Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea was the brainchild of Writer/Producer/Director Irwin Allen... the "Master of Disaster."It ran on ABC 1964-1968 and was for its four years of some of the best and most exciting science fictio... more »n on TV at the time. The classic adventures aboard the "SSRN Seaview" will captivate you today, as much as they did in the 60s.« less
A wonderful nostalgic look back into the past. The stories are imaginative but are limited special effects of the time. It is nice to see the good guys always win.
2 of 2 member(s) found this review helpful.
Movie Reviews
Bon Voyage Seaview!
H. N. Dohe | My Sanctum Sanctorium | 11/21/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This was my favorite TV series in the 1960s. While sometimes derided by serious Sci-Fi fans, Voyage was very successful in its day, and actually lasted a season longer than Star Trek. The casting of Richard Basehart was a real coup, and David Hedison, who turned down the Captain Crane role in the VTTBOTS movie, came aboard in the TV show. Featuring special effects that still hold up today, VTTBOTS originally started out as serious sci-fi, whose first season episodes still stand tall with the best of TV sci-fi. The second season brought color episodes, a re-designed Seaview, and a new invention, the Flying Sub, to help expand the action. As often happened with Irwin Allen's shows, writing became spotty as time went on. Solid sci-fi stories were often sandwiched between "monster of the week" shows. Even the cast was surprised when the show was picked up for a fourth season. From what I've read, Basehart was anxious to get out of the grind of a TV series, and frankly back into what he considered serious acting. So one will notice an episode or two where he's absent, or obviously being doubled (the episode with the giant sea spider and the hyper fast submarine was one where he was doubled, and he literally duped his lines). There's also another episode where Basehart's son John had a guest part (playing a crewman named "Johnson". Get it? John? Basehart's son?).
I had the pleasure of meeting David Hedison at a convention a few years back. He recounted many fine stories about Voyage, including his relationship with Basehart, working with Irwin Allen, and his years as Captain of the Seaview.
I have waited a long time for this to come out on DVD. I am glad to see it is finally going to hit the DVD shelves!"
WHY CAN'T THEY RELEASE THE WHOLE SEASON ON DVD??????
Philly | Philadelphia, PA United States | 02/08/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Is it all companies or just Irwin Allen TV shows???? This seems to be the newest plot in rapidly separating the consumers from their money. Manufacturers take years releasing the public's favorite shows on DVD and, when they do, they only release half seasons. They're releasing only 15 of the 32 episodes of Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea's First Season. I'm sure Vol.2 will be out in 3 to 6 months, but it will probably mean 8 box sets to cover the entire 4 season run of this show. They released Lost in Space in 5 box sets for the 3 seasons it was on and they're even splitting up the Time Tunnel episodes in 2 sets and it was only on for one season! You know we're waiting for these shows and, as a result, you bleed as much money out of us as you can. GIVE THE PUBLIC A BREAK!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
Skipping problem remains unaddressed
Dance Day and Night | Montreal, Quebec Canada | 06/09/2006
(1 out of 5 stars)
"A number of previous reviewers have reported skipping and freezing problems with this set of DVDs, some reporting mailing back their DVDs repeatedly in the hope of obtaining a set which wasn't defective. A previous reviewer recommended that potential buyers contact Fox home entertainment and plead with them to fix the DVDs to correct this problem, so I did. Their phone number is 1 877 369-7867, by the way. So much for pleading; after some discussion, I finally convinced the telephone attendant to inquire about problems with these DVDs. After less than a minute on hold, she came back on and reported that they have no record of any problems existing with these disks and no record of any returns. All that she could assure me of is that if I purchased a defective set, I could return them. Conclusion: Not only does the skipping problem remain unaddressed but no one is even paying attention. Sometimes the only power that the consumer has is to NOT purchase a shoddy product. I'll wait a few years - maybe they'll get it right on whatever format will follow DVD. You can always try calling them also. If the response I got is any indication, you're probably wasting your time, however."
Excellent First Season... So Far
The Breech | Long Beach, California United States | 05/19/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Most of my experience with Voyage consists of the color episodes shown in syndication. As I child, I dug the whole "monster of the week" thing, BUT, as an adult watching the same color episodes on the SciFi channel, I couldn't get over how cheesy they were.
That said, I ordered Season 1, Vol 1 of Voyage after reading reviews of the stellar B/W eps. Nice to see that this first half of the inaugural season lives up to the hype.
There is something about B/W that adds to the suspense of tv shows or movies. Voyage (as well as season 1 of Lost in Space)makes excellent use of the lack of color, resulting in taut and suspenseful installments. I especially enjoyed "The Fear Makers," "The Ghost of Moby Dick," and "Submarine Sunk Here."
Great video and audio transfers. The extras are nice too. Highly Recommended.
Looking forward to Vol. 2."
No Sinking This Submarine
Lenard Marcus | Chicago, IL | 01/11/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Season One, although not in color, was probably the best. The story lines stayed away from the later underwater monsters that always seemed to attack the Seaview. This show was always overshadowed by Star Trek, even though the special effects were far superior-just watch the original movie to compare. Probably the BEST sci fi show on television at that time (aside from Star Trek). So finally, Admiral Nelson and Captain Crane live again-now I can't wait for Season Two!"