The Good

A very well made show that went out of its way to tell interesting stories.

The Bad

Paltry extra features. Released as a volume and not a full season.

Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea: Season 3, Vol. 1 gives us 13 episodes in which the crew members of the SSRN Seaview find themselves going on even more deadly missions, many of them dealing with issues that America was facing in the 1960s when this show ran.

Some of my favorite episodes in this set were “Werewolf,” in which Admiral Nelson (Richard Basehart) gets infected by a werewolf virus and it appears like he is going to turn into one. This leaves things up to Captain Crane (David Hedison) to stop the virus from turning him into a full blown creature. “The Death Watch was an extremely interesting episode as things are turned upside down when Crane and Nelson are trying to kill one another aboard the Seaview. The ship is devoid of any crew members and it seems like these men are intent on having a battle to the death. Closing out this first part of the third season was the episode “The Lost Bomb.” The Seaview only has a certain amount of time to stop a “superbomb” from detonating.

MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY

Features

David Hedison Interviews

Sadly, I think they might have just used some scraps from other interviews that they did with David Hedison on the release before this. There are only three sections in this segment and they are:

  • Visitors on the Set

  • Letters From Fans

  • The Rock and Roll

There is also a 1966 audio only interview here that is actually the best out of every supplemental feature in this 3 disc set. It was recorded during the third season and it has Hedison talking about the show, how he doesn’t think it’s science fiction and what it’s like to work with Irwin Allen. Things here are somewhat pedantic but they should satisfy the really rabid fans.

Still Galleries

Video

Full Frame - 1.33:1. Once again, our friends at Fox have done a very good job transferring these shows to DVD. I am absolutely in awe at how good the color transfers for these releases were. There’s some dirt here and there, but for the most part these shows look incredible. I don’t know if these things were ever released on VHS, but I can’t imagine watching them in any other way than on DVD.

Audio

Dolby Digital. English - Stereo and Mono. Spanish and French Mono. Subtitled in English and Spanish. Close Captioned. The audio on this show was solid. As I have mentioned in my other reviews, I love the sound of shows from the past, especially those that are of the sci-fi variety. They may sound a tad dated by today’s standards but I really think we get to hear some things quite clearly. They also use a good amount of normal and melodramatic music in the show and that plays well against what is happening on screen.

Package

Greenish blue is the predominant color on this slipcase cover. We get the circles from the Seaview’s periscope, as well as images of Crane and Nelson and some of the creatures from this show. The back has one image and this is of this show’s stars. There is a tiny description of what this show is about, a Special Features listing and system specs. The three discs are stored in two slim cases all of which have the same cover art as the slipcase that stores them. On they back they shown each episode for each disc, offering up descriptions and airdates for each one.

Final Word

Having reviewed this show I don’t know how many times already, I can honestly say that I am just as excited about it now as I was when it first came to my attention. I think what makes Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea: Season 3, Vol. 1 is it’s ability to not play things for camp or laughs. If this show as being made today, the characters would no doubt be winking at the camera and not taking their situations as seriously as they did back when the show was made. I think that this has something to do with the real world issues between then and now.

When we see shows like 24, those characters are dealing with our present day worries about terrorism. Thus, we don’t get any mugging for the cameras because, while the situations are hyper-realized, they aren’t that far way from things that could happen. Juxtapose that with Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea and it’s cold war themes, and you are looking at a show whose issues are tamer by today’s standards. Thus, when we see present day looks at the Cold War, the actors play the roles with a certain distance.

All in all, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea: Season 3, Vol. 1 is superb television both then and now.

Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea was released .