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seaQuest DSV was an American science fiction television series created by Rockne S. O'Bannon. It originally aired on NBC between 1993 and 1996. In its final season, it was renamed seaQuest 2032. Set in "The Near Future", seaQuest originally mixed high drama with realistic scientific fact. It starred Roy Scheider (best known for his role as Police Chief Brody in Jaws) as Nathan Bridger, captain of the eponymous high-tech submarine seaQuest DSV 4600, Jonathan Brandis as Lucas Wolenczak, a teenaged computer genius, and Stephanie Beacham as Kristin Westphalen, the chief medical officer and head of the seaQuest science department.

The series had a troubled beginning. Without the interest of Steven Spielberg, who acted as an executive producer, it might never have made it to the screen at all. Filming of the first season was marked by producer disputes, changes at the helm (off-screen), and even an earthquake. On its debut, it was panned by the critics, who dubbed it "Voyage to the Bottom of the Ratings" (in reference to a similar 1960s TV series, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea), and criticised everything from the characterisation of the show's female characters to Darwin, the show's dolphin. The show was nonetheless sufficiently popular to last two and a half seasons, being abruptly cancelled in the middle of the third.

Roy Scheider narrated the voiceover during each first season's episodes' opening credits:

The 21st century: mankind has colonized the last unexplored region on Earth; the ocean. As captain of the seaQuest and its crew, we are its guardians. For beneath the surface lies the future.

Plot overview

The series follows the adventures of the high-tech submarine seaQuest operated by the United Earth Oceans Organization (UEO), a global federation of nations, similar to the United Nations, which was created following a major global conflict that occurred circa 2010. The seaQuest was built by NORPAC (a military organization mentioned in the pilot) and given to the UEO after its creation. The storyline begins in the year 2018, after mankind has exhausted almost all natural resources, except for the ones on the ocean floor. Many new colonies have been established there and it's the job of the seaQuest and its crew to protect them from hostile nonaligned nations and to aid in mediating disputes.

Changes after season 1

In the first season finale, Bridger sacrifices the seaQuest to prevent an ecological disaster, and for a short time it was not known if the show would be renewed for another season. When it was decided the show would return, NBC and Universal used this opportunity to tinker with the show's format. Both Royce D. Applegate and John D'Aquino were fired by NBC as the network wanted a younger cast for the show's second year (D'Aquino subsequently returned for a guest appearance in the third season). Stacy Haiduk, who was not happy with her character's development, informed producers she did not wish to return if the show went on to a second season. Stephanie Beacham, who as Dr. Kristin Westphalen was one of the first season's strongest characters, had been asked back for the second year, contrary to popular rumour; however, she quit when it was decided the show would move production from Los Angeles to Florida. (The move also changed the show's location from Pearl Harbor to New Cape Quest). Beacham also blamed poor writing and continued fighting between the network and the show's producers as major reasons why she did not return. The series had suffered in the ratings, pitted as it was against The New Adventures of Superman.

The studio wanted more sci-fi oriented episodes, a direction moved toward at the end of season one, when seaQuest encounters a million-year-old alien ship buried in the ocean floor. The marine trivia presentations during the credits by oceanographer Bob Ballard were now presented by the principal cast of the show. These changes attracted a new audience, but many of the original fans of the first season were unhappy at the show's change from "sci-fact" to "sci-fi" and abandoned the show.

By the end of season two, seaQuest DSV was again suffering, partly attributed to a decrease in the quality of the writing. The season's heavily sci-fi climax, "Splashdown", sees the crew and the boat transported to another planet, where the majority of them die (or so it seems). The threat of cancellation loomed large but Universal gave it one more chance.

Changes after season 2

Another revamp resulted in the third season, the series now called seaQuest 2032. Roy Scheider had been vocal in his anger of the show's new direction and wanted out. However, Scheider had a contract with the network so it was decided that Bridger would make several appearances throughout the season. Rosalind Allen was fired as her character, Dr. Wendy Smith, proved to be unpopular among fans (Dr. Smith, introduced in season 2, was essentially seen as a weak mixture of two female characters from The Next Generation: the attractive doctor, who is the captain's unrequited love interest, and the psychic, who can sense emotions). Marco Sanchez was also fired after NBC decided it wanted the principal cast number dropped from ten to eight. Edward Kerr was fired for the same reason as Sanchez -- however, he was asked to play his character for the first five episodes so they could kill him off for dramatic effect. The marine trivia presentations at the end of the show were cut. The seaQuest reappears, its crew intact, ten years after their abduction at the end of season two. Captain Bridger steps down to raise his grandson (although Scheider appears in two further episodes of the season), and Michael Ironside enters the fray as the more militaristic Oliver Hudson as the UEO faces the threat of the Macronesian Alliance. Much darker than the previous seasons, some fans felt that seaQuest had finally found its feet. However, Universal and NBC disagreed, and cancelled the series after 13 episodes.

DVD release

Fans of "seaQuest DSV" have campaigned for the release of the series on DVD. Universal Studios, which owns the distribution rights to the series, had at one time stated that it had no plans to release the show on DVD. Over the past few years, illegal bootleg recordings of the series have been sold on eBay and other online auction sites in VCD and DVD format.

In 2005 Universal announced that the first season of "seaQuest DSV" would be released on DVD on December 26 2005 along with a week long marathon of the show on the Sci Fi Channel. Universal credited the fans with changing their minds about a DVD release. However, some also credit the successful sales of bootleg copies of the series. The DVD release included numerous deleted scenes as well as alternate versions of broadcast scenes.

Media

A short series of novels based on the characters and concepts dipicted on seaQuest DSV were available during the first season of the show. They were:

  • A novelization of the pilot episode by Diane Duane and Peter Norwood.
  • "Fire Below" by Matthew J. Costello. Published January 1994. ISBN 0-441-00039-8
  • "The Ancient" by David Bischoff. Published March 1994. ISBN 0-441-00042-8

One issue of a "seaQuest DSV" comic book was also published by Nemesis Comics.

Trivia

  • The show's first season theme song was nominated for an Emmy Award, and in 2000 was named the 48th best theme song of all time by TV Guide.
  • Two of the show's cast members died in 2003. Royce D. Applegate (Chief Manilow Crocker) died in a New Year's Day house fire and Jonathan Brandis (Lucas Wolenczak) committed suicide in November.
  • Edward Kerr's character, Lieutenant James Brody, was named after Police Chief Martin Brody, played by castmate Roy Scheider, in Jaws.
  • Unsure if the show would be picked up for another season upon the conclusion of the first, the writers decided to destroy the seaQuest in the first season finale; had the show been cancelled, it would have ended with a note of finality, and had it been picked up, another seaQuest could have been built. The latter eventually came to pass. Also, had the show been picked up for a second season, it would have moved production from California to Florida. Since the existing sets were too big to cost-effectively move, it was easier to just destroy them and rebuild.
  • Roy Scheider had not been pleased with the direction of the show in the second season (moving more away from science-fact and towards heavy science-fiction), and had been vocal about his displeasure. Although he had a contract with NBC, Scheider was allowed to bow out in the third season, only required to reappear occasionally as a recurring character.
  • Michael Ironside had considerable input as to the direction of the show during his season.
  • John D'Aquino (Benjamin Krieg) was the only first season castmember that ever returned for a guest appearance ("In the Company of Ice and Profit").
  • The image of Captain Bridger's wife, Carol, was played by Roy Scheider's real-life wife; Brenda King.
  • Many scenes in the episode "Playtime" were filmed in Lakeland, Florida, especially the campus at Florida Southern College to take advantage of the buildings designed by Frank Lloyd Wright.
  • In the episode "Daggers, Part II", Dr. Wendy Smith states that Dagwood is like an uncle to the baby GELF, Genetically Engineered Life Form. Peter DeLuise is in truth the baby's uncle. She is Riley DeLuise, the daughter of David DeLuise. In another scene in the same episode, her other uncle Michael DeLuise, playing Anthony Piccolo, is seen holding her.
  • Captain Bridger never refers to Dagwood by name. The closest he ever got was calling him "Dag" in the episodes "Special Delivery" and "The Siamese Dream."
  • Despite the numerous changes to the show in the second season, the episode "The Sincerest Form of Flattery" contains many "throwbacks" to the first season, such as the reappearance of Admiral Noyce and Professor Martenson, as well as the "Internex" from the episode "Photon Bullet."
  • The episode "By Any Other Name" uses stock footage from season one episodes. As a result, John D'Aquino as Lieutenant Benjamin Krieg can be seen (briefly) running onto the bridge as the clam-doors close.
  • Jonathan Brandis (Lucas Wolenczak) and Ted Raimi (Lieutenant Tim O'Neill) both wrote episodes for the series. (Brandis wrote "The Siamese Dream" and Raimi "Lostland", respectively.)
  • Don Franklin, Ted Raimi, and Jonathan Brandis are the only three castmembers to remain with the show for all three seasons.
  • Jonathan Brandis is the only castmember to appear in every episode. Don Franklin appears in every episode except "And Everything Nice."
  • The Regulator and his orangutan Verne can be seen in the opening credits of every third season episode.
  • Ralph Willcox and Karen Fraction, who both become recurring guest stars in the third season, had previously appeared as different characters in the second year.

References to Star Trek

Cast

Recurring Guest Cast

Additionally, seaQuest DSV employed a significant amount of guest stars familiar with the sci-fi genre, many of whom would go on to star in other shows. Notable guest stars included William Shatner (Captain James T. Kirk), Charlton Heston (star of The Ten Commandments, Planet of the Apes and other classic 1960s-70s SF films), Tim Russ (later Tuvok on Voyager), Seth Green (later Scott Evil in the Austin Powers films, Oz on Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Chris Griffin on Family Guy), Kent McCord (Officer Jim Reed of Adam-12, Captain Troy of Galactica 1980, Unger in The Sequel, and later Jack Crichton of O'Bannon's Farscape), William Morgan Sheppherd (numerous appearances in Star Trek, Max Headroom and Babylon 5), and Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker). Additionally, Richard Herd is also notable for the recurring role of Admiral Owen Paris on the aforementioned Star Trek: Voyager.

Episodes

"Watergate" song lyrics

This song was performed in the second season episode "Watergate" and was performed by guest star Dawn Robinson.

To ease her grief with comfort,
To say something,
To turn her hurt and pain away,
Sighs often,
His heart being moved by his great love, most deeply,
And still the Gods give orders,
He obeys them,
He goes back to his fleet,
To his fleet.
By night, by day, the portals of darkness stand open,
It is easy by descending,
Down to all the news,
His heart being moved by his great love, most deeply,
And still the Gods give orders,
He obeys them,
He goes back to his fleet,
To his fleet.

External links

Official

Unofficial

Seaquest is also the name of an Activision video game for Atari 2600.

Science fiction television series | NBC network shows | 1990s TV shows in the United States | NBC Universal Television shows

SeaQuest DSV (serija) | SeaQuest DSV | Seaquest DSV | SeaQuest, police des mers

 

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the "SeaQuest DSV".

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