JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH
(ABC, September
9-December 30, 1967)
Filmation Associates,
20th Century Fox Television
MAIN CAST:
Ted Knight
– Professor Oliver Lindenbrook, Count Saccunson, various
Pat
Harrington Jr. – Alec McEwin, Torg, Lars, Gertrude, various
Jane Webb
– Cindy Lindenbrook
Journey
to the Center of the Earth (Voyage au centre de la Terre in the
original French title) is an 1864 science-fiction novel written by Jules Verne. It was
greatly influenced by geologists abandoning the biblical account of Earth’s
development and new published findings on the origins of mankind. The novel
focused on German scientist Professor Otto Lindenbrock who purchased an
original runic manuscript of an Icelandic saga and discovered a coded message
on it from 16th-century alchemist Arne Saknussemm. After deciphering
the message that revealed a way to the center of the Earth, Lindenbrock, his
nephew Axel, and their guide Hans Bjelke, entered a series of tunnels that led
them to an entire subterranean world populated with long-thought extinct
prehistoric creatures.
 |
| The book cover circa 1874. |
Since its
initial publication, Journey has been translated into various languages
and published around the world. It had influenced other authors to explore
similar themes, as well as led to adaptations of the novel into various media.
One of those adaptations was the 1959 film released by 20th Century Fox. Written by Charles Brackett and Walter Reisch and directed by
Brackett, the film took some liberties with Verne’s original story. Lindenbrock
became Sir Oliver Lindenbrook (James
Mason, replacing Clifton
Webb), a Scottish scientist as 19th-century Scots were regarded
as the best field geologists. Similarly, Axel became Alec McEwan (Pat Boone) and was more adventurous than his
cowardly portrayal in the text. Feeling the story needed an antagonist,
Brackett created Count Saknussemm (Thayer David, replacing Alexander Scourby); the evil
brother of Arne who wanted to conquer and rule the inner world. Other new
characters included female explorer Carla Goteborg (Arlene Dahl) and Hans Bejelke’s
(Peter Ronson) pet duck
Gertrude serving as comic relief.
The only
reason Fox greenlit the film was because two other Verne-based films—20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
and Around the
World in 80 Days—became box office successes. Journey proved no
different when it opened
in theaters on December 16, 1959. It took in more than double its production
budget and was nominated for several awards.
 |
| Oliver, Gertrude, Lars, Cindy and Alec in their animated forms. |
Nearly a
decade later, Filmation
and Fox came together about turning the film into an animated series. It would be
their second following The
New Adventures of Superman. Filmation made a few alterations of
their own to the material. While still featuring Oliver (Ted Knight), Alec and
Gertrude (both Pat Harrington Jr.), Carla would be replaced by Oliver’s niece,
Cindy (named Jenny in the film, voiced by Jane Webb), and Hans would be renamed
Lars (Harrington). The evil Count Saccunson (Knight) would not only get the
spelling of his last name changed, but his henchman would finally gain the name
Torg (Harrington).
 |
| The Count and Torg. |
Journey
to the Center of the Earth debuted on ABC
on September 9, 1967. The show’s intro, narrated in character by Knight,
introduced the audience to the fact that the characters were all trapped
underground after the Count and Torg destroyed the entrance and were in a race
to find the center of the Earth and the way back out. Along the way, they all
encountered various types of human offshoots and prehistoric creatures on top
of threats posed by the Count and Torg. The series was written by Bill Keenan, Ralph Goodman,
Ken Sobol, Don Christensen,
Barry Gaines,
Lawrence L.
Goldman, Fred
Halliday, Ken
Rotcop and Marshall
Williams with music by Gordon Zahler.
 |
| Druids vs. Wolfmen. |
The series
only ran for a single season of 17 episodes. It would be rerun on the Sci-Fi
Channel (now Syfy) as part of their Cartoon Quest
(later named The Animation Station) programming block from 1993-96. A
10-page story based on the show appeared in the promotional comic America’s
Best TV Comics, which was packaged by Marvel Comics and featured stories and ads
related to ABC’s upcoming television season. It was drawn by Paul Reinman with
letters by Jean Izzo. Whitman
Publishing published a
tie-in book as part of their Big Little Book
series, as well as jigsaw
puzzles
EPISODE GUIDE:
“Arena of Fear” (9/9/67) – A giant captures Oliver and puts
him into an arena surrounded by cages full of savage creatures for his
amusement.
“Caveman Captives” (9/16/67) – While attempting to escape a
pit trap, Alec and Oliver are captured by a group of cavemen leaving Lars and
Cindy stranded.
“The Creative World” (9/23/67) – After being separated, Lars
and Cindy befriend descendants of the ancient druids and help train them to battle
sinister wolfmen.
“Creatures of the Swamp” (9/30/67) – The explorers find
themselves at the mercy of a tribe that lives in a dangerous swamp.
“The Doomed Island” (10/7/67) – Spider creatures cause the
explorers to crash onto an unstable island that can sink at any moment.
“The Frozen Furies” (10/14/67) – The explorers come upon the
furies drilling into a glacier that threatens the people living on the surface.
“The Labyrinth Builders” (10/21/67) – Bee people capture the
explorers and take them into their hive.
“Land of the Dead” (10/28/67) – A river leads the explorers
to a lost civilization that takes the Count, Torg and Alec captive.
“The Living City” (11/4/67) – Having to find an alternate
path leads the explorers to a city full of strange creatures.
“The Living Totems” (11/11/67) – Cindy and Alec are charged
with retrieving a brilliant diamond from some snow beasts to return it to a
group of living totem poles.
“Moths of Doom” (11/18/67) – While Alec and Cindy deal with
giant moths, Oliver, the Count, Torg and Lars end up prisoners of beings that
call themselves The Controllers.
“Ocean of Destruction” (11/25/67) – The explorers find
themselves at the mercy of a group of humanoid creatures that fancy themselves
old fashioned pirates.
“Perils of Volcano Island” (12/2/67) – Arne’s trail leads
the explorers to a volcanic cavern full of a gas that puts Alec, Cindy and
Gertrude into suspended animation.
“Return of Gulliver” (12/9/67) – The explorers find
themselves trapped between a giant and a group of tiny people.
“Revenge of the Fossils” (12/16/67) – While investigating
some fossils the explorers inadvertently bring them back to life.
“Sleeping Slaves of Zeerah” (12/23/67) – The explorers come
across a queen that seems to possess magical powers.
“Trail of Gold” (12/30/67) – The explorers find the
gold-filled lost city of Atlantis, but they realize that things aren’t quite
what they seem.
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