Welcome aboard..!!
Thank you for joining me as the door is officially opened on the SeaQuest DSV Vault. There are many treasures to be found within but first I must ask you visit the Mission page for your introduction and briefing. We’ll be right here when you get back…
While the year 2018 has great significance for the worlds of seaQuest, in 2001 the future wasn’t so bright. As the show languished unaired since its initial broadcast there was real danger of it being consigned to cult TV history and forgotten. Sales of the VHS boxset by Universal Playback of the first – episodes were not strong enough to warrant a follow-up release and there seemed no likelihood the show would ever be introduced on the new format of DVD.
Whereas many genre shows from the era really did fall into the void never to be seen again (Space: Above and Beyond, Time Trax and Earth2 for example) something about seaQuest endured. True, it had a colourful production history and was rife with inconsistencies (helped in no part by how it was handled by networks) but the charm and wonder of seafaring tales set in an optimistic vision of the near-future, our future, must have resonated with a larger audience than was once thought.
The article above from UK Sci-Fi magazine SFX is a perfect example of the kind of spirited debate that still surrounds the show today. Its retrospective series ‘Gave____another chance’ ran for dozens of issues and while disguised under a layer of facetiousness did nevertheless provide compelling evidence to do just that. The piece is also very well-researched and states the facts around the UK broadcasts and how the show was doomed from the outset thanks to scheduling (It fared no better in the US where Season1 episodes were shown out of sequence also). The case for the prosecution really does convey the layperson/casual fan’s enduring attitude towards the show but the defence puts in a convincing, and ultimately successful case. If you’re not a fan already I ask you read this and re-evaluate your opinion of the show, and -yes! – give it another chance. With all the rich material being debuted on this website now and to come you’ll be glad you did…
ML