OUT OF TIME (1988)

 

PHENOMENALITY: *marvelous*
MYTHICITY: *poor*
FRYEAN MYTHOS: *adventure*
CAMPBELLIAN FUNCTION: *psychological, sociological*

OUT OF TIME is a cheaply-shot telefilm that was supposedly a set-up for a TV series, though the premise seems largely exhausted by the execution of the time-paradox storyline. Surprisingly, given the molasses-slow pacing and routine setups, the director was Robert Butler, who'd shown himself capable of much better cinematic storytelling with the first episodes of both BATMAN and STAR TREK.

The script, by three writers mostly known for series-TV, took a little time to establish some characterization for future-cop hero Channing Taylor (Bruce Abbott). Born in the futuristic era of 2088, he feels that his department relies too much on fancy crime-fighting devices and not enough on human instinct. (Patrons of sixties TV will recognize this as The Mannix Trope.) Channing also has a conflict with those devices because many of them were invented by Channing's own great-grandfather Maxwell Taylor, so the cop tend to reject high-tech because his contemporaries idolize his ancestor so much. In fact, Channing's gut-instinct approach to tracking down master criminal Marcus (Adam Ant) gets him suspended from the future force.

However, rule-breaker Channing tracks Marcus to a hideout where Marcus is making use of a time-machine to travel back to 1988. The two are separately transported back in time, and "out-of-water fish" Channing has to leap over a bunch of piddly hurdles to figure out how to cope with the transition. He manages to capture Marcus temporarily, but also runs into a young cop, who is none other than a young Maxwell Taylor (Bill Maher), still just a beat cop who has yet to invent any dazzling inventions. (When Maxwell sees some of the future-devices he will later invent, he comments, "What; did Buck Rogers have a garage sale?") So what evolves is yet another buddy-comedy, in which Channing gets Maxwell to assist in his efforts to foil Marcus's plans-- which, frankly, I never figured out myself. The pilot ends with Channing stuck in 1988 because he needs fuel for his time-machine, but the script leaves open the possibility that Maxwell may be able to invent something to send Channing back to-- you know.

As I said, it's a very dull-looking, dully-paced time-travel tale. Bruce Abbott doesn't have much to work with, Bill Maher does okay with a semi-straight role, and Adam Ant's villain is shamefully bland. This loser deserves its place in the dustbin of TV history.