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The Fantasy Worlds of Irwin Allen (1995)

initiated by john on September 06, 2008 (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0160266/)

For those young people wishing to get a good introduction to the works of Irwin Allen, this is the show for you. However, those wishing to get an introduction to Irwin's first and longest running series - Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea - you will only get David Hedison and a small bit of footage from the series. They could of tried harder to get more Voyage/Sea cast members, who are still living and going to conventions to this day. However, there is enough Voyage/Sea material here to make this show very good viewing. For decades David Hedison has put down Voyage/Sea because he got less and less work when the series went off the air and because he got too little characterisation in the series. But it seems in this 1995 show, Hedison has had a change of heart about the whole situation. His remarks will make this whole show worthwhile to some. We also get to see a scene from a first season Voyage/Sea when Hedison was with Basehart and Hedison forgets a line and starts laughing with Basehart! Great stuff! There is behind the scenes footage of the pilots to Voyage/Sea, The Time Tunnel and Land Of The Giants. The Irwin pilots were all just so good and behind the scenes stuff is very welcome. There is even footage of the Dick Tufeld 1967 Land Of The Giants pre-pilot presentation!Fans of Time Tunnel co-star Whit Bissell (General Kirk) might not like seeing this guy in 1995 (one year before his death) as he does not look or sound anything like the man we all saw in The Time Tunnel. However, James Darren and Robert Colbert will provide enough thrills for Tunnel fans. Another guy died not long after this was filmed, Irwin's pal of 30 years, "Paul Z". This 1995 show was my introduction to Paul and I was very sad to hear of his death in 1997 as he looked and sounded so strong and healthy here. Paul had a lot to do with making these Irwin productions so good. But he got little credit. There is too little attention to Irwin's feature films. More behind the scenes stuff on Five Weeks In A Balloon, The Big Circus, The Story Of Mankind, Beyond The Poseidon Adventure, etc, would of been welcome. But we do get unused material from City Beneath The Sea.Lost In Space? Since LIS is Irwin's most famous production, it is not surprising that the show gets more attention than Irwin's other shows, but to me, the Voyage/Sea series is the best of Irwin (however I am also huge on LIS). Enjoy this show and after watching it you might wish to read my many IMDb user comments which are all dedicated, in one way or another, to Irwin Allen and the Irwin Allen quirks/trademarks which can be found in everything from Republic's wonderful Radar Men From The Moon (1952) to some episodes of seaQuest DSV (1993-96). My lifetime has often been spent watching/reading about/working in great movies/quality television but I can say without question that, to me, Irwin Allen is the most entertaining force in the history of the screen. Also, without question, the most mis-understood force on the screen. Over the decades I have come across MANY Irwin-fans but only a handful of fans really understand the television style-over-substance mind of the late Irwin Allen. Irwin-fans may email me and put me in my place if you wish. Thank you.

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