"SeaQuest DSV" (1993) TV series 1993-1996

Creator:

Rockne S. O'Bannon

Seasons:

1 | 2 | 3

Release Date:

12 September 1993 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Family | Adventure | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

Beneath the surface lies the future.

Plot:

By the mid-21st Century, humankind has colonized the oceans and formed the UEO--the United Earth Oceans--as a military organization to police it...

Plot Keywords:

Dolphin | Submarine | Sea | U Boat | Futuristic

Awards:

Won 2 Primetime Emmys. Another 1 win & 5 nominations

Cast

Jonathan Brandis	...	Lucas Wolenczak / ... (57 episodes, 1993-1996)
Don Franklin	...	Commander Jonathan Ford (57 episodes, 1993-1996)
Ted Raimi	...	Lt. j.g. Timothy O'Neill (57 episodes, 1993-1996)
Roy Scheider	...	Captain Nathan Bridger (47 episodes, 1993-1995)
Marco Sanchez	...	Sensor Chief Miguel Ortiz (44 episodes, 1993-1995)
Peter DeLuise	...	Dagwood / ... (35 episodes, 1994-1996)
Michael DeLuise	...	Tony Piccolo / ... (34 episodes, 1994-1996)
Kathy Evison	...	Helmswoman Lonnie Henderson / ... (34 episodes, 1994-1996)
Edward Kerr	...	Lt. James Brody (28 episodes, 1994-1996)
Frank Welker	...	Special Vocal Effects (28 episodes, 1993-1995)
John D'Aquino	...	Lt. Benjamin Krieg / ... (24 episodes, 1993-1995)
Stacy Haiduk	...	Lt. Cmdr. Katherine Hitchcock (23 episodes, 1993-1994)
Royce D. Applegate	...	Chief Manilow Crocker (23 episodes, 1993-1994)
Stephanie Beacham	...	Dr. Kristin Westphalen (23 episodes, 1993-1994)

Also Known As:

SeaQuest 2032 (USA) (new title)

Runtime:

60 min (59 episodes)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Australia:PG

Filming Locations:

Epcot Center, Walt Disney World, Lake Buena Vista, Florida, USA

Company:

Amblin Entertainment

Trivia:

During the first season, in the background of some scenes were recreations of actual marine biology experiments.

Goofs:

Factual errors: Lucas Wolenczak is a magna cum laude graduate of Stanford University. Stanford University doesn't award cum laude, magna cum laude, or summa cum laude distinctions. Even if they did, Lucas would most likely have been a summa cum laude since his GPA record was never broken.

Quotes:

Lucas: Captain, this is a Level One UEO sealed file. Opening it would be illegal.
Capt. Nathan Bridger: Why do you think I came to you?
Lucas: Good point.

Movie Connections:

Edited into "South Park: Go God Go XII (#10.13)" (2006)

Star Trek: TNG...in a submarine

This show was quite obviously patterned after Star Trek: The Next Generation. Most of the Trek Characters find a direct parallel here, right down to the nerdy computer geek kid. I can't quite decide who was more annoying, Wesley Crusher or Lucas Wolenczak. Lucas actually used the phrase "physically differently abled" while keeping a straight face, so maybe he gets the nod. Roy Scheider was the captain of the submarine, and I've seen him give such excellent performances in other shows, but here he's just flat. He's 99% father figure and 1% captain. The other characters included a doctor who was virtually indistinguishable from Beverly Crusher, the obligatory black guy to play the Giordi LaForge part, and even a retarded, super strong guy standing in for Data (lots of kindergarten level discussions of what it means to be human). There was a semi-hot babe in place of Lt. Yar, and a wacky Italian guy - probably the only non-Trek character on the whole thing. Overall, if you like The Next Generation, you'll probably like this. If you don't, you won't.

Oops, almost forgot about the talking dolphin. Oh, he was just sooooo cute.

Plots mostly revolved around environmentalism. Every episode treated you to a good bludgeoning about the head and neck with environmentalist propaganda. Environmentalism, environmentalism, environmentalism. The trouble is, when you're so infatuated with a single topic, it eliminates about 99% of the available plots, so you're left with a very small group of things to do. Probably the reason the show got canceled.

Somewhere along the line the Seaquest got abducted by aliens and brought back to Earth many years later. This plot development seemed to hold much promise, but I seem to remember losing interest in it shortly after. From reading the other reviews, it looks like most everybody else did as well. My last memory of Seaquest was of an alien wearing a helmet with blinking Christmas tree lights around it. That was just a bit much. It really descended into Buck Rodgers in the 25th Century territory at that point. And without Wilma Deering, hey, forget about it.

Overall, if you're looking for something perhaps a little better than Star Trek: TNG, you might want to give this a try. At least the characters had some life to them, and, well, that's about the only difference. Oh yeah, it was also in a submarine, not space.