Forgotten Television: Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea

Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea was originally a 1961 movie about a technologically advanced nuclear submarine called the “Seaview” whose crew must make it to a specific location to fire a nuclear missile that will save the Earth from destruction after a meteor shower hits the Van Allen radiation belt and catches on fire causing expedited global warming.  But the voyage is perilous, with giant squids and saboteurs and mutineering crew members, but the sub finally arrives and completes her mission.  The film starred Walter Pidgeon as Admiral Nelson who designed the Seaview and Robert Sterling as Captain Lee Crane as the crew’s commanding officer.  Other stars included Joan Fontaine, Barbara Eden, Peter Lorre, Michael Ansara and Frankie Avalon, who also sang the movie’s theme.  The film was directed and cowritten by Irwin Allen. The movie was met by mixed reviews, but was made popular by audiences, enough to garner a television series.

In 1964 the first of four and the longest running of the Irwin Allen television series premiered.  The series used the same sets, costumes and props from the movie which had been put into storage after filming.  This also allowed footage from the film to be used at times as well. The series was broadcast on ABC from September 14, 1964 to March 31, 1968 running for four seasons and 110 episodes.  The majority of the series was set in the then future of the 1970s with the final two seasons moving to the 1980s.  The cast had Richard Basehart as Admiral Nelson and David Hedison as Captain Crane.

Keywords: Movie;Seaview;Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea

Although the series always had a science fiction aspect to it, the first two seasons focused on the “Cold War” sentiments that resided within the United States at the time.  Even when fighting plankton monsters or aliens, the real foe was foreign governments bent on unbridled power.  Starting in the second season at the request of the studio to create a “lighter” atmosphere, the series moved more towards a “monster of the week” format and away from the darker tones of the first season.  The second season also saw a redesign of the sub’s interior and the addition of the “Flying Sub” which could leave the ocean and become airborne.  This increased the travel options and updated the local limitations from the earlier season.

By Season three, two other Irwin Allen shows had premiered, Lost in Space and The Time Tunnel. Although not altogether gone, the final two seasons continued to shift to paranormal storylines with mummies, werewolves, talking puppets, and even an evil leprechaun all haunting the Seaview.  It also saw fossil men, flame men, frost men, lobster men and shadow men.  The fourth and final season saw two different time travel episodes including the final episode that ends the series.  The complete series was very episodic with only a handful of episodes getting any sort of follow up.  This was normal for that time period. In other media, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea saw some success in novel form and comic books, board games, lunch boxes, Viewmaster slides, and especially in their plastic model kits that were sold by Aurora Plastics Corporation in the 1970s.  I know several people, including myself, who had one.

The show was very dry, even with the supernatural elements it played more like a police procedural than a science fiction action series.  It is also interesting that many of the same types of creatures were used in a few of Irwin Allen’s shows, but the tone of each show completely changes the reception.  A plankton monster in Voyage and an alien life form on Lost in Space could be the completely same special effect, but Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea played it serious with a sense of fear and urgency where Lost in Space’s Doctor Smith played it campy for laughs.  One isn’t necessarily better than the other, but the overall effect is drastically different.  Overall, the show was well done and interesting but could be a bit dull and procedural.