Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea...can't go home again?

[Warped9]

Yesterday on something of a nostalgia whim I picked up Season 1, Volume 1 of Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea.

Way, waay back I used to like watching this show, but here are some current observations:

The submarine Seaview still looks cool but mostly from the exterior. The interior...not so much. I know it's a '60s era show, but it really looks dated on the inside.

I've watched the first three episodes so far and I have to admit I find it creaky. There really isn't much in the way of plot and the writing can be rough. I also find the acting to varied and so-so. Heddison as Capt. Lee Crane doesn't impress me anymore, at least at this point and maybe things will smoothen out as the series progresses. As is he's trying to emote to much and always seems on the edge of getting excitable or loosing his cool. Admiral Nelson wavers from being a little impatient and testy to almost fatherly.

The pilot episode also seems to totally ignore the events of the original film with Walter Pidgeon as Admiral Nelson. That version of VTTBOTS came across as a lot more polished and credible even with it's off-the-wall idea of the Van Allen Radiation Bely catching fire. The reason I say the series ignores the pilot is because it states a Capt. Philips commands Seaview until he's killed and then replaced by Crane, of which Nelson has only a passing familiarity. In the film Crane was already in command alongside Nelson.

Still, watching this I can't help but wonder, since they seem to be rebooting everything else, why no one has yet rebooted VTTBOTS as a new feature film or TV series.

My final thought is while this was quite popular in its day it's nowhere near as polished as Star Trek TOS. TOS had its missteps, but it has aged very well in comparison the VTTBOTS and the other Irwin Allen sci-fis.

My final thought has to do with the DVD packaging: Why Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 for a season? That smacks of gouging when there's no reason you couldn't include all the episodes of a season in one set.

Thoughts anyone?

 

[bullethead]

Still, watching this I can't help but wonder, since they seem to be rebooting everything else, why no one has yet rebooted VTTBOTS as a new feature film or TV series.

That's because it's set on a submarine. Sub shows are like spaceship shows except the interiors are more cramped and you really shouldn't have any exterior shots because realistically it would a black screen unless the boat was at periscope depth. Plus Hollywood writers have no fucking clue what subs do and the last attempt to do a sub show failed miserably (seaQuest DSV).

And honestly, I think seaQuest has more potential for a reboot to work with, since VTTBOTS never really had a strong premise or really compelling background info.

But I have to give the writers credit, they came up with the idea of putting the control on the second deck and connecting to the periscopes through fiber optics or whatever the Seaview used 30-40 years before the Navy put it in the Virginia class.

 

[Noname Given]

Yesterday on something of a nostalgia whim I picked up Season 1, Volume 1 of Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea.

Way, waay back I used to like watching this show, but here are some current observations:

The submarine Seaview still looks cool but mostly from the exterior. The interior...not so much. I know it's a '60s era show, but it really looks dated on the inside.

I've watched the first three episodes so far and I have to admit I find it creaky. There really isn't much in the way of plot and the writing can be rough. I also find the acting to varied and so-so. Heddison as Capt. Lee Crane doesn't impress me anymore, at least at this point and maybe things will smoothen out as the series progresses. As is he's trying to emote to much and always seems on the edge of getting excitable or loosing his cool. Admiral Nelson wavers from being a little impatient and testy to almost fatherly.

The pilot episode also seems to totally ignore the events of the original film with Walter Pidgeon as Admiral Nelson. That version of VTTBOTS came across as a lot more polished and credible even with it's off-the-wall idea of the Van Allen Radiation Bely catching fire. The reason I say the series ignores the pilot is because it states a Capt. Philips commands Seaview until he's killed and then replaced by Crane, of which Nelson has only a passing familiarity. In the film Crane was already in command alongside Nelson.

Still, watching this I can't help but wonder, since they seem to be rebooting everything else, why no one has yet rebooted VTTBOTS as a new feature film or TV series.

My final thought is while this was quite popular in its day it's nowhere near as polished as Star Trek TOS. TOS had its missteps, but it has aged very well in comparison the VTTBOTS and the other Irwin Allen sci-fis.

My final thought has to do with the DVD packaging: Why Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 for a season? That smacks of gouging when there's no reason you couldn't include all the episodes of a season in one set.

Thoughts anyone?

They did - SeaQuest DSV (Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea meets Star Trek ); and no, I'm serious in that I think a lot of folks felt this was an attempt to update the VttBotS for the (then) modern audience.

 

[Mr. Adventure]

I learned recently that Lost in Space does not hold up very well from your childhood.

 

[Warped9]

Yep, we all know about Seaquest DSV which did nothing for me either. I still think you could update VTTBOTS by setting it ahead about 40-50 years and then some of those story ideas might work with some tweaking and fleshing out. As in all things it comes down to execution. In the very least it could be redone as a feature film and forego the hassle of trying to come up with a new story every week.

One of the things that hurts this show is the pacing. I often feel like I'm drifting off because it's talk, talk, talk about very little because the plot is so thin. You could probably edit a good 10-15 minutes out of it. But leave the f/x shots since they're the best part.

 

[AJBryant]

My final thought has to do with the DVD packaging: Why Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 for a season? That smacks of gouging when there's no reason you couldn't include all the episodes of a season in one set.

Thoughts anyone?

Probably because back in the 1960s, a TV season was almost two to three times the number of episodes in a TV season NOW. They can "equitably price" the same number of discs, but not a whole season.

 

[Dar70]

I learned recently that Lost in Space does not hold up very well from your childhood.

Whhhaaaatttt??

Actually its just as I remember. Even when I was a kid I thought it was silly, but I loved it anyways. Still do today.



I also love voyage. There are some really good episodes through the first two seasons. Yeah it may not be Star Trek but it was one of the longest running scifi shows of its time.(4 years)

 

[Galileo7]

In the second season VTTBOTS gets a refit of the Seaview with a new Flying Sub berth and the series was now in color from '65-'68.

 

[Amaris]

Oh come on, I can't be the only one who loves Seaquest: DSV (and in particular, Roy Scheider). That was a GREAT show!

 

[Galileo7]

Oh come on, I can't be the only one who loves Seaquest: DSV (and in particular, Roy Scheider). That was a GREAT show!

I think that like many series, it finally found it's footing in season three SeaQuest 2032 with the new captain Michael Ironside. I think Roy Scheider should have remained, but he wanted out due to the second season disappointed him.

 

[Saga]

the show and movie are two separate things. in fact the movie footage was later worked into an episode of the series. the first season, believe it or not, is the most serious one. later on you get ghosts, lobster men and other such nonsense. i loved the show as a kid and as an adult i still enjoy it. then again i love absurd things.

 

[Amaris]

Oh come on, I can't be the only one who loves Seaquest: DSV (and in particular, Roy Scheider). That was a GREAT show!

I think that like many series, it finally found it's footing in season three SeaQuest 2032 with the new captain Michael Ironside. I think Roy Scheider should have remained, but he wanted out due to the second season disappointed him.

Figures. I can't stand Season 3.

 

[bullethead]

Oh come on, I can't be the only one who loves Seaquest: DSV (and in particular, Roy Scheider). That was a GREAT show!

I think that like many series, it finally found it's footing in season three SeaQuest 2032 with the new captain Michael Ironside. I think Roy Scheider should have remained, but he wanted out due to the second season disappointed him.

Season 3 had the best overall direction in terms of the writing, but I liked Roy Scheider as Bridger and the Season 1 bridge. S2 had a few good episodes, but it was mostly crap.

 

[Warped9]

I'm going to hang in a little longer and see where it goes. Watching it in B&W also makes it look really vintage.

This evening I watched "The Fear Makers" and "The Mist Of Silence."

"The Fear Makers" had me wondering, okay what blew up the submarine Polidor at the beginning of the episode? We never get the answer. Fear destroyed the submarine? The crew panicked and lost control? I guess. And throughout the whole thing I thought this agent or whatever he was used the fear gas to try to keep the Seaview from investigating what really destroyed the sub. In the end we didn't really learn anything.

"The Mist Of Silence" was just soo damned slow and plodding that I felt myself nodding off. It was so obviously a play on Cuba or pretty much any South American country. There were enough of these stories in JAG (which I'm currently collecting) yet those I find entertaining.

It's funny because watching VTTBOTS I'm reminded of how the military is portrayed in JAG and how many stories they did aboard subs and surface naval ships and how credibly it was all depicted. The way JAG depicts ship operations makes VTTBOTS look a little silly.

Some of the story ideas could actually serve as a basis for something more contemporary with just a little thought. Remake VTTBOTS and set it about forty or fifty years in the future and then you could do your underwater cities and what have you.

 

[Saga]

if you look at each episode's flaws and pick at it then it will fall apart like a house of cards. best just to sit back, relax and enjoy some mindless entertainment.

 

[scotpens]

the show and movie are two separate things. in fact the movie footage was later worked into an episode of the series.

Stock miniature footage from the movie was used throughout the entire first season -- as well as footage from other Irwin Allen productions like The Lost World.

. . . the first season, believe it or not, is the most serious one. later on you get ghosts, lobster men and other such nonsense.

Yes, the first season, in black-and-white, had a lot of “normal” adventure stories with international intrigue and spy stuff. By the fourth and final season, the show was full of outlandish monsters and aliens that usually showed up on Lost in Space and The Time Tunnel as well.

 

[Saga]

the show and movie are two separate things. in fact the movie footage was later worked into an episode of the series.

Stock miniature footage from the movie was used throughout the entire first season -- as well as footage from other Irwin Allen productions like The Lost World.

. . . the first season, believe it or not, is the most serious one. later on you get ghosts, lobster men and other such nonsense.

Yes, the first season, in black-and-white, had a lot of “normal” adventure stories with international intrigue and spy stuff. By the fourth and final season, the show was full of outlandish monsters and aliens that usually showed up on Lost in Space and The Time Tunnel as well.

lol. yeah, they really do use that 'dinosaur' footage from The Lost World over and over.

 

[RandyS]

My final thought has to do with the DVD packaging: Why Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 for a season? That smacks of gouging when there's no reason you couldn't include all the episodes of a season in one set.

Thoughts anyone?

That's a no-brainer. More DVD sets= more money for the studio.

 

[RandyS]

Oh come on, I can't be the only one who loves Seaquest: DSV (and in particular, Roy Scheider). That was a GREAT show!

I loved it too, in the first season. The rest was shit.

That was a classic case of "If it ain't broke, don't fix it", but for whatever reason they "fixed" it anyway, and destroyed it.

 

[Warped9]

if you look at each episode's flaws and pick at it then it will fall apart like a house of cards. best just to sit back, relax and enjoy some mindless entertainment.

They are the product of their time. You can see the limitations of budget and resources and conceptual thinking. They weren't like TOS that, while having limitations, it mattered to them that they make an extra effort to do the best they could with what they had. Within constraints they tried to think things through. With the Irwin Allen shows I get the sense they just didn't look at it the same way---it didn't matter so much because in the end it was throwaway entertainment.

Even so it isn't a matter of nitpicking because there were quite a few things that worked. I look t it as, "this ain't horrible, but with a little more thought it could have been lots better."