Fred Garvin
09-10-2009, 12:31 AM
After much cajoling by American X and Xeus I have decided to debut a new feature called "Sea Hunt: The Blog."
Most afternoons This TV, channel 994 on Cincy's Warner digital tier, airs the greatest television show ever broadcast. Of course I am referring to Lloyd Bridges as Mike Nelson on "Sea Hunt."
I will review each episode much like a soap digest. My review of today's episodes will follow below. But first some background on the show that made skin diving cool.
SH aired for four seasons(1958-61). Mike Nelson is a former Navy frogmen turned freelance diver. His ship is known as The Argonaut. This was one of tv's first adventure shows during its famed golden age. It was also most people's first exposure to S.C.U.B.A.
Mike likes to end each episode with a plea to preserve our oceans.
Today's first episode was "Legend of the Mermaid." This episode features Mike's young friend Larry Hagman. Hagman and his wife take Mike out on their boat to dive for sponges.
They come across a dangerous area where many divers have succumbed. A cave where a mermaid lures divers to their demise.
Now this episode is just a wee bit freudian. It makes a point to depict the mysteries of the cave. There is a man who was once known as the best diver but now he is an old man resorting to hanging around the docks. He is the only survivor to have seen the beautiful mermaid whose remains are in the cave. Also, when divers approach the cave they hear bells.
Well, Mike is a man of science and doesn't have any patience for this mermaid hokum. He dives, hears the bells, and nearly buys the farm. He has to use his inflatable to surface.
Mike has to return. He says his obsession is akin to Ahab and his whale. He really says that. Mike figures that there is a small tidal wave near the cave that has killed past divers. It occurs at various times of the day. He times his dive to minimize exposure to the wave. Still he catches the tail end of the wave while exporing the cave. He finds sponges and the mermaid. The mermaid is a mannequin from a past ship with chains around her neck that whistle when the tide kicks up.
Episode 2 was called "Pressure Suit."
Mike travels to Costa Rica when he is contracted by a professor to find a rare weed the professor can use to develop a medicine for a pharmaceutical company. The professor and his attractive daughter accompany Mike on the dive. The professor is not getting enough samples so he impatiently insists on accompanying Mike on the dive.
The professor is an older man but handles himself well. Still, he is not accustomed to diving at these depths. He is holding his own til he sees an alligator and panics. He surfaces too soon and suffers the dreaded bends. Mike take him back under water, but this is just a temporay solution. Mike concludes they need an oxygen chamber but this isn't practical in the wilds of Costa Rica.
But Mike has heard planes fly overheard and remembers there is an air force base nearby. Mike gets on the radio and contacts the base. He has them airdrop a pressure suit for the professor. This followed a didactic, and tedious, lesson on the similarities of scuba and what pilots undergo in supersonic flight. And the professor lives!
"By this time, my lungs were aching for air."
Most afternoons This TV, channel 994 on Cincy's Warner digital tier, airs the greatest television show ever broadcast. Of course I am referring to Lloyd Bridges as Mike Nelson on "Sea Hunt."
I will review each episode much like a soap digest. My review of today's episodes will follow below. But first some background on the show that made skin diving cool.
SH aired for four seasons(1958-61). Mike Nelson is a former Navy frogmen turned freelance diver. His ship is known as The Argonaut. This was one of tv's first adventure shows during its famed golden age. It was also most people's first exposure to S.C.U.B.A.
Mike likes to end each episode with a plea to preserve our oceans.
Today's first episode was "Legend of the Mermaid." This episode features Mike's young friend Larry Hagman. Hagman and his wife take Mike out on their boat to dive for sponges.
They come across a dangerous area where many divers have succumbed. A cave where a mermaid lures divers to their demise.
Now this episode is just a wee bit freudian. It makes a point to depict the mysteries of the cave. There is a man who was once known as the best diver but now he is an old man resorting to hanging around the docks. He is the only survivor to have seen the beautiful mermaid whose remains are in the cave. Also, when divers approach the cave they hear bells.
Well, Mike is a man of science and doesn't have any patience for this mermaid hokum. He dives, hears the bells, and nearly buys the farm. He has to use his inflatable to surface.
Mike has to return. He says his obsession is akin to Ahab and his whale. He really says that. Mike figures that there is a small tidal wave near the cave that has killed past divers. It occurs at various times of the day. He times his dive to minimize exposure to the wave. Still he catches the tail end of the wave while exporing the cave. He finds sponges and the mermaid. The mermaid is a mannequin from a past ship with chains around her neck that whistle when the tide kicks up.
Episode 2 was called "Pressure Suit."
Mike travels to Costa Rica when he is contracted by a professor to find a rare weed the professor can use to develop a medicine for a pharmaceutical company. The professor and his attractive daughter accompany Mike on the dive. The professor is not getting enough samples so he impatiently insists on accompanying Mike on the dive.
The professor is an older man but handles himself well. Still, he is not accustomed to diving at these depths. He is holding his own til he sees an alligator and panics. He surfaces too soon and suffers the dreaded bends. Mike take him back under water, but this is just a temporay solution. Mike concludes they need an oxygen chamber but this isn't practical in the wilds of Costa Rica.
But Mike has heard planes fly overheard and remembers there is an air force base nearby. Mike gets on the radio and contacts the base. He has them airdrop a pressure suit for the professor. This followed a didactic, and tedious, lesson on the similarities of scuba and what pilots undergo in supersonic flight. And the professor lives!
"By this time, my lungs were aching for air."