The Time Tunnel (TV Series) The Walls of Jericho (1967) User Reviews

The Time Travelers in the Bible

[claudio_carvalho · 7/10 · 16 January 2010]

Doug and Tony are transported to the camping of Joshua, the leader of the Israelites. Tony discloses secrets that only Joshua knows and he believes the two time travelers have been sent by God and assigns them to spy the city of Jericho. The two scientists help the virgin sister of the harlot Rahab from a sacrifice to Khemosh and Doug is captured by the captain and arrested in the dungeon of Jericho. However, Rahab helps Tony to rescue his friend but is betrayed by her servant Ahza.

"The Walls of Jericho" is an engaging episode of "The Time Tunnel" based on the Bible. It is funny to see the two time travelers transforming in biblical characters. In accordance with the biography in IMDb, the beautiful and sexy Myrna Fahey dies a couple of years later of cancer. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "O Túnel do Tempo" {"The Time Tunnel")

Dr. Ann McGregor as a meteorologist

[bd64kcmo · 7/10 · 22 January 2017]

When Dr. Ann McGregor sees the image of a dark, dust filled vortex in the Time Tunnel, the General says, "...I'm seeing a miracle...". She then becomes exasperated and states, fuming, that "...a tornado is a natural phenomenon caused by a centrifugal whirlpool of wind...". Although centrifugal forces play a major role in tornadoes, and hurricanes for that matter, they are not the cause, but the effect. In any case they are not "whirlpools" like whirlpools of water, but vortices. Even in the 1960s when knowledge of tornadogenesis was in its relatively undeveloped compared to today, the difference between a tornado and dust devil, which this phenomenon would more likely be climatologically, should have been considered by the writers of what is supposed to be a science fiction series. Science fiction is more or less developed from science fact, and back then, tornadoes and dust devils were known to be caused, all or in part, by updrafts and attendant vortex stretching. One might think that, whether McGregor believed in God or not, or His presence in the spinning cloud of dust, her scientific mind should have been more disciplined before she spoke, especially in fields which she would neither specialized in, or even gave limited study to.

I always enjoyed the prospect of time travel as a teenager, and I enjoyed, and still enjoy now, this series. However I can see why many lost interest with what are, IMHO, scientific faux pas.

Also, I don't know what one author meant about the "current climate", but she is correct that including Scripture in scripts was not as controversial in 1967 as now.

Now What, Ann?

[fcabanski · 10/10 · 19 November 2016]

In the last episode "The Ghost of Nero" Ann contradicted herself. When questioned about how scientists could believe in ghosts, Ann replies, "Because we're scientists we can't discard any possibility". But in the teaser to this episode and, of course, in this episode, when confronted with seeing the miracle of the walls of Jericho falling, Ann replies, "As a scientist, I don't permit myself to believe in miracles".

In this episode, doubting Ann, you shall see. Gird your loins! This episode is a wonderful depiction of the Bible story. It mixes up events a little bit, adds a few things, but the story is there - Doug and Tony become the two spies Joshua sends into Jericho, Rahab utters the key line about her faith in the God of the Israelites, a red cord lets the Israelites know which house to spare. When Tony and Doug first meet Joshua, they convince him of their sincerity by telling him what God told him about the walls - of course, they know it from the Bible. Doug tells Joshua, "We come from a time when your God is our God". Joshua, a man of faith, accepts their sincerity and makes them his spies to send to Jericho.

Even more, the good general opens a bible to see what will happen. When Ann argues that they must retrieve Tony and Rahab (Time Tunnel added a scene with Tony and Rahab getting stoned), the general shows her that the Bible says the spies escape and Rahab lives. God intervenes with a power surge, disabling the Time Tunnel. General Kirk notes the decision has been taken out of their hands.

Tony constantly quotes the Bible, certain that what is written there will happen. The characters' show of faith throughout this episode - acting according to their beliefs - reflects Allen's faith. The pilot for "Lost in Space" ended with the Robinsons reading the Bible as two aliens observe the Earth family, for example.

Ann, who was open to all possibilities when it came to ghosts, remains skeptical even after seeing God manifest as a tornado. But it doesn't matter. The walls topple, Rahab's home and family are spared, and Tony and Doug disappear toward their next adventure.

Some reviewer wrote he wouldn't want to see too many Bible stories in Time Tunnel. I wish they had done more like this.

The Essential Variety In Settings/Times

[StuOz · 21 July 2011]

The Time Tunnel is one of my very favourite television shows of all time and a big part of the show's appeal is not the the two leads (James Darren, Robert Colbert), but rather the fact that the series had such huge variety in settings/times. This week Time Tunnel is doing a Bible show.

The sets here are a knockout, and they need to be as our time travellers do a lot of running around in different areas and the production team take to the challenge very well.

More Bernard Herrmann movie music is lifted here and Australian actor Michael Pate does a fine job.

I personally would not like it if Time Tunnel did too many Bible shows but the odd one does add to the essential variety of the show's premise.

Well done

[tforbes-2 · 10/10 · 22 January 2017]

"The Walls of Jericho," which I did not see in 1967, but my brother did, is a very solid entry in The Time Tunnel. I finally saw this almost 50 years to the day on Cozi TV, because I was awake and could not sleep.

I'll plead guilty to wanting to see this because Myrna Fahey was in the episode (as was Lisa Gaye). First, this was a very well done episode, and I was amazed at how Lee Meriwether's character was a skeptic when it came to Biblical matters. This episode could pass in 1967, but very likely not today because of America's current climate.

That said, it was a great episode, and the cast did well. Kudos to both Ms. Fahey and Ms. Gaye, and RIP to both ladies. The former left us WAY too soon (1973), and the other shuffled off last year (2016).

Highly recommended!

Faith of the Israelites

[jax_cracker · 10/10 · 25 October 2006]

Joshua, the leader of the Hebrews after Moses dies, is the central historical figure in this episode of the Time Tunnel. Doug and Tony come sprawling into his camp which is located just outside the walls of the ancient city of Jericho. About 40 years after the Hebrews made their exodus from Egypt, they fought a decisive battle at Jericho in order to establish a beachhead in the new homeland. Jericho was a walled city and presented a major obstacle to the Hebrews because it was right smack in the middle of their path into Canaan, the Promised Land. Doug and Tony both refreshingly acknowledge the Biblical story of Jericho as fact during their initial encounter with Joshua and quickly become his allies. Their goal becomes the infiltration (and spying) of the interior of the city--the same two spies as mentioned in the Bible. Do the walls come down as told in the Bible? Watch this episode to see if the doubting Dr. Ann McGregor is correct or the believer General Kirk is correct.