Post contributed by AHC Reference Archivist Rob Kelly
On September 14th, 1964, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea premiered on television. Created by Irwin Allen as a spinoff of his movie of the same name that had been released in 1961, Voyage presented a depiction of the far-off future of the 1970s and 80s. Produced by 20th Century Fox Television, the series ran for four seasons with 110 episodes. This would be the first and longest running science fiction series of Allen’s big four: Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, The Time Tunnel, Land of the Giants, and Lost in Space. The fantastical nuclear submarine, S.S.R.N. Seaview, would take its viewers to the depths of adventure every week, originally airing on Monday nights.
Much of the cast would go on to have long careers in film and television, though for many of them, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea would remain their best-known project. Richard Basehart performed the role of Admiral Harriman Nelson. With his deep and resonant voice, he worked as a narrator for films and television including the show Knight Rider. I was quick to recognize Captain Lee B. Crane, played by David Hedison, as he would later in his career play Felix Leiter in my favorite Bond film, License to Kill. Like many adventure series, there’s a treasure trove of guest appearances, like in the episode “The Invaders,” in which Robert Duvall plays the villainous Zar. Audiences were presented with a buffet of recognizable faces as guest stars like Barry Atwater, Henry Silva, and Tom Skerritt.
After building his repertoire of science fiction in the 60s, Irwin Allen would work on some of the big disaster movies of the 70s, producing such films as The Poseidon Adventure and The Towering Inferno and producing and directing The Swarm. Though he was a big name in show business in the 70s, it could be argued that his science fiction work of the 60s has had a larger impact. The camera technique of rocking the camera while the cast runs from side to side on the set would become known as the “Irwin Allen rock-and-roll,” heavily utilized in Lost in Space and Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea. Beyond quirky camera tropes, Allen’s collection of sci-fi adventure series have likely sparked the imaginations of many fans. This post was actually inspired by the excitement of an American Heritage Center patron upon learning of the collections we have with materials connected to Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea.
There are several collections with materials connected to the Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea series. The Forrest Ackerman papers (Coll. 2358), Adolph Schaumer papers (Coll. 6081), and Jerry Sohl papers (Coll. 7763) all have episode scripts from the show. Materials connected to the Movie that spawned the series can also be found in the Forrest Ackerman papers and the Adolph Schaumer papers. There are music notes and music breakdown sheets for several episodes of season four in the Harry Geller papers (Coll. 10883). To learn more about sci-fi adventures from yesteryear visit the collections of the American Heritage Center at the University of Wyoming.
