I rather enjoyed this episode. The first in a while that didn't deal with psychosomatic or psychological problems. A 1980's reporter finds information on a 19th century doctor/inventor who reportedly has invented a time machine. The reporter finds it and is transported back to the doctor's age where he is petitioned by the doctor to discover information about his daughter's love fearing that her suitor is really a serial murderer. The reporter discovers the truth, wins the heart of the fair maiden, and deciding to remain in the past lives happily ever after. Strange to have such a just and happy ending.

I rate this episode ★★★★☆ for GOOD. A Fantasy-Mystery involving time travel like this one written by G. Frederick Lewis was entertaining, but not epic. The story wasn't just about the time box; it was mainly about the time traveler himself who came across the invention, the inventor, and the inventor's daughter. As it turns out, SPOILER ALERT, the time box was used a number of times to get people from the past to come to 1880. The inventor set the time box to the future, only once, so that someone in 1980 would come back and give the inventor the information that he needed. It was a deliberate plan! As for the climax where the hero hits the villain with time box and he vanishes along with it, I think the hero in this story did that subconsciously so he could stay in the 19th Century. Another way to title this CBSRMT episode would be "The Time Voyager." I would give an applause to Russell Horton (as Jake Howard & Dr. Hans Flexer), Diane Kirkwood (as Priscilla Harper & the Nurse), and Robert Dryden (as Dr. Dryden Harper & Mac) for portraying their main roles, but not a standing ovation for portraying their minor roles. To me, it just didn't fit well as they portray the other characters with different accents. I can imagine John Lithgow as Dr. Hans Flexer, Evie Juster as the Nurse, and E.G. Marshall as Mac. Speaking of E.G. Marshall, he was a good Host, but sounded more mellow than usual. In his Prologue, he brings up the topic of accepting time; it moves forward, but people live their time backwards. Then he asks is it possible to repeat life; not by reincarnation, but to live life in a different Era? In ACT-1, he brings us into the story where it takes place in a town called North Orange where we meet our main character. At the end of the Act, we know now that an eyewitness of the future is consulted by a scientist of the past. At this point, the Host doesn't want to know the Unknown. In ACT-2, we're brought up to speed on what happened and he questions us fans that if someone from the late 21st Century came to the 20th Century, when most of us were listening to this Radio Program, wouldn't we be curious to know what's happening in that Era? But HERE is where E.G. Marshall messed up. At the 15-minute 55-second mark, he mistakenly says the name "Patricia" instead of saying "Priscilla." SPECIAL NOTE: This is NOT the first time that our Host made this mistake. In Ep. #0699-THE ADVENTURES OF DON QUIXOTE, he said Larry Haines' name in the cast credits when it was clearly Robert Dryden who played Sancho Panza (Don Quixote's servant). But anyway, at the end of the Act, E.G. Marshall informs us that Queen Victoria received chloroform as an anesthetic during the birth of her son: Prince Leopold. In ACT-3, he questions if we mess with time itself, the littlest things in the past could change drastically in the future, especially Love. At the end of the Act, he makes a point that if you could travel backwards, it may feel like you're in a Utopian world where things were simpler. But traveling forward, it can be a Dystopian world for many. Finally, in his Epilogue, he finishes it off with a great quote from Benjamin Franklin: "If time be of all things the most precious, wasting time must be the greatest prodigality since lost time is never found again" (and that's from THE WAY TO WEALTH from Poor Richard's Almanac). What I enjoyed the most were the sound effects & music. The sounds of the typewriter, steam shovel, car horns, explosion, trolley dinging, clock ringing at 11, birds chirping, horses and carriages, holding the black wooden time box with 2 dials, clock ringing at 4, pouring the beverages, clock ringing at 5, pulling up the chair, door opening & closing, footsteps, horse drawn trolley with the bell, pounding & bursting of the dentist door, the furnace at the laboratory, tongs, bell jar, poker stick, running of a prowler, and the explosion of the time box were splendid. There was that amiable track in ACT-1 (which they used in Ep. #1035-THE SPECTER BRIDEGROOM), tensional themes in ACT-2, and tracks of shocking suspense in ACT-3, along with a happy ending theme. Tune in to this and the other stories about time travel: Ep. #0385-THE LAP OF THE GODS and Ep. #0557-NOW YOU SEE THEM, NOW YOU DON'T. Until next time...pleasant dreams. =0]

What a fun episode! I love a good time travel story. SO this traveler decides to stay put back n time to puruse a romantic interest with the daughter of the invenotr f the time box. hmmm will this change the future? Was this intended to preserve the future as he knew it? smile emoticon

The first RMT episode I can think of that is in the Steampunk genre.

I have always loved time travel stories. And, yes there would be issues about whether he would change the future and cease to exist. But, there is another problem - what would Jake (our traveler from 100 years in the future) used to buy the ice cream? Most of us wouldn't be carrying cash that was printed or minted 100 years prior - so, it seems to me, his money would be counterfeit. But despite that, I really enjoyed

I love time travel stories. I usually like the ones in the future but this one is very interesting in the past.