Irwin Allen was a huge TV producer & also had a few hits on the silver screen. I grew up watching Lost In Space, Land of the Giants, Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea & Time Tunnel. They were all favorites of mine. Oh, granted, the writing was mediocre but there was something about the programs. They were different. Nothing on TV was even close to being like these shows. After a few years, the shows became stale and my desire to watch the programs diminished. The probable reason: MEDIOCRE WRITING.

Irwin stepped into the BIG TIME when he produced The Poseidon Adventure & The Towering Inferno. Big budget disaster movies with huge casts of well known stars. I was under the impression that Irwin also produced Earthquake. I was surprised when I found out that he wasn't connected to that film even tho it was extremely similar to his disaster movies. Mario Puzo, the writer of the Godfather movies and the first two Superman movies was the co-writer of Earthquake. It sure surprised me. It didn't seem to be his style of movie.

Getting back to the classic 60s Irwin Allen TV shows, During the mid 1960s, I remember discussing the previous night's episode of Lost In Space with my friends at school. The program was definitely a hit among young males. The U.S. space program was making space exploration very exciting. Lost In Space was the first space oriented TV program, after Alan Shepard first ventured into space.

The Robinson Family piloted the Jupiter 2 (Lost In Space space vehicle) into space, one year prior to Captain Kirk being given the keys to the NC 1701 Enterprise. For one year, Lost In Space was the super cool program to watch. That ended on September 8, 1966 when Star Trek debuted. 

I even watch Time Tunnel nowadays. I watch it on Hulu. Yes, the writing is corny. There is just something about it, I don't know, maybe it is the adventure of traveling back into different time periods. I can't tell you how many times I have fantasized about having the ability to time travel. The thought of it is so addictive.

My least favorite Irwin Allen TV program would be, Land Of The Giants. Even tho I enjoyed the show, it didn't have that certain something that would draw me back to watch more episodes. 

All of his shows had toys produced to capitalize on the popularity of the program. At the bottom of this post, I have placed photographs of a Time Tunnel coloring book and an autographed Lost In Space school writing tablet. Prior to doing that, I want to show you a cool comic book advertisement. The ad is for an Aurora Land Of The Giants model. A giant diamond-back rattler is about to gobble up the earthlings. They are defending themselves with a safety pin, which to them is the size of a spear. Excellent graphics on the ad. I'm willing to bet, the toy was nowhere close to being as cool as the picture in the ad. It is always that way.




TIME TUNNEL COLORING BOOK




AUTOGRAPHED LOST IN SPACE SCHOOL TABLET












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