pub: DVD. pub: Carlton Entertainment 37115 06453. Price: £29.99 although can be bought cheaper, so shop around). Stars: Spencer Banks, Cheryl Burfield and Denis Quilley.

check out website: www.timeslip.org.uk and www.carltonvisual.com

When my generation is asked about children's SF from the 70s, we mention 'The Tomorrow People', 'Sky' and especially 'Timeslip', so it's great news that all 4 stories of this series have come out on DVD, especially as the last two stories on video have been nearly impossible to locate.

'Timeslip' covers the exploits of two teen-agers, Simon Randall (Banks) and Liz Skinner (Burfield) as they discover a way into the past near St Oswald's old naval station in 'The Wrong End Of Time'. There, they discover how Liz's father lost his memory from that period and help the present day Commander Traynor (Quilley) discover if a German naval advance team discovered what they were working on back in the 40s.

Instead of returning to the present, they find themselves in the freezing Arctic at 'The Time Of The Ice Box' in 1990. The place is an advanced scientific research station where the effects of a long-life drug called HA-57, hibernation, telepathy and cyborg manufacture is being done. It's leader, Morgan C. Deveraux (actor John Baron), is a clone. No, I can't recall such a place existing then but this was produced in the 1970s and very advanced for that time.

Liz also meets her future self, who after having an intelligence enhancement is one extremely cold fish.

From seeing this place unravel, they return to the present and disobeying Traynor, go through the time barrier once more and end up in another alternative 1990 future, the aptly titled 'The Year Of The Burn-Up'. If anything, this reality has more of a bearing to where we're going today with global warming. Following a Master Plan, the Earth is being shaped more to how Man wants to live in this technological future. An unfortunate consequence of errors and sabotage has also resulted in the atmosphere burning up.

As with their previous adventure, Liz meets her future self, Beth, a much more pleasant person and Simon meets himself, played by actor David Graham. This is the same voice artist who worked on the Gerry Anderson shows, especially 'Thunderbirds'. I can hear traces of Brains and Gordon Tracy in his voice but not Parker. He was also a very good actor. Clones still abound but only of selected people who are deemed worthy to do particular jobs.

They return to the present with the intent to also ensure that this reality doesn't happen and discover Traynor isn't all he was made out to be either as he kidnaps Liz. Simon rescues her and they enter the time bubble again and travel back to 1965 to discover how things really started with HA-57 with the original Deveraux and how Traynor wanted to originally stop them.
The first three stories were written by Bruce Stewart and the way they were cut into episodes either indicates that the he or the director hadn't quite got their pace right. Saying that, these first three stories, even the slightly long running 'Burn Up', are some of the finest kids SF from this period.

Writer Victor Pemberton took over when Stewart declared he'd ran out of ideas where to take the storyline. Although this isn't a perfect conclusion, it is still watchable. It's amazing how everywhere seems to have gotten closer to St. Oswald's at the end.

The extras are mostly down to a map of the area and stills. What is interesting with the latter is seeing some stills of what actors Banks and Burfield look like today and the old Naval Station is still there, wherever St Oswald's is. You'll probably need to look at the website to discover more.

Although this series was originally filmed in colour, all but one episode was destroyed in a fire and all we have are black and white. Saying that, this is also how I saw the series back in the 70s. It's a shame that the one remaining coloured episode couldn't have been used as a guide for a colouring program for all the Ice Box story. I was a little mystified why the 'End Of Part Ones' were used though until the split came up with the scene behind it, the reason became self-explanatory.

If you remember this series, then you'll want to see this again and might want to show your kids some of your own past. Our present appears to be heading towards that of the third story, 'Burn Up', and can be used as warning that we have to take care of our ecology if we want to live until the next century. Relieve those memories. It's worth a look.

GF Willmetts