User Reviews

Irwin Allen became known as a special effects wizard because of this series which was the most successful. The photography in it was always great, & Allen knows how to create effects. The SeaView - the main sub in the show would still be futuristic today. Of course the ideas for this series was spawned by the movie that preceded it with the same name.

Richard Basehart & David Hedison were great choices to be in command. They carried the dialog real well & there were plenty of good name guest stars in episodes too. Once in a while a pretty woman would stop in for an episode but most of the time the male cast carried this show to the top for ABC.

Later in the series, they introduced a flying submarine, something which in reality has still never been created. This show can really fire the imagination with how it worked. Now that it is on DVD, it might get some more new fans. As for Irwin Allen Productions, while they have done more recent work, since 1982's Code Red, there has not been as much success as this & the 60's & 70's stuff they did.

1: Nelson orders the Seaview rigged for silent running. In the next scene we see it with its active sonar pinging madly away, as it always does. Seaview must be the most conspicuous sub in the ocean.

2: Nelson says they're 3000 feet deep in a trench 8 miles deep. Nevertheless, we see the sub threading a dangerous course between huge submerged pinnacles in the next scene. Seaview was usually running a submerged obstacle course when submerged, explaining the constant sonar pings, I suppose.

3: Seaview, sitting on the bottom, is emitting huge quantities of bubbles. Good luck surfacing again!

4: Seaview, moving "dead slow", detects the the wreck of another sub a short distance ahead; they can see it with their nose camera. A few seconds later the sub plows right into the wreck for no apparent reason. Great ship handling there, Crane!

5: The sub routinely makes emergency surfaces for no apparent reason. The sub explodes out of the water at a 60 degree angle, then smashes down. I'd like to see what happens on board when they do that.

6: The sub is often shown at steep angles, in pitch, roll, or both. Yet inside, everyone seems to be walking on a level deck.

And yet it's all rather entertaining...

Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea was one of my favorite U.S. TV shows! I couldn't wait to get back home from school to watch the antics of the Admiral, the Capt.,Kowalski and the gang as they headed for an unknown destiny amidst the waves of the deep blue sea. It might seem outdated today, but it was a SUPER sci-fi show back then!!! I liked the photography of the entire series and the Seaview was a fascinating piece of prop work just like the Enterprise (Star Trek). The music adopted for the show was ideal for the weird settings in each episode. The monsters and the aliens that showed up in each new episode reminded me of another fabulous TV series called the Outer Limits. Overall, Richard Basehart, RIP, and David Hedison were two extremely fine actors. A must in every true science fiction lover's film library.

I was a kid back in the 60s and Voyage was one of my favorites. The plot lines followed the typical pattern of the day like other sci-fi shows back then. Every week a different undersea monster. The star of the show was the Seaview, a sleek nuclear sub with windows in the nose and fins designed after the 58 Cadillac. There were plenty of TV themed toys available back then I had to have my own Seaview. I got it one Christmas, It was yellow, about a foot long but I was disappointed to find a handle sticking out of the front so you could wind the rubber bands that made it go. Kinda ruined the aesthetics of the model. I also had the plastic model that was put together with glue like an airplane model. although it was much smaller. The closest I ever got to run it was in the bathtub and I had to make my own ping noises. My family must have thought I was nuts. The Seaview got a remodel in the last season with new windows in the nose and a docking birth underneath for the Flying Sub. I recently rented some DVDs from the series. As I expected they had not stood the test of time but back then it was all we had. Three channels if you were lucky. I kinda hope they don't try to do a remake because those things never work like that awful remake of Lost in Space.

I was just a teenager when this series was popular. I'd lie on the carpet in our living room and watch the plot of each episode unfold on our family's 21 inch black and white Electohome. The special effects were somewhat crude by today's digitalized standards, but they were state of the art at the time. The series centered around the experiences of the crew of the "Seaview", a remarkable nuclear submarine with capabilities far beyond those of the common submarines of the day. It could dive deeper and go faster than conventional undersea vessels and, as if that weren't enough, it could launch a small flying submarine that was as adept at flying in the stratosphere as it was at plying the depths of the world's oceans. The captain of the Seaview was Lee Crane, played by David Hedison. He was responsible for the day to day navigation and operation of the "Seaview". The ship was designed by Admiral Harriman Nelson, played by Richard Basehart. Admiral Nelson was always on the "Seaview" and made the larger decisions regarding the activities and challenges to be undertaken by the ship and it's intrepid crew. The Seaview often encountered monsters during it's explorations and these were my favorite episodes. More often however, the plot of the episode dealt with the larger political and environmental issues of the time. A great series that was about as stimulating as a young mind could wish for.

Irwin Allen who gave us so many good science fiction spectaculars for the big screen and a couple clinkers took a hand in converting one of his big screen efforts for television. Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea cast Richard Basehart as Admiral Harriman Nelson who designed and now owns the Seaview which is like the Starship Eneterprise exploring strange new horizons and going where no one has gone before under the sea. Even today a lot of the ocean depths are still unexplored so viewers imaginations are stimulated. Like Star Trek Basehart and the Seaview run into all kinds of villains and situations in the ocean depths.

Basehart's character just like Walter Pidgeon who played Admiral Nelson on the big screen is based on Hyman Rickover. But unlike Pidgeon and Rickover in real life he never got his own submarine to take home and play with. Rickover operated strictly for the US Navy and so did Pidgeon with his big screen Seaview.

Though the Seaview is owned by some scientific think tank it does run with a Navy crew. One headed by David Hedison playing Captain Lee Crane the role played by Robert Sterling on the big screen. The usual service comedy/drama situations happened here as well as running into monsters and aliens and a few human villains.

This was a nice show which I watched as a lad. Still holds up well today.

What can I say? I mean this show was on 7:00 PM Sundays for most of it's run and was followed by Efram Zimbelist Jr. in "The FBI!" Why do I remember this? Because school was Monday and these would be the last shows I could watch before facing a week of shear terror! I guess anything was good if it was on at that time.

It's only competition was Lassie or Disney both of which had no monsters. I would see this show in re runs much later and wonder why I would ever waste my time with it. I flubbed my homework so I could watch this? Now all I think of is the thousands of dollars of income I have lost because I didn't spend more time studying!

Richard Basehart and David Hedison were busy in the first couple of years but after that it was Chief Sharkey, Kowalski, and Paterson and that stupid mini sub in the missle room. This was bad. Also I wonder who the contractor was for the Seaview's electrical system cause every week of the show(and seemingly without fail) the circuitry room would blow up!

My favorite episode as "Jonah and the Wahle" which was when the diving bell containing Captain Crane gets swallowed by a whale like it was bait. Improbable as it was this episode introduced the shows first season in color (the 2nd year I believe)and a redesigned Seaview with a "Flying" Sub. Considering Richard Basehart's best film is "Moby Dick!" you had to wonder who wrote this episode.

I guess they added the flying sub so they could get the action off the sub and into the air! Darn thing crashed every week! How did it get it's certification?

My least favorite episode (I was too young) was the "Phantom" who was the ghost of a World War one U Boat out looking for his lost love. The "Phantom" was in two episodes so I guess someone liked it. As an adult I think these episodes have some class.

The best year of the show drama wise was the first (in black and white)which is why I gave it a seven. Most of the last (4th) year was so silly I really didn't mind if I missed it. The show was a success because it lasted four years in those days was unusual. They just ran out of ideas and, since it was 1968, a generation had really grown up.

The show was unintentionally funny. The cheapest monster was the "flame creature" which was the flame from a blow torch held out in front of the camera. After Captain Crane had rescued some crewmen who were overcome from the heat, he picked up the always handy intercom microphone to alert the control room. All I could think of him saying was "Send down two glasses of ice tea and QUICK!"

And then there was Chip, the exec. How did he survive the boredom. He was in every episode and all he said was "Hello Admiral" or "OK Lee!" And then there was that incredibly bad sonar system and the stupid computer. Boom, sparks aplenty, the Seaview rocks back and forth! "You OK Chip?" At least Dowdell (who played Chip) made a good living in soap operas later on.

Then there were the monster costumes. Irwin Allen had several shows on at once including "Lost in Space" and the "Time Tunnel". The same monster costume would cycle through all the shows. Sometime they would paint it a new color but once it was on "Lost in Space," three weeks later you would see it on "Voyage!" And then there was the clown monster! Hey Bozo, put that ray gun down!

I think that the very talented actors in the show like Richard Basehart (Moby Dick), David Hedison (Felix Lieter in James Bond,) and the aforementioned Chip Dowdell must have thought the same thing I do after looking back on this show which is:

Oh it hurts to even think of the wasted time I spent with this show!

I was so young when this show debuted I couldn't stay up to watch it. However, I could hear the theme song and it was beautiful. It's got to be my favorite theme song because it communicates what the show is about, the wonders of the sea.

Every kid on the block would tune into this show when it was on and although I had to catch it in reruns several years later, that's when I got hooked. The show was too 'grown up ' for me at the time and didn't have enough women in mini-skirts and false eyelashes for me. This was a 'man's man' show and I was so sick of war at the time I could only get interested if a babe or a monster appeared on the show. I do remember a few episodes when they debuted and they're classics now.

Later, channel 7, ABC in New York City would rerun the show on Saturday afternoons and it's still the ultimate Saturday afternoon show and I fondly recall that music wafting from every house for a mile around like clockwork every Saturday.

This brings me to the reliability of the actors. These were people you could count on to bring you solid performances and characters you knew you could depend upon. That's what VTTBOTS is all about for me, the portrayal of people who were professionals and had the character to solve those problems they'd wind up in.

I often laugh at some episodes knowing Irwin Allen and his penchant for stock footage, rehashed sets and props, monkeys, and explosions were more of a menace to the crew than the plot points and evil scientists.

One episode had the late great actor Victor Buono as an evil scientist. This episode you have to see to believe. It's so hysterically funny I woke up neighbors one day watching it.

It's not all laughs however as some great drama was portrayed on the show which made me look at the cast with respect and admiration to this day. Remember this show was in the early 60's and having minorities on a show was rare so you have to bypass the political incorrectness to appreciate the show for what it is.

By all means if you can get past the plot holes and the trademark Irwin Allen cost saving production, you'll find some stories and acting that will really be something to treasure.

Created and produced by Irwin Allen ,"Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea" was ABC's long-running science fiction/adventure series based on the box office 1961 theatrical feature of the same name starring Walter Pidegon. The television series,based on the same name told the colorful exploits of the Seaview,which was the world's most technologically advanced nuclear powered submarine under the command of it's creator Admiral Harriman Nelson(Richard Basehart) of "The Nelson Institute of Marine Research". Harriman's second in command of the Seaview was Captain Lee Crane(David Hedison). Each week was explosive underwater adventure and suspense that kept viewers tuned in as the crew aboard The Seaview faced unpredictable dangers and save the world from espionagen invaders, diabolical villains, saboteurs, aliens from other lifeforms and some of the scariest sea monsters ever conceived for television.

"Voyage" premiered on ABC's Monday night schedule on September 14,1964 where 32 episodes from Season 1 only where in black and white until April 19,1965. Then on September 19,1965 in it's second season,the show moved from Monday nights to Sunday nights in an earlier time slot for 78 color episodes for the remainder of it's four-year run until March 31,1968 where it faced stiff competition opposite the long-running animal show "Lassie",and "The Wonderful World of Disney". "Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea" produced in all a total of 110 episodes airing between September 14,1964 until March 31,1968. Created by Irwin Allen under his production company and the first of the trilogy of action- adventure shows he would produced for the network(the others were "The Time Tunnel","The Land of the Giants",and "Swiss Family Robinson").

The series was nominated for 8 Prime Time Emmys and winning 4 Prime Time Emmys in 1965 for Outstanding Individual Achievements In Entertainment- Special Photographic Effects(L.B. Abbott); and again in 1966 for Special Photographic Effects(L.B. Abbott);Outstanding Cinematopgraphy(Winton C. Hoch), Art Direction(William J. Creber); Art Direction and Mechanical Special Effects(Robert A. Tait);and in 1967 for Film and Sound Editing(Don Hall, Dick LeGrand, Daniel Mandell, John Mills),and Photographic Special Effects(L.B. Abbott). Other Emmy nominations were for Sound Editing, Film Editing, Art Direction, and Special Effects.

Several big time directors ranging from Jus Addiss, Jerry Hopper, Sobey Martin, Harry Harris, Leonard Horn, Robert Sparr, Nathan Juran, Sutton Roley, James Goldstone, Laslo Benedek, Gerd Oswald, Tom Gries, Alex March, Alan Crosland, and even Irwin Allen(who directed the pilot episode).

Fantastic writers contribute to some of the great stories which include Irwin Allen(who wrote the pilot episode). Others were William Welch, Allan Balter, John Hawkins, Ward Hawkins, Harlan Ellison, Don Brinkley, Sidney Marshall, Robert Vincent, Alan Caillou, Shimon Wincelberg, to Sidney Ellis and William Read Woodfield along with George Reed and Peter Packer.

The guest star roster for "Voyage" includes big time Hollywood greats including Susan Flannery, Mark Slade, Linda Cristal, Henry Jones, Malachi Throne, Jan Merlin, Leslie Nielsen, Werner Klemperer, Michael Ansara, Lloyd Bochner, Ford Rainey, Kevin Hagen, James Doohan, Eddie Albert, Richard Carlson, Yvonne Craig, June Lockhart, Brooke Bundy, Carroll O'Connor, Viveca Lindfors, Edward Asner, Ina Balin, Gia Scala, Gary Merrill, Victor Buono, Karen Steele, J.D. Cannon, Warren Oates, to Arthur Hill, James Darren, John Lupton, Michael Dunn, Vincent Price, Don Matheson, Robert Duvall,and John McGiver.

The best episodes from this series starts with the pilot episode "Eleven Days To Zero"(which was basically filmed in color but telecast in black and white). Season 1 episodes include "The Sky Is Falling", "Submarine Sunk Here", "Doomsday", "The Saboteur", "The Price of Doom", "The Fear Makers", "The Traitor", "The Mist of Silence", "No Way Out", "The Secret of the Loch","The City Beneath The Sea",and "Mutiny". Season 2 episodes include "The Mechanical Man", "The Cyborg","The Death Ship", "Jonah and the Whale", "Leviathan", "The X-Factor",and "The Phantom Strikes". Season 3 episodes include "The Lost Bomb","The Day The World Ended","Death from the Past","The Creature", "The Wax Men", and "Deadly Invasion". The Fourth and Final Season best episodes were "Edge of Doom", "No Way Back", "Cave of the Dead", "The Man of Many Faces", "Savage Jungle", "The Death Clock", "Man-Beast", "Attack!", "The Rescue", and "The Secret of the Deep" along with "Fires of Death".

When it was abruptly canceled in the Spring of 1968 after four seasons and 110 episodes, ABC didn't waste any time in finding a replacement on it's Sunday night time slot which was another Irwin Allen produced series "Land of the Giants" that ran for two seasons and 51 episodes from 1968-1970.

After making a successful feature film entitled Journey to the bottom of the sea. Irwin Allen transformed the idea into a weekly series, but this time its protagonists would be Richard Basehart and David Hedison. The first season made in black and white was focused on pure adventure and espionage with a dose of fiction, this was the season that has the best stories. With season 2 comes the color and the aerosub (A kind of mini ship that can move both underwater or fly. It begins to show a little wear of ideas in some episodes. For season 3 there was a budget cut and this was noticeable Much, Allen argued that women delayed the recordings and increased the costs in terms of costumes, makeup and hairstyles and decided to eliminate the female element of the stories. The series became absurd and sometimes even ridiculous with all kinds of monsters that before already we had seen in Lost In Space, mummies, robots, fossil men, various types of aliens and mad scientists appeared. Richard Basehart did his best to bring seriousness to almost childish scripts. The fourth and final season tried to return to the roots of the beginnings and I improved a lot. The series ended up being quite irregular in its quality with extraordinary episodes like The Enemies or Turn Back The Clock until ridiculous episodes Like The Terrible Toys or The Wax Men.

To be honest - I found this Sci-Fi/Underwater, TV-Adventure series from 1965-1966 to be kinda on the disappointing side.

Even though the premise for its stories was actually intriguing and some of the special effects were quite good (while some were totally cheesy) - I thought that the overall presentation of its episodes to be too dry, with there being far too much talk going on and not enough worthwhile action.

Though this was obviously a TV program with a fair-sized budget - The show's episodes (being 50 minutes in length) lapsed far too often into a monotony that was just too dreary for my liking.

All-in-all - Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea was, at best, just so-so entertainment.

If you want to be really entertained, then watch Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea. With a wide variety of monsters, aliens, and special guest stars, you'll want to watch this show again and again. I personally think it was one of the most clever shows and it should always be remembered.

This show, as so often with TV series' produced by Irwin Allen, started out strong in the first season but by the time of the third season had become absolutely absurd with monsters and aliens trying to take over the world. Richard Basehart and David Hedison were brilliant in this series and made the show watchable. It's a shame that the scripts didn't give them chance to develop their characters. The special effects were good at first but the reuse of stock footage became tiresome in the end. Quite often props and monsters used in one Irwin Allen TV show appeared in another of his and he was still using some props in his later disaster movies.

Ruined the same way as LIS--and in this instance the was no presence of children to excuse it. It was--had been gravitated towards an older audience. The characters remained the same, the crew being people in the navy had an air of realism and the cast were competent actors; at the end the acting was the lone contributor of keeping the show on. Oh yeah and for me, using the modern term: "Crane was hot". I scored it 8 because it was 2nd to Star Trek in its convincing me for a long time it was a real ship they were filming.

Clearly fault rests solely writers dropping the cloak and dagger spy genre of season one for taking inspiration from drafts of LIS season 2 & 3 episodes.

This was before Star Trek, so VOYAGE TO THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA has bragging rights.

For those unaware, it is a science fiction TV series in which a civilian designed submarine is built beyond the wildest specifications for deep sea research. It surpasses any underwater vehicle of any military. The admiral is a brilliant scientist, played by Richard Basehart, one of the icons of the hip crowd of the day, in famous roles such as a tightrope walker who foils strongman Anthony Quinn, a reluctant hero in the Korean War,a recruiter of Germans to spy for the Allies, and his most ironic role as a Russian brother to William Shatner.

While Admiral Nelson is a saner, more balanced Captain Kirk, David Hedison as Crane, plays a bit more human version of Spock. The Chief is an equal of Scotty, the blonde Chip had to be darkened to Chekhov during the seventies when men weren't allowed to have blonde hair, Kuwaski may be the closest to the doctor as an emotional constituent, and Patterson is Sulu.

I must confess I was too young to understand this show when it came out, being born in 1956, but I remember my brother telling me it was the predecessor of STAR TREK. I hadn't realized how much until I got the dvds of the first two seasons. I vaguely remember shows that came afterward.

Even up to now, most action series, and even some comic series, had a group of plots which had to be used. Indeed, as in all action episodes, we find the TEN LITTLE INDIANS, THE MOST DANGEROUS GAME, the prophecies of MACBETH, and all the usual plots that must be used.

The difference is in the intelligence in which this show is handled, and the iconoclastic Nature. It broke all barriers, barriers Star Trek tried to avoid. Usual stable heroes like Leslie Nielson were deranged, usual sneaky cowards like Michael Pate were honorable. Even Michael Ansara, who played a radical in the film went against type to be a balanced, stable character in an episode.

It wasn't a perfect series. There were episodes when it looked like it was filmed XENA style, with the action filmed first and the plot added later, such as in a hastily put together Manchurian Candidate episode with Manchurian villain Silva. A few episodes like this lost logic altogether, but were still held together by the interesting credibility of the Seaview characters. For most of us, Entertainment and Interest is best served by credible characters in incredible situations instead of the seventies pattern of non-credible characters in credible situations.

There was always over the top encounters, but the crew of the SEAVIEW, as the submarine was called, was always very three dimensional. They had human foibles. Nelson would show irritation and jealousy, Crane would show insecurity. Chip would show fear. Kowaski would show disapproval of authority.

This made the regular characters not only more identifiable and easier to relate to, but more exciting than STAR TREK, I dare say.

"voyage to the bottom of the sea" was the sixties' imaginative precursor to "star trek" in many ways. an artistically beautiful and super-capable sci-fi craft, launched into the great underwater frontier of our great oceanic world, still unappreciated in imagination as well as reality. yes, to be a kid at these times was an incredible blessing, and the series came on as really tremendously welcome relief to all the, well, too-many episodes of gun smoke and andy griffiths. it was much better to see the nuclear powered "Seaview" launched and ready to tango with anything the enemy could come up with, either alien or under-water monster. yes, the dramatic rapport between admiral nelson and captain crane was special, much like the descendant admiral picard and "number one." nostalgia – hope netflix puts it on, or i can find the DVD set around these parts of western canada.

"Kill The Admiral!" The most frequently repeated line in this ground breaking, no, wind-breaking series about a Silly Submarine that our teen aged selves called "The Sea Screw." The line recurred every time the crew became infested with a weird, cloud-like creature, went crazy and chased the Admiral around the ship. A frequent sight-gag was the Sea Screw bumping into something or encountering turbulence. The thing would madly rock from side to side and they would run the same film library clip of the crew bouncing from one side of the instrument-rich corridors to the other with sparks flying all around them. One kid went " Hee!Hee! Snark! There isn't a circuit breaker on the ship!" If anybody decides its a good idea to bring this turkey back, may they be infested by a weird, cloud-like creature

This was my favorite TV series, growing up in the 1960's. And it still is a fun show for a lazy afternoon, or late at night. Richard Basehart, as Admiral Nelson, was (and still is) like an uncle or grandfather to me. He always knew just what to do in any emergency, and his subtle sense of humor really makes him very likable too. David Hedison, playing Captain Lee Crane, was the person I wanted to be someday. And the relationship between Captain Crane and Admiral Nelson is almost like a father and son - some tension now and then, but they always respect each other in the end. Of course, the real stars of this TV series are the Seaview and the Flying Sub. Even today, many fans of the show collect and build model kits of these two amazingly cool submarines. No matter how silly some of the series plots and monsters look today, the Seaview and Flying Sub are still two of the best designed vehicles in the history of science fiction television. For this alone, Irwin Allen will always have my most heartfelt thanks and appreciation. Hopefully someone will attempt a new feature film of 'Voyage' someday, as was done with 'Lost In Space' in the late 90's.

When this series followed the feature film , of the same decade, I thought this was most amazing and awesome series ever..... Nothing like it , until Star Trek, had ever been seen on the small screen. Rather dated now but just as enticing and when watching the series , when seen on TV, I'm 18 again and that in its self is worth the while. Ten stars? All things considered, it , the whole series , deserves way more.....

Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea is a TV show about a submarine where nothing ever works when it should. Despite the hilarity potential of that premise, the show is not a comedy (at least, not intentionally). Instead, it was the first big sci-fi TV epic series from Irwin Allen, who would go on to produce The Time Tunnel, Lost in Space and Land of the Giants.

The series revolves around the super submarine Seaview. It is the world's first privately owned nuclear submarine, designed by not-quite-retired Admiral Nelson (Richard Basehart) for his civilian research institute. Despite this, the sub is crewed by Navy personnel and is still technically under Navy command (at least one episode revolves around the possibility that Seaview would be ordered to start World War III by launching a nuclear missile at the Soviet Union). The series is set in an unspecified "near future" time where the world is exactly the same as the current year, but the "near future" is needed to justify the super-advanced technology in the show, such as a mini-sub stored in the Seaview that can also fly.

The show's nominal commander is Captain Lee Crane (David Hedison) who doesn't get to do much captaining, because there's an admiral aboard who gives most of the orders. There is also a first mate (Robert Dowdell), who has even less to do, since the Captain has been relegated to the role of First Mate, a handful of regular officers and crew, including a communications officer who is never referred to by any name other than his nickname, "Sparks", and a rotating collection of lesser officers and crewmen, many of whom don't make it through an entire episode (this show pioneered the concept of Red Shirts two years before Star Trek first aired).

The first two seasons are a mixture of Cold War-era espionage stories and sci-fi tinted spy/adventure stories. Beginning in the third season, the show's writers started taking some weird drugs or something, and in the final two seasons, the Seaview was imperiled by sea monsters, mermen, aliens, mad scientists, time travelers, living puppets, ghosts, the Flying Dutchman, the Abominable Snowman and a FRICKIN' LEPRECHAUN!

Many of the episodes' plots tended to be very basic, such as "Seaview is threatened by X", "Spies try to trap/steal/destroy the Seaview", or "Scientific experiment threatens to destroy the world". Stories are developed and tension is built by having everything on the Seaview inexplicably fail at the most inappropriate moments (the ballast tanks were particularly troublesome, stranding the sub on the bottom of the ocean roughly once every three episodes or so). A lot of it can be explained away by virtue of the Seaview being an "experimental" sub, but most of the time, it's just an injudicious application of Murphy's Law for the sake of cheap thrills. This is kind of a trademark of Irwin Allen productions.

Nevertheless, the show is great fun, a top-flight example of an action/adventure series done right - even in the goofy later episodes. Much of the enjoyment of the show comes from the cast. Basehart is suitably professorial and commanding as Nelson. Hedison makes up for his lack of proper captaining by being a heroic leading man. The crew is generally presented as being professional, courageous, intelligent calm under pressure and working well together. A particular standout is Terry Becker as Chief Petty Office Francis Sharkey (fun fact: ten years later, Don Rickles would play a CPO named Sharkey in a navy-themed sitcom built around his particular style of comedy). On first impressions, Sharkey comes across as the most insubordinate officer in the entire navy, challenging orders - sometimes openly disobeying them - and usually suspicious of his superior officers and most visitors on the ship. He gets away with it because he is ALWAYS the first person on the Seaview to suspect something is amiss: Whenever Nelson or Crane are replaced by an impostor, Sharkey is always the first to point out that they are acting strangely. Whenever a con man or foreign spy starts scamming Nelson, Sharkey is always the first one to smell a rat. Nelson clearly tolerates Sharkey's insubordination because his instincts are a vital part of Seaview's security.

The series is noteworthy for being an unapologetic sausage-fest. Although there were a number of female characters in the first two seasons, the Seaview never had a female crew member, even temporarily. And beginning with the third season, the female characters practically disappeared. There were only three female characters in the third season - two of whom had no dialogue - and none at all in the fourth!

The special effects are often quite good for the 1960's. The exterior of the Seaview was depicted with a variety of detailed models, one of which was about 9 feet long. The Flying Sub was also an attractive design despite a curious lack of aerodynamics on a vehicle that was a part-time aircraft. Underwater scenes are presented using camera filters and quite of lot of actual underwater filming. Turbulence around the sub was depicted with the actors throwing themselves from side to side as the camera tilts to and fro (another thing Gene Roddenberry would steal for Star Trek). It all looks pretty good if you're not too picky.

Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea is rightfully regarded as a "classic" TV series, presenting a premise that was unique for its time and imitated by many later series. It has much of the same timeless appeal as shows such as Star Trek, The Wild Wild West and The Man From U.N.C.L.E. It deserves to be seen because it's great TV fun that should not be lost or forgotten.