When a flick's biggest selling point is that it features an appearance by Lyle Waggoner (The Carol Burnett Show, Wonder Woman), you know that things are a little threadbare.  When you see that they've spelled his name 'Waggner' in the opening credits, this may not inspire confidence.

     It starts out in classic form--A businessman stops by to see how these nutty scientists are spending all his money (money outlaid by his recently-deceased father).  Well, it turns out they're spending it on a 'time-camera' concept--that is, being able to reach through time and view the past, to be used in a military surveillance satellite. They've also used it to build the most orange set I've ever seen, with lots of flashing lights and a big viewscreen for their time images (though Mr. Businessman should be happy that they kept it to a black-and-white set).  They try to explain the whole thing to Mr. Businessman with some silly analogies (the usual stuff for time travel stories), lasers and Einstein, but we're all just waiting for the inevitable Unforseen Catastrophe^tm.

     Naturally, as expected, things go a little bit loopy and the entire lab becomes unstuck in time (you know, like Iowa I-90). How likely this is is hard to say, since you're never quite sure what anybody's doing at any one time--they could be breaking the time barrier, they could be reprogramming your VCR by remote control.  But when Mr. Younger Scientist pushes the power beyond the safe level (the FOOL!) >S^PR_OI^NG< goes the time barrier, as evidenced by lots of stock footage on the viewscreen with the character's faces superimposed over it.

     Suddenly, they are looking over a desolate scene of some sort of installation 5,000 years in the future.  They encounter a race of aliens far into Earth's future and the middle of a nuclear war. Enter Lyle 'Waggner' in clown makeup.  Eventually, they wind up ping-ponging through space again, and, eventually,  the laser device breaks with no nearby Radio Shack (Darn the luck). The deus ex machina is as weak as the special effects, and Mr. Businessman (in finest Dr. Smith style) winds up going to his final doom when he tries to run out on our 'heroes.'

     It's a fun movie, really, featuring all those little sort of schlock items that make films like this enjoyable--loopy scientific types,  evil businessmen, the obligatory dinosaurs (don't all time travel movies have to have dinosaurs in them?), and the end of the world (likewise).  It's just that it's rather obvious that it's low budget and can't think of other things to do with it--long sequences feature double exposures of the characters over stock footage, in such long instances that it's obvious they are there to stretch the movie out a little longer.  The obvious cheapness of the production might be irritating if you aren't willing to go with it.

     But it IS in color. 

     Oh, HECK, I kind of even like it a little.

     NOTE:  The elder scientist was played by the interesting Abraham Sofaer, one of our favorite actors around here.  You may remember him as the head Kyben leader in the classic OUTER LIMITS episode DEMON WITH A GLASS HAND.  Abe was cool, a little guy with a real big voice.

1 and ¹/₂ rocketships (out of five).

PLUSES:  Nice color, some performances by folks who obviously know they aren't doing 'Citizen Kane.'  And it is in color.  And it has Abe Sofaer.  And no Keanu.

MINUSES: Pretty low budget, and it shows.