Man from Atlantis (1977–1978)

The adventures of a man with amphibious abilities.

Stars:

Patrick Duffy, Alan Fudge, Anson Downes

Cast

Complete series cast summary:
Patrick Duffy	...	Mark Harris (17 episodes, 1977-1978)
Alan Fudge	...	C.W. Crawford (16 episodes, 1977-1978)
Anson Downes	...	Airlock Officer (16 episodes, 1977-1978)
Belinda Montgomery	...	Dr. Elizabeth Merrill (15 episodes, 1977-1978)
Jean Marie Hon	...	Jane (9 episodes, 1977-1978)

Storyline

Mark Harris is the lone survivor of the legendary sunken continent of Atlantis. Having adapted to life underwater, Mark possesses webbed hands, light-sensitive eyes, and the ability to swim at low depths in the sea for long periods. He draws strength from water and can overpower most ordinary men. Mark assists an institute for undersea research operated by his human friends, Dr. Elizabeth Merrill and C.W. Crawford, and joins Dr. Merrill in several exploratory missions aboard a high-tech submarine. They encounter several bizarre phenomena, including portals leading to other dimensions, a substance capable of altering personalities, an impish creature whose touch causes a mental return to childhood, and the scheme of a portly millionaire, Mr. Schubert, to melt the polar icecaps.

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Plot Keywords:

atlantis | underwater | spy | superhero

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Genres:

Adventure | Sci-Fi

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

4 March 1977 (USA)

Also Known As:

Atlantis'ten gelen adam

Company Credits

Production Co:

Solow Production Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

60 min 60 min (17 episodes)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Patrick Duffy had to wear custom-molded hard contact lenses to give the luminescent eye effect when Mark Harris was without sunglasses. Victor Buono complimented Duffy on his tolerance for the lenses, saying it was "like trying to act with golf balls stuck in your head."

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Goofs

Support wires are visible above the submarine Cetacean depending on the angle of view. Also, when the sub surfaces or submerges in the ship's home base, rising bubbles and surface waves reveal the actual size of the supposedly huge vessel.

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Connections

Referenced in The Lone Gunmen: The Lying Game (2001)

User Reviews

Fun for it's time, it's an interesting, live action take on..

The Man From Atlantis was a decent show for the 1970s. And as I allude to in the summary, it is curiously similar to The Sub-Mariner. I really don't know if Marvel Comics had anything to do with this, but the project just smells of the half-hearted, live action tv takes of Marvel heroes televised during the time. Like Spider-Man, The Hulk, and Captain America movies, when you see the Man From Atlantis, you will think it is a more romantic, benevolent version of Prince Namor. The initial pilot was good, and the series could have been better. It failed because there were no challenging super villains for Mark to fight. In my opinion, if you are going to do a television series about a merman, go the superhero route, complete with colorful monsters and villains, or don't try it at all.