Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, Season 1 Vol. 2

Rating NR Formats DVD Genre television series Starring Richard Basehart, David Hedison, Del Monroe, Paul Trinka, Arch Whiting Directed by Jus Addiss, László Benedek Publisher 20th Century Fox External Links Official 20th Century Fox Website

Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea was a 1960's science fiction series that followed the exploits of the Seaview submarine under the command of Admiral Nelson (Richard Basehart) and Commander Crane (David Hedison). The Seaview, oddly enough, is a privately run non-military nuclear submarine whose primary mission is scientific not national defense. Why the U.S. military would outsource its nuclear capabilities to a private sub is unclear. The spaciousness of the Seaview also defies belief, feeling more like a luxurious cruiesliner than the cramped quarters of a real U.S. sub. By eliminating the natural claustrophobic effect of a submarine environment they also lose out on a source of dramatic tension that could have created a sharper mood to the entire series.

Though the cover of the DVD release is colorized viewers should be warned that the episodes are not. Season one is entirely in black and white. Which isn't bad, the black and white effect is sleek and stylized. But it does seem a bit like false advertising to offer a color cover to a black and white show.

In season one episode plotlines fluctuate between military intrigue and action adventure in which the crew faces off against Nazi remnants and nuclear disaster and sci-fi threats in which the sub is challenged by giant jelly fish, the lochness monster and genetically altered humans. The sci-fi episodes are usually the most imaginative and compelling of the litter. Robert Duvall even guest stars in the episode "The Invaders" as a bald and earless humanoid awakened from suspended animation at the bottom of the sea only to set his sights on the reconquest of earth. In the episode "Doomsday" the world is on the edge of nuclear holocaust but, rather than being a Twilight-Zone-esq morality tale about the danger of nuclear weapons, the episode almost seems to be making the argument that orders need to be followed, even when the stakes are high.

Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea has a few shining moments but, on the whole, I derived more pleasure and amusement from making fun of the worst elements of each episode rather than appreciating the best. Which is, to be fair, is also how I feel about such TV "classics" as the original Star Trek series. If you have one or two very funny friends, a lot of time to kill and a taste for bad black and white sci-fi, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea is for you. If you rent or netflix it you may be able to entertain yourself for a day or two. If you were a fan of the show as a kid and want to reconnect with the series I would caution you against it. The show can't possibly be as good as you might remember it.

The "special features" section of the DVD release is pretty sparse, containing: a brief David Hedison interview about the making of the show, a blooper reel and a photogallery. The photogallery archives some of the covers of the short-lived "Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea" comic books from Gold Key Comics providing us with a colorful glimpse into the show's life beyond the small screen. It would have been nice if they had also offered a brief plot synopsis of each issue so that a viewer could compare how the comic book stories stacked up against the TV series. The blooper reel isn't funny at allïpartly because most of the cast members took each mistake very seriously. Nowadays actors laugh almost on cue whenever they screw up their lines, knowing that it will be useful later for the DVD outtakes. Maybe in the 1960's, when there were no blooper reels, a screw up was just a screw up.