O Homem do Fundo do Mar

a legendary series. itself a mix of legends. because it propose the story of a special man , a lot of adventures, seascapes and few scientific references, a sort of love story and references to the myth of Atlantida. and, more import today, a Patrick Duffy before Bobby Exing. so, a series who , for its public, remains a nice memory. sure, in contemporary perspective, it seems be naive and almost childish. but it is not real the right verdict. because it has the gift to remind the flavor and the colors and emotions of the air from the Jules Verne books or from The Amphibian Man. and the ball of legends is , always, a good gift. so, Man from Atlantis.

I grew up in P.R. China, "Man from the Atlantic" was the only show that was interesting enough to watch for everyone in my city when I grew up,I remember people would stop everything they do, some of us don't own a TV, we would go to other people's house and watch the show together, it was great! I still remember how intriguing the TV show was, mind blowing for a girl grew up in Communist China who had nothing to watch except propaganda. I loved Patrick Duffy, in fact I did many web search to find this show's English name, because I only know the Chinese translation of the name of the show. Now I am going to buy the show again and relive my fond memory! I am excited. Patrick Duffy, I love you. : ) (now I know why I love Irish men so much)

The Man From Atlantis was a decent show for the 1970s. And as I allude to in the summary, it is curiously similar to The Sub-Mariner. I really don't know if Marvel Comics had anything to do with this, but the project just smells of the half-hearted, live action tv takes of Marvel heroes televised during the time. Like Spider-Man, The Hulk, and Captain America movies, when you see the Man From Atlantis, you will think it is a more romantic, benevolent version of Prince Namor. The initial pilot was good, and the series could have been better. It failed because there were no challenging super villains for Mark to fight. In my opinion, if you are going to do a television series about a merman, go the superhero route, complete with colorful monsters and villains, or don't try it at all.

I watched this show in P.R.China many years ago during a time when there was nothing else entertaining on Chinese TV. It was the first American TV show aired in China and everyone who had access to a TV set watched it. I have fond memories of the show, it was interesting and had enough action to be entertaining. Considering the alternatives at the time, which were communist propaganda films, it was quite a treat.

But even then, a portal at the bottom of the ocean that leads to a city where Romeo and Juliet lived still seemed to be quite a stretch. So I understand why it only lasted one season.

But this show will always have a special place in my heart for being the first American entertainment program that I have seen.

I have only seen the pilot for this series, but I thought that it was surprisingly good. Certainly better and more interesting than some of its contemporaries, like "The Six Million Dollar Man" and "The Incredible Hulk." The plot wasn't perfect, but it was nuanced and interesting, and the scenes filmed underwater were believable. There was a sparing use of special effects, and those that were used were decent enough by 70's standards. I don't know how long a show could survive where the hero's only gimmick is that he could breathe underwater, but the pilot's plot didn't feel forced or contrived. It was a good movie, in and of itself. I am forced to wonder, though, with the popularity of Marvel properties at the time: "The Incredible Hulk," "Spider-Man" and things like the "Dr. Strange" TV movie, if this wasn't originally an effort to bring the Sub Mariner to television. He bears a striking similarity to Patrick Duffy's character: both have amnesia, are from Atlantis, and are looking for their home.