Any Fans out there of Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea?

[NextGen123]

A lot of these episodes are on DVD and by watching them you can see the unintentional humor in them. They didn't age well. For all intents and purposes the first season was the best. Seasons two through four were in color.

You'd see such greats as:

Roger C. Karmel (Harry Mudd in Star Trek)

Vincent Price ( as an evil puppeteer)

George Takei (as an enemy agent)

It never had a final episode and was taken off the air. It was the longest running of the Irwin Allen (Master of Disaster) shows.

You have to remember Irwin had no use for character development or depth. It was just spectacular monsters each week. Character development was unseen and unheard of in the four Allen shows at the time. If you saw Lost In Space, Time Tunnel, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea or Land of the Giants, you'll notice that good dialogue was not a staple of these shows.

 

[Kail]

Loved it as a kid, can't watch them now.

 

[arch101]

Loved the series in reruns when I was a kid, now find most of it unwatchable. But, I LOVE the 1960 film version.

 

[Saga]

loved it as a kid, and i still enjoy it. is it campy and over the top? yes, very much so. thats why i love it so.

 

[NextGen123]

Loved the series in reruns when I was a kid, now find most of it unwatchable. But, I LOVE the 1960 film version.

The 1960's film was the best version with Walter Pegion and Barbara Eden, Frankie Alvalon and Eden's then husband Michael Ansara as the villian. Ansara came back in season two to portray an different character as an enemy submarine captain.


Nothing beats the film version. If only the suspense cloak and dagger plots in season one were part of all four seasons. After season two the show deteriorated into a kids program that made Lost in Space look like Shakespeare in comparison.

 

[NextGen123]

What I did like about it was the serious line reading by actors Richard Baseheart and David Heddison. I was watching the DVD extras with David's comments about the show. It's an experience he never wanted to repeat with a TV series again. Irwin's attitude toward the actors wasn't one of respect. David said that if you mentioned character development, Irwin would think he was out of his mind. The extras reveal a lot DH feelings toward the show. He's greatful for the public recognition but regrets the show was so poorly written.

 

[NextGen123]

loved it as a kid, and i still enjoy it. is it campy and over the top? yes, very much so. thats why i love it so.

I liked the unintentional humor. Every week it was like they pushed the reset button and no one ever saw a sea monster before.

 

[RAMA]

Irwin Allen almost single-handedly ruined SF's name in the 60s...it lasted even after Star Wars. There were stirrings of good TV SF in the early to mid-60s...Outer Limits, Twilight Zone...Star Trek...and one after the other his shows just swatted the good impressions down. Glen Larson was the late 70s version of Irwin Allen.

RAMA

 

[NextGen123]

Irwin Allen almost single-handedly ruined SF's name in the 60s...it lasted even after Star Wars. There were stirrings of good TV SF in the early to mid-60s...Outer Limits, Twilight Zone...Star Trek...and one after the other his shows just swatted the good impressions down. Glen Larson was the late 70s version of Irwin Allen.

RAMA

When you look at Allen's TV shows they were more interested in spectacular special effects and broadly drawn cartoon like characters than good science fiction. What I couldn't understand is why he wouldn't let Billy Mumy produce a finale to the show in the 80's. Sure there was the comic and movie but they might have brought an end to a pretty good TV show with Dr. Smith while he was still around.

 

[Admiral2]

I prefered the movie version with Barbara Eden.

 

[MacLeod]

Well Larson did bring us such shows BSG, Less said about BSG 1980, Knight Rider, Buck Rogers amongest other shows. Two of which have been remade, one of which was a remake. So I would say Larson has faired slighlty better than Allen at least TV wise. Yes looking back on some of the shows they are a bit cheesy bu at times still passable for entertainment.

 

[RandyS]

While I realize that it's fashionable now days to dismiss out of hand any show made before the year 2000 as "chessy" and "campy", and to show nothing but hatred for "old time " television, I loved Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea and still do. I was too young for the original run, not being born until two years after it left the air. I didn't catch up with it until 1993 when the Sci-Fi channel started showing it, but enjoyed it alot and taped it regularly. I own the DVD's now.

 

[Harvey]

I don't think anyone here is dismissing the show "out of hand." Myself, I've never had the chance to see the series or the original movie, the latter of which I should probably rectify one of these days.

 

[Davros]

Loved it as a kid, can't watch them now.

Pretty much the same here.

 

[Saga]

Irwin Allen didn't ruin sci-fi. if anything, he's akin to Michael Bay. both make mindless, yet enjoyable entertainment.

 

[Harvey]

Michael Bay's movies are many things -- but one thing they've never been is cheap-looking. Allen's television output is notorious for that.

When it comes to Allen's film output, I'd say they're much more akin to the movies of Roland Emmerich, not Bay. And, I think the best ones that he was involved with (The Poseidon Adventure and The Towering Inferno are just as good as anything Emmerich's done.

 

[RandyS]

I don't think anyone here is dismissing the show "out of hand." Myself, I've never had the chance to see the series or the original movie, the latter of which I should probably rectify one of these days.

Yes I know that, I was just speaking in general terms. I just hate the perception among the younger viewers that anything made before 2000 is "campy", and therefore "bad". a perception that is completely wrong.

And Yes, I think you should see the move, and the series. Neither is perfect, but they are fun.

 

[NextGen123]

While I realize that it's fashionable now days to dismiss out of hand any show made before the year 2000 as "chessy" and "campy", and to show nothing but hatred for "old time " television, I loved Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea and still do. I was too young for the original run, not being born until two years after it left the air. I didn't catch up with it until 1993 when the Sci-Fi channel started showing it, but enjoyed it alot and taped it regularly. I own the DVD's now.

That's why I started buying it on DVD. To see what it was like without the commercials. I have to say that season one was by far the best of them all. The show actually had direction and a possibility of being a classic on the scale of a Star Trek.

After season two started with the flying sub, that went all by the wayside to the creature of the week. This is not to say that I didn't like it. It's just believe the show could have employed better writing. Having character conflicts and changing the crew once in a while might have helped.

It's one of those shows I loved as a kid like the Adam West Batman (which still I haven't seen on DVD as a series). I wish that someone ran that show again because of the great guest stars.

 

[Saga]

When it comes to Allen's film output, I'd say they're much more akin to the movies of Roland Emmerich, not Bay. And, I think the best ones that he was involved with (The Poseidon Adventure and The Towering Inferno are just as good as anything Emmerich's done.

yeah, i'd agree with that.

 

[Vendikarr]

Michael Bay's movies are many things -- but one thing they've never been is cheap-looking. Allen's television output is notorious for that.

When it comes to Allen's film output, I'd say they're much more akin to the movies of Roland Emmerich, not Bay. And, I think the best ones that he was involved with (The Poseidon Adventure and The Towering Inferno are just as good as anything Emmerich's done.

He had a real budget for those films.

His TV work was by design to be done on the cheap. From what I understand he had the same operating budget as any other show at the time, while a show like Star Trek was one of the most expensive shows of its time.

When they don't give you the money, you make do with what you got. Which is why the same costumes and monsters moved between his shows on a regular basis.