Attack!

I am heartened to see that the previous review was submitted only two weeks ago which indicates "Voyage" still generates interest, discussion and enthusiasm. "Attack!" was the series' last "Aliens Invading Earth" story and turned that convention a bit on its head. As the two VTTBOTS website reviewers have noted, "Attack!" was aired during the height of the Viet Nam conflict and dovetailed nicely with the ongoing conflict between hawks and doves in our own country. An alien attack force lead by Kamal (Kevin Hagen) wants to take over earth but is opposed by Robek (Skip Homeier) who leads a group of malcontents who desire that their civilization make its way through the universe with only peaceful exploration in mind. When his group learns of their government's plan to hijack our world, he warns the Seaview command of it and sets out to help earth defeat his own government. Interesting. Where I disagree with the previous review is over Kevin Hagen's character. Rather than see it as bland, I found it a terrific lead-in to his Inspector Kobick character on the next Irwin Allen series, "Land of the Giants". Like the LOTG security chief, Kamal, too, is cold, emotionless and ruthless - the perfect fascist state functionary. But, of course, that is only a personal view. All said, it is obvious to me that "Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea" will always remain a source of excitement, good storytelling and debate among its many, many fans. Thanks, Irwin!