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Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea

The Amphibians

Season 1, Episode 26, Aired 3/8/65

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Episode Summary

Two scientists working in an undersea laboratory ignore Admiral Nelson's warning about experimenting on humans.

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Cast & Crew

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David Hedison

Captain Crane
Richard Basehart

Admiral Nelson
Del Monroe

Kowalski

Fan Episode Reviews (2)

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One of the best of the series, the story is exciting without being bloated with unnecessary subplots like so many others in the series tend to be.

7.9

"Good"

By Mac-Ale, Jan 08, 2009 Report Abuse

Scientists working in an underwater laboratory decide to create a race of amphibious humans.

Time and again, Irwin Allen programs show more interest in the sizzle of melodrama over the steak of thoughtful science fiction, but this episode is more straightforward and still tells a good story.

Sure, it's loaded with science mumbo jumbo, but it starts with a half-plausible explanation of life's evolution under the sea and the embryology of terrestrial organisms. Of course, then it goes on to the wackiness of surgically implanted gills that end in microphone caps that are glued on the neck of actors (amazingly spotted as "proof" of "amphibian experiments" on videotape by Nelson). But leaving that aside, the plotting is brisk and deals with one topic at a time. The underwater scenes are good - though almost all episodes seem to feature one shot of divers framed against sunlight on the surface (even when supposedly taking place 100s of fathoms down) and the mushroom-shaped science lab is not one of the better miniatures.

Skip Homeier, one of the 60s TV's poster boys for crazy followers of insane ideas, is his usual memorable self here, spouting dialog proclaiming man's destiny as creatures of the sea. What makes this installment one of the best examples of "Voyage" is its simplicity, a terrible idea that goes more and more wrong, the Sea View countering the unfolding plot step-by-step, and a dramatic conclusion that while scientifically dopey at least brings all the issues to a satisfying finish.moreless

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This one is intriguing to watch, being full of psychological overtones as well as being action-packed.

9.0

"Superb"

By dkhenderson1, Jan 24, 2008 Report Abuse

For a change, Nelson is not on the side of the obsessed scientists. For another, these mad scientists literally are mad.

We don't really see much change in the character of Dr. Jenkins, but it's rather creepy to watch Dr. Winslow's descent into insanity. He agonizes every step of the way, only to eventually come around to Jenkin's way of thinking. By the end of the episode, he's saying of Jenkins, "You're right, you always are."

They seemed to have learned how to speed up their process. It took three months to adapt Dr. Jenkins' system for underwater, as well as perform the necessary surgury (and kudos to the special effects people for a thrifty yet effective prop for the artifical gills!) Three months after that, they've not only changed over Dr. Winslow, but three other people, and are in the process of changing two more.

It's never mentioned in the episode, but Jenkins and Winslow must have been either brainwashing their "recruits" or drugging them with more than the body-altering stuff. Even if the "recruits" decided that they liked being amphibious, there surely should have been some natural resentment at being forced into it, but we see none. They are all silent, docile, and unquestioningly obedient. And Angie--! I realize that back when this was made, attitudes about women and their "place" was considerably different, but surely there must have been some women viewers gritting their teeth over Angie's treatment. If this episode had been filmed nowadays, they probably would have shown Angie being selected for...ummm...personal reasons, but here it's quite obvious why they grabbed her--they wanted someone to do the housework for them! At one point, Angie is sent out to lure two of the Seaview divers into a trap. She then helps haul them back to the habitat, then goes out again immediately to help place explosives on the Seaview. Back from this errand, she's not even given time to dry off before Jenkins sends her off to get him something to eat.

Just a few minutes after Winslow is fretting about hurting or killing the men on the Seaview, he makes the statement that if they're not gone in two hours, they'll have to be destroyed. He has one last gasp at reason when he notes that he's discovered a definite change in his brain patterns, but he quickly accepts Jenkins reasoning that "change" doesn't necessarily mean "bad change".

We see a rarity on the Seaview when the explosives go off. Chip Morton is injured in the ensuing rock 'n roll, and we find that four others have been as well. Normally, the men get tossed about like marbles in a tin can with nothing to show for it. You would think that sprains, strains, cracked ribs and concussion would be commonplace on this sub.

Nelson is out of the picture for most of the episode (I do wonder if Richard Basehart had been ill again) so Crane is left to handle things by himself. He does a pretty good job of it, although I was irritated with the confrontation between Crane and Winslow. Crane is unable to make any dent in Winslow's convictions, but he does not use the one argument that should have given Winslow pause for thought--namely, that he was not using volunteers for his experiments, but altering people by force. He also makes no mention that Winslow and Jenkins would be criminally liable for the kidnappings alone.

It's interesting to see the growing power struggle between Winslow and Jenkins. It seems obvious that if Seaview had not interfered, one of the men (most likely Jenkins) would have ended up killing or imprisoning the other. They were both getting drunk on power, and you can only have one person at the top.

I think that, with their growing belief in their superiority, came a belief in the inferiority of non-amphibians. When Jenkins sent Angie on her potientially suicidal mission (and who was he going to have cook for him if she died!) he seemed quite satisfied that dressing her in scuba gear would be an effective disguise, and the Seaview would assume she was one of their kidnapped divers who had managed to escape. The suit was the wrong color, to begin with, and Crane not only saw immediately that there were no tell-tale bubbles coming from the mask, but he instantly deduced that she must be carrying explosives, and quickly yanked her out of the gear.

I thought it was rather funny at the end, when Winslow had threatened his way off the Seaview with his bomb. Having gained their freedom, he was going to destroy Seaview anyway--and then Crane locked them in the escape hatch. Winslow seemed astounded that Crane would do such a thing. That culminating scene with them getting the hatchway open, and then shooting the bomb out the torpedo launch, was very exciting, although I don't understand why Crane waited so long to give the order to launch it--or why he yelled the order to fire into the microphone instead of to Kowalski, standing a few feet away.

The ending is disquieting, with Winslow still stubbornly convinced that he was right, and also quite certain that the changes are unalterable. We never find out. Hopefully the more recently changed people would have been altered back without problems--but it would have been interesting to see Winslow come back in a later episode.moreless

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Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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Trivia
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- Uncredited roles: Paul Stader and George Robotham (Divers) Edit
- In regard to underwater explosions, we often hear a character mention the lethal danger, not necessarily of the explosive itself, but of the resulting concussive force. Angie was supposedly carrying enough explosive to destroy the Seaview. She was right over top of it when it went off, and all it did was knock her out in a cloud of bubbles, while Crane, who was right beside her, was not affected at all. Edit
- Dr. Jenkins gives Angie and one of the other male amphibians four bombs to plant on Seaview, telling them where to place them. We only see two bombs placed, and there are only two explosions, yet Dr. Jenkins is perfectly satisfied. Edit
Notes
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- According to the book Science Fiction Television Series, George Robotham and Paul Stader played the two Seaview divers who were snared in the net. They ended up stuck on the bottom of the tank--and running out of air. The special effects man, Glen Galvin, finally realized the danger and hauled them out. Edit
- This was Zale Parry's last known television appearance. She was a frequent guest on Sea Hunt, and is considered one of the best female scuba divers of all-time. Edit
Quotes
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- (Watching Angie free-swimming at 200 feet) Crane: Look, look, on her neck. Morton: Some kind of metal attachments. Crane: Artificial gills. Morton: Gills? Crane: Dr. Winslow has gone ahead. He's made his amphibian. He's started creating his monsters. Edit
- Dr. Winslow: (to Dr. Jenkins) I'm getting like you. I'm no longer afraid. I feel the power and the assurance that what we're doing is right. Edit
Allusions
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