We’ve had discussions about the question of SAGE’s effectiveness for air defense, but at least Hollywood liked it. The sci-fi series “The Time Tunnel,” produced by Irwin Allen and aired for one season on ABC in 1966-67, used SAGE consoles and tape drives for props, with sufficient “blinkenlights.” Here’s an overview:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3MByhY6aSUo&list=PLdoMV9SEY_anq8jVhAK6f0Hg80UKSZajt

At the time of this production, SAGE was still very much operational, at least some of the centers were.

I also just watched a new episode of “The Crown,” in which Queen Elizabeth & the Royal family are gathered around a television watching someone accessing a time shared computer with an ASR-33 Teletype.

Paul Ceruzzi

Curator Emeritus, Department of Space History

National Air and Space Museum

Smithsonian Institution

Washington, DC 20013-7012

202-633-2414