MovieChat Forums > Timeslip (1970) Discussion > Stood the test of time (no pun intended)

Stood the test of time (no pun intended)

posted 17 years ago by Keith_in_Brighton_UK
8 replies | jump to latest

Just got the DVD set, watched 3 of the 4 series over a couple of days, couldn't stop it was so good.

I was amazed that over 35 years later I still remembered most of the plots and characters.

Many shows don't stand up to memory (eg The Tomorrow People now looks laughable) but this one does.

I found myself guiltily attracted to Liz (Cheryl Burfield) and am now relieved to find that she was actually over 18 when this was filmed! Also Beth, her older self, was very fanciable, but the actress hardly seems to have worked again which is a shame.

One error I noticed - Commander Traynor used a light-year as an expression of a long time. He was supposed to be a physicist!

Morgan C Devereaux - just as mad and scary as I remembered.

Dennis Quilley carried the show in my opinion.

[–] adamwarlock 14 years ago

I'm seeing it for the first time. I'm a Dr. Who fan so I' m an American who can take the production style (many would say "Bad effects!" & walk away). Too bad only one episode is still in color. I like Liz too but she & the boy can grate after awhile. Quilley is definitely the most watchable actor there.

[–] alex_UK 13 years ago

I couldn't agree less!
I'd been really looking forward to this series after recently discovering it was out on DVD; but I couldn't have been more disappointed!
For some reason it has cult status as a classic children's sci-fi show of the early seventies; but boy is it undeserved!

The acting was absolutely atrocious (with the one exception of Dennis Quilley), and the child actors were particularly awful! Most of them hadn't learnt their lines properly and were constantly stumbling over the dialogue.

The plot was overflowing with unscientific garbage, which completely ruined the premise for me, and the sets looked cheap and tatty.

The action scenes were utterly unconvincing, and the whole production looked amateurish in the extreme.

If you compare this with the 1970 season of “Dr. Who” (which is one of the best in the show’s history), you can see just how bad “Timeslip” is by the prevailing standards of the day!

[–] Keith_in_Brighton_UK 13 years ago

Each to their own I guess! I don't think comparing the production quality of Timeslip with Doctor Who is entirely fair though. DW was broadcast on Saturday evenings for a much bigger and broader audience than Timeslip which was at 4.20 on a Tuesday (or something like that) in a childrens' slot. The budget for DW would have been much bigger.

[–] couzijn 12 years ago

Could it be that your harsh judgement is somewhat influenced by the fact that you didn't watch this series while you were part of the target group (children)? As a child, I didn't mind cheap sets and unscientific premises, as long as the story was captivating (and it is!). But if an American adult would watch the 1970 episodes of Dr. Who, he would probably utter the same criticism as you do with Timeslip.

[–] Gregory-Stewart-William-Cooper 8 years ago

Well that doesn't necessarily follow at all - I first saw Timeslip as a young teen in the mid-1990s, when my dad bought it on VHS (having half-remembered seeing it back when it aired in 1971), and I thought it was a very charming series.

Sure, it didn't have the budget that Doctor Who had (and Doctor Who's budget back then, don't forget, wasn't exactly what it is today either!) - the title sequence was filmed using an actual 3D model of the letters made of wood and someone moving a torch around out of shot! - and the teen actors weren't exactly experienced, but it was an ambitious production by the company to produce another time-travel show that tried to lure away some Whovians to the other channel.

In fact, the show charmed me so much that I now own my own copy on DVD (and the "Back to the Barrier" behind the scenes DVD from the Timeslip Fan Site that was produced to mark the 40th anniversary of the show), and shall enjoy rewatching them for years to come! :)

[–] jsycamore-181-254662 9 years ago

This is my favourite TV series from my childhood. I managed to get the DVDs recently and was pleasantly surprised that it still holds up as a great show. I was 14 at the time and thought Liz was the be all and end all. It's a shame Cheryl Burfield seemed to disappear afterward and there was no sequel.

Oh gravity thou art a heartless bitch

[–] weejockxxx 9 years ago

I agree with every point you made (especially about Liz)

[–] john_harley63 8 years ago

Whatever happened to the clone Commander Traynor? What did the real Traynor do with his new found freedom? did Simon and Liz ever go into the barrier again? 46 years later we are still none the wiser...
Shut the door, Mary...