tony! Doug! Doug.
Im here! - Are you all right? - Yes! Listen.
I can get to the surface! Ill bring help! - Well get you out,! - Okay! Ill be right back! - Wheres the rescue crew? - There isntt any.
What? All those men down there.
theyll die.
Whats the difference? Theyrre no better than the rest of us.
Now you pick up that phone and you get some men together.
- Whod come now? - What are you talking about? What else is there to talk about.
mister? That-That thing out there.
The Time Tunnel.
Dr.
Swain.
Rome! Thats St.
Peterss Square.
And not too far bacK, No earlier than the turn of the century, What are they looking at? Ann.
can you change your viewing angle? Im trying.
Ah.
Youve lost contact.
No.
wait.
Im getting a response again.
No.
wait a minute.
Thats not St.
Peterss.
Anybody recognize it? It looks semitropical.
Ann? Could be South America.
Buenos Aires.
perhaps.
Oh.
its fading again.
That could be England.
Or is it Wales? Youre right about the period.
Ray.
Look at those clothes.
Ann.
youre losing picture again.
Cantt you hold it in one place? No.
We have a time fix.
but we just havent located them in space.
Thats why it keeps shifting.
A comet.
early 20th century.
Of course! Halleys Comet.
Jerry! Jerry.
get Research to give us everything theyve got on Halleyss Comet.
Right away.
General.
Its last approach was.
lets see- Yes.
That checks with my readings here.
Try the spatial control now.
Contact! - Its Doug.
- You got the fix.
Ann.
Now clarify the image.
Somebodys got to help those men or theylll all die.
Nobody can save em.
We cantt save ourselves.
Then Ill do it alone.
Doug! Doug.
is that you? Hang on! Ill get you out! Are you all right? - Where are the miners? - Trapped in the next shaft.
Can we dig them out? I dont know.
The main cave-in happened at the far end.
Wed better get out of here.
- This ones about to go too, - What about those men? We cantt just leave eeem here to die.
We need help.
All the men we can get.
Well.
where are they? Why arent they here? Come on! He tells me there are 200 men trapped in that bottom shaft.
So now there are two of you.
I dont recall seein either one of you around here before tonight.
- Who are you anyway? - What difference does it make? Theres a whole shift trapped down there.
and no oness lifting a finger to help them.
- No help for em now.
No help for anybody.
- What are you talking about? Havent you heard? The worldss coming to an end.
Take a look out there.
Tony.
- May 1910.
Thats Halleyss Comet.
- Thatsss right.
Is that what you mean by the end of the world? Well,youre wrong, That cometss not gonna hit us, Itsss gonna pass by, Oh.
you know more than the experts.
huh? - As a matter of fact.
I do.
- Thats right.
Henderson.
That comet wontt do any damage.
- By this time tomorrow.
itll be gone.
- Itlll be gone.
So will we.
Mister.
youre gonna let 200 men die because of a mistake.
Nothing I can do about that.
As far as those men down in the hole go - I expect theyre already dead, - Well.
maybe not.
They might be dead at that.
Tony.
That last cave-in was a big one.
Doug.
we cant assume anything until we know for sure.
- Who was in charge down there? - Blaine.
Best young gang boss on the payroll.
- Yeah.
well.
he saved my life.
- I feel real sorry for him.
But theres no helping a dead man.
- Thats a direct line to the shaft.
- Yeah? This is Blaine.
Were trapped in the third level.
We cantt get through.
- How long can you hold out? - I dont know.
The situations pretty bad.
How soon before a rescue crew can get here? They want to know when the rescue crew will get to them.
How do I tell them there isnt one? Theyll be better off where they are.
If they got out.
theyd- theydd have to face that.
- Do they know about the comet? - No.
When the word came.
theyd already gone down below.
If you didnt intend to help those men.
why did you bother to hang around here? Didnt appear to be any purpose in goin anywhere.
The way I look at it.
youre as bad off one place as another.
Whats happening? I cantt hear anything.
Blaine.
The rescue crews getting organized.
Just hold out.
You hear that.
men? Helps comin.
.
Tell em to hurry! Tell eem- Hello? Hello? Hello? - Heres the research you asked for on the comet.
General.
- Right.
Thank you.
Well.
its getting closer to Earth every minute.
No wonder the people back there were scared.
According to this.
it came even closer before it veered off.
Is there any way it could affect this complex? What youre seeing.
General.
happened nearly 60 years ago.
Well.
that comets somewhere in our solar system right now.
Thats right.
It first appeared in 1531 again in 1607 then it came bacK in 1682, 1759, 1835, And then in 1910.
But no danger to us today in 1968.
Is there? Well.
as I said before.
General.
what youre seeing happened nearly 60 years ago.
Thats not what I asked.
Ray.
Idd like a direct answer.
Is there any way it can affect this complex? General.
we all know that the Time Tunnel is not perfected.
For example, it has only marginal control over Doug and Tony, Weve hardly reached a point where its operation is even 50% predictable.
Youre both still beating about the bush.
I want to know.
Can that comet affect our complex? Affirmative or negative? - Unknown.
- Unknown.
- You see.
General.
you dont understand- - Duty here is voluntary.
- Would you like to be relieved? - No.
sir.
Is there any way we can get a better fix on 1910? Well.
we can try.
General.
- Ann.
refine polarization.
give us a quick scan.
- Right.
I dont care what youvve been told.
The world is not coming to an end.
You just gonna sit there and let those men die for nothing? - Whos Ainsley? - Hess a professor up at the observatory.
A brilliant man.
Everybody respects him.
Yeah.
well.
hes dead wrong! Look.
Henderson.
were never gonna get a rescue party unless we can convince enough men that the world isnt going to end.
Yeah.
Thats for sure and certain.
Suppose I got this Ainsley to retract his statement.
to admit that he was mistaken.
Would that have any effect on the people around here? Yes.
I- I expect it would.
and.
well.
Ill tell you why.
Because a herd of wild horses couldnt maKe that man say something he didntt believe, Well.
I dont think you could.
either.
Thats all I need to know.
because he is wrong.
Tony.
Im going to get Ainsley to retract his position.
How? - Tell him where we come from? - No.
The last thing in the world is we want these people to think were out of our minds.
If only we could get Ray or somebody back at that complex to send us some modern instruments.
- We dont even know if they can still read us.
- Yeah.
I know.
Im just gonna have to demonstrate the facts the best I can.
Thatll take too long.
Those men need help right now.
Tony.
I know what Im doing.
Youvve got to believe me.
Okay.
Try it.
But Ill do it my way.
- After youve seen Ainsley.
meet me back here.
- Hey.
where are you going? Into town.
We need men to help.
Hang it all, Tom, I havent got a deputy to send, I dont care whatss happening over there, I havent got nobody.
Nobody at all.
Tell you what.
try Philipsburg.
Could be theyre in better shape than we are.
All right.
Tom.
all right.
Just keep your shirt on.
Thats a good one.
Me send deputies.
Theres been a bad cave-in down at the mine.
I need men.
lots of them.
Oh.
you do? Where do you figure on gettin eem? Arent there any men around here at all? Son.
I know theres trouble at the mine.
I heard the disaster whistle.
but I didnt pay it much mind not with the whole town runnin off like a bunch of scared horses.
There are 200 men down there.
If we dont dig them out soon.
theylll all die! - Yeah.
I expect they will.
- Well.
arent you gonna do anything about it? Theres just so much one man can do.
Sheriff s office.
Oh.
hello.
Owen.
What? Oh, thats a real shame, No, No, theress nothing here at all, Im sorry, boy, but I cantt help you, No, No, it wont do no good tryinCCarver, Theyre up to their necKs in trouble over there, No.
No.
not a chance.
Im real sorry.
Look.
a handful of men.
Thats all I need.
Just a handful! That was the county seat on the line just then.
Their whole towns on fire.
The whole town.
And all I could tell em was let it burn, Where can I find somebody? Anybody at all that might help? Son.
have you got any notion what a big thing this is? Thats from the governor.
Riot in the state capitol.
National Guard mobilized.
And he wants me to send men.
Me.
with nobody left here at all.
What about the townspeople? They havent just vanished off the face of the Earth.
Try Pilgrimage Hill at the south end of town.
Thats where they all run off to.
- Took off? Why? - Seems liKe they all tooKup with religion all of a sudden, Theyre prayin and waitin and thatssss about all a man can do right now.
No much time for that either.
Im sorry.
son.
I wish I could help you.
I really do.
but my job is right here.
No matter what anybody else does.
Im sticking by this post now.
Good luck to you.
Sheriff s office.
Oh.
hello.
Johnny.
No.
Twenty men? No.
impossible.
I havent got a man to spare.
Not a single man.
For your information every major observatory we could reach has confirmed my calculations.
I cant help that.
Professor Ainsley.
That comet will not collide with the Earth.
It wont even pass close enough to have measurable effect on it.
My dear sir.
I wish I could believe you.
You can.
There isnt a doubt in the world.
Well.
in that case.
Id be delighted to go over the calculations - that have led you this happy conclusion, - Ive made none.
I see.
Well.
then theres simply no point to further discussion.
Theres every point! All those miners will die unless you publicly admit your error.
You may have made no calculations.
but I have.
Checked and rechecked 50 times by the finest minds in the university.
The very finest.
Who are you to challenge all this? Professor.
if I were to tell you about myself.
you wouldnt begin to believe me.
But if I know anything in this world.
I know that that comet will not hit.
My dear sir.
were all in the same boat.
My staff has deserted me.
But I intend to stay here and take observations until- Well.
as long as I can.
Will you permit me to prove my point? - How? Dont tell me yourre a scientist.
- I am.
- Then Id be interested in seeing your proof.
- Thank you.
I can supply you with any data you may require.
Round up some men, As many as you can get, Theres been a cave-in at the mine, Need help at the mine.
Theres been a cave-in.
The men are trapped.
Theres been a cave-in at the mine.
We need volunteers.
Round up some men.
as many as you can get.
Whats the matter with you people? Listen to me! You listen to me! I need volunteers! Thats not gonna hit! Do you hear me? Its not the end of the world! Whats the matter with you people? Listen to me! You listen to me,! I need volunteers,! Doug cant hope to prove much with the instruments of the period of 1910.
If he only had a radarscope to work with.
- We have one.
- No.
Ann.
I dont want to risk sending anything back.
Not until we get a more stable fix on them.
It seems to me its worth the risk.
right? With a radarscope.
he could prove his point in short order.
Oh.
I dont know.
General.
- Oh.
I agree with the general.
I think we should gamble on it.
- All right.
lets do it.
Come on.
Jerry.
take over the controls.
Ill make the arrangements.
Now give us a fix on the comet.
Jerry.
I want to get more readings.
Dr.
Swain.
what if I switch to the mine shaft? - Maybe we could move those poor guys down there.
- Not a chance.
Jerry.
- I dont think we should focus too long on this comet.
- Why? Well.
I was just thinking.
If our focus puts us within its magnetic field- What possible effect could that have on- Masses of opposite polarity attract each other.
sir.
The magnetic forces would blow out every power unit in this complex.
Aside from the fact wed have a big repair bill on our hands would we learn anything if that should happen? Yes.
sir.
So far.
weve learned more from failure than success.
Hold the focus.
And sharpen it.
Henderson? Oh.
I just came over to see what I could do to help.
Howd you make out on the hill? - Theres nobody with me.
- Imm not surprised.
- Wheres Henderson? - Nobody here when I came.
- Reckon he took off for the hills.
- Yeah.
I guess so.
Well.
lets not just stand here.
Letss go dig these fellas out.
Henderson! Well.
you know-you know.
young fella.
you got me to thinkin.
Evenin.
Sheriff.
A man has no call to sit around and wait for the end.
When it comes, he ought to be doinsomethin.
.
So, here I am, Sheriff.
get that pick workin.
- Get to work.
Do you good.
- Now wait a minute.
Three of us cant do anything until we bring some timbers down and shore up these walls.
Whats the difference? Whatss another cave-in among friends? - Hey.
cut that out.
Hey.
cut it out! - Get back! Get back! Its the same everywhere- looting.
burning.
pillaging.
No wonder they thought it was the end of the world.
The radarscope is ready to send back.
- Good.
Get it in the tunnel.
- Right.
- Jerry.
get a fix on Dr.
Phillips.
- Yes.
sir.
Heres the speed per second.
Does that check with your charted orbit? - Check.
- Angle of perihelion and- Yes? - Impact.
- Of course.
Youve done it beautifully.
And youve confirmed my findings.
Interrupt the reception.
Stand by for switching.
Now.
- What went wrong? - Imperfect fix.
obviously.
Jerry.
zero in on the comet again.
- Well get our time coordinates from there.
- Yes.
sir.
It checks.
Every observation.
every figure - checKs, - Naturally.
I told you that in beginning.
And yet I know that that comet will not hit.
You keep saying that.
Youre an exceptionally intelligent man.
Youve given me ample proof of that.
And yet you say this with a conviction thats very nearly mystical.
Id appreciate an explanation.
I wish I could give you one.
- Maybe if I could contact Tony.
- Tony? - This line is dead.
- Im not surprised.
The operator.
like everybody else.
has given up.
After all.
we only have two hours and 25 minutes until the end of everything.
- Are you all right? - Guess so.
Maybe I aint so easy to kill.
Hold it.
Hold it.
Hold it.
Youll start another slide.
- Go on, get out, - Uh-uh.
I aint leaving you here like this.
Poor Henderson, He wasnt so lucKy, - Better get to the surface while you still can.
- What about you? - Try to get some help.
Its the only way.
- There aintt nobody up there.
Ill get you out.
Whats the matter? Huh? What? Everybody giving up? Uh.
right now theres probably a hundred men- digging a passage to us.
Theyre doing everything they can.
Were gonna be free.
You hear me? Huh? Were gonna be free.
Poor devils.
They really are convinced its the end of the world.
It will be for some.
- Doctor.
theres something odd going on.
- How do you mean? - Remember what you said about the magnetic attraction of masses? - Yes.
What about it? Wouldnt the comet and Earth assert attractive forces on each other? Of course.
Jerry.
But.
practically speaking Halleys Comet today is several billion miles away from- - Jerry.
youre not keeping a constant fix on the comet.
- Thatss what I mean.
I canttt.
Theres something weird about this thing.
about the way it affects the controls.
Come on.
Let me take over.
The time is very nearly upon us.
Ainsley.
every piece of information we have tells us that comet is going to hit.
- Exactly.
- Suppose it doesnt.
Just suppose.
An hypothesis.
What could interfere with it at the last moment? Only one thing.
obviously.
Some mass great enough to divert it from its trajectory.
Thats it.
A mass in the heavens.
No.
no.
Thats impossible.
There isntt one - or we would have observed it, - A dark mass that reflects no light.
- Now your instruments couldnt picK that up, could they? - Well.
no.
Well.
its there.
I know itss there.
If we only had a radarscope.
- I beg your pardon? - Uh.
never mind.
What else could we use? Lets see.
1910.
Is it too early for the radiometer? The Nichols Radiometer.
There arent a half dozen of them in existence.
- Do you have one? - As a matter of fact.
we do.
- A gift to the university.
But I still dont see- - Get it for me.
please.
- Ill prove my thesis to you.
Hurry! - Very well.
No! No.
youll bury the both of us! Thats a chance we both have to take.
All those people and not one willing to help.
Standing there in that field holding those stupid torches looking up at the sky like they could hardly wait to die.
I guess its hard to tell how a person will react if they believe theyrre gonna die.
For me.
Id rather face it like old Henderson there or those poor devils in the lower shaft.
- A crude device.
but it just may work.
- Crude? This is the most advanced instrument of its kind in existence.
Of course.
Lets get it hooked up to the telescope.
shall we? - Make a focus.
Ill monitor the dial.
- Right.
Start your scanning.
- Are you getting anything yet? - Nothing.
Take another segment.
Wait! Go back about one degree.
There! Freeze! - What are you getting? - Intense radiant energy.
- What do you see? - Nothing! Not a darn thing! Then its- itss true.
Look here.
I told you.
Theres an object up there.
A nonreflecting mass of something.
You cant pick it up visually - but its there, - I cantt argue about that.
Is the mass big enough to affect the trajectory of the comet? More than enough.
Observe.
Itll start exerting its pull at this point.
The tail will appear to vanish as it starts to veer off.
Youre right.
Itss going to miss the Earth.
- Weve got to get this news out.
- Well.
you wontt do it that way.
Youve got to go up to the hills and tell the people, Ill explain on the way.
Come on! You people,you dont Know me, But you know this man- Professor Ainsley of the observatory.
Hes the man who told you when this comet was going to hit.
You believed him then.
Listen to him now.
I was wrong.
Do you understand? Wrong.
The world will not end.
The comet will not destroy us, The suns going to rise as it always has, Nothing will be changed, The comet will go out into space where it cannot harm us, Whats the matter with you people? Hess telling you the truth! Wait.
Ill prove it.
Look at the comet.
See the tail? The tail is a cloud offlaming gas, Its going to vanish.
Professor.
tell them exactly when that tail will vanish.
In exactly Ten seconds.
Five seconds.
- You better be right.
- I am.
- Two.
one- - Look! Professor.
bring these people down.
Im gonna get back to the mine.
Doctor.
theres a bit of smudge on your cheek.
There.
Youve got the fix.
Now hold it.
Yes.
but Im getting a strange reaction on the dials.
You see that? Theyve gone completely wild.
- That is strange.
- Whats the problem? Some external force we cant identify.
Itss exerting some kind of magnetic pull.
Its the comet.
Werre locked in on it.
Itsss coming right in on us! Jerry.
get ahold of yourself.
Thats an image.
It cantt possibly affect us.
Get back to your post.
You said that opposites masses attract.
Jerry.
thats 1910.
But the tunnel connects us with 1910 in time now! All right.
Ann.
Ill take over.
We learn from failure.
you said.
But we cant afford a failure that would destroy the tunnel.
Is it possible that something that happened in 1910 could touch us physically? Jerrys right.
The Time Tunnel does connect us with the comet.
Were in the same time segment.
Dontt you see? The quotient of the value of time- Segment.
Quotient.
You can prove anything with words.
equations.
- Im talking about a commonsense definition of time.
- Commonsense definition? To my knowledge.
no one has ever succeeded in defining time.
Jerry.
cut the power! - Cut it off!.
- Power off!.
All systems! - Jerry.
cut the power! I said cut it! - I have cut it off!.
- Whats wrong? - The powerss jumping the circuit breakers! - But thats not possible! - I know.
but itss happening.
Clear the Tunnel Complex! All personnel.
out! Clear the complex! The powers off!.
I dontt understand it! It should stop! LooKout,! LooKout,! Hold on,! Help! Help me! Jerry! Ahh!Jerry! Help me! - Hold on! - Cut the power grid! Shut that down! Help! Jerry.
You all right? Here.
Come on.
Come on.
here.
Over here.
- Whats the matter? - He stopped breathing.
- His heart has stopped.
- Its a massive electrical shock.
Get the emergency resuscitator! On the double! - Hurry! - Quick! Get his breathing started.
- Hes not responding.
- Here.
Pressure on the breastbone.
- Start his heart.
- Where are those men with the resuscitator? Here.
Put it on him.
Help me put this around the back.
Right under his heart.
Good.
All right.
now get away from him.
All right! Thats enough.
Come on.
Jerry.
Thats all right.
We wontt need it now.
- Youre all right.
Jerry boy.
- Some of you men give him a hand.
Youll be all right now.
What the devil happened? We almost brought the comet itself back.
Id say that itss time to reexamine the whole project.
- Now just what is that supposed to mean? - Just this.
Were dealing with forces of cosmic proportions about which we know little or nothing.
The dangers.
you mean.
Ray.
all experimentation has a certain amount of danger.
A certain amount.
Ann? Bringing the force of Halleys Comet across a few billion miles and right into the Tunnel- a certain amount? The H-bomb is nothing but a toy balloon compared to the forces were loosening here.
Ray.
arent you forgetting something? Doug and Tony? No.
Ann.
Im only trying to measure their lives against others werre endangering.
- Our own? - Oh.
that isnt fair.
Now.
Ray has risked his life as often or more often than any of us on this project.
- I know.
Im sorry.
- The thing to do is not to scrap the project but to try and build more safeguards around it.
General.
dont we say that a couple of times a year? Then we come right back here the next morning and start playing with forces beyond imagination.
Ray.
how long would it take you to repair all this? I dont know.
A few hours.
a few days.
Well.
well have to look it over.
If were out of touch with Doug and Tony for too long.
we may lose them forever.
I know.
Ann.
I know.
Well get the repair crews on it right away.
- Whats the time? - Whatss the difference? A couple minutes one way or the other wont matter now.
If those men are dead.
it was all for nothing.
Thats exactly how I feel.
All for nothing.
- Blaine! - For the love of heaven.
help us.
- How many are left? - All of us so far.
But hurry.
We cant hold out.
Hold on.
Hold on.
Well be there.
Dont lie to them.
give those men false hope.
How long before you reach us? I guess youre right.
We did it! Theyre coming down from the hills.
A whole mob of them.
enough to dig out those tunnels in no time flat.
- Blaine.
- Whats-Whatss happening? Whatsss that shouting? Were on our way.
Were on our way! Theyre coming.
Come on.
you men! Hurry up! Theyve been separated in time.
Doug? Doug,! Doug,! See who that is.
Hold it right there.
mister.
Im one of the men in charge of this station.
You must be new here.
Im Dr.
Newman.
Imm back.
Ive been here 14 months.
mister.
I never heard of any Dr.
Newman.
Fourteen months? But Ive been here every day for the past seven years.
Whats the problem.
soldier? Jiggs? It is you.
isnt it? I didnt recognize you without the mustache.
Jiggs.
its me.
Dr.
Newman.
Newman? I never heard of any Newman around here.
And.
mister.
I never had a mustache.
What are you talking about? You know me.
Tony Newman.
Mister.
Ive never seen you before in my life.
They brought me back in the wrong time.
- He looks younger.
- And look at the license plate on that truck.
Magnification! We brought him back We didnt.
It just happened.
A fluke.
But if hess this close Ray, weve got to close a 10-year gap before we lose him, - Why not just go out there? - Youd see nothing.
Yourre in the present.
Thats taking place 10 years ago.
Whats the trouble here.
Sergeant? Doug! Doug.
they got you back too.
You better get going.
Doc.
We got a weird one here.
- Its Phillips.
- Yeah.
10 years ago.
Newman was still in school.
He and Phillips hadnt even met.
Good Lord,! Can you imagine the nightmare Tony must be living through now? - Ray, cant you do anything? - Intensify the probe.
Well.
you better see that he gets a ride back into town.
Jiggs.
After what hes seen.
helll have to answer a few questions for our security officer.
Doug.
Doug.
wait.
Tell them who I am! Doug.
tell them who I am! Doug.
tell them who I am! Doug! Doug! Doug.
wait! Wait! Doug! On the double! If he doesnt stop.
shoot him! Tonys broken away.
Hess half out of his mind.
We need more time to try a return transfer.
He doesnt have time,! Helll resist and those men may Kill him, - Superimpose his signal with Dougs.
- Welll lose him.
At least the two of them will be together when we try a location probe, Doug! Doug! Doug! Doug! Everything must be destroyed.
Everything.
We must leave nothing for tomorrow morning.
I will see to it.
Professor.
- Everything in every office.
- Hai, How did you get in? We.
uh- We sort of came in by mistake.
What are you doing here? Who are you? Were tourists.
Uh.
just sightseeing.
Nobody sightsees inside theJapanese Consulate.
I assure you we-we didnt know this was theJapanese Consulate.
Everybody in Honolulu knows that.
The day before the attack on Pearl Harbor.
In theJapanese Consulate.
Leave the consulate at once.
- Please.
- Try for a time lock.
quick.
before we lose them.
Power! All units! Were sorry to have intruded.
They are spies.
Why let them escape? Because their superiors would trace them to us and it would be dangerous to create an incident today.
Follow them.
If they make one suspicious move.
kill them.
Hai,!