The Shape of Doom (6 Feb. 1966)

The construction of an undersea canal is about to start with the Seaview tasked with placing the first charge, a 50 megaton nuclear bomb. But as it is being lowered an enormous whale swallows it and swims off.

Director:

Nathan Juran

Writers:

Irwin Allen (creator), William Welch

Stars:

Richard Basehart, David Hedison, Kevin Hagen

Cast

Episode complete credited cast:
Richard Basehart	...	Admiral Nelson
David Hedison	...	Captain Crane
Kevin Hagen	...	Holden
Allan Hunt	...	Riley
Del Monroe	...	Kowalski
Arch Whiting	...	Sparks
Robert Dowdell	...	Chip Morton (as Bob Dowdell)

Storyline

The construction of an undersea canal is about to start with the Seaview tasked with placing the first charge, a 50 megaton nuclear bomb. But as it is being lowered an enormous whale swallows it and swims off.

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Genres:

Adventure | Sci-Fi

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

6 February 1966 (USA)

Filming Locations:

20th Century Fox Studios - 10201 Pico Blvd., Century City, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Irwin Allen Productions, 20th Century Fox Television

Technical Specs

Runtime:

60 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Goofs

When the character Holden (Kevin Hagen)speaks to Riley in the corridor, asking about "What's this mumbo jumbo about restricted areas?", the shadow of the boom mic is clearly hovering above Riley as he gives his responses.

User Reviews

The Whales Win Again

A giant whale swallows a bomb that is about to explode and a nervous gent on Seaview (Kevin Hagen) will do anything to get the whale.

Voyage/Sea did the whale theme four times - The Ghost Of Moby Dick (Y1), Jonah And The Whale (Y2), The Shape Of Doom (Y2), Secret Of The Deep (Y4) - and whenever the whale appeared the general quality of Voyage improved: Some great guest would appear and/or there was a strong feeling of gusto in the general presentation of the episodes. I personally regard The Shape Of Doom as being just as good as the other three hours but nearly all other fans don't feel that way at all. One noted Voyage fan called this hour boring while another noted fan picked out holes in the script. Others just complain that it was too much like Jonah And The Whale.

Perhaps I just have a thing for whale shows (however I don't like the 1956 Moby Dick movie?) or perhaps I am just won over by the intense acting of Kevin Hagen, an actor I normally see running around studio jungles in Land Of The Giants. Whatever the case, The Shape Of Doom is a classic and Kevin Hagen's finest hour. Also, Jerry Goldsmith's outstanding Jonah And The Whale score is re-used here and Basehart is in super-fine form.