New fan here -- I was aware of the series, of course, but never saw an episode until seeing several on SyFy today.
I know they spent a lot on the car, and the explosions are pretty impressive. But the camera shots seem to bespeak a very low budget. They're all very narrow, and very static. Even the establishing shots show a very tight shot on a building doorway. And each episdode uses very few locations/sets.
Anyone have any insight on this?
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A joke? The idea is ludicruous (motor oil and other fluids in the vehicle's systems would drain from where they are supposed to be) but that's not a matter of budget. The cars do not look at all like models, either. Are you referring to the fact that they clearly used the same film sequence every time (albeit shifting between three different angles of the "flip" and other editing choices to try to make it less obvious)? That I freely concede is a budgetary limitation.
The GREEN HORNET Strikes Again!
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Unfortunately, the show did suffer from a low budget. The sets look cheap and the exteriors look like a studio backlot. There were actually two "Black Beauties" made for the series, and were shown together in one episode.
Also, if you look closely, you can see where they made diiferent sets from the same one. Look out the window behind Britt's desk in his office, and you'll see the white brick and green plants of the patio in his home where the "Black Beauty" comes out of the wall.
Still, it was a fun show and a great lead-in for "The Time Tunnel". I loved Friday night TV.
If the detectable budgetary limitations here were in fact typical for the time--and I believe they were--then it is unfair to say this series "did suffer from a low budget." Note that many exterior sequences were in fact filmed off the Fox lot ("Beautiful Dreamer, Part 2"; "Seek, Stalk and Destroy"; "Corpse of the Year, Part 2"; "Invasion From Outer Space," both parts). Mission: Impossible, which premiered within days of The Green Hornet, didn't shoot off the Desilu/Paramount lot that many times in one season until 1970-71.
Nice closing comment, though. I, too, liked Time Tunnel.
The GREEN HORNET Strikes Again!
Hello tbrittreid,
With a name like that, you must be a big GH fan. Me, too. I have all the NOW comic books, some even signed by the artists.
I do believe the budgetary limitations for shows of that time were a constant battle. I have listened to commentaries by Robert Vaughn about "U.N.C.L.E.", Robert Conrad about "Wild West", and Leonard Nimoy about "Star Trek", and they all spoke of the struggle of creating the props for gadgets and special effects, or lack thereof.
Lucille Ball was running Desilu when "Star Trek" was being produced there, and she thanked Wm. Shatner and Leonard Nimoy for their professionalism in the face of budgetary problems. "Mission: Impossible" was much higher in the ratings and kept going over budget, so they robbed from "Star Trek's" allowance.
Yeah, "Time Tunnel" was easily the best of the four Irwin Allen productions in the 60's. Even I couldn't take "Land Of The Giants" or "Lost In Space", and I am a big fan of Guy Williams. So, whatever happened to Doug and Tony? They're still lost in time. Maybe they got run over by a DeLorean.
Also, if you look closely, you can see where they made diiferent sets from the same one. Look out the window behind Britt's desk in his office, and you'll see the white brick and green plants of the patio in his home where the "Black Beauty" comes out of the wall.
New fan here -- I was aware of the series, of course, but never saw an episode until seeing several on SyFy today.
I know they spent a lot on the car, and the explosions are pretty impressive. But the camera shots seem to bespeak a very low budget. They're all very narrow, and very static. Even the establishing shots show a very tight shot on a building doorway. And each episdode uses very few locations/sets.
Anyone have any insight on this?