'Catch Me If You Can'

Harker/Mannix jumps into the giant infrared hairdryer and finds himself naked in 1890. How do they select the year? Then he gets whisked to a nice, clean hospital even if he's destitute and there somehow convinces a passing-by rich woman to adopt him. What are the chances?

Then he proceeds to seduce Polly (why her?) and gets rid of her father, the one with the gay love story tacked on.

In the year 2053 Iris Maplewood decides to switch sides and we already know she's going to succeed even if it'll cost her, but I didn't get emotionally attached to her, so I don't care.

I still don't understand what was the point of the 1941 story apart from stretching this series. It would have worked (or not worked) just the same.