"Sea Hunt" (1958) TV series 1958-1961

Seasons:

1 | 2 | 3 | 4

Release Date:

4 January 1958 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure

Plot:

Mike Nelson is a Scuba Diver in the days when it was still very new. He works alone and the plot was...

Plot Keywords:

Sea

Cast

Lloyd Bridges

...

Mike Nelson (155 episodes, 1958-1961)

Runtime:

30 min (155 episodes)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Argentina:Atp

Filming Locations:

Bahamas

Company:

United Artists Television

Trivia:

Lloyd Bridges decided to leave the show after four seasons because the producers wanted to emphasize cops-and-robbers plots while Bridges wanted to focus more on environmental themes.

Quotes:

Mike Nelson: By this time, my lungs were aching for air...

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The Lucy Show: Lucy and Viv Put in a Shower (#1.18)" (1963)

One of the major lost series...

Back in the late 1950's, "Sea Hunt" was one of the biggest hits on TV. It inspired a small score of short-lived knockoffs like "Aquanauts" (from the same producers, Ivan Tors and Ziv TV) and "Assignment Underwater", as well as an airborne "Sea Hunt" called "Ripcord" (also from Tors and Ziv).

Today this gem sits in the Sony Pictures archives, gathering "seaweed". Which is a crying shame, because this was a cool adventure show, the ultimate in shows for the man's man. Former B-actor Lloyd Bridges escaped the obscurity list to take on the role of no-nonsense scuba diver Mike Nelson. There simply couldn't be any other actor made for such a rugged role... Bridges was the one, bar none. His craggy, determined looks made him a natural. That was proved 26 years after the last original "Sea Hunt" aired, when Ron "Tarzan" Ely was cast as Nelson in a tepid remake. Ely was rugged, but he simply wasn't Lloyd Bridges. At least the character of Nelson obviously led a charmed life, for the revival added a hottie for his daughter, played by Kim Sissons.

Add in some impressive underwater photography, courtesy of Ricou Browning and Courtney Brown, and some serious stunts (many courtesy of Bridges himself), throw in some taut scripts, and you have a show that is dying to be resurrected on DVD.

Note: Avoid the 1987 revival like the plague. Boring as sin.

"Sea Hunt" is a Ziv Television Production, produced with the cooperation of Marineland of the Pacific, Los Angeles. Owned by the MGM division of Sony Pictures. 155 episodes were filmed between 1957 and 1961.