I was addicted to repeats of this on channel four back in the 90's when i was growing up! Admiral Nelson became a hero of mine and no matter what problem he faced it was normally resolved by firing a nuclear missile or torpedo. I tapped a vast amount of the episodes on VHS at the time and even wrote to channel four asking if they would ever show Voyage again...This started off in b/w and had some very good episodes with some hard hitting stories with gritty moral issues and great acting. I'm afraid to say by the last two series it was pure monster of the week and Richard Baseheart looked bored and fed up as he tried to save the world from the next rubbery foe. Crew members would be killed or murdered by other crew members when they had been "taken over" this normally happened on a regular basis but in the end the scripts were so bad no one really cared.Kowalski would get knocked out every episode when he went to check on the circuitry room-which was always left unguarded. The crew had access to firearms when they wanted as there seemed to be a arms locker in their quarters. Throwing bombs was a must onboard. If so much as a summers breeze blew on the hull it would result in the best firework display you have seen coming from the control room equipment.Despite what i have mentioned....i still love this show! It's pure ocean bound fantasy and had a real nice atmosphere about it. No matter how bad the scripts got the actors hung in there, the sets and lighting were fantastic. when the budget allowed there were some nifty under water shots. I always wanted to lurk and stalk Seaviews always empty corridors or form a search party with the chief. This show often attracted some big names as guest stars...one that springs to mind is Vincent price who tried to take over the Seaview with glove puppets! I really liked the writers idea of future gadgets and weapons, just writing this is making me want the Admiral to go to his lab and knock up a weapon to save the day!The thing i hated the most about this show was not the nit picks i mentioned i can live with them and there kind of fun,it was the damn editing. What idiot did they get to do it? one shot the Seaview had a double row of windows (from the film) next shot it was back to a single set. They would be in deep water and decided to launch the "flying sub" so a shot of it launching with Seaview on the surface is used. Take me to long to list all the editing goofs. I remember one episode where they are trapped on the sea floor but can launch the flying sub because they are on a ledge....you guessed it, same old shot of it launching when the ship is on the surface,what were they thinking?Having said all that still great fun to watch.Go for the black and white and early colour episodes some real gems to be found.

I was a kid back in the 60s and Voyage was one of my favorites. The plot lines followed the typical pattern of the day like other sci-fi shows back then. Every week a different undersea monster. The star of the show was the Seaview, a sleek nuclear sub with windows in the nose and fins designed after the 58 Cadillac. There were plenty of TV themed toys available back then I had to have my own Seaview. I got it one Christmas, It was yellow, about a foot long but I was disappointed to find a handle sticking out of the front so you could wind the rubber bands that made it go. Kinda ruined the aesthetics of the model. I also had the plastic model that was put together with glue like an airplane model. although it was much smaller. The closest I ever got to run it was in the bathtub and I had to make my own ping noises. My family must have thought I was nuts. The Seaview got a remodel in the last season with new windows in the nose and a docking birth underneath for the Flying Sub. I recently rented some DVDs from the series. As I expected they had not stood the test of time but back then it was all we had. Three channels if you were lucky. I kinda hope they don't try to do a remake because those things never work like that awful remake of Lost in Space.

What can I say? I mean this show was on 7:00 PM Sundays for most of it's run and was followed by Efram Zimbelist Jr. in "The FBI!" Why do I remember this? Because school was Monday and these would be the last shows I could watch before facing a week of shear terror! I guess anything was good if it was on at that time.It's only competition was Lassie or Disney both of which had no monsters. I would see this show in re runs much later and wonder why I would ever waste my time with it. I flubbed my homework so I could watch this? Now all I think of is the thousands of dollars of income I have lost because I didn't spend more time studying! Richard Basehart and David Hedison were busy in the first couple of years but after that it was Chief Sharkey, Kowalski, and Paterson and that stupid mini sub in the missle room. This was bad. Also I wonder who the contractor was for the Seaview's electrical system cause every week of the show(and seemingly without fail) the circuitry room would blow up!My favorite episode as "Jonah and the Wahle" which was when the diving bell containing Captain Crane gets swallowed by a whale like it was bait. Improbable as it was this episode introduced the shows first season in color (the 2nd year I believe)and a redesigned Seaview with a "Flying" Sub. Considering Richard Basehart's best film is "Moby Dick!" you had to wonder who wrote this episode.I guess they added the flying sub so they could get the action off the sub and into the air! Darn thing crashed every week! How did it get it's certification?My least favorite episode (I was too young) was the "Phantom" who was the ghost of a World War one U Boat out looking for his lost love. The "Phantom" was in two episodes so I guess someone liked it. As an adult I think these episodes have some class.The best year of the show drama wise was the first (in black and white)which is why I gave it a seven. Most of the last (4th) year was so silly I really didn't mind if I missed it. The show was a success because it lasted four years in those days was unusual. They just ran out of ideas and, since it was 1968, a generation had really grown up. The show was unintentionally funny. The cheapest monster was the "flame creature" which was the flame from a blow torch held out in front of the camera. After Captain Crane had rescued some crewmen who were overcome from the heat, he picked up the always handy intercom microphone to alert the control room. All I could think of him saying was "Send down two glasses of ice tea and QUICK!" And then there was Chip, the exec. How did he survive the boredom. He was in every episode and all he said was "Hello Admiral" or "OK Lee!" And then there was that incredibly bad sonar system and the stupid computer. Boom, sparks aplenty, the Seaview rocks back and forth! "You OK Chip?" At least Dowdell (who played Chip) made a good living in soap operas later on.Then there were the monster costumes. Irwin Allen had several shows on at once including "Lost in Space" and the "Time Tunnel". The same monster costume would cycle through all the shows. Sometime they would paint it a new color but once it was on "Lost in Space," three weeks later you would see it on "Voyage!" And then there was the clown monster! Hey Bozo, put that ray gun down!I think that the very talented actors in the show like Richard Basehart (Moby Dick), David Hedison (Felix Lieter in James Bond,) and the aforementioned Chip Dowdell must have thought the same thing I do after looking back on this show which is: Oh it hurts to even think of the wasted time I spent with this show!

Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea was one of my favorite U.S. TV shows! I couldn't wait to get back home from school to watch the antics of the Admiral, the Capt.,Kowalski and the gang as they headed for an unknown destiny amidst the waves of the deep blue sea. It might seem outdated today, but it was a SUPER sci-fi show back then!!! I liked the photography of the entire series and the Seaview was a fascinating piece of prop work just like the Enterprise (Star Trek). The music adopted for the show was ideal for the weird settings in each episode. The monsters and the aliens that showed up in each new episode reminded me of another fabulous TV series called the Outer Limits. Overall, Richard Basehart, RIP, and David Hedison were two extremely fine actors. A must in every true science fiction lover's film library.