Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (TV series)

*Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea*
Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea
	Cover art from the 2006 DVD release of the 1st season of Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea showing stars Richard Basehart (l) and David Hedison, with the submarine, Seaview (center)
Created by	Irwin Allen
Starring	Richard Basehart ; David Hedison ; Bob Dowdell ; Henry Kulky ; Terry Becker ; Del Monroe ; Arch Whiting ; Paul Trinka ; Alan Hunt ; Richard Bull ; Paul Carr;
Country of origin	United States
No. of episodes	110
Production
Running time	Approx. 60 minutes
Original release
Network	ABC
Release	September 141964 –; March 311968

Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea is a 1960s television series based on the 1961 film of the same name. Both were created by Irwin Allen, enabling the series to use sets, costumes, props, special effects models, and sometimes footage, from the movie. The longest-running American science fiction series of the decade, Voyage aired on ABC from September 14, 1964 to March 31, 1968. The 110 episodes produced included 32 shot in black and white (1964-65), and 78 filmed in color (1965-68). The show starred Richard Basehart and David Hedison.

Show History

Pilot Episode

In the pilot episode "Eleven Days to Zero" the audience is introduced to the futuristic nuclear submarine Seaview and the lead members of her crew. Most notable is the designer and builder of the submarine, Admiral Harriman Nelson (Richard Basehart). We also are introduced to the Nelson Institute of Marine Research which serves as a support structure for Seaview. We learn, not for the last time, that the series is set in the then future of the 1970s. The pilot episode tells the story of how Lee Crane (David Hedison) became Seaview's Captain. At the end of the episode, we learn that the series will be about the adventures of Seaview and her crew roaming the seven seas and visiting many exotic locations. The Seaview and her crew's primary task in the series will be to probe the mysteries of nature and fight forces that threaten the survival of the United States and the entire world.

Season One

The first season begain with Admiral Nelson and the crew of Seaview fighting with a foreign government in order to prevent a world-threatening earthquake.Continued with a foreign goverment destroying American submarines with new technologies in The Fear Makers and The Enemies. The season introduced the diving bell and a mini-submarine. The season also introduced the first Alien story and the first sea monsters. The season ended with Seaview fighting a foreign goverment to save a defense weapon.

In the first season, the gritty, atmospheric, and intense series featured story lines devoted to Cold War themes, as well as excursions into near-future speculative fiction. Many episodes involved espionage and sci-fi elements. In other words, while aliens and sea monsters, not to mention dinosaurs, did become the subject of episodes, the primary villians were hostile foreign governments. While fantastic, there was a semblance of reality in the scripts. Most fans and many critics argue that the majority of the series' best episodes aired during this season. They also argue that the more real world tone that the series took during this year stands up better than that of the next three seasons.

Season Two

The second season begain with a trip inside a whale, saw several brushes with world disaster. The season ended with a ghost story, one of the shows few sequels.

Due to ABC's demands for a somewhat "lighter" tone to the series, the second season saw an increase in monster-of-the-week type plots, yet there were still some episodes that harkened back to the tone of the first season. The second season also saw a change from black and white to color. The beginning of the second season saw the permanant replacement of Chief Jones with Chief Sharkey.

The most important change in the series occurred during this season when a slightly redesigned Seaview was introduced, along with the Flying Sub. The Flying Sub was a yellow, two-man mini-submarine with passenger capacity, that could leave the ocean and function as an airplane. The Flying Sub was referred to by the initials FS-1. The futuristic craft greatly increased Seaview crews' travel options. The Flying Sub was launched from a bay in the lower part of Seaview that was apparently built between Seasons One and Two. Seaview's private observation deck from the first season was never seen again. Seaview's six observation windows became two. Seaview's crew were also given more colorful uniforms; evidently to take advantage of the change over from black and white to color. The traditional sailor uniforms worn in the first season were also never seen again. All these changes occurred between seasons. The Flying Sub would wind up being the most recognized element of the series, even more so than Seaview herself.^{[citation needed]} The Flying Sub was showcased in the shows closing credits for a time.

Season Three

The third season of Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea ran simultaneously with two other Allen produced television series: the second season of Lost in Space and the premiere (and only) season of The Time Tunnel. By coincidence, the third season of Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea also ran during the first season of Star Trek and the first season of Batman. The third season also ran during the first season of Space Ghost and Dino Boy.

The third season began with Dick Tufeld of Lost in Space playing an evil disembodied brain from outer space. The season continued with a werewolf story that is one of the few episodes to inspire a sequel. In one episode, Seaview's officers and crew encountered Nazis who believed World War II was still ongoing. Only in the last episode was there an espionage story that was reminiscent of the first season.

The final two seasons cemented the shift towards paranormal storylines that were popular in the late 1960s. Mummies, werewolves, talking puppets and an evil leprechaun all walked the corridors of the Seaview. There were also fossil men, flame men, frost men and lobster men.

Fourth and final season

The fourth season and final season of Voyage began with Victor Jory playing a five century old alchemist and saw revamped opening credits. Near the end of the fourth season, there were three unrelated stories of extraterrestial invasion in three weeks. There were two time travel stories in two weeks. The second of the two had Seaview going back in time to the American Revolution. The episode ended with Seaview returning to the present and sailing into television history.

Ratings for the fourth season took a significant drop as the season progressed, but were not drastic enough for ABC to immediately cancel a fifth season for the series. During renewal discussions between Allen, 20th Century Fox and ABC, Allen instead proposed replacing Voyage with Land of the Giants. Based on a proposal consisting of only a reported two dozen pre-production concept paintings, ABC accepted Allen's proposed new series, and Voyage was cancelled.

Series theme song

The theme song "Voyage To The Bottom of The Sea" was written and conducted by Paul Sawtell.

Differences from the feature film

Captain Crane is not with Seaview during the series' pilot episode. Seaview's captain was Captain John Phillips. Captain Phillips was killed in the pilot episode and replaced with Captain Crane.

Admiral Nelson's secretary in the feature film, Cathy Connors, does not appear in the television series. Admiral Nelson's secretaries work on land at the Nelson Institute of Marine Research, rather than on board Seaview. The Admiral also seems to have a long list of secretaries who are basically interchangeable and never seem to last longer than an episode.

There was no Nelson Institute of Marine Research in the movie. The Institute was introduced in the pilot episode as the place where Admiral Nelson works on land and where Seaview docks.

Commodore Emmery is nowhere in sight. Admiral Nelson instead has a long line of colleagues who also never outlast an episode.

Admiral Nelson is about 15 years younger in the television series than in the feature film. He also prefers cigarettes in the series, as opposed to cigars in the film. Admiral Nelson also appears less flamboyant and less critical of those around him in the series than the film.

Crewman Kowskis (Del Monroe) in the series' pilot episode became Kowalski once the series started.

Cast

Richard Basehart as Admiral Harriman Nelson
David Hedison as Captain Lee Crane
Bob Dowdell as Lt. Commander "Chip" Morton
Henry Kulky as Chief Curly Jones (1st Season)
Terry Becker as Chief Sharkey (2nd-4th Seasons)
Del Monroe as Kowalski
Arch Whiting as Sparks
Paul Trinka as Patterson
Alan Hunt as Riley (2nd Season)
Richard Bull as the Doctor
Paul Carr as Casey Clark (1st Season, Recurring afterwards only in stock footage scenes)

Episode list

Episode titles and dates of first airing, from tv.com Note that two different episodes, 28 and 73, are both entitled "The Creature."

Season One: 1964-1965

1. Eleven Days to Zero (Sep 14, 1964)
2. The City Beneath the Sea (Sep 21, 1964)
3. The Fear Makers (Sep 28, 1964)
4. The Mist of Silence (Oct 5, 1964)
5. The Price of Doom (Oct 12, 1964)
6. The Sky is Falling (Oct 19, 1964)
7. Turn Back the Clock (Oct 26, 1964)
8. The Village of Guilt (Nov 2, 1964)
9. Hot Line (Nov 9, 1964)
10. Submarine Sunk Here (Nov 16, 1964)
11. The Magnus Beam (Nov 23, 1964)
12. No Way Out (Nov 30, 1964)
13. The Blizzard Makers (Dec 7, 1964)
14. The Ghost of Moby Dick (Dec 14, 1964)
15. Long Live the King (Dec 21, 1964)
16. Hail to the Chief (Dec 28, 1964)

17. The Last Battle (Jan 4, 1965)
18. Mutiny (Jan 11, 1965)
19. Doomsday (Jan 18, 1965)
20. The Invaders (Jan 25, 1965)
21. The Indestructible Man (Feb 1, 1965)
22. The Buccaneer (Feb 8, 1965)
23. The Human Computer (Feb 15, 1965)
24. The Saboteur (Feb 22, 1965)
25. Cradle of the Deep (Mar 1, 1965)
26. The Amphibians (Mar 8, 1965)
27. The Exile (Mar 15, 1965)
28. The Creature (Mar 22, 1965)
29. The Enemies (Mar 29, 1965)
30. Secret of the Loch (Apr 5, 1965)
31. The Condemned (Apr 12, 1965)
32. The Traitor (Apr 19, 1965)

Season Two: 1965-1966

33. Jonah and the Whale (Sep 19, 1965)
34. Time Bomb (Sep 26, 1965)
35. And Five of Us Are Left (Oct 3, 1965)
36. The Cyborg (Oct 17, 1965)
37. Escape Frome Venice (Oct 24, 1965)
38. The Left-Handed Man (Oct 31, 1965)
39. The Deadliest Game (Nov 7, 1965)
40. Leviathan (Nov 14, 1965)
41. The Peacemaker (Nov 21, 1965)
42. The Silent Saboteurs (Nov 28, 1965)
43. The X Factor (Dec 5, 1965)
44. The Machines Strike Back (Dec 12, 1965)
45. The Monster From Outer Space (Dec 19, 1965)

46. Terror On Dinosaur Island (Dec 26, 1965)
47. Killers of the Deep (Jan 2, 1966)
48. Deadly Creature Below! (Jan 9, 1966)
49. The Phantom Strikes (Jan 16, 1966)
50. The Sky's On Fire (Jan 23, 1966)
51. Graveyard of Fear (Jan 30, 1966)
52. The Shape of Doom (Feb 6, 1966)
53. Dead Man's Doubloons (Feb 13, 1966)
54. The Death Ship (Feb 20, 1966)
55. The Monster's Web (Feb 27, 1966)
56. The Menfish (Mar 6, 1966)
57. The Mechanical Man (Mar 13, 1966)
58. The Return of the Phantom (Mar 20, 1966)

Season Three: 1966-1967

59. Monster From the Inferno (Sep 18, 1966)
60. Werewolf (Sep 25, 1966)
61. The Day The World Ended (Oct 2, 1966)
62. Night of Terror (Oct 9, 1966)
63. The Terrible Toys (Oct 16, 1966)
64. Day of Evil (Oct 23, 1966)
65. Deadly Waters (Oct 30, 1966)
66. Thing From Inner Space (Nov 6, 1966)
67. The Death Watch (Nov 13, 1966)
68. Deadly Invasion (Nov 20, 1966)
69. The Haunted Submarine (Nov 27, 1966)
70. The Plant Man (Dec 4, 1966)
71. The Lost Bomb (Dec 11, 1966)

72. The Brand of the Beast (Dec 18, 1966)
73. The Creature (Jan 1, 1967)
74. Death From The Past (Jan 8, 1967)
75. The Heat Monster (Jan 15, 1967)
76. The Fossil Men (Jan 22, 1967)
77. The Mermaid (Jan 29, 1967)
78. The Mummy (Feb 5, 1967)
79. The Shadowman (Feb 12, 1967)
80. No Escape From Death (Feb 19, 1967)
81. Doomsday Island (Feb 26, 1967)
82. The Wax Men (Mar 5, 1967)
83. Deadly Cloud (Mar 12, 1967)
84. Destroy Seaview! (Mar 19, 1967)

Season Four: 1967-1968

85. Fires of Death (Sep 17, 1967)
86. The Deadly Dolls (Oct 1, 1967)
87. Cave of the Dead (Oct 8, 1967)
88. Journey With Fear (Oct 15, 1967)
89. Sealed Orders (Oct 22, 1967)
90. Man of Many Faces (Oct 29, 1967)
91. Fatal Cargo (Nov 5, 1967)
92. Time Lock (Nov 12, 1967)
93. Rescue (Nov 19, 1967)
94. Terror (Nov 26, 1967)
95. A Time To Die (Dec 3, 1967)
96. Blow Up (Dec 10, 1967)
97. The Deadly Amphibians (Dec 17, 1967)

98. The Return of Blackbeard (Dec 31, 1967)
99. The Terrible Leprechaun (Jan 7, 1968)
100. The Lobster Man (Jan 21, 1968)
101. Nightmare (Jan 28, 1968)
102. The Abominable Snowman (Feb 4, 1968)
103. Secret of the Deep (Feb 11, 1968)
104. Man-Beast (Feb 18, 1968)
105. Savage Jungle (Feb 25, 1968)
106. Flaming Ice (Mar 3, 1968)
107. Attack! (Mar 10, 1968)
108. The Edge of Doom (Mar 17, 1968)
109. The Death Clock(Mar 24, 1968)
110. No Way Back (Mar 31, 1968)

Other media

A hardback novel, City Beneath the Sea, authored by Paul W. Fairman, was published in 1965, to tie into the series. It had a different storyline than the episode of the same name. The book should also not be confused with the later Irwin Allen film of the same name. The storyline was about an attempt by a wealthy family to transport the earth's oceans to another planet for re-settlement.

Western Publishing published a comic book based on the series. Western's comic company, Gold Key Comics put out a series that ran 16 issues from 1964-1970. Most covers were painted, and most had a photo of either Richard Basehart or David Hedison on them. The first issue of the Gold Key comic was a story called "The Last Survivor". The story bought back Dr. Gamma, the villian from the pilot episode, "Eleven Days to Zero". Gold Key's story was the only sequel to the pilot episode. The comic was also the villian's second and final appearance.

In 1966, World Distributers, a British publishing company in Manchester, England, published a hardback book called the Annual. The British-made book used the series characters in all new stories. The book contained a reprint of a story from Gold Key Comics. Both books were mostly prose storys with some illustrations.

Aurora released a plastic model kit of Seaview as well as the Flying Sub during the original run of the series. Both kits were recently re-released by Polar Lights. The Flying Sub model sold more than the Seaview model.^{[citation needed]}

Other collectables from the show include a Milton Bradley board game with a drawing based on the pilot episode, a school lunch box with depictions of Admiral Nelson and Captain Crane trying to save the Flying Sub from an evil looking octopus. There was also a View-Master slide reel based on the episode "Deadly Creature Below."

Popular culture

The popularity of the TV show inspired Mad Magazine to spoof the show, their version being called Voyage to See What's on the Bottom, featuring a submarine called the Seapew.

Australian TV show Fast Forward sent-up the series as "Voyage to the Bottom of the Harbour"

Stock footage of Seaview was used in the Wonder Woman episode "The Bermuda Triangle Crisis."

An often referenced running joke is that in many episodes of the series, characters lurch to camera movements on the visibly static set to give the illusion that Seaview had sustained impact. British television sitcom Red Dwarf frequently utilised parodies, including an extended outtake of the cast lurching from side to side of the Starbug set at the instance of Craig Charles.

DVD releases

20th Century Fox has released the first 2 seasons on DVD in Region 1 for the very first time. Season 3 Volume 1 is expected to be released on June 19, 2007.

DVD Name	Ep #	Release Date	Additional Information
Season 1 Vol. 1	16	February 21 2006	Unaired B&W Pilot
Season 1 Vol. 2	16	July 11 2006	Still Gallery (22 images) Blooper Reel David Hedison Interviews
Season 2 Vol. 1	13	October 24 2006	Special Effects Footage (22:04) Concept Art Gallery (5 stills) Episodic Photo Gallery (35 stills) Publicity Photo Gallery (8 stills)
Season 2 Vol. 2	13	February 20 2007	David Hedison Interview Still Gallery
Season 3 Vol. 1	13	June 19 2007	Still Galleries David Hedison Interviews Visitors on Set Letters from Fans "The Rock and Roll" David Hedison 1966 Interview (audio only)

External links