From: mark_hadleyburg <mark.rogers@...>
Subject: [THETIMETUNNEL] Re: Visitors From Beyond The Stars
To: THETIMETUNNEL@yahoogroups.com
Date: Sunday, July 26, 2009, 1:25 PM

 

Hi, all.

In regard to David and Janet's comments:

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>I love Robert Colbert's turn as Evil Doug :-)
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>The "Evil Doug" was indeed a good take.
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Colbert is very convincing; he's a superb actor.

It's interesting how many TIME TUNNEL stories are built around the relationship between Tony and Doug - both in terms of their loyalty to each other *AND* the occasions where circumstances bring them into conflict.

In addition to Doug going bad in VISITORS, he is brainwashed by the Gestapo in INVASION - and nearly kills and is almost killed by Tony...

Then, Tony loses his memory in DEATH MERCHANT and finds himself an enemy of Doug's, ending with that big fight on the bridge - and there's another confrontation of a kind between the look-alikes in TOWN OF TERROR...

Getting back to VISITORS, the sub-plot of the cowardly barman works, I think.

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> Tony himself was willing to sacrifice Doug
> to stop the alien raiders.
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You're right, that is a good moment.

In regard to David and Mary's comments:

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>Actually one of the few things I like about the episode is
>Tony conning the deputy.
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>There was a humor about that.
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I *DO* think its a good scene. It's clever (and credible) of Tony to recognise the deputy's love of sensational journalism and exploit his desire to be a celebrity.

I think I found it a bit ludicrous because the sheriff has just arrested Tony as a potential trouble maker and tells the deputy to watch him carefully - and the guy falls for the first strategy Tony comes up with! At least the actor playing the deputy (whose name escapes me at the moment - and it shouldn't because he's in a couple of episodes) does try to play him as a little gullible.

I have to say the set of the alien spacecraft control room is really nice.

I just feel it's a wasted potential.

The fact the humanoids depend on the gun for everything is a little convenient: smash the gun and you win.

It would have been better if, say, Tony and Doug had beaten the aliens using the weapons at hand in the 1880's.

Lastly, Janet:

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>I'd much rather that the aliens had been scouting the Earth prior to >a possible invasion rather than just looking for some tins of beans >being hoarded by an old cowboy.
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I agree about the beans -- and the motivation you came up with is a good idea. That would have been more credible...

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>Other than that I must admit to being rather fond of this episode. ============ ========= ========= =====

I remember watching this one as a child but can't recall how I felt about it, other than (I hate to admit) I was pleased some aliens had shown up...

:-p

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>It's certainly head and shoulders above other 'alien' episodes such as Raiders From Outer Space and Town of Terror. And
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Well, now, I agree about RAIDERS (awful!) but (as I've said before) I'm quite fond of TOWN...

I know it's got the most ridiculous aliens ever in the history of aliens but... there are some good bits in it... honest!

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>PS Mark, I'll be uploading the pics to 4shared in the not too >distant future.
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Fantastic! Thank you. Would it be okay to use them (and some of the others you've done) as part of the episode guide on my site?

My best to all,

Mark.