Journey to the seabed was originally a 1961 film about a technologically advanced nuclear submarine named the Seaview, whose crew must reach a specific location to launch a nuclear missile that will save Earth from destruction after a meteor shower hits the Van Allen radiation belt and catches fire, accelerating global warming. The journey is dangerous, however, involving giant squid, saboteurs, and mutinous crew members, but the submarine eventually arrives and completes its mission. The film starred Walter Pidgeon as Admiral Nelson, who designed the Seaview, and Robert Sterling as Captain Lee Crane and the crew’s commanding officer. Other stars included Joan Fontaine, Barbara Eden, Peter Lorre, Michael Ansara, and Frankie Avalon, who also sang the film’s theme song. The film was directed and co-written by Irwin Allen. The film received mixed reviews, but was so popular with audiences that it was released as a television series.
In 1964, the first of four and longest-running television series created by Irwin Allen premiered. The series used the same sets, costumes and props from the film, which had been stored after filming, allowing for the use of film stock at times. The series aired on ABC from September 14, 1964, to March 31, 1968, and consisted of four seasons and 110 episodes. The majority of the series was set in the then-future 1970s, with the final two seasons set in the 1980s. The cast included Richard Basehart as Admiral Nelson and David Hedison as Captain Crane.
Keywords: film; Seaview; Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea
Although the series always had a science fiction aspect, the first two seasons focused on the “Cold War” feelings that existed in the United States at the time. Even when it came to battling plankton monsters or aliens, the real enemies were foreign governments bent on unbridled power. Starting in the second season, the series moved more toward a “monster of the week” format and away from the darker tones of the first season, at the studio’s request to create a “lighter” atmosphere. The second season also redesigned the interior of the submarine and added the “Flying Submarine” that could leave the ocean and take to the air. This expanded travel options and updated the local restrictions of the earlier season.
Two more Irwin Allen shows premiered in the third season. Lost in space And The time tunnel. While not entirely gone, paranormal storylines continued to play out in the final two seasons, with mummies, werewolves, talking dolls, and even an evil goblin haunting the Seaview. There were also fossil men, flame men, frost men, lobster men, and shadow men. The fourth and final season featured two different time travel episodes, including the final episode that ends the series. The full series was very episodic, with only a handful of episodes getting any sort of sequel. This was normal for the time period. In other media, Journey to the seabed had some success in the form of novels and comic books, board games, lunch boxes, Viewmaster slides, and most notably in their plastic model kits sold by the Aurora Plastics Corporation in the 1970s. I know several people, myself included, who had one.
The show was very dry, even with the supernatural elements it seemed more like a police movie than a sci-fi action series. It is also interesting that many of the same creature types were used in some of Irwin Allen’s shows, but the tone of each show completely changes the reception. A plankton monster in Trip and an extraterrestrial life form on Lost in space could be the same special effect, but Journey to the seabed played it seriously with a sense of fear and urgency, where Lost in Spaces Dr. Smith played it cheesy to increase the laughs. One isn’t necessarily better than the other, but the overall effect is drastically different. Overall, the show was well-made and interesting, but could be a bit boring and procedural.
