Review for The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau (19 Discs)

Wow - 19 Discs full of every episode of this decade shaping blast from the past! At least that's what I thought when I received a couple of sample discs on DVD-R. Then it dawned on me. 34 hours of material (36 episodes) at this bit-rate would have fit more than comfortably on 10 discs, which themselves would have fit more than comfortably into a slim-line box. Only then the series would have seemed expensive.


In the late 1960's and into the early part of the 70's, Sunday afternoons, when shops were all shut and disposable income low, most of the nation would settle down after a roast lunch to watch Jacques Cousteau and crew's latest adventures below and above water aboard Calypso, his souped up explorer ship.


JC was the real-deal and is respected by scuba-divers and marine biologists the world over as something of a pioneer who used the money raised from film and programme making to further fund his many expeditions.


Each episode of the show was a self-contained and themed documentary in its own right; just the ticket for a lazy Sunday afternoon.

The claim here is that this set features digitally enhanced version from the original master tapes, though, seeing it in colour for the first time, it still looks very grainy and washed out on occasion. These were the days when nature documentaries were generally the real-deal, free from the copious motion control and CGI enhancements of shows like 'The Blue Planet'. What you saw was, well, what the people there saw. Which in this case included getting up close and personal with many wonders of the deep, including sharks and whales.


With titles like 'Sunken Treasure', 'Secrets of the Sunken Caves', 'The Forgotten Mermaids' and 'The Sleeping Shars of Yucatan', you knew you were in for something special.

The set will have great appeal to retro TV nostalgia freaks (like me) as well as scuba-enthusiasts and lovers of nature documentaries.


Narrated mostly by Rod Serling ('The Twilight Zone'), it was always nice to hear the voice of Cousteau himself who seemed to have the rapport of the French poet as he would describe the wonders of the deep. Serling just made the whole thing easier to sell.

Younger viewers may well have been introduced to Cousteau through watching 'The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou' which was inspired by Cousteau.

Whilst the set retails at over £80 it may not have many takers. But if (and when) the price falls, this will inevitable prove popular with fans of a 'certain age'. It's certainly nice to have them out again - and 'Go Entertain' should be thanked for that.