The Fantastic Journey

"The Fantastic Journey" was a short-lived 1970s American science fiction television series in 10 episodes that was originally aired on NBC between February 3 and June 17, 1977.

Premise

The series concerns a family and their associates who charter a boat out into the Caribbean for a scientific expedition. After an encounter in the area of the Bermuda Triangle with an unnatural green cloud the group find themselves shipwrecked on a mysterious uncharted island from which they are unable to escape.

They encounter Varian (Jared Martin), initially disguised as an Arawak Indian, who transpires to be a 23rd-century pacifist, musician and healer. Varian explains to the travellers that, like many before them including himself, they have been caught in a space/time continuum where people from the past, present, future and from other worlds are trapped, co-existing on the island in a series of timezones. The only way home can be found in a place called "Evoland" which lies "far to the rising sun". (Confusingly, it was indicated in interviews of the time that Evoland was also the name of the island itself.) The only way to travel between timezones is via invisible gateways which instantaneously transport individuals or groups from one zone to another. In one episode "Beyond The Mountain" the group also encounter a second cloud which has much the same effect, but which also splits the group up.

After the initial pilot story, a steady group of travellers forms around Varian as "de facto" leader, and the series then follows this group as they travel across the many timezones of the island to find Evoland. On their way, they encounter people from different planets and times who are also trapped on the island and who have adapted to their plight in different ways. The pilot initially suggested the historical past would be explored, however the producers of the show rapidly adopted a consistently futuristic tone during the series.

Although airing in a time when the nation's interest in the Bermuda Triangle, UFOs and fantasy was at a height, the show failed to last beyond the 10 episodes. There were several cast changes, with many main characters from the pilot being written out by the first episode of the series proper. By its 10th episode, its ratings had dropped and it was cancelled. The script for an unproduced 11th episode entitled "Romulus" circulates on the Internet. The show continues however to have a small cult following, but has never been released commercially on any format.

The show did have many interesting aspects, and the calibre of actor - both lead and guest - on the show as well as its pedigree of writers and producers, many of whom had worked on programmes such as "Star Trek "made for entertaining storylines and characterisations. The initial half hour of the pilot is sufficiently serious in tone to bear comparisons with "Lost", and actually uses similar devices to disorient the characters (and audience) including unexplained communication difficulties, reference to displaced animals and odd weather patterns. The premise for the show obviously had resonance - the concept was recycled in the 1980s with the short-lived "Otherworld" and in the 1990s with the substantially more popular "Sliders, "as well as in a little seen Jeff Speakman film "Escape from Atlantis".

Cast

* Jared Martin: Varian - "a man from the 23rd century possessing awesome powers" - Varian generally uses a kind of crystalline 'turning fork' device named the Sonic Energizer through which he focuses his thoughts into what is described as a sonic manipulation of matter. The device, one of the most intriguing aspects of the series, is said to be completely useless in anyone else's hands, and seems capable of a huge variety of tasks from opening doors to disrupting electrical systems to large scale acts of destruction, as well as its apparently intended function as a diagnostic and healing device.

* Ike Eisenmann: Scott Jordan - "the 13-year-old son of a famous scientist". Scott has an excellent knowledge of earth history and events, but is still young and has a lot to learn.

* Carl Franklin: Dr. Fred Walters - "a young doctor just out of medical school"

* Katie Saylor: Lianna - "daughter of an Atlantean father and an extraterrestrial mother" - Liana possessed greater than human physical strength (due to her being born on a higher gravity planet than Earth) and telepathic/psionic skills presumably due to her mixed heritage. Saylor left the show after the episode "Turnabout" due to illness.

* Roddy McDowall: Dr. Jonathan Willaway - "rebel scientist from the 1960s", who has a mastery of computers, robotics, and scientific knowledge which is quite useful to the group.

* Sil-El: Lianna's companion and pet (a cat she can communicate with telepathically), and sometimes scouts for Lianna (being an extra set of eyes and ears).

Episode list

External links

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* [http://www.johnkennethmuir.com/JohnKennethMuirsRetroTVFile_FantasticJourney.html John Kenneth Muir's Retro TV Files - Retrospective]
* [http://reflectionsonfilmandtelevision.blogspot.com/2007/10/cult-tv-flashback-35-fantastic-journey.html CULT TV FLASHBACK # 35: The Fantastic Journey: "Beyond the Mountain"] by John Kenneth Muir
* [http://www.xmoppet.org/tv/journey.html Episode guide with links to screen caps and images, plus a 1977 article]