Irwin Allen Television Productions

Irwin Allen Television Productions, 1964-1970
A Critical History of Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, Lost in Space, The Time Tunnel and Land of the Giants

It took me a week to go through every page and before I post my review of this book, I'd like to add a brief commentary that explains why this book may or may not be good for you. For many years, McFarland Publishing, located in North Carolina, was a company that provided a product you could feel certain you got your money's worth. Their books were (and still are) expensive. I paid as much as $95 for a book, but always believed that it was worth every penny. Reference works that were well-researched, and completely thorough. You knew what you were getting when the subtitle read "A History," "A Biography" or "Complete Episode Guide." Then they began putting out hap-hazard publications that were not well researched, laden with errors and when you contacted the publishing company about the errors, they didn't bother responding with concern. Sometime around 1992 or 1993 I began noticing a lack of quality in their books and began sending a few back for a refund or credit. Their book on Raymond Burr, for example, was purchased in 1999 and when I discovered a listing of his radio work wasn't even complete (it had about a tenth of his radio credits), I sent it back. 

Lately, McFarland has been publishing more books with subtitles such as "A Critical History," "Essays About..." and "Collected Essays." Which means you are not buying a reference guide, but someone's critical opinions (much like book reviews) posing as thorough reference guides. Some people prefer essays and critical opinions and if that is what you crave, you'll love this book. However, if you want a reference guide that provides more information than what you can gleam looking up imdb, then do not buy this book.

It appears half of the trivia and criticism is nothing more than brief biographies and screen credits of actors who made guest appearances. An example? Under the pilot episode of Lost in Space, the author writes: "The President of the USA in 1997 is portrayed by Ford Rainey, who had previously played the role in "Hot Line" and "Doomsday," two episodes of Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (set in the '70s!) and would play Abraham Lincoln in "The Death Trap," an episode of The Time Tunnel. He was demoted to a mere General in Allen's short promo film for The Man from the 25th Century, an unsold series concept. Other SF roles include two episodes of The Invaders, "Panic" and "Summit Meeting," and "I, Robot" for The Outer Limits. He was frequently cast as figures of authority, and never failed to transcend the visual cliche and give them depth. Rainey also appeared in "The Bionic Woman" and "The Return of the Bionic Woman," two landmark episodes of The Six Million Dollar Man, and then in "The Bionic Dog," an episode of the Bionic Woman series. He also had brief roles in episodes of the classy '80s series Wiseguy and China Beach."

Now I ask, what does most of this have to do with the pilot episode of Lost in Space? Many episodes feature lists like this and while it might be cool to know the name of the guy in the rubber monster suit, it gets boring to read a lengthy paragraph listing the Republic cliffhanger serials and television appearances and movies he also appeared in. Frankly, it steers away from the subject at hand. Most of his references, as evident in the bibliography and the text (should you choose to do what I did and read it from page one to page 321), came from articles in TV Zone and Starlog. Plot summaries for episodes are reduced to a single sentence each. Photographs are the same ones that have appeared in magazine articles.

In short, while it was an interesting read and I did learn a few things and there was a bit of trivia here and there regarding certain episodes, I felt I could have gotten more just by browsing the internet. The retail price is a bit steep for a book of this count. I paid $39.95 for the paperback version and I felt it was only worth half that price. Remember, I have paid as much as $95 for books totaling 300 pages and those I found to be worth the price. I don't gauge the value of a book by the price or the page count. Simply by the contents.

Worst thing I can say about this book is that it makes those amateur, unauthorized, homemade books put out by Alpha Control Press, even with grammatical errors and mistakes, a bargain of a price. And that speaks volumes.

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