Any British Voyage fans on my flist?
I'm not sure if there are any British Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea fans on my flist who have not bought the Region 1 DVDs but if there are, then note that the DVDs are finally being released on Region 2, with the whole of Season 1 (and, in my opinion, the only really good season and the only one I bought as Region 1) released on 28th March this
( Read more... )
As for whether you would be disappointed - well, that depends.
The first, black and white season, stands up remarkably well. It takes about four episodes for the actors to really 'find' their characters - Richard Basehart, in particular, but then they go on a roll. Episodes such as Submarine Sunk Here, The Fear Makers, The Condemned and Mutiny show the actors and scriptwriters at the top of their game. The best are taut cold war and/or SF thrillers, with villains who are far from evil. Of course, some of the FX isn't up to much compared with the current stories... and there is one awful clunker of a script ("Long Live the King") which was, admittedly, their Christmas episode, with all that that implies and another that uses footage from The Lost World that is just embarrassing, but, otherwise, the series maintains a high level.
Once into the second season and beyond, we are into as much Technicolor as possible, better FX (and the Flying Sub!), but scripts that swiftly deteriorate into total crap, though the actors, bless them, never give up. (One of my favourite Nelson and Crane yelling matches is in fourth season.)
If you are happy to make the usual allowances for 60s TV, then you should give first season a go.
Reply
Leave a comment