"Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea" was based on the science fiction film of the same name that was produced by Irwin Allen. This first boxed set of the television series is a suprisingly entertaining look at what the early sixties predicted would be the world of the 70s. The series stars Richard Basehart (Moby Dick) as Admiral Harriman Nelson (the Walter Pidgeon role in the film) and David Hedison as Captain Lee Crane. The real star of the show though is the "Seaview", a futuristic looking submarine, which is where most of the action in the series takes place.

This set is Volume One of Season One-look forward to Fox releasing Volume Two in the future. The three disc double sided set contains 16 one hour episodes. The plots for the show involve a great variety of science fiction themes, from Cold War intrigue to battling giant monsters in the ocean. Some involve manipulation of nature, including climate changes (shades of the Day After Tomorrow) and underwater sea rescue. Acting by Basehart and crew is good; not as hokey as you might expect. However, Basehart sometimes plays a bit of a split personality; yelling at the crew one moment and joking with them the next. It's also interesting how the series lets its major star (Basehart) smoke on camera; yeah, its 1964 but smoking aboard a submarine? Casting includes some top guest stars from the sixties; Eddie Albert, and Michael Anzarra to name a few. Also look for a pre-Scotty James Doohan in bit parts in several episodes.

The fullscreen 1.33:1 picture is in good shape for the most part. The series first season was filmed in black and white and later changed to color. Film elements sometimes show their age with scratches and some minor film damage but the majority of the episodes are very clean with good contrast. Sound is available in two channel Dolby stereo and original mono and is very clean without distortion but a bit of hiss that is noticeable at the very beginning of the episodes.

Extras include the pilot episode, which is an extention of the first episode but was shot in color. Color really does add a lot to the series as you will see. Other extras include some Irwin Allen home movies , some promotional reels and publicity stills. Nothing great but considering how old this series is, its remarkable they came up with anything.

"Voyage To The Bottom of the Sea" was a good early science fiction television show, taking science fiction from the hokey films of the fifties into realistic adventures of the early future. The cast does a good job of conveying this and the writing for the show was top-notch for its time. This first boxed set will be a hit with fans of the show.