Customer Reviews

Voyage to the Bottom of Sea: Season 2, Vol. 1

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

VOYAGE TO THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA (ABC 1964-68) makes an auspicious primetime network debut in magnificent colour for its landmark second season (1965-66) featuring a completely remodeled Seaview, the introduction of the fantastic Flying Sub in addition to the series casting of new regulars Terry Becker in the role of Chief (CPO) Francis Ethelbert Sharkey and Allan Hunt as Crewman Stuart "Stu" Riley.

The scripts here are invariably on a par with the very best written for the first season (1964-65) similarly encompasing a wide range of storylines innovatively marking early televised references to the term "Cyborg" (in "The Cyborg") and the advanced scientific concept of genetic engineering (in "The Menfish").

The stellar line up of the finest Hollywood celebrity acting talents recruited from the theatrical stage, motion picture screen and television making guest appearances (typically) remains impressively outstanding with the distinguished presences of Victor Buono, Gia Scala, Phillip Pine, Ina Balin, Vincent Gardenia, Brooke Bundy, Regis Toomey, Renzo Cesana, Lloyd Bochner, Susan Flannery, Liam Sullivan, James Anderson, Barbara Bouchet, Richard Loo, Robert F. Simon, Whit Bissell, George Takei, Karen Steele, John McGiver, Charles Dierkop, Irene Tsu, Roger C. Carmel, Jan Merlin, Pilar Seurat, Robert Cornthwaite, John Zaremba, Audrey Dalton, Kent Taylor, Cyril Delavanti, Bert Freed, Robert Doyle and John Cassavettes.

Richard Basehart and David Hedison dependably give their (by now) customary solid performances especially with the strong story material that these two series stars have to work with throughout this banner second year making it a worthy follow up to the gloriously triumphant first season.

Among the more noteworthy efforts present in the VOYAGE TO THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA - SECOND SEASON, VOLUME ONE 3-disc box set are "Jonah and the Whale," "Time Bomb," "...And Five of Us Are Left," "The Cyborg," "The Left-Handed Man," "The Deadliest Game," "Leviathan," "The Peacemaker," "The Silent Saboteurs" and "The Machines Strike Back."

This extrarordinary DVD set will be comprised of the first 13 colour hour long segments from VOYAGE's second season (1965-66) that includes:

01) "Jonah and the Whale" (19/09/1965)
02) "Time Bomb" (26/09/1965)
03) "...And Five of Us Are Left" (03/10/1965)
04) "The Cyborg" (10/10/1965)
05) "Escape from Venice" (17/10/1965)
06) "The Left-Handed Man" (24/10/1965)
07) "The Deadliest Game" (31/10/1965)
08) "Leviathan" (07/11/1965)
09) "The Peacemaker" (14/11/1965)
10) "The Silent Saboteurs" (21/11/1965)
11) "The X Factor" (05/12/1965)
12) "The Machines Strike Back" (12/12/1965)
13) "The Monster from Outer Space" (19/12/1965)

The supplemental bonus material contains 20 minutes of revealing behind-the-scenes Special Effects test film footage some of which was likely earlier previewed in the VOYAGE segment of the 1995 THE FANTASY WORLDS OF IRWIN ALLEN tv documentary special.

An additional treat is that the new season's premiere episode "Jonah and the Whale" is endowed with a completely different opening and closing titles theme music composed by the late Jerry Goldsmith which was used specifically as such for this segment but further effectively employed as evocative background scoring for subsequent episodes of the second year as well.

As with the previous first season volumes one and two DVD sets the video transfers utilized are also similarily taken from the original vault stored pristine 35mm colour film source elements fully restored and digitally remastered in high definition for optimum picture and sound quality.

For those VOYAGE fans who have been anxiously anticipating these splendidly produced colour presentations from the series' smash hit second season this particular DVD collection should prove to be well worth the wait and a marvellous continuation to the outstanding first season adventures further chronicling the exciting, remarkable underwater exploits (set during the not-too-distant future in the mid to late 1970s) of the Earth's final great frontier with Admiral Harriman Nelson, Captain Lee Crane and the stalwartly intrepid crew of the SSRN Seaview in one of the most popular and best remembered SF tv shows of the 1960s. Primetime network series television has seldom been done better than it was here.

Jeff T.

These past DVD sets have been fantastic and the tansfers are great!!! As we go forward with the new color seasons, can you include form the vaults the all exciting preview scenes from next week................that would truly make this series a superb collection!!!!!!!!! By the way The Time Tunnel sets were outstanding....you guys at 20th really know what you are doing, keep it up!!!!!!!!!!

"Voyage" continued to have a number of fun adventure episodes during the second season opening with the effects heavy "Jonah and the Whale" in which Admiral Nelson and a Russian scientists are swallowed while in the diving bell by a huge whale. While some of the effects are dated they are pretty darn good for the early 60's. The first half of the second season introduced color, a designed Seaview and the Flying Sub and a new theme song by Jerry Goldsmith (quickly scuttled in favor of the larger than life original theme). A nice mix of fantasy, science fiction and spy melodrama the second season had some top notch writing from Shimon Wincelberg ("Star Trek" and a well respected playwrite)and some terrific guest stars (including Victor Buno).

We get 13 episodes from the first season in this first half set. Why studios continue to do this (vs. just releasing it all at once since most fans will shell out the bucks for the sets) is beyond me. I do like the slimline DVD holders but am not a fan of the dual sided discs (simply because they don't take wear and tear as much)but am willing to put up with it.

As with previous sets Fox has generously included extras as part of the set. We get as bonuses raw visual effects footage, a photo gallery and a Mad magazine parody. "Voyage" is a terrific set.

Back in the days of "rabbit ears," I was unable to pick up the area ABC channel unless the weather was extremely stormy. Thus, I didn't see most of "Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea" during its initial run. Fortunately, with the advent of cable, and the Sci-Fi Channel, I was able to play catch up, although there were significant cuts in the rebroadcasts in order to accommodate modern television's need to have more commercial time.

With the wonder of DVD compilations, I have now been able to see the installments in their original lengths, with great sound and picture enhancement. For that, I tip my hat to Twentieth Century Fox for its attention to detail, particularly on the "Voyage" and "Time Tunnel" sets, respectively.

Perhaps, the studio might go back and do the same for "Lost in Space," as it isn't up to par with the other two.

That said, I can now give my take on the compilation in question, the first half of the second season.

As has been previously stated, this was the first color season for the show and featured some physical changes to the Seaview and the awesome addition of the Flying Sub, enabling Admiral Nelson and crew to soar to new adventures, as well as sail to them. There are cast changes, notably Terry Becker replacing the late Henry Hulky as the new "chief." Alan Hunt was added to appeal to the younger audience but only lasted the second season.

Richard Basehart continued his commanding presence as "Admiral Nelson" and David Hedison resumed his role as the by-the-books "Captain Lee Crane." Del Monroe continued his role as the fan favorite "Kowalski" while Robert Dowdell was back as "Lt. Commander 'Chip' Morton." Richard Bull would be in a few episodes as "The Doctor" and Arch Whitting and Paul Trinka again assayed their respective roles of "Sparks" and "Patterson."

As far as the story lines go, there is a blend of action, sci-fi, and political intrigue in the first half of the second season. Some of the best shows highlight America's past and "future," though the latter was steeped in world conditions of the 60's. While the show does depend on state-of-the-art special effects, it is actually the character driven ones that are the best. Chief among the latter are "...And Five of Us Are Left," a drama wherein Nelson and a crewman come upon five survivors of World War II, living for almost three decades in a subterranean cave; "Escape from Venice," an exciting cat-and-mouse tale featuring great work from Basehart, Hedison, Hunt, and a superb supporting guest cast; "The Peacemaker," starring legendary filmmaker John Cassavettes as a treacherous American scientist; "The Silent Saboteurs," distinguished for a pre-Sulu appearance by George Takai.

"Jonah and the Whale" and "Leviathan" are the best of the SFX-laden installments, featuring great undersea shots and miniatures, while the latter sports a truly creepy transformation of a key character.

There are some that are just a lot of fun, especially by the actors that guest star. The twenty-something Victor Buono adds another in his long list of characterizations as the much older scientist bent on world domination in "The Cyborg." Charles Dierkop, who would the same year be featured in an uncredited part on producer Irwin Allen's "Lost in Space," has fun as the sinister lead character in "The Left-Handed Man." The same episode also features a scene-stealing turn from veteran actor Cyril Delevanti as a millionaire with evil machinations.

Dierkop would not be the only actor to appear more than once in an Allen production. Liam Sullivan, Regis Toomey, Lloyd Bochner, and Susan Flannery would appear in episodes from this season, as they had in the first season or the theatrical film of which the show was based.

The last episode in the set, "The Monster From Outer Space," has to feature one of the most laughable creations in the show's history, but, overall, it's not bad if one is into "alien possession."

Musically, two fine scores were contributed by Jerry Goldsmith ("Jonah and the Whale") and Nelson Riddle ("Escape from Venice"). The former score will be heavily borrowed throughout the duration of the show's run, while the latter is much lighter than the usual, reminiscent of the composer's work on "Batman".

The extras in this compilation are sparse and the split of the season is a downer; however, these two minuses can't detract from a classic of science fiction adventure.

The video and sound came out very well. It looks as if they remastered the episodes in high definition from excellent source material. This is a significant improvement over the reruns that were broadcast on the SciFi Channel in the 1990s, and I do mean significant! The color came out with proper contrast and proper saturation; the sound quality came out clear and largely free from hiss and distortion. Overall, the picture and sound are superior to the Season One releases.

Like other reviewers, I do wish it were possible to buy the DVDs as whole seasons. After Fox released the first season of Lost in Space, the retailers asked for a cheaper price point. Fox's solution was to break seasons in half and lower the price. Retailers see more sales when the prices are lower. If Fox continues to release this way, then I'd like to see them speed up the releases. The second half of this season is slated for release on February 20, 2007 - four months later. I'd like to see Fox release them every three months instead.

I read somewhere that Fox is considering the release of Land of the Giants in 2007, but it is not official yet.

I'd like to say to Fox, a big thank you for doing an excellent job on The Time Tunnel and Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea DVDs. Please keep up your high standards through the final season of Voyage, and continue to do a fine job on Land of the Giants when you get to it.

Usually the first season of any show is its best. Although I enjoyed season 1, season 2 was my favorite season of Voyage. There are several reasons for this. Season 1 was fairly serious and filmed in black and white. Season 2 was the first season filmed in color and like so many other series that had their 1st seasons in black and white, (Voyage, Lost in Space, Wild Wild West, U.N.C.L.E., etc,)the second season looked just beautiful in color. Voyage looked better than most with the blue of the ocean, blue skies, and those colored lights flashing on and off aboard the Seaview.
But the real reason was the scripts. The second season of Voyage was a nice combination of sci fi. and James Bond adventure. (Bond and U.N.C.L.E. were at their height of popularity at that time. The first season of U.N.C.L.E. ran against the 1st season of Voyage on Monday nights. If only we had a VCR or DVR in those days.)
Season 2 opened with one of my faves: "Jonah and the Whale" wherein Admiral Nelson and a female Russian scientist (Gia Scala,) are swallowed by a giant whale in their diving bell and Crane must lead a party inside the whale to rescue them (TV Guide did a nice spread on this episode.) It sounds preposterous but I love this episode. This was followed by several other excellent episodes including the very serious "And Eight of Us are Left" and "The Cyborg" with Victor Buono as a mad scientist creating a cyborg Admiral Nelson. There were several weeks of Bond-oriented episodes, (the excellent "Left-Handed Man" and "Deadliest Game,") followed by the classic "Leviathan" where one of Nelson's scientist friends grows to gigantic proportions (and goes insane,) spending much of the second half of the show tackling the Seaview and trying to stomp it into the ground. Truly magnificent special effects that still hold up great. (After each episode, the ratings were checked and it was found that the monster shows outrated the non-creature oriented. As a result, for its 3rd season and beyond, Voyage became, unfortunately, a monster of the week series.
Some other memorable Voyage episodes from the second season in this set, and volume 2, include the poorly-titled "Monster from Outer Space." This was the first appearance of a rather silly-looking inflated alien (reused in another episode later on.) This was also the first time an alien took over the consciousness of the entire crew (with the usual exception of either Nelson or Crane who must defeat them alone.) This plotline was used ad nauseum in seasons 3 and 4. There was also "Terror on Dinsaur Island," a much better episode than the first season's "Turn Back the Clock," (75% of which was taken from the Irwin Allen film "The Lost World.") I also liked "Killers of the Deep," guest-starring the great Michael Ansara, a reworking of the WWII film "The Enemy Below" with much of the footage taken from that 20th. Century Fox Film (like "The Lost World" also co-starring David Hedison.") "The Skys on Fire" is a reworking of the original Voyage film from 1961. I also enjoy "Dead Men's Doubloons," a guilty-pleasure with Albert Salmi as the leader of a spy-ring who believe they are reincarnated pirates. Finally, there is "The Mechanical Man" with James Darren as one very nasty android. (Darren would star in Irwin Allen's "The Time Tunnel" the following season.")
There are many other enjoyabe episodes, but these are some of my favorites. As stated previously, it was a very nice combination of sci. fi. and Bond-like adventures. If only it had stayed that way. However like Allen's other series and other tv shows of the time like Man from U.N.C.L.E., the show started serious and than gravitated into silliness as time went on. Season 2 was the high-point of Voyage. However no matter how silly it got, the excellent acting of Richard Basehart and David Hedison and the seriousness with which they played their roles always made it enjoyabe to watch.

. . . I don't like seeing the trend of dividing a season's worth of shows in two separate volumes continue. Just give us fans the entire season in one box. I do love the TV shows of Irwin Allen with "Voyage" being my favorite. I would also like to see "Land of the Giants" on DVD, too.

What's really amazing about this old favorite is how the stars David Hedison and the great Richard Basehart could keep a straight face while they delivered their lines from the often absurd scripts. It's good to enjoy it once again. The episodes are presented, for the most part exactly as they were first shown, and the video transfer is first rate.

Here in the UK, "Voyage" has hardly been seen since the mid-70s - indeed it's been along while since any of Irwin Allen's creations have graced our screens, except every now and then in one-off themed TV evenings. I bought this volume because I remembered at least two episodes from my childhood, only to find myself experiencing total recall for almost EVERY episode! What a treat, being a kid all over again - and the transfers are super too. "The Left-Handed Man" is a particularly memorable episode. If you're thinking "mmm, should I ...?", don't - just do it!

This season was filmed in colour and was very very good and with the introduction of the colour it gave it more deph and made things look more scary and they even did a better job in hiding the strings on objects that need string to float. The only problem I have with these and Land Of the Giants are the double sided business and putting four on one side and two on the second side. The problem is that you could accidently either scratch or smudge on the disc and it could be ruined. So please Fox just pit them on single sided discs

So again if you like Irwin Allen then get it