The 1979 CBS four-part mini-series, Time Express, was broadcast from 26 April to 17 May in the US, from 27 November to 18 December in the UK, and between July and August of 1980 in Australia (the same time that Vincent Price toured the country with his one-man show, Diversions & Delights).
The Time Express was like a modern ghost train, filled with 100 dead souls reincarnated to operate the service after their own train, The New Guinea Flyer, crashed into a river in 1886. Like eccentric millionaire John Beresford Tipton on The Millionaire (CBS, 1955-1960), who chose people at random to receive a million tax-free dollars, there was also a mysterious benefactor on board the Time Express. This unseen Head of the Line would choose people who have the greatest need to relive a particular moment from their past. The passengers, once back in the past, see that people will change, as well as themselves, making them all better people. Based at the Los Angeles Union Station, the Time Express departed from Gate Y Track 13. Onboard, host and hostess Jason and Margaret Winters supervised each passenger’s trip as they moved through the misty corridors of time.
THE CAST
Vincent Price as Jason Winters; Coral Browne as Margaret Winters; James Reynold as the Conductor, Robert Jefferson Walker; William Edward Phipps as the Engineer, Patrick Callahan; Woodrow Parfey as the Ticket Clerk
CREDITS
Executive Producers: Ivan Goff and Ben Roberts
Producer: Leonard Kaufman
Created by Ivan Goff and Ben Roberts
Written by Steven Cander, Richard Boell, Pat Fielder
Director: Michael Caffey
Music: Richard Hazard
Casting: Tom Stockingfish
Make-Up: Fred Williams
Set Director: Ed Bauer
REVIEW
This train runs in reverse. Like a blend of Fantasy Island and Supertrain is Time Express. Passengers on the Time Express get the chance to go back and change one incident in their past. The wish becomes reality for the lucky few that receive ticket invitations to ride the Time Express as it travels through another dimension. From the moment they arrive at the station, an otherworldly crew puts passengers at their ease. A droll crew reassures the sceptics, while the debonair champagne-sipping host and hostess answer questions and lend their moral support. As the train moves back into their past, the travellers have the opportunity to learn more, try harder and make up for past errors.
GARBAGE MAN/DOCTOR’S WIFE
Telecast: 26 April 1979 (US)
James McArthur as Dr Mark Tolen
Jerry Stiller as Edward Chernoff
Pamela Toll as Olivia Tolen
John de Lancie as John Clayton
Anne Meare as Gloria
Writer: Gerald Sanford
Director: Arnold Laven
A man (Jerry Stiller) goes back to 1969 Cleveland to return $2 million he found, and a physician (James MacArthur) hopes to find his wife’s brother who is needed for a life-saving transplant.
THE COPY-WRITER/THE FIGURE SKATER
Telecast: 3 May 1979 (US)/Screened last in Australia
Richard Masur as Sam Loring
Lyle Waggoner as David Blaine
Lee Meriwether as Vanessa
Francois-Marie Bernard as Paul Venard
Terri Nunn as Jill Martin
Morgan Fairchild as Michelle Bradford Fleming
Writer: Stephen Kandel, Richard Bluebell, Pat Fielder
Director: Michael Caffey
A copywriter (Richard Masur) and a figure skater (Terri Nunn) get second chances at romances that failed because of broken rendezvous (in Paris, 1978 and on St Valentine’s Day in Montreal, 1977).
RODEO/COP
Telecast: 10 May 1979 (US)
John Beck as Roy Culper
Marcia Strassman as Sara Mason
Robert Hooks as John Slocum
Vic Tayback as Charlie Enright
Anne-Marie Martin
Writer: A Hayes
Director: Alan J Levy
A rodeo rider in Montana returns to the fateful day in May 1977 when he was thrown from a horse; and an LA cop goes back to June 1973 to the scene where he was shot by a suspect.
THE BOXER/DEATH
Telecast: 17 May 1979 (US)/Screened first in Australia
Steve Kanaly as Michael Bennett
Paul Sylvan as Tony Marcello
Jaime Lyn Bauer as Elizabeth Stone
Linda Scruggs Bogart as Lisa Marcello
Writer: Ivan Goff, Ben Roberts
Director: Alan J Levy
A man (Steve Kanaly) returns to July 1976 when his girlfriend was killed in a plane crash; and a boxer (Paul Sylvan) revisits the championship fight that he threw in New York in May 1969.
And so, the Time Express swishes off into TV heaven…
I would like to see all four episodes of Time Express on YouTube or on the Dailymotion app, because I have never seen the series when it was originally broadcast on CBS-TV in 1979. I have been a fan of Vincent Price and his wife Coral Browne ever since the 1970s, and I wonder why the first episode of the show is unavailable on your website. Please respond to my comments and request at margaretgarnto@gmail.com. Yours truly, Margaret Garnto
I would like to see all four of the episodes of Time Express on YouTube because I have never seen the series when it was originally broadcast on CBS-TV in 1979. I became a fan of Vincent Price in the 1970s, and I have been a fan of his and his wife Coral Browne since then. I wonder why the first episode of Time Express is unavailable on your website. Please respond to my comments and request at margaretgarnto@gmail.com. Yours truly, Margaret Garnto
Hi Margaret. Please email me at peter@thesoundofvincentprice.com and I cant let you know how you can see all four episodes. All the best. Peter
Dear Curator; Thank you very much for your response to my comments that I made weeks ago about the CBS-TV series Time Express. I would still like to see all four full episodes of it on YouTube because I never watched it when it was originally broadcast on CBS-TV in 1979. I would still like to know why an episode was unavailable on your Sound Of Vincent Price website, because I wanted to watch it to see what the series was like. Yours truly, Margaret Garnto
Dear Peter; What happened to the DVDs of Time Express that you said you would “dupe”, or duplicate for me if I was interested in them? I am still interested in the series, but it looks like I will never see the videos of it. I sent an email to CBS Interactive’s website about putting the show on their Full Episodes and Live TV app, but I never heard back from them., and other TV streaming apps don’t know how or understand what I’m referring to. Thank you for your response to my emails about Time Express, and may God bless you always and keep you safe. Yours truly, Margaret Garnto
Dear Peter; I am glad that you have posted an episode of Time Express from the Vimeo app on your webpage. How man more of the episodes were also posted on Vimeo? I want to upload them to the Dropbox app that I have on my tablet. Thank you and God bless you and keep you safe. Yours truly, Margaret Garnto.
Thanks Margaret. I know you are a big fan of this show. I’ve added the second and third episodes to the web page. If you Follow the Vimeo channel, you will get an alert when the final one is uploaded. Just head over to: https://vimeo.com/vincentpricelegacy