“Crack of Doom” is episode six of season one of The Time Tunnel.
At the end of the previous episode, “The Last Patrol”, Doug and Tony had arrived near a volcano that was about to erupt, though Doug wasn’t sure if it was months or seconds away. Someone saw them arrive, then they heard screams, as some locals were about to throw another into some lava. The leader, who saw Doug and Tony arrive, speaks and Tony thinks it’s Malay. He speaks back, but the man understands English. He says no-one lives on the island any longer, and the others came with him from Sumatra. They are going to appease the fires with a human sacrifice – but they know that because they are devils.
Doug and Tony are grabbed but someone else approaches and tells the leader, Karnosu, ton release them. Karnosu says that Doug and Tony are devils who appeared from the sky. He’s told that if he doesn’t let them go, he will be skinned alive. To take the others back to the camp. The man introduces himself, Dr Everett Holland. They introduce themselves, and they are both doctors too, of course. Again, they are asked if they’re medical doctors or otherwise. They’re scientists. Dr Holland presumes they were sent by the Royal Society to help. No, they’re Americans. In that case, they have no business there; this is Holland’s project. Doug and Tony aren’t sure where ‘there’ is; Holland assumes, when they say they have no ship, that they’ve been shipwrecked. He explains where they are which is, of course, Krakatoa. No point in having a small volcano.
In the present, they are trying to remember when the eruption was. Early 1880s. Anne has got Doug and Tony located in the late summer of 1883. Ray thinks that sounds ominously familiar and asks for some research. Apparently, Doug wrote some papers on volcanos and would recognise the date Krakatoa exploded.
Dr Holland is not interested in talking, even though all Doug and Tony want to know is the date. He’s also not sure what it is. He’s been working on the project since the explosion back in May. Doug says that was just the beginning. The island is going to blow up. Holland agrees; but in 20-30 years.
Another tremor shakes the island and a woman calls for help. Eve Holland, Dr Holland’s daughter, who has had a tree fall on her. She’s surprisingly unharmed afterwards. She believes it’s the 24th or 25th of August, but doesn’t want to check her journal as she thinks Doug and Tony plan to steal her father’s research. Their arrival is too coincidental. They don’t care about the records. Holland himself, though it sounds like he’s had discoveries stolen before, isn’t that bothered about credit and tells Eve to get them the date.
In the present, they have the date of the eruption. 10:02 AM on August 27th, 1883. They don’t have a time fix yet. Back in 1883, Eve says the date is the 26th. Doug now wants a map to find somewhere sage to get to. He wishes they have precise information. Which, in the present, they do. General Kirk wants the time fix moved ahead slightly to confirm the danger. Yes, it’s bad.
Doug tells Holland they need to get off the island because it’s going to blow. Holland doesn’t think it will blow for years. At Tik-Toc, Jerry wants to do some research on some isolation techniques Ray was working on. Tony is trying to work on Eve, but she won’t leave. Her father has had research stolen before by people he trusted. Nothing else matters to him but his research. Holland is willing for Doug and Tony to take one of the two boats; unfortunately, the boy they avid from being thrown into lave has taken one.
Holland doesn’t want to leave the island when he’s doing important research. Eve won’t leave her father. Karnosu still thinks the fires need appeasing with a human sacrifice, which is not great. Tik-Toc are going to try something risky – as in, they don’t know what could go wrong – to stop Doug and Tony dying.