The Time Tunnel was the third of Irwin Allen's four classic sci-fi serials following on from
Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (1964–1968),
Lost in Space (1965–1968) and preceding
Land of the Giants (1968–1970). The time travel themed adventure series ran for just one season of 30 episodes from 1966 to 1967 and in true Irwin Allen tradition, made good creative use of stock film footage to add cinematic value that far exceeded a normal television show's budget.
With that particular trait in mind we can easily deduce why the space suit costumes seen in episode 2;
One Way to the Moon have more than a passing similarity to those seen in the1950's iconic
Destination Moon as indeed, scenes from that movie are intercut into the TV episode to broaden the spectacle.
The Time Tunnel
Destination Moon
I'm tempted to suggest, given the passage of time between the two productions, that the spacesuits seen on TV are reproductions but who knows they might indeed be the actual movie originals, they're certainly a very close match and other spacesuits have enjoyed equally long lives
The helmets on the other hand are not the movie ones getting a second outing but are, I now believe, far more interesting in their origin in that they are most probably the helmets from
Way...Way Out (1966).
This theory was suggested to me by blog-follower Tim Armstrong who's spent a lot of time trying to solve the mystery, because neither of us believed that they were originals produced for that one episode, because, well; why would Allen go to the expense! Tim said this in a blog comments made back in June 2014:
"
Damn those suits have had a long life, any idea where the helmets seen in this episode came from, I find it hard to believe that they would have had helmets custom made for just this episode."
And then 6 years later in January 2020:
"I think I`ve just cracked the riddle of the helmets on the Destination Moon type suits that we first saw in episode 2 of The Time Tunnel and that also made an appearance in the Lost in Space season 3 episode flight into the future [ep8]
These are actually the Way... Way Out helmets prior to receiving their new opening visors. The profile looks identical and there are 4 of them [we see 4 in The Time Tunnel] it looks like they've covered part of the original visor in some new material and added a raised lip to the new visor's edge, in fact in a couple of the scenes in Lost in Space you can actually see this in profile as the actor turns his head.
These ARE the Way...Way Out helmets! I`m certain of it!"
And do you know what; I'm going to agree with him because when you look and compare the images for long enough, you can see it.
You may also wish to follows the label below:
Way Out Spacesuits to trace the history of the suits and the helmets or;
A Suitography of the "Way... Way Out" Spacesuit (1966 and onwards) which gets updated with each new discovery so feel free to let me know of any gaps.
So a massive thanks to Tim, whose fascination and dedication to this site has been greatly appreciated over the years. Cataloguing spacesuits is one thing but unearthing these cultural hand-me-downs and exposing their secret histories is for me the most satisfying part of it all. Top work.
Steve
