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Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea Season One Volume One
01/05/2008 . Source: Geoff Willmetts 
region 1. pub: 20th Century Fox B000BZISS0. 3 double-sided DVDs 818 minutes 16 * 50 minute black and white episodes plus extras. Price: $29.98 (US))stars: Richard Basehart and David Hedison. Buy Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea Season One in the USA - or Buy Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea Season One in the UK  check out www.foxtvdvd.com
I have to confess to being in three minds about running this review. In part because I didn't buy this single volume, I bought the first three seasons collectively because it was cheaper to do so. However, 84 episodes is going to take me some months to go through and then to encapsulate the lot into a single review risks skimming the information. What I shall do is deal with each volume separately.
'Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea' was part of Irwin Allen's move from films to television. He already had the sets, models and stock footage of the spacious Seaview from the 1961 film of the same name to get it started and just needed to recast. If anything, actors Richard Basehart and David Hedison are now synominous with the parts of Admiral Harriman Nelson and Captain Lee Crane. Even more remarkable, having been made back in 1964, the effects this work rather well today. Despite its rather unusual windscreen front, the model Seaview looks like a real submarine rather than a very large model. The series was also set in 1994 but back then, thirty years seemed an awful long time. Considering how many of these voyages were away from land, there was little worry to show what life would be like later. If anything, the Seaview was probably the most futuristic machine there although the manta-shaped drone aircraft from a 'foreign power' came an interesting second.
The first sixteen adventures was more a mixture of regular stories than Science Fiction although the seventh episode, 'Turn Back The Clock', allowed Irwin Allen to use footage from his film 'The Lost World' which also featured Hedison. It's interesting this footage was the star of the promotional reel in the extras so thoughts that Allen committed to go the SF route later seems a little unfounded. Quite how far down the monster front can be seen later. Probably the biggest though was in the episode 'The Ghost Of Moby Dick' which used the sperm whale model from the film 'Moby Dick', which also starred Richard Basehart.
The Seaview's relationship to the US Navy is a bit odder. As a research submarine, it is also equipped with torpedoes and polaris missiles and an ex-Navy crew trained to use them. Hardly surprising that they were brought in for secret missions. The early episodes also have the ratings dressed in naval gear. It isn't until later that they switch to jumpsuits. Nelson's rank isn't even retired and is also a renowned scientist and head of the Nelson Research Institute. No doubt helping our the State Department also ensured it paid his bills. What I had forgotten was that Seaview's base at the Institute is 500 feet down. Irwin Allen had this thing with depth in 'The Time Tunnel' as well. There was also a tendency for none of the divers to ever suffer from the bends although it memory serves, they did have an unusual air mixture shown in later episodes.
There was also some serious acting here as well. The episode 'The Fear-Makers' when a fear gas is released on the Seaview and the episode 'Submarine Sank Here' which as its title should tell you what its about shows the capability of the cast. I was always surprised how the most able mariner Kolwalski (actor Del Monroe) never got a promotion in the entire series.
The extras are one of the things that persuaded me to get the DVD set. The 'unseen' pilot is actually a colour version of the 'Eleven Days To Zero' pilot. Quite why season one was filmed in black and white remains a mystery, especially as the home movie footage was also in colour and a shame it lacked sound but does give some insight into the stages and preparation. There's some interesting footage showing the cast throwing themselves around the Seaview set after some demonstration by Irwin Allen as to what he wanted. These days, the set itself would be on rollers but not back then.
Forget whatever you've heard about Irwin Allen if you're on the young side. This is one series of his that deserves getting on DVD. It will hold your attention and a great way to spend some time.
GF Willmetts
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