Sea Hunt

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.

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.

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.

Born in 1947 and raised watching tens of thousands of hours of tv (am I the only living person who watched all the episodes of Whirlybirds - four times?), Sea Hunt is a real childhood memory for me. It was fun, it was cool and it was on every week. We were so innocent in those days, audiences would watch just to see scuba diving. The only show I looked forward to more was Science Fiction Theater ("Hello, I'm your host, Truman Bradley.")

One odd touch sticks in my mind these forty years later. I'm thinking it must have been deliberate. Each and every episode - I swear - seemed to use one particular line of dialog. At some point in an underwater scene, Mike Nelson utters with surprise - in narration, of course - "And then I saw it!" Is there an insider out there who can shed light on this phenomenon? Or, heaven help me, does 30,000 hours of television actually turn your brain to jello?

What a night. Perry Mason then Have Gun, Will Travel followed by Gunsmoke (when it was a half hour) and finally at 10:30PM came 'Sea Hunt' with its wonderful opening theme music and Mike's boat sailing off to a new adventure. Terrific.. Regardless of the story it was the lead character (played by Lloyd Bridges), strong, honest, sincere. A Man's Man and a Boy's Man. This brought on an interest in boats that lasted for years. Why they don't show on cable or make it available on video, no idea.. Too bad.