Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (TV series)

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Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea
Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea.jpg
Cover art from the 2006 DVD release of the 1st season of Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea showing stars Richard Basehart and David Hedison, with the submarine, Seaview (center)
Created byIrwin Allen
StarringRichard Basehart
David Hedison
Robert Dowdell
Henry Kulky
Terry Becker
Del Monroe
Arch Whiting
Paul Trinka
Allan Hunt
Richard Bull
Paul Carr
ComposersPaul Sawtell
Hugo Friedhofer
Alexander Courage
Morton Stevens
Michael Hennagin (one episode)
Jerry Goldsmith (one episode)
Leith Stevens
Lennie Hayton
Nelson Riddle (one episode)
Herman Stein (one episode)
Robert Drasnin (one episode)
Harry Geller
Joseph Mullendore
Irving Gertz (one episode)
Country of originUnited States
No. of seasons4
No. of episodes110
Production
Running time60 minutes (including commercials)
Production companiesCambridge Productions Inc.
Irwin Allen Productions
20th Century-Fox Television
Distributor20th Century-Fox Television
Release
Original networkABC
Original releaseSeptember 14, 1964 (1964-09-14) –
March 31, 1968 (1968-03-31)

Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea is a 1964-1968 American science fiction television series based on the 1961 film of the same name. Both were created by Irwin Allen, which enabled the film's sets, costumes, props, special effects models, and sometimes footage, to be used in the production of the television series.[1] Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea was the first of Irwin Allen's four science fiction television series (the three others being Lost in Space, The Time Tunnel, and Land of the Giants), and the longest-running. The show's theme was underwater adventure.

Voyage was broadcast on ABC from September 14, 1964, to March 31, 1968, and was the decade's longest-running American science fiction television series with continuing characters. The 110 episodes produced included 32 shot in black-and-white (1964–1965), and 78 filmed in color (1965–1968). The first two seasons took place in the then-future of the 1970s. The final two seasons took place in the 1980s. The show starred Richard Basehart and David Hedison.

Show history[]

Pilot episode[]

The pilot episode "Eleven Days to Zero" was filmed in color but shown in black-and-white. It introduces the audience to the futuristic nuclear submarine S.S.R.N. Seaview and the lead members of her crew, including the designer and builder of the submarine Admiral Harriman Nelson (Richard Basehart), and Commander Lee Crane (David Hedison), who becomes the Seaview's captain after the murder of her original commanding officer. The submarine is based at the Nelson Institute of Marine Research in Santa Barbara, California, and is often moored some 500 feet beneath the facility in a secret underground submarine pen carved out of solid rock. The Seaview is officially for undersea marine research and visits many exotic locations in the Seven Seas, but its secret mission is to defend the planet from all world and extraterrestrial threats[2] in the then-future of the 1970s.

Season 1[]

Adm. Nelson and the ill-fated Capt. Phillips are attacked after leaving the Nelson Institute of Marine Research.

The first season's 31 episodes included gritty, atmospheric story lines devoted to Cold War themes and excursions into near-future speculative fiction, involving espionage and sci-fi elements. Aliens, sea monsters and dinosaurs were featured, but the primary villains were hostile foreign governments. While fantastic, the scripts had a recognisably contemporary setting.[3]

The first episodes began with Admiral Nelson and the crew of the Seaview fighting against a foreign government to prevent a world-threatening earthquake, and continuing with a foreign government destroying American submarines with new technologies in "The Fear Makers" and "The Enemies". The season also had several ocean peril stories in which the Seaview crew spent the episode dealing with the normal perils of the sea. Two examples are "Submarine Sunk Here" and "The Ghost of Moby Dick". The season introduced a diving bell and a mini-submarine, and the first episodes featuring extraterrestrials (Don Brinkley's "The Sky is Falling") and sea monsters.

During the course of the first season, Nelson was promoted from a three-star to a four-star admiral. It was also established that while essentially a marine research vessel, SSRN Seaview was also part of the U.S. nuclear armed fleet (most notably defined in William Read Woodfield's episode, "Doomsday").[4] The season ended with the Seaview crew fighting a foreign government to save a defense weapon.

Season 2[]

DVD cover art of the 2nd season (Vol. 2) of Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea featuring depictions of Seaview and the Flying Sub (bottom)

The second season began with a trip inside a whale, a trip inside a volcano, and a few Cold War intrigue and nuclear war-themed episodes, and saw several brushes with world disaster. The season ended with a ghost story, one of the show's few sequels.

Due to ABC's demands for a somewhat "lighter" tone to the series,[citation needed] 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 permanent replacement of Chief "Curly" Jones with Chief Francis Ethelbert Sharkey, due to the death of Henry Kulky, who portrayed Chief Jones.

The most important change in the series occurred during this season when a notably redesigned Seaview interior was introduced, along with the Flying Sub, a yellow, two-man mini-submarine with passenger capacity. The Flying Sub could leave the ocean and become airborne. The futuristic craft greatly increased the Seaview crew's travel options. It was launched from a bay, access to which was via a sealed hatch stairway at the bow section. The Seaview's private observation deck from the first season was never seen again. The Seaview control room was expanded and a large rectangular panel screen of flickering lights was added. The Seaview also now had a powerful laser beam in its bow light. The small mini-sub from the first season was retained and occasionally still used in the color episodes.

The ship's enlisted men were also given more colorful uniforms (red or light blue jumpsuits) and white Keds Champion sneakers. The traditional sailor uniforms worn in the first season were only seen in stock footage from the first season and on characters who were newly filmed to match up with that footage.

A second-season episode, "The Sky's On Fire", was a remake of the basic storyline of Irwin Allen's original film Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (1961) using considerable film color footage, though several film sequences were removed and had been featured in other first-season episodes such as "The Village of Guilt" and "Submarine Sunk Here."

A few later season two episodes were filmed without Richard Basehart, who was hospitalized for a bleeding ulcer. He filmed the scenes in the Flying Sub for "The Monster's Web" before hospitalization, requiring a stand in and other characters taking over his lines. He was missing entirely from the next two episodes. These episodes didn't feature his character at all, while in one story "The Menfish" Gary Merrill guested as Admiral Park, a colleague of Nelson's who substituted for him. Basehart returned for "Return of the Phantom," the final episode of the season.

Season 3[]

The third season of Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea ran simultaneously with two other series produced by Irwin Allen, Lost in Space (in its second season) and The Time Tunnel.

The third season began with Dick Tufeld (voice of the Robot on 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, the Seaview's officers and crew encountered Nazis who believed World War II was still ongoing. The third season only had two espionage stories and one ocean peril story that were reminiscent of the first season. One of those three stories was about a hostile foreign government trying to steal a strange new mineral with the aid of a brainwashed Admiral Nelson. This espionage story was the end of the third season.

The final two seasons continued the shift towards paranormal storylines that were popular in the late 1960s.[2] Mummies, werewolves, talking puppets, and an evil leprechaun all walked the corridors of the Seaview. There were also fossil men, flame men, frost men, lobster men, and shadow men. The opening credits were largely identical to the revised season two, but the initial season two yellow lettering credits that were first altered to white, (and then back to yellow on the later revised sequence) were now depicted in a golden/yellowish lettering, and closing credits were set over a green-backed painting of Seaview underwater.

Season 4[]

Nelson and Sharkey fight an alien spy, 1968.

The fourth and final season of Voyage began with Victor Jory playing a five-centuries old alchemist and the Seaview is threatened by the hydrodynamic effects of a major volcanic eruption. Starting with the eighth episode of the season, there were revamped opening credits depicting action sequences and the stars' pictures in color set on a sonar board design. The closing credits picture remained unchanged from season three. Near the end of the fourth season, there were three unrelated stories of extraterrestrial invasion. One episode had an unknown master of disguise infiltrating and wreaking havoc aboard the Seaview. Another episode depicted Nelson, Morton and Sharkey gaslighting Crane. There were two time travel stories featuring the enigmatic but dangerous Mister Pem. The second had the Seaview going back in time to the American Revolution. The episode (and series) ended with the Seaview returning to the present. The final scene of the show had Nelson and Crane sitting in the seldom used easy chairs on the port side of the observation nose discussing how fast time goes by.

In March 1968 it was announced that Voyage would not be back for a fifth season.[5]

Music[]

The series' main theme, "The Seaview Theme", was written by Paul Sawtell. A new darker, more serious theme composed by Jerry Goldsmith was introduced at the beginning of the second-season episode "Jonah and the Whale", but this was quickly replaced by the original version. A version of the Goldsmith suite re-orchestrated by Nelson Riddle was heard as incidental music in the episode "Escape From Venice", and the original Goldsmith suite was used as incidental music throughout the rest of the series. The series' main composer, supervisor and conductor was Lionel Newman, who for the second season composed a serious sounding score for when the episode credits (episode title/guests/writer/director) were shown just after the theme song, which would be used by many episodes (starting with "The Left Handed Man") thru the second and into the early third season. Other guest composers included Lennie Hayton, Hugo Friedhofer, Star Trek: The Original Series composer Alexander Courage, Morton Stevens, Leith Stevens (no relation) who wrote the music to nine episodes, and Sawtell, who worked on the show for a while in the first season.

GNP Crescendo issued a soundtrack album in 1997 as part of its series tying into the documentary The Fantasy Worlds Of Irwin Allen, featuring Sawtell's theme from the series and his score for the pilot episode "Eleven Days To Zero" (tracks 2–6) and Goldsmith's work for "Jonah and the Whale."

  1. Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea Main Title (:29)
  2. Murderous Pursuit (2:54)
  3. Ocean Floor Search/Squid Fight (5:34)
  4. Solid Ice (1:48)
  5. Lost/Job Well Done (3:35)
  6. End Title (The Seaview Theme) (:40)
  7. Jonah and the Whale (Main Title) (:30)
  8. A Whale of a Whale/Thar She Blows/A Whale of a Time/The Second Dive (4:23)
  9. A Meal Fit for a Whale/Crash Dive/Sub Narcotics (4:18)
  10. Collision Course I/Collision Course II/Diving Party/Going Down (4:44)
  11. Home Free Part I/Home Free Part II (3:58)
  12. Jonah and the Whale (End Credit) (:50)

Cast[]

David Hedison as Lee Crane in the episode "Time Lock", 1967
  • Richard Basehart as Admiral Harriman Nelson
  • David Hedison as Captain Lee Crane
  • Robert Dowdell as Lieutenant Commander Chip Morton
  • Derrik Lewis as Lieutenant Commander O'Brien (pilot episode, 1st-2nd seasons)
  • Henry Kulky as Chief "Curly" Jones (1st season)
  • Terry Becker as Chief Petty Officer Francis Ethelbert Sharkey (2nd–4th seasons)
  • Del Monroe as Kowalski
  • Arch Whiting as Sparks
  • Paul Trinka as Patterson
  • Brent Davis as Peters (crew member – 1 episode)
  • Lew Gallo as Kruger (crew member – 1 episode)
  • Ralph Garrett as Somers (crew member – 1 episode)
  • Allan Hunt as Stuart "Stu" Riley (2nd Season)
  • Richard Bull as the Doctor
  • Wayne Heffley as Seaview Doctor (2nd Season 1965–1966, 3 episodes)
  • Paul Carr as Casey Clark (1st season, recurring afterwards only in stock footage scenes)

Scott McFadden, Ray Didsbury, Marco Lopez, and Ron Stein provided additional crewmen in non-speaking roles, often requiring stunt work.

Episode list[]

Note: Two different episodes (28 and 73) are both titled "The Creature".

  • = Overall episode number
  • Ep = Episode number by season

Season 1 (1964–65)[]

No.
overall
No. in
season
Title Directed by Written by Original air date
11"Eleven Days to Zero"Irwin AllenIrwin AllenSeptember 14, 1964 (1964-09-14)

Guest starring Eddie Albert, Theo Marcuse, and John Zaremba.

Note: This episode was produced in color but was broadcast in black-and-white
22"The City Beneath the Sea"John BrahmRichard LandauSeptember 21, 1964 (1964-09-21)
Guest starring Hurd Hatfield, Linda Cristal.
33"The Fear Makers"Leonard HornAnthony WilsonSeptember 28, 1964 (1964-09-28)
Guest starring Lloyd Bochner and special guest star Edgar Bergen.
44"The Mist of Silence"Leonard HornJohn McGreeveyOctober 5, 1964 (1964-10-05)
Guest starring Rita Gam, Alejandro Rey.
55"The Price of Doom"James GoldstoneHarlan EllisonOctober 12, 1964 (1964-10-12)
Guest starring David Opatoshu, John Milford and Jill Ireland. Screenplay by Harlan Ellison (under his Cordwainer Bird alias, credited as "Cord Wainer Bird").
66"The Sky Is Falling"Leonard HornDon BrinkleyOctober 19, 1964 (1964-10-19)
Guest starring Charles McGraw.
77"Turn Back the Clock"Alan Crosland, Jr.Sheldon StarkOctober 26, 1964 (1964-10-26)
Guest starring Nick Adams, Yvonne Craig.
88"The Village of Guilt"Irwin AllenBerne GilerNovember 2, 1964 (1964-11-02)
Guest starring Richard Carlson, Anna-Lisa.
99"Hot Line"John BrahmBerne GilerNovember 9, 1964 (1964-11-09)
Guest starring Everett Sloane, Ford Rainey, James Doohan, John Banner and special guest star: Michael Ansara.
1010"Submarine Sunk Here"Leonard HornWilliam TunbergNovember 16, 1964 (1964-11-16)
Co-starring Carl Reindel, Eddie Ryder, Robert Doyle and Wright King.
1111"The Magnus Beam"Leonard HornAlan CaillouNovember 23, 1964 (1964-11-23)
Co-starring Mario Alcalde, Monique Lemaire, Malachi Throne, Jacques Aubuchon and Joseph Ruskin.
1212"No Way Out"Felix E. FeistStory by : Robert Hamner & Robert Leslie Bellem
Teleplay by : Robert Hamner
November 30, 1964 (1964-11-30)
Co-starring Jan Merlin and Danielle De Metz.
1313"The Blizzard Makers"Josef LeytesStory by : William Welch & Joe Madison
Teleplay by : William Welch
December 7, 1964 (1964-12-07)
Guest star Werner Klemperer.
1414"The Ghost of Moby Dick"Sobey MartinRobert HamnerDecember 14, 1964 (1964-12-14)
Guest stars June Lockhart, Edward Binns.
1515"Long Live the King"László BenedekRaphael HayesDecember 21, 1964 (1964-12-21)
Guest star Carroll O'Connor.
1616"Hail to the Chief"Gerd OswaldDon BrinkleyDecember 28, 1964 (1964-12-28)
Guest star Viveca Lindfors; also starring John Hoyt, Malcolm Atterbury and Edward Platt.
1717"The Last Battle"Felix E. FeistRobert HamnerJanuary 4, 1965 (1965-01-04)
Co-starring John Van Dreelen, Joe De Santis, Rudy Solari. E
1818"Mutiny"Sobey MartinWilliam Read WoodfieldJanuary 11, 1965 (1965-01-11)
Guest starring Harold J. Stone.
1919"Doomsday"James GoldstoneWilliam Read WoodfieldJanuary 18, 1965 (1965-01-18)
Co-starring Donald Harron, Paul Carr.
2020"The Invaders"Sobey MartinWilliam Read WoodfieldJanuary 25, 1965 (1965-01-25)
Guest starring Robert Duvall, credited as "Robert Duval".
2121"The Indestructible Man"Felix E. FeistRichard LandauFebruary 1, 1965 (1965-02-01)
Co-starring Michael Constantine.
2222"The Buccaneer"László BenedekWilliam Welch & Al GailFebruary 8, 1965 (1965-02-08)
Co-starring Barry Atwater.
2323"The Human Computer"James GoldstoneRobert HamnerFebruary 15, 1965 (1965-02-15)
Co-starring Simon Scott and Harry Millard.
2424"The Saboteur"Felix E. FeistWilliam Read Woodfield & George ReedFebruary 22, 1965 (1965-02-22)
Co-starring Bert Freed & Warren Stevens; featuring James Brolin.
2525"Cradle of the Deep"Sobey MartinRobert HamnerMarch 1, 1965 (1965-03-01)
Also starring John Anderson.
2626"The Amphibians"Felix E. FeistRik VollaertsMarch 8, 1965 (1965-03-08)
Guest stars Skip Homeier and Zale Parry.
2727"The Exile"James GoldstoneWilliam Read WoodfieldMarch 15, 1965 (1965-03-15)
Guest star Edward Asner, co-starring David Sheiner.
2828"The Creature"Sobey MartinRik VollaertsMarch 22, 1965 (1965-03-22)
Guest star Leslie Nielsen.
2929"The Enemies"Felix E. FeistWilliam Read WoodfieldMarch 29, 1965 (1965-03-29)
Guest stars Henry Silva, Tom Skerritt, and Malachi Throne.
3030"Secret of the Loch"Sobey MartinCharles BennettApril 5, 1965 (1965-04-05)
Guest star Torin Thatcher, co-starring Hedley Mattingly, George Mitchell and John McLiam.
3131"The Condemned"Leonard HornWilliam Read WoodfieldApril 12, 1965 (1965-04-12)
Guest star J. D. Cannon, co-starring Arthur Franz, Alvy Moore.
3232"The Traitor"Sobey MartinWilliam Welch & Al GailApril 19, 1965 (1965-04-19)

Guest star George Sanders, co-starring Michael Pate, Susan Flannery.

Note: This is the last episode to be produced in black-and-white

Season 2 (1965–66)[]

No.
overall
No. in
season
Title Directed by Written by Original air date
331"Jonah and the Whale"Sobey MartinShimon WincelbergSeptember 19, 1965 (1965-09-19)

Guest starring Gia Scala.

Note: This is the first episode to be shown in color.
342"Time Bomb"Sobey MartinWilliam Read Woodfield & Allan BalterSeptember 26, 1965 (1965-09-26)
Guest star Ina Balin, co-starring Susan Flannery.
353"...And Five of Us Are Left"Harry HarrisRobert Vincent WrightOctober 3, 1965 (1965-10-03)
Guest Star Phillip Pine, co-starring Robert Doyle, Teru Shimada.
364"The Cyborg"Leo PennWilliam Read Woodfield & Allan BalterOctober 17, 1965 (1965-10-17)
With special guest star Victor Buono, co-starring Brooke Bundy.
375"Escape from Venice"Alex MarchCharles BennettOctober 24, 1965 (1965-10-24)
Co-starring Renzo Cesana, Vincent Gardenia and Delphi Lawrence.
386"The Left-Handed Man"Jerry HopperWilliam WelchOctober 31, 1965 (1965-10-31)
Guest star Cyril Delevanti, co-starring Regis Toomey, Barbara Bouchet and Charles Dierkop.
397"The Deadliest Game"Sobey MartinRik VollaertsNovember 7, 1965 (1965-11-07)
Guest starring Lloyd Bochner. Co-starring Audrey Dalton, Robert Cornthwaite and Robert F. Simon.
408"Leviathan"Harry HarrisWilliam WelchNovember 14, 1965 (1965-11-14)
Guest starring Karen Steele, co-starring Liam Sullivan.
419"The Peacemaker"Sobey MartinWilliam Read Woodfield & Allan BalterNovember 21, 1965 (1965-11-21)
Guest starring John Cassavetes, co-starring Whit Bissell, Irene Tsu & Dale Ishimoto.
4210"The Silent Saboteurs"Sobey MartinStory by : Max Ehrlich
Teleplay by : Sidney Marshall
November 28, 1965 (1965-11-28)
Guest starring Pilar Seurat, co-starring George Takei, Bert Freed.
4311"The X Factor"Leonard HornWilliam WelchDecember 5, 1965 (1965-12-05)
Guest star John McGiver, co-starring Jan Merlin.
4412"The Machines Strike Back"Nathan JuranJohn and Ward HawkinsDecember 12, 1965 (1965-12-12)
Guest starring Roger C. Carmel.
4513"The Monster from Outer Space"James ClarkWilliam Read Woodfield & Allan BalterDecember 19, 1965 (1965-12-19)
No guest star.
4614"Terror on Dinosaur Island"Leonard HornWilliam WelchDecember 26, 1965 (1965-12-26)
Co-starring Paul Carr.
4715"Killers of the Deep"Harry HarrisWilliam Read Woodfield & Allan BalterJanuary 2, 1966 (1966-01-02)
Guest star Michael Ansara, co-starring Patrick Wayne.
4816"Deadly Creature Below!"Sobey MartinWilliam Read Woodfield & Allan BalterJanuary 9, 1966 (1966-01-09)
Guest star Nehemiah Persoff, co-starring Paul Comi.
4917"The Phantom Strikes"Sobey MartinWilliam WelchJanuary 16, 1966 (1966-01-16)
Guest star Alfred Ryder.
5018"The Sky's on Fire"Gerald MayerTeleplay by : William Welch
Screenplay by: Irwin Allen & Charles Bennett
January 23, 1966 (1966-01-23)
Guest Star David J. Stewart, Co-starring Robert H. Harris, Frank Marth.
5119"Graveyard of Fear"Justus AddissRobert Vincent WrightJanuary 30, 1966 (1966-01-30)
Guest starring Robert Loggia.
5220"The Shape of Doom"Nathan JuranWilliam WelchFebruary 6, 1966 (1966-02-06)
Guest star Kevin Hagen.
5321"Dead Man's Doubloons"Sutton RoleySidney MarshallFebruary 13, 1966 (1966-02-13)
Guest star Albert Salmi.
5422"The Death Ship"Abner BibermanMichael Lynn & George ReedFebruary 20, 1966 (1966-02-20)
Guest star David Sheiner, co-starring Lew Gallo and Elizabeth Perry.
5523"The Monster's Web"Justus AddissStory by : Peter Packer
Teleplay by : Al Gail & Peter Packer
February 27, 1966 (1966-02-27)
Guest star Mark Richman
5624"The Menfish"Tom GriesWilliam Read Woodfield & Allan BalterMarch 6, 1966 (1966-03-06)
Guest star Gary Merrill, special guest star John Dehner.
5725"The Mechanical Man"Sobey MartinJohn and Ward HawkinsMarch 13, 1966 (1966-03-13)
Guest star James Darren, special guest star Arthur O'Connell.
5826"The Return of the Phantom"Sutton RoleyWilliam WelchMarch 20, 1966 (1966-03-20)
Guest star Alfred Ryder, co-starring Vitina Marcus.

Season 3 (1966–67)[]

No.
overall
No. in
season
Title Directed by Written by Original air date
591"Monster from the Inferno"Harry HarrisRik VollaertsSeptember 18, 1966 (1966-09-18)
Guest star Arthur Hill.
602"Werewolf"Justus AddissDonn MullallySeptember 25, 1966 (1966-09-25)
Guest star Charles Aidman.
613"The Day the World Ended"Jerry HopperWilliam WelchOctober 2, 1966 (1966-10-02)
Guest star Skip Homeier.
624"Night of Terror"Justus AddissRobert BloomfieldOctober 9, 1966 (1966-10-09)
Guest star Henry Jones.
635"The Terrible Toys"Justus AddissRobert Vincent WrightOctober 16, 1966 (1966-10-16)
Guest star Paul Fix.
646"Day of Evil"Jerry HopperWilliam WelchOctober 23, 1966 (1966-10-23)
657"Deadly Waters"Gerald MayerRobert Vincent WrightOctober 30, 1966 (1966-10-30)
Guest star Don Gordon.
668"Thing from Inner Space"Alex MarchWilliam WelchNovember 6, 1966 (1966-11-06)
Guest star Hugh Marlowe.
679"The Death Watch"Leonard HornWilliam WelchNovember 13, 1966 (1966-11-13)
Only episode not to feature Lt. Cdr. Chip Morton (Bob Dowdell)
6810"Deadly Invasion"Nathan JuranJohn and Ward HawkinsNovember 20, 1966 (1966-11-20)
6911"The Haunted Submarine"Harry HarrisWilliam WelchNovember 27, 1966 (1966-11-27)
7012"The Plant Man"Harry HarrisDonn MullallyDecember 4, 1966 (1966-12-04)
7113"The Lost Bomb"Gerald MayerOliver CrawfordDecember 11, 1966 (1966-12-11)
7214"The Brand of the Beast"Justus AddissWilliam WelchDecember 18, 1966 (1966-12-18)
7315"The Creature"
"The Creature Returns"
Justus AddissJohn and Ward HawkinsJanuary 1, 1967 (1967-01-01)
7416"Death from the Past"Justus AddissStory by : Charles Bennett
Teleplay by : Sidney Marshall & Charles Bennett
January 8, 1967 (1967-01-08)
7517"The Heat Monster"Gerald MayerCharles BennettJanuary 15, 1967 (1967-01-15)
Guest star Alfred Ryder.
7618"The Fossil Men"Justus AddissJames WhitonJanuary 22, 1967 (1967-01-22)
7719"The Mermaid"Jerry HopperWilliam WelchJanuary 29, 1967 (1967-01-29)
Guest star Diane Webber.
7820"The Mummy"Harry HarrisWilliam WelchFebruary 5, 1967 (1967-02-05)
7921"Shadowman"Justus AddissRik VollaertsFebruary 12, 1967 (1967-02-12)
8022"No Escape from Death"Harry HarrisWilliam WelchFebruary 19, 1967 (1967-02-19)
8123"Doomsday Island"Jerry HopperPeter GermanoFebruary 26, 1967 (1967-02-26)
8224"The Wax Men"Harmon JonesWilliam WelchMarch 5, 1967 (1967-03-05)
Guest star Michael Dunn.
8325"Deadly Cloud"Jerry HopperRik VollaertsMarch 12, 1967 (1967-03-12)
8426"Destroy Seaview!"Justus AddissDonn MullallyMarch 19, 1967 (1967-03-19)

Season 4 (1967–68)[]

No.
overall
No. in
season
Title Directed by Written by Original air date
851"Fires of Death"Jerry HopperArthur WeissSeptember 17, 1967 (1967-09-17)
Guest Starring Victor Jory.
862"The Deadly Dolls"Harry HarrisCharles BennettOctober 1, 1967 (1967-10-01)
Guest Starring Vincent Price.
873"Cave of the Dead"Harry HarrisWilliam WelchOctober 8, 1967 (1967-10-08)
Guest Starring Warren Stevens.
884"Journey with Fear"Harry HarrisArthur WeissOctober 15, 1967 (1967-10-15)
895"Sealed Orders"Jerry HopperWilliam WelchOctober 22, 1967 (1967-10-22)
906"Man of Many Faces"Harry HarrisWilliam WelchOctober 29, 1967 (1967-10-29)
917"Fatal Cargo"TBATBANovember 5, 1967 (1967-11-05)
Guest Starring Woodrow Parfrey.
928"Time Lock"Jerry HopperWilliam WelchNovember 12, 1967 (1967-11-12)
Guest Starring John Crawford.
939"Rescue"TBATBANovember 19, 1967 (1967-11-19)
Captain Crane, while seeking an enemy craft in the Flying Sub, is attacked. Guest Starring .
9410"Terror"Jerry HopperSidney EllisNovember 26, 1967 (1967-11-26)
A shore party from Seaview encounters a dying scientist, who warns that deadly planet life threatens the Earth. Guest Starring Damian O'Flynn and Pat Culliton
9511"A Time to Die"TBATBADecember 3, 1967 (1967-12-03)
The Seaview is cast back a million years in time by the mysterious Mr. Pem and Nelson has to play a deadly game with Pem to escape. Guest starring Henry Jones as Mr. Pem.
9612"Blow Up"TBATBADecember 10, 1967 (1967-12-10)
Admiral Nelson starts behaving very oddly after using an experimental breathing apparatus.
9713"The Deadly Amphibians"TBATBADecember 17, 1967 (1967-12-17)
Seaview is trapped on the ocean floor by malicious amphibian creatures. Guest Starring Don Matheson and .
9814"The Return of Blackbeard"TBATBADecember 31, 1967 (1967-12-31)
The ghost of Blackbeard appears, and attempts to seize the Seaview. Adding complications is that Nelson is trying to protect the US President, who is attending a diplomatic meeting. Guest Starring Malachi Throne.
9915"The Terrible Leprechaun"TBATBAJanuary 7, 1968 (1968-01-07)
Two leprechauns, one good and one evil, appear on the Seaview. Guest Starring Walter Burke.
10016"The Lobster Man"TBATBAJanuary 21, 1968 (1968-01-21)
A lobster-like humanoid is found on the ocean floor. Guest Starring Victor Lundin.
10117"Nightmare"TBATBAJanuary 28, 1968 (1968-01-28)
Captain Crane returns from a trip in the Flying Sub to find the Seaview apparently abandoned. It soon transpires someone is putting him through a sinister test. Guest Starring Paul Mantee.
10218"The Abominable Snowman"TBATBAFebruary 4, 1968 (1968-02-04)
Visiting an experimental station in the Antarctic, the Seaview discovers the station is almost abandoned, and a strange white-furred creature is glimpsed.
10319"Secret of the Deep"TBATBAFebruary 11, 1968 (1968-02-11)
Seaview investigates a sea-lab surrounded by dangerous creatures. Guest Starring Peter Mark Richman.
10420"Man-Beast"Jerry HopperWilliam WelchFebruary 18, 1968 (1968-02-18)
An experiment with an artificial diving-bell atmosphere has disturbing consequences. Guest Starring Lawrence Montaigne.
10521"Savage Jungle"TBATBAFebruary 25, 1968 (1968-02-25)
Mysterious jungle growths invade the submarine. Guest Starring Perry López.
10622"Flaming Ice"TBATBAMarch 3, 1968 (1968-03-03)
Seaview is under the ice cap, trying to investigate the cause of mysterious flooding. The malicious Frost Men are revealed as the culprits.
10723"Attack!"Jerry HopperWilliam WelchMarch 10, 1968 (1968-03-10)
The US Navy is attacked by a hostile UFO. Nelson is captured by the UFO's inhabitants. Guest starring Skip Homeier and Kevin Hagen.
10824"The Edge of Doom"TBATBAMarch 17, 1968 (1968-03-17)
There is a treacherous impostor hiding among the Seaview's crew.
10925"The Death Clock"Charles RondeauSidney MarshallMarch 24, 1968 (1968-03-24)
The malevolent scientist Mallory creates an evil version of Captain Crane. Guest starring Chris Robinson as Mallory.
11026"No Way Back"Robert SparrWilliam WelchMarch 31, 1968 (1968-03-31)
The Seaview is destroyed in a mysterious explosion. A distraught Admiral Nelson encounters the time-travelling Mr. Pem. Nelson asks Pem, to help him travel into the past to change history and save the Seaview. However, Pem has his own plans, and soon Nelson finds himself on the Seaview with the infamous Benedict Arnold. Guest starring Henry Jones as Mr. Pem and Barry Atwater as Benedict Arnold.

Other media[]

  • A paperback novel, City Under 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 nearly the same name, which was about the attempts of the world's first under-sea city to prevent the earth from being hit by a rogue asteroid. It is not about "A wealthy family attempting to move the Earth's oceans to another planet for resettlement" as has occasionally been stated.[6]
  • 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 to 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 brought back Dr. Gamma, the villain from the pilot episode, "Eleven Days to Zero". Gold Key's story was the only sequel to the pilot episode. Hermes Press reprinted the entire run in 2 hardback volumes; the first was released in 2009.
  • In 1966, World Distributors, a British publishing company in Manchester, England, published a City Beneath The Sea Annual, a hardback comic book. The British-made book used the series' characters in all new stories but also contained a reprint of a story from the Gold Key Comics series. Both books were mostly prose stories with some illustrations.
  • Aurora Plastics Corporation released a plastic model kit of Seaview as well as the Flying Sub during the original run of the series. From 1975 - 1977, Aurora reissued both kits; the Seaview (kit #253) was modified with a sea floor base (originally created for the Dick Tracy Space Coupe kit #819) and sub surface details, while The Flying Sub (kit #254) was remodeled in a different base color. The 1975 - 1977 kits—part of Aurora's reissue of 5 of their 11 TV & movie-related science-fiction kits, also included instruction sheets with a detailed history of the TV series or movie plot.
  • 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 board game with illustrations based on the pilot episode, as well as a boxed card game with a painting of the divers' battle with the giant octopus, both from Milton Bradley, and a school lunch box with thermos from Aladdin with depictions of Admiral Nelson and Captain Crane trying to save the Flying Sub from an evil looking octopus. There was also a Sawyers View-Master slide reel based on the episode "Deadly Creature Below."
  • In 1964, a 66-card set of black-and-white trading cards was released by Donruss. Selling for 5 cents a pack, the set consisted of stills from the first season. Today, a set in mint condition can sell for several hundred dollars.
  • In the UK, TV Tornado published 14 issues that contained Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea stories, either comics or text with illustrations as per the issue and at least two TV Tornado annuals had original stories as well.
  • Theodore Sturgeon wrote a novel, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, based on the original script written by Irwin Allen for the movie, and published in 1961.

Popular culture[]

  • The popularity of the TV show inspired Mad Magazine (March 1966) to spoof the show, their version being called Voyage to See What's on the Bottom, featuring a submarine called the Seapew and a flying sub called Son of 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[who?] 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. This was an old movie trick, and was commonly used by other television shows of the period, including Star Trek, but none did it so frequently, nor with such relish as Voyage.[7] Hence, the technique is still commonly known as "Seaview Rock and Roll".[8]
  • On the SciFi Channel's 1995 documentary tribute to Irwin Allen, The Fantasy Worlds of Irwin Allen, series co-star June Lockhart recalled this technique being used also on Lost In Space, where the cast also knew it as "the rock-and-roll".
  • The Disney Channel animated series Phineas and Ferb has an episode with a pun on the title called Voyage to the Bottom of Buford.

Home media[]

20th Century Fox has released all 4 seasons on DVD in Region 1 in two volume sets.

In Region 2, Revelation Films has released the entire series on DVD in the UK in four complete season sets.[9][10][11][12] On March 26, 2012, they released Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea: The Complete Collection, a 31-disc set featuring all 110 episodes of the series as well as bonus features.[13]

In Region 4, Madman Entertainment released the first two seasons on DVD in Australia on August 20, 2014.[14][15]

DVD Name Ep # Release Date Additional Information
Season 1 Vol. 1 16 February 21, 2006
  • Unaired Color Pilot
  • Behind the scenes home movie from Irwin Allen
  • Promotional Reel featuring Irwin Allen from 1964
  • Still Gallery
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)
Season 3 Vol. 2 13 October 23, 2007
  • Episodic Photo Gallery
  • Publicity Photos
  • TV Merchandise
  • David Hedison Interviews
  • Richard Basehart 1966 Interview (audio only)
Season 4 Vol. 1 13 March 31, 2009
  • Eleven Days to Zero (re-cut unaired pilot)
  • David Hedison Interviews:
    • Years 1–4
    • Irwin's Goal
    • Irwin's Office
    • Work Hours
    • Voice-overs
  • Still Gallery
Season 4 Vol. 2 13 January 11, 2011
  • Original Unaired Pilot
  • Broadcast Pilot with Vintage Commercials
  • Still Gallery

Reboot[]

On November 23, 2020, it was announced that Legendary Entertainment is developing a new version. Chris Lunt and Michael A. Walker are writing the project.[16]

Notes[]

  1. ^ Woolery, George W. (1985). Children's Television: The First Thirty-Five Years, 1946-1981, Part II: Live, Film, and Tape Series. The Scarecrow Press. pp. 538–540. ISBN 0-8108-1651-2.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b King, Susan (2011-01-30). "'Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea': David Hedison looks back on periscope days". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2011-01-30.
  3. ^ Allan W. Austin (19 April 2010). Space and Time: Essays on Visions of History in Science Fiction and Fantasy Television. McFarland. pp. 30–31. ISBN 978-0-7864-5634-5.
  4. ^ Stephen Dedman (2 September 2016). May the Armed Forces Be with You: The Relationship Between Science Fiction and the United States Military. McFarland. pp. 96–97. ISBN 978-1-4766-2286-6.
  5. ^ "TV Winter Season Getting Shorter". The Robesonian. Lumberton, N.C. March 11, 1968. p. 9.
  6. ^ manzp (25 January 1971). "City Beneath the Sea (TV Movie 1971)". IMDb.[unreliable source?]
  7. ^ Season 3 Vol 1 DVD extra feature "The Rock and Roll"[citation needed]
  8. ^ "DVD Review: Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea – The Complete Series 3". Starburst Magazine. Sep 2010. Retrieved 22 Dec 2019.
  9. ^ "Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea — The Complete Series One DVD 1964: Amazon.co.uk: Richard Basehart, David Hedison, Robert Dowdell, Dell Monroe: Film & TV". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 2012-11-07.
  10. ^ "Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea — The Complete Second Series DVD 1961: Amazon.co.uk: Richard Basehart, David Hedison, Irwin Allen: Film & TV". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 2012-11-07.
  11. ^ "Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea — The Complete Series Three DVD 1964: Amazon.co.uk: Richard Basehart, David Hedison, Irwin Allen: Film & TV". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 2012-11-07.
  12. ^ "Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea — The Complete Series Four DVD 1964: Amazon.co.uk: Richard Basehart, David Hedison, Irwin Allen: Film & TV". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 2012-11-07.
  13. ^ "Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea The Complete Collection DVD 1964: Amazon.co.uk: Richard Basehart, David Hedison, Irwin Allen: Film & TV". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 2012-11-07.
  14. ^ "Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea: Season 1". Madman Entertainment. Archived from the original on 2014-08-22. Retrieved 2014-08-06.
  15. ^ "Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea: Season 2". Madman Entertainment. Archived from the original on 2015-04-27. Retrieved 2014-08-06.
  16. ^ https://deadline.com/2020/11/legendary-forms-joint-venture-with-emma-frost-matthew-graham-voyage-to-the-bottom-of-the-sea-remake-1234620300/

References[]

  • SEAVIEW: The making of Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea by Tim Colliver, copyright 1992, published by Alpha Control Press.
  • Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea DVD sets
  • The Irwin Allen Scrapbook Volume One Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea Edited by William E. Anchors, Jr.; copyright 1992 by Alpha Control Press.
  • Irwin Allen Television Productions 1964–1970, Jon Abbot, McFarland and Company, 1996
  • Voyage au fond des mers : guide pour la série d'Irwin Allen, Max Philippe Morel, Lulu.com, 2012
  • TV.Com[unreliable source?]

External links[]

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