DVD review (region 2)
Starring Richard Basehart, Robert Dowdell, David Hedison
Release date Out now

Underwater adventures featuring the super-sub Seaview and its crew, led by Richard Baseheart and David Hedison...

Having started off fairly realistically, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea soon went the way of all Irwin Allen shows and began embracing ever more outlandish storylines and bizarre characters. Later episodes from the first season feature Robert Duvall as a bald alien found in a life support pod, an indestructible robot, the Loch Ness monster, a giant blob of protoplasm(!) and the nasty French…

The series (a spin-off of the 1961 movie) went on to spawn 110 increasingly ludicrous episodes. It was the first of Irwin Allen’s iconic shows (the others being Lost in Space, Land of the Giants and The Time Tunnel), so it’s interesting seeing some of his later-formulaic ideas being formed. The cast are fine, the stories daft and the constant re-use of stock footage annoying, but the show does have some charm, especially in these first season black and white episodes.

Extras in this 9-disc set include unfunny bloopers, a brief interview with David Hedison, a stills gallery, home movie footage featuring Irwin Allen and the never before seen pilot. Mark James

VERDICT: 6/10
A fairly sub-par series, but not without charm.