El investigador submarino

Gee I miss Sea Hunt. I probably started watching and remembering it when I was eight or nine years old. By that time it was already four or five years in re-run. I can't remember any specific episodes but, I do have very fond memories of Mike Nelson and every shows promise of adventure with a pleasant finale. No tremendous explosions or unrealistic battle scenes, just a good solid yarn that always seemed like a recounting of a real event. The undersea photography, supported by background sounds of Mike's breathing through SCUBA gear, remains etched in my mind!

In a sense, today's Bay Watch, in a "cheesecake" sort of way carries on the tradition of simple honest story line, lack of violence and down-to-earth adventure telling. I'd still rather watch Sea Hunt, I must be getting old.

This was a show to watch and it was just that....A Man's Show! "Sea Hunt"(Syndicated,1958-1962)was just the beginning of a production empire that was created by Ivan Tors,who would bring some of the most adventurous shows ever produced including the classic shows like "The Aquanauts" "Flipper","Gentle Ben","Primus",and so much more. It also at the time when it was still new the "scuba diving" craze,and from there it launch a new nationwide phenomenon and it still going strong today,thanks to Lloyd Bridges,who is no longer with us,but still left us with some great memories of the show and some of his undersea adventures that are associated with this series.

Lloyd Bridges stars as Mike Nelson,a professional diver who lives for adventure under the sea and deals with the experiences of his outgoing adventures as a underwater scuba diver in which some of his adventures are narrated through as he dives down into the deep from some breathtaking scenary and some hidden dangers beneath the waves. The show display some beautiful undersea photography and this is what the show was based on as Mike Nelson goes up against the unexpected each week and no matter how the odds were,he always gets the job done.

Yes,Mike Nelson was a Man's man! A Real Man. Tough and ready for action.

However,there were some guest stars that appear on the show as well and those that were starting out including several guest appearances from Leonard Nimoy,Bruce Dern,Dennis Hopper,Jack Nicholson,June Lockhart, Dick Sargent,and not to mention Lloyd Bridges'own son Beau Bridges in some of the segments.

After the series went off the air in 1962,the producers decided to make a feature length motion picture based on this series and it was to be shown in breathtaking color,but can someone tell me is this out on video?

I haven't seen this show since the early 1970's,but most recently,the OLN-Outdoor Life Network has digitally remastered some of the episodes from its original negatives and it comes on daily in certain markets on OLN (Check local listings for times). Thank you OLN for bringing back some good childhood memories!

Lloyd Bridges will always be Mike Nelson of Sea Hunt. I'm sorry but I just can't think of this late actor any other way. He did some comedy and was in several films and another TV series but this Scuba diving series of his was tops. His voice over narration really was unique and made the show what it was. It doesn't seem to be anywhere on any cable channel which is too bad.

Back in the late 1950's, "Sea Hunt" was one of the biggest hits on TV. It inspired a small score of short-lived knockoffs like "Aquanauts" (from the same producers, Ivan Tors and Ziv TV) and "Assignment Underwater", as well as an airborne "Sea Hunt" called "Ripcord" (also from Tors and Ziv).

Today this gem sits in the Sony Pictures archives, gathering "seaweed". Which is a crying shame, because this was a cool adventure show, the ultimate in shows for the man's man. Former B-actor Lloyd Bridges escaped the obscurity list to take on the role of no-nonsense scuba diver Mike Nelson. There simply couldn't be any other actor made for such a rugged role... Bridges was the one, bar none. His craggy, determined looks made him a natural. That was proved 26 years after the last original "Sea Hunt" aired, when Ron "Tarzan" Ely was cast as Nelson in a tepid remake. Ely was rugged, but he simply wasn't Lloyd Bridges. At least the character of Nelson obviously led a charmed life, for the revival added a hottie for his daughter, played by Kim Sissons.

Add in some impressive underwater photography, courtesy of Ricou Browning and Courtney Brown, and some serious stunts (many courtesy of Bridges himself), throw in some taut scripts, and you have a show that is dying to be resurrected on DVD.

Note: Avoid the 1987 revival like the plague. Boring as sin.

"Sea Hunt" is a Ziv Television Production, produced with the cooperation of Marineland of the Pacific, Los Angeles. Owned by the MGM division of Sony Pictures. 155 episodes were filmed between 1957 and 1961.

I don't think my family ever missed an episode of Sea Hunt! We all looked forward to seeing it every week. I remember that I wanted to experience all the adventures that Mike Nelson (wonderfully portrayed by Lloyd Bridges) and go off with him wherever he went. To heck with running off with the circus - I'd have run off with Mike Nelson! This was good stuff for boys to watch. I seem to recall that my mom liked it as well. PLEASE show this on some cable channel! I want to tape every episode.