Review for Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea: Series 3 Box Set (7 Discs)

We Irwin Allen fans in the UK are far better off than our long-suffering pals in the US. Oh, alright …they're a few weeks ahead of the UK release schedule of this classic TV series, but frankly, after a 40 year wait, what difference does that make? No, we're lucky because Revelation are issuing a whole season at a time - all 26 episodes of Season 3 in one gulp, rather than the irritating half-season sets issued in the US.


Running from 1964-1968, this spin-off from Irwin Allen's film features the adventures of Admiral Harriman Nelson (Richard Basehart), Captain Lee Crane (David Hedison) and the crew of the Seaview. Set in the 1980's (a futuristic thing), it ran for a full four seasons before being replaced by 'Land of the Giants'.
 

Season 3 of 'Voyage' really divides fans of the series. It was when it all went a little bit silly. Gone are the cold-war sub-plots, and intense melodramas of men locked up together in an undersea tub. Instead we get treated to some pure late sixties zaniness - more in common with Batman and Star Trek (which aired the same year) than with its earlier incarnation.


With episodes like 'Plant Man' (pure Star Trek) and 'Werewolf' (taking a lead from popular horror soap 'Dark Shadows') on the first disc of the set, you know you're in for something different. But despite it descending to low-brow sixties sci-fi kitsch, I still love it!


Which is more than can be said for all the cast. 'Serious actor' Richard Basehart only condescended to do it because he needed the cash to fund hefty alimony claims - allegedly. And I for one am very glad he did. Because this series is a blast. All 26 50-minute episodes are unapologetic low-brow entertainment, and whilst you may miss some of the more earnest plots from earlier seasons, if you're an Allen fan you'll still love this.




All the great Allen cues are here. That vivid colour (actually a little dark I found on this transfer - easily fixed with brightness, contrast and colour increases on my set though I hate manual 'grading'!), the high production values, the studio sets and colorful costumes, the lantern-jawed leading men with perfectly cut and slicked back blue-black hair. And all those switches and lights! Every frame is a winner.

This was a season trying to deliver the same punch on less budget. But it doesn't stop our favourite sub flying amongst the Manhattan skyline. In common with Pre-historic Hammer films (10 Million Years BC etc) lizards and iguanas are used as dinosaurs - which looks a bit flaky now but was clearly acceptable at the time.


The set is a little light on extras but do include an interview with David Hedison who still looks remarkably youthful, making me suspect that it was filmed some time ago. Even better are two 1966 audio interviews with Hedison and Basehart which run for approximately 6 minutes but which do offer some illuminating insight into the series which was airing at the time. You also get an indication of the order the episodes originally aired in in the US. This may prove useful to people who want to watch it as originally aired as the episodes appear in production order on the set itself. There are also a bunch of production stills.


Stand-out episodes to me were 'Monster from the Inferno' with that crazy, pulsating alien brain; the Terrible Toys which makes innocent wind-ups seem genuinely sinister, and 'Night of Terror' which has to be the trippiest episode of 'Voyage' ever. I shrewdly took my time viewing the set (which arrived in check disc form well in advance of release date) rationing episodes to no more than one at a single sitting - rather than the rushed marathon viewing session I undertook for Series 2 and which left me feeling like it was a bit repetitive. The series was intended as a weekly show and should not be judged in any other way.

Roll on series 4 for the legendary slice of sci-fi cheese, 'Lobster Man'!


Episodes include:
1. Monster from the Inferno
2. Werewolf
3. Day of Evil
4. Night of Terror
5. The Day the World Ended
6. The Terrible Toys
7. Deadly Waters
8. Thing from Inner Space
9. Deadly Invasion
10. The Death Watch
11. The Lost Bomb
12. The Plant Man
13. The Brand of the Beast
14. The Creature
15. The Haunted Submarine
16. Death from the Past
17. The Heat Monster
18. The Fossil Men
19. The Mermaid
20. The Mummy
21. Shadowman
22. No Escape from Death
23. Doomsday Island
24. The Wax Men
25. Deadly Cloud
26. Destroy Seaview!