When Sea Hunt got fairly cheap recently I picked up the DVDs from Amazon for the whole 4 seasons. They are DVDRs not real pressed DVDs but that's the state of the business these days, ruined by low-rez streaming and a stupid public who bought into the convenience. They put 7 or 8 episodes on each disc and the image looks ok. The first season started airing September 23 1958 and there were 39 episodes. It was a syndicated show, the major networks all passed on it, and it ran for 4 seasons. It was highly popular and stayed in syndication for many years. I saw oodles of them as a kid but hadn't seen but a couple of episodes in recent times. You can see the series on YouTube.
It was created and produced by Ivan Tors and it starred Lloyd Bridges as Mike Nelson. He's an ex-Navy frogman who's become one of the best known SCUBA divers in the country. His jobs are varied and often dangerous. One of the concerns of the networks was that the episodes would be all the same. There is a certain similar pattern to the stories but the plots are different enough for some variety in the season, especially when you see them a week apart. Watching a whole series in a few days can make a big difference. One week Mike is diving for Marine World, another week he's testing firing pistols under water, another episode has him looking for plants, or fish, in some body of water. Most of the show is filmed in and around LA and over by Catalina Island but they occasionally travel to Flordia to shoot in Silver Springs. Check out this list of Guest Stars. Some of them would be back 2 or 3 times a season playing different characters each time. One gal was in one episode as the young daughter of a scientist and 2 episodes later she's the wife of a rich guy.
In an episode set in Florida Mike gets involved with a magic act. The magician tosses his pretty assistant into the lake. She's wrapped in a straight jacket and chained inside a trunk. She escapes her possible watery grave and pops back up to the surface for a round of applause. Mike goes down to see how the trick was done and confronts the magician with his concerns on the safety of the trick. Mike's big on safety and he's got a good reason, that water will kill you, in many unpleasant ways. This show is the place I learned about the "bends" or Nitrogen Necrosis. It's not the only deadly thing below the surface and we learn a lot about many of them. Mike has a nice sense of fair play and he's always ready to lend a hand. Mike's a member of the Coast Guard Auxiliary and he often gets a call to help with a problem. One time he partners up with a couple of guys to remove some old torpedoes in a bay. They had been there since the war and one of them explodes nearly killing one of the other divers. It's story was a nice lesson on war bound hatred and how difficult it is to move on. It was only 13 years after the war. There's usually a bit of humor and morality mixed in with the story so they aren't too bleak.
They also mix in a bit of stock shots. I bet I've seen Mike, or other divers, look at the same sunken ship 3 or 4 times in the season. There's still plenty of action and adventure to get you to the end of the story. Some episodes are more exciting than others but that's only natural. Mike gets shot at a lot but he's been pretty lucky so far. He can take care of himself. He'd be a good role model. I enjoyed the series and plan to pass the other seasons past the old orbs as soon as I can.
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