VOYAGE TO THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA: SEASON 4, VOL. 1

Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea: Season 4, Vol. 1

Actors: David Hedison, Richard Basehart, Robert Dowdell, Del Monroe, Terry Becker
Writers: Irwin Allen, Jack Gross Jr.
Format: AC-3, Box set, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
Language: English, French
Subtitles: English
Region: 1 (U.S. and Canada only)
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Number of discs: 3
Studio: 20th Century Fox
DVD Release Date: March 31, 2009
Run Time: 711 minutes

Movie: * * *
Disc: * * ½

Description: Based on Irwin Allen’s action-packed 1961 film Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea, the television series chronicles the adventures of Admiral Nelson (Richard Basehart: Knight Rider), Captain Crane (David Hedison: License To Kill, The Young and the Restless) and the fearless crew of the notorious SSRN Seaview as they embark on uncharted waters full of sci-fi espionage, action and suspense. Featuring the first 13 episodes from the final season on a three-disc set, Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea Season Four, Volume One boasts the re-cut, unaired pilot, interviews with Hedison and still photos. — Amazon.com

This 1964 show holds a unique place in television history. Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea was the first ever non-anthology weekly sci-fi series produced for American prime time television. As such, it was a forerunner of everything that followed in the genre, most notably the original Star Trek which first hit TV screens in 1966.

Every episodic sci-fi series that followed Voyage was able to imitate it where it succeeded; and where it failed, improve upon it. This is why Voyage deserves much respect for its contributions to sci-fi TV. In the same way that The Twilight Zone can be viewed for its experiments with sci-fi in an anthology format, Voyage can be appreciated for what it pioneered in an episodic format.

Whether or not pop culture history ever acknowledges Voyage's success, the fact remains that it held the record as the longest running hour-long American prime-time sci-fi series for almost thirty years! (If one excludes the present day expansion of additional networks such as Fox and WB, Voyage may STILL hold the record.)

Obviously, producer Irwin Allen must have done something right . . .

THE DISCS: The Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea Season Four, Volume One three-disc DVD collection includes the first 13 episodes of the final season presented in wide screen format (4x3 1.33 aspect ratio) with English, Spanish and French Mono sound and English, Spanish and French subtitles.

WORTH IT? In this final season of Voyage, the writing and direction may not be as cutting edge as it was in the early years, but it is still entertaining, and its overall effectiveness continues to be augmented by an excellent cast, led by Richard Basehart and David Hedison. In addition to the fine acting, Voyage still contains fantastic miniature work (a lost art today), spectacular sets, stirring musical scores, Emmy-award winning special effects and much, much more.

RECOMMENDATION: I'll just go ahead and say it - I highly recommend taking a voyage to the bottom of the sea!

(Review by Christopher Dufour)