A marine biologist, an insurance salesman and a teen-aged boy find their lives fundamentally changed by the emergence of a new, and often dangerous, species of sea life, while government age... Read allA marine biologist, an insurance salesman and a teen-aged boy find their lives fundamentally changed by the emergence of a new, and often dangerous, species of sea life, while government agents work to keep the affair under wraps.A marine biologist, an insurance salesman and a teen-aged boy find their lives fundamentally changed by the emergence of a new, and often dangerous, species of sea life, while government agents work to keep the affair under wraps.
- Nominated for 1 Primetime Emmy
- 2 wins & 4 nominations total
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This is one of the better sci-fi series. It involves character development, a few really tensionate moments and reasonable episode scripts. As one other commentator said here, it looked as if it were a mini series, not a full blown series with filler episodes and low budgets.
The problem with the show, which in short is a Godzilla series, is that it started too big, with incredible monsters, fantastic science, then it all boiled down to local Americans doing stuff. Then, the show ended too soon, since the Olympics were coming and hey! a sci-fi show is a sci-fi show, but half naked athletic people running around aimlessly is much more important. So they only did 15 episodes instead of the expected 22. The audience was small, too, as people didn't really caught it on at 20:00. In the end the suits did it. Trust a marketing plan to destroy anything that looks remotely original and promising.
Conclusion: you have a show with good special effects, stuff like huge monsters killing people or destroying boats, then going into genetic engineering, transforming people, human clones, end of the world, tsunamis. Also, the only fillers are scenes with aggressive rednecks or other annoying people being killed for their stupidity. The down-side is that after 15 episodes that prepare something huge, the show ends. No real ending, no closure, just a bitter taste of cloth in one's mouth, as if you just swallowed a piece of suit.
The problem with the show, which in short is a Godzilla series, is that it started too big, with incredible monsters, fantastic science, then it all boiled down to local Americans doing stuff. Then, the show ended too soon, since the Olympics were coming and hey! a sci-fi show is a sci-fi show, but half naked athletic people running around aimlessly is much more important. So they only did 15 episodes instead of the expected 22. The audience was small, too, as people didn't really caught it on at 20:00. In the end the suits did it. Trust a marketing plan to destroy anything that looks remotely original and promising.
Conclusion: you have a show with good special effects, stuff like huge monsters killing people or destroying boats, then going into genetic engineering, transforming people, human clones, end of the world, tsunamis. Also, the only fillers are scenes with aggressive rednecks or other annoying people being killed for their stupidity. The down-side is that after 15 episodes that prepare something huge, the show ends. No real ending, no closure, just a bitter taste of cloth in one's mouth, as if you just swallowed a piece of suit.
There is no denying it. Sci-fi on TV is difficult. There are so many problems that the genre brings with it. Like the need for a good budget, solid writing, decent acting. Perhaps the budget and the script writing is the departments where i feel most attempts have failed. So does "Surface" succeed? Not completely, but more so than most.
The way i see it, a good sci-fi show doesn't really need a lot of CGI to work, nor does it need a ton of money. What it needs is the capacity to create a larger-than-life feeling. The feeling that there is more than meets the eye, something to make me curious and willing to try and figure out how it's going to end. Adding the pieces of the puzzle and sometimes saying "Aha!" is what makes or breaks a show like this one.
"Surface" had a couple of flaws. First of all it's basic premise is not as exciting as it could have been, nor is the revealed story as exciting (or daring) as i hoped in the beginning. Also the TV-feeling is very present much of the time. All the way from the crappy CGI (that ranges from decent to awful) to the rather shifting quality in the acting department. Also it feels sometimes a bit too family-oriented in that it takes the edge of sometimes and becomes almost cutesy. But aside from these flaws it's an enjoyable show. Maybe not as spectacular as some of the other sci-fi shows out there. But it manages to keep me interested the whole season and it offers a couple of nice cliffhangers between shows as well. The ending for me is not that appealing. I don't like shows that end without ending so to speak, leaving the story unresolved. It's especially unfortunate in this case since the show seems to be canceled after the first season (it is as of yet undecided).
HBO is to me the benchmark for quality television. Their series have the best actors, the best production values and above all the most solid writing. This is not HBO-quality, but it's good for what it is. Good enough to want another season without a doubt.
The way i see it, a good sci-fi show doesn't really need a lot of CGI to work, nor does it need a ton of money. What it needs is the capacity to create a larger-than-life feeling. The feeling that there is more than meets the eye, something to make me curious and willing to try and figure out how it's going to end. Adding the pieces of the puzzle and sometimes saying "Aha!" is what makes or breaks a show like this one.
"Surface" had a couple of flaws. First of all it's basic premise is not as exciting as it could have been, nor is the revealed story as exciting (or daring) as i hoped in the beginning. Also the TV-feeling is very present much of the time. All the way from the crappy CGI (that ranges from decent to awful) to the rather shifting quality in the acting department. Also it feels sometimes a bit too family-oriented in that it takes the edge of sometimes and becomes almost cutesy. But aside from these flaws it's an enjoyable show. Maybe not as spectacular as some of the other sci-fi shows out there. But it manages to keep me interested the whole season and it offers a couple of nice cliffhangers between shows as well. The ending for me is not that appealing. I don't like shows that end without ending so to speak, leaving the story unresolved. It's especially unfortunate in this case since the show seems to be canceled after the first season (it is as of yet undecided).
HBO is to me the benchmark for quality television. Their series have the best actors, the best production values and above all the most solid writing. This is not HBO-quality, but it's good for what it is. Good enough to want another season without a doubt.
I set my TV to record this show every week because I can't stand to miss an episode.
My husband and I are hopelessly addicted (and we take pride in the fact that there aren't many TV shows we like to watch).
My son, who is away at college, came home on a short break. I told him the main storyline, and let him watch the third from the last episode of the season. He made me promise to record the next two so that when he came home on his next break, he could watch the season finale. Needless to say, he is now an addict.
The choice of actors, how they mix, their acting ability, along with the storyline makes this series absolutely riveting! I feel like I know these people and I can't wait to find out what happens to them next.
I even love that computer animated little Nimrod. (Okay, he does remind me of our two 5 foot long iguanas, even though they are a lot friendlier than little Nim!)
I truly hope we do not have to wait a long time for next season to start. And I love that part of this show is filmed in Wilmington, NC. Isn't it beautiful!? (We live only two hours away and we love those beaches!)
I also hope that the writers don't change for next season. So many times, I'll like a show, and then the writers change, and I find I no longer have any reason to watch it.
Anyway.. This show is a 9.5! Great job!!!
My husband and I are hopelessly addicted (and we take pride in the fact that there aren't many TV shows we like to watch).
My son, who is away at college, came home on a short break. I told him the main storyline, and let him watch the third from the last episode of the season. He made me promise to record the next two so that when he came home on his next break, he could watch the season finale. Needless to say, he is now an addict.
The choice of actors, how they mix, their acting ability, along with the storyline makes this series absolutely riveting! I feel like I know these people and I can't wait to find out what happens to them next.
I even love that computer animated little Nimrod. (Okay, he does remind me of our two 5 foot long iguanas, even though they are a lot friendlier than little Nim!)
I truly hope we do not have to wait a long time for next season to start. And I love that part of this show is filmed in Wilmington, NC. Isn't it beautiful!? (We live only two hours away and we love those beaches!)
I also hope that the writers don't change for next season. So many times, I'll like a show, and then the writers change, and I find I no longer have any reason to watch it.
Anyway.. This show is a 9.5! Great job!!!
I loved this series and hated to see it end. Why was it taken off the air? I don't understand why we get good series and they are removed, but we get junk on the air and they stay forever. Please advise. You can't leave us hanging like this!!!!!!! I looked forward to Monday nights so that we could gather around the TV as a family and watch the new stars that we had grown to feel personally involved with from week to week. We would always try to guess what would happen for the next weeks show. I would even have relatives call as soon as the show ended and discuss the plots each week. Can't you do something to help us out here!!!!!????? We really need to have a continuation of this series or make it into a movie to end it well. Think about it. We loved the characters as well. They were excellent in their parts.
Surface has the making of a potential classic on TV. It's not totally sci-fi. It's a family drama, mystery, fantasy, and horror. There are moments of humor, especially with the two teenage boys and the girl whose related to them and character development with great special effects and suspense. Lake Bell is good as the main protagonist trying to discover the mysterious creature's origins, but I think the producers should give the audience more of her. The supporting cast is good as well. The chemistry between the characters is engaging and sometimes heartfelt.
Surface is the best show that I have seen and I'm confident that it has the potential to be another sci-fi TV classic.
Surface is the best show that I have seen and I'm confident that it has the potential to be another sci-fi TV classic.
Did you know
- TriviaRegal Entertainment Group theatres did a cross promotion with NBC advertising this show. All of the promotion materials (i.e. posters, carpets, popcorn bags, etc.) had the show titled as "Fathom" well after the series was renamed "Surface".
- ConnectionsFeatured in Late Night with Conan O'Brien: Jon Heder/Jessica Biel/Nada Surf (2005)
- How many seasons does Surface have?Powered by Alexa
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- Also known as
- Fathom
- Filming locations
- North Carolina Aquarium at Fort Fisher - 900 Loggerhead Road, Kure Beach, North Carolina, USA(Miles develops his interest in sea life)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
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