Permission to come aboard the Seaview granted. Fox brings out the second half of Season 1 of the 1960s Irwin Allen produced television show Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea onto DVD.
The success of the same named 1961 movie prompted Irwin Allen, the ever resourceful producer, to make the television series in 1964. He used the sets, costumes, and just about everything else from the movie.
Walter Pidgeon played Admiral Nelson and Robert Sterling played Commander Crane in the movie. He recast for the television show and cast Richard Basehart as Admiral Nelson and David Hedison as Commander Crane. Hedison is interesting because he tried to get him to do the role for the movie.
The show concerned the voyages of the submarine Seaview and their encounters with the denizens of the deep. Fox brings out the second half of season one with all 16 remaining black and white episodes on three double sided DVDs (Side B of Disc 3 has the special features) in three slim cases.
Episode 1: The Last Battle: Admiral Nelson is kidnapped from a plane in the middle of the flight and taken to a remote island controlled by Nazis who plan on conquering the world, with the help of the Seaview.
Dive!
Episode 2: Mutiny: Admiral Nelson’s experimental sub is attacked by a giant jellyfish and he and a crewmate are stranded at sea. When he’s recovered the crew starts to think he’s showing signs of a mental breakdown.
Episode 3: Doomsday: A foreign power sets the U.S. on a nuclear alert and the Seaview goes into fail-safe mode, but is this really doomsday after all?
Episode 4: The Invaders: An undersea earthquake sets free strange capsules and a powerful creature that has been in suspended animation for millions of years. Robert Duvall guest stars.
Episode 5: The Indestructible Man: A lifelike robot is brought aboard the Seaview after a space mission, but soon it begins to wreak havoc aboard. Michael Constantine guest stars.
Episode 6: The Buccaneer: A mad art connoisseur seizes control of the Seaview in a plan to steal the Mona Lisa from a French ship that is transporting to the World’s Fair. G. B. Atwater guest stars.
Episode 7: The Human Computer: Commander Crane is the lone observer when the Seaview embarks on a completely computer controlled mission, but finds that he is not alone.
Episode 8: The Saboteur: Commander Crane is brainwashed by enemy agents and ordered to deactivate some undersea missiles as well as assassinate Admiral Nelson.
Episode 9: Cradle of the Deep: An experiment to speed up evolution goes wrong and a giant monster is created that threatens the Seaview. John Anderson guest stars.
Episode 10: The Amphibians: The Seaview investigates an undersea lab where mad scientists are transforming humans into amphibians.
Those windows are why they call it the sea view
Episode 11: The Exile: Admiral Nelson is stranded aboard a life raft with the ex-premier of a hostile country and the premier holds secrets on a plot to destroy the free world. Ed Asner guest stars.
Episode 12: The Creature: Captain Adams, the lone survivor of an ill-fated missile launch, is aboard the Seaview and he’s searching for the force that caused the launch to go wrong. Leslie Nielsen guest stars.
Episode 13: The Enemies: Commander Crane and Admiral Nelson are captured by enemy scientists who use a drug to turn them into bitter enemies. Tom Skerritt and Henry Silva guest star.
Episode 14: The Secret of the Loch: The Seaview goes into Loch Ness by a secret underwater tunnel to investigate mysterious attacks by the Loch Ness monster. Torin Thatcher guest stars.
Episode 15: The Condemned: A publicity seeking scientist is given control over the Seaview to test out his new pressure system. J. D. Cannon guest stars.
Episode 16: The Traitor: Admiral Nelson’s sister is kidnapped and he has to turn over top secret information to get her back, but will he betray his country to protect his family? George Sanders guest stars.
Okay, I have to admit that you have to be in a right mind to watch these old TV shows. I’m really talking about the special effects, and the occasional story repetition (look a sea monster!). The effects can be a mixed bag.
I do like the Seaview, but every time I see it cruising the oceans I hear Terry Gilliam from Monty Python and the Holy Grail, “It’s only a model.” Occasionally you can also see the strings guiding said model. The stories also seem to have a pattern. Maybe it’s the fact that I’m watching them back to back without the lag time (I assume it aired weekly) that kiddies in front of their TVs in the 1960s had.
Also like a certain Trek, the equipment seems to malfunction at most inopportune moments. Quite a few of them seemed to encounter some sort of monster. Although, I might not sound like it, I did enjoy the show and can see how the kiddies of 1960 could be hooked. The second season began the color episodes of the series.
Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea is presented in fullscreen as they were originally shown on television. Special features include a still gallery and a 4 minute blooper reel. There’s also a 5 minute interview with series star David Hedison. The controversy might be that Fox decided to split season one into two parts. I think they could’ve easily included the whole season in one set by using double sided slim cases.
Surface!
Fans rejoice! The second part of the first season is here and you can now complete your collection. I thought the show had a certain charm. Those 1960s kiddies are now all grown up and can put this set on the old credit card and relive those glory days in front of the television.
Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea: Season 1, Volume 2 is now available at Amazon . As of yet, there is not a release date for the UK. Visit the DVD’s database for more information.
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