“The 60’s were a time of exploration and adventure in Television, and that’s exactly where Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea took us. Each week revealed something that Jacques Cousteau couldn’t…and that was that undersea myth and legend was real! Or so we thought…
And although cars were my thing, the Seaview Submarine was a kind of car that could take all your friends and then some! I worked on a show called seaQuest many years ago, (way after Voyage,) but it never recaptured the essence of like we’d seen it before. Once again Hollywood…we want something fresh.
My favourite thing was to wear the shirt of the show while I was watching. And with 5 kids in our family, Voyage was a hit each week, the sea became an adventurous and sometimes frightening playground. We lived in Palos Verdes at the time (by the sea) and it was everything I could do to get down to the water and let my mind wonder. I’ve included a couple of concepts I did from seaQuest here…”
ML
Nestled in amongst the pages of the STARBURST TV Sci-Fi special #24 is this short piece from Joe Nazarro in the company of Lieutenant Ben Krieg himself, John D’Aquino. While D’Aquino himself comes across as very diplomatic and courteous in this interview, those ‘Questies who follow the site and have read the numerous accounts of both actors and Producers alike in previous posts will be able to fill between the lines of the history the fan-favourite actor alludes to.
Sadly it would seem D’Aquino, as a self-professed long-time pal of original Producer Tommy Thompson was somewhat doomed from the outset, despite promises to maintain impartiality between his friend and star Roy Scheider during their well-publicised feud.
While an updated, in-depth discussion with D’Aquino about exactly what happened all these years ago would be fascinating (and something I would love to do here on the site!) it would seem that the actors career did indeed get a great boost from his appearance on the show, and anyone in doubt of his popularity should remind themselves of arguably his finest hour as a guest star in season 3’s ‘In The Company Of Ice & Profit’ where the Ben Krieg character is redeemed in bittersweet circumstances no fan could predict…
ML
Welcome, Questie’s one and all to the year 2026!! As time marches mercilessly on, its strange to think that out beloved show is getting ever closer to becoming a period piece. Remember when the future was exciting and something to look forward to? That was the message of the show and many more like it, but somehow the future is not what it was. Indeed, one could be forgiven for thinking our civilisation has already peaked and we’re now living in some sort of post-pandemic dystopia…
Anyhooooo – despite the apparent inactivity here at the VAULT HQ, I am, as ever, very busy behind the scenes. Last year I finished up two site pages long in the making, a profile of our beloved show creator Philip Segal, and a fitting tribute to the screen legend that was star Roy Scheider. Currently I’m working on a fond salute to makeup artist Louis Lazarra, I have a new pile of CapeQuest Newsletters to scan and add to the Fanzines page, and if you didn’t already catch my interview with the lovely girls from the UEO TAVERN PODCAST, shame on you, but go here to listen up:) I’m also in the early stages of making a video about the various SQ models that have been made available over the years, culminating in a review of the monster 1:300 scale by Nautilus Drydocks.
I also want to say the biggest thank you to Frank Oftring, now the official artist for the headers for the site, and whose tenacity and dedication not only produce wonderful images but videos with such clarity they suck you straight back into the opulence of New Cape Quest as if it actually existed…
But for now, normal coverage resumes with another one of our friend Bill Warren’s vintage interviews for Starlog Magazine, this time with fan favourite Marco Sanchez (apparently during the filming of season one’s ‘The Good Death’) Similar chats with both Stacey Haiduk and Jon D’ Aquino are to follow, stay tuned…
ML
As promised, the Bill Warren legacy continues with another superb interview from the October 1994 edition of Sci-Fi bible Starlog. The late (and much missed) Royce D. Applegate gets appropriate column inches here, telling tales of his humble beginnings in showbusiness, right up to the point – to everybody’s astonishment at the time – where his seaQuest tour ended.
Always a straight talker/shooter as evidenced by his very long list of appearances in episodic television and more, Applegate’s account of exactly what happened behind the scenes of seaQuest during and after its first season reads as the most honest and believable yet. A science-fiction fan himself, Applegate seems more convinced than anybody that seaQuest should’ve embraced the genre rather than sail against it much earlier on, its exclusion costing the show viewers.
Applegate was also seemingly acutely aware of his character and how to get the best out of it – at once citing his displeasure with the ‘fish poop’ episode while acknowledging his best was ‘Bad Water’ where he memorably sang ‘Drunken Sailor’ to roust a weary crew. Admittedly disappointed and still bitter about NBC’s decision to ground him for the second season, his universal praise for Roy Schieder – sentiments shared by most of the cast if not the producers – meant his time aboard the seaQuest was a creatively fulfilling one. Look no further than the scene in the final episode of season one where Bridger Gives Crocker a parting gift, only to discover Crocker’s wife has left him and he’s got nothing to go home to. The lack of this kind of poignant human drama in season 2 – ironically now having embraced its sci-fi roots – meant season one would remain the most memorable of the entire series.
Applegate went on to appear in plenty more film & TV projects in the proceeding years, always projecting the charm and blue-collar sensibility of his roots. Yet his role as Chief Crocker is the one for which he’s most, and probably best, remembered.
ML
