Aventura Submarina

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.

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?

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 loved watching ''Sea Hunt '' back in the day , I was in grammar school and would get home do my homework and by 4:30 would be ready to watch ''Sea Hunt '' and Mike Nelson in his underwater adventures .I loved it ! He took to you a place not very accessible at that time , under the great blue sea . Pre ''Thunderball '' or even before Cousteau became common , there was Mike Nelson sparking the imagination of kids .I'd be willing to wager that more than a few kids developed their passion for oceanography or biology or one of the sciences from watching this show .Underwater photography also progressed , the fascination for exploration is easily stimulated thru watching this show . Watch and enjoy !!!

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.