Season 2 was NBC deciding the show was "too cerebral" (same thing they said about Star Trek), and trying to create throwaway stories to entertain the kiddies.
Try to pretend it doesn't exist.
Just watch season 1 and maybe 3.
There is one episode that I really like from season 2. Vapors.
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Here here! I waited years to see series two and three....
are you sitting confortably? then I'll begin.
Here in Britain they really killed the series by showing in SERIOUSLY out of order.
In debuted in 1993 on ITV, a mere 4 weeks after the States.
They cut 20 MINUTES out of the premiere. 20 WHOLE MINUTES? INCLUDING THE OPENING SCENES WHERE FORD RELIEVES (!) STARK OF COMMAND.
They stopped showing the first season, ending in January 94 with "seaWest".
In 1997 ITV started showing the NEW Season. By new I mean SEASON 3!!!
They stopped halfway through season 3, shown Season 2 then repeated half of 3 again.
When they finally got to where I had already seen in Season 3 I lost interest.
It was only by picking up a Welsh station (HTV I think) that I saw the end of series 1.
I bought series 1 on DVD but even if they bought out 2 & 3 I wouldnt buy them.
So yeah, I totally agree, Season 1 was the ONLY season of seaQuest.
Disreguard
shareWow, there are a lot of critics on this subject! Do you folks ever just watch TV for fun?
But since I've committed myself to a reply, let me do so. I look at everything artistically. I do not have to like or agree with any element or facet, but I must accept there is at least some good there.
seaQuest is a sad story, yes. Season 1 was definitely the best, but let's be honest, it had some crazy moments too. The ultimate problem with the show was lack of clear direction.
Okay. The main premise was to combine high drama with scientific fact. Problem: THIS ISN'T SCI-FI! I find this incredibly strange, since the creator of the series was Rockne O'Bannon (who gave us FarScape, and took sci-fi to very interesting and outlandish extremes). Also, some criticised Andromeda for taking the opposite approach, making believable episodes in the middle seasons instead of hard sci-fi.
So how do I feel about seaQuest? I'm an avid fan, though do I agree it had its faults. Definitely there were bad changes during season 2, but season 2 had very enjoyable moments. The problem there was just that some episodes were way unbelievable, like that whole giant crocodile thing. Since it did depart from its premise, I can understand the complaints to a degree.
But not all of the changes were bad. As far as I can tell, the younger characters, who were brought in to appeal to the younger audiences, did work (in their appeal). I started watching for just that reason (I was young at the time).
And can we really keep a show going on pure scientific fact? I have a hard time saying yes, but I would like to see it tried.
So please don't flame me. I'm just an honest fan, trying to make since of all this. I'm very confused, but I'll still watch my seaQuest anyway. I'm posting the episodes on Veoh.com if anyone's interested.
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I don't really disagree. The effects had issues. True. True. I'm not sure any of us could have done better, but I know that doesn't change anything.
Flesh eating plants was NOT a great idea (except maybe for smoking).
As for aliens. That's something of a hard grasp. Your'e right. Aliens don't seem to fit the under-the-sea mold. But let's consider something. There are three elements that are built-in to sci-fi as a genre:
1. Time travel
2. Aliens
3. Faster-than-light travel
Every sci-fi franchise will invariably tackle these three items at one time or another. I cannot think of many exceptions. Thus, when seaQuest did aliens, I hate to say it, but I wasn't surprised. It just comes with the genre.
That's not to say it wasn't a bad idea. I don't think it added much to the story.
But let's also be clear. Are you talking about the KrayTaks aliens, or the aliens that they found on the ocean floor in Season 1. Yes, aliens first appeared in season 1, the episode Such Great Patience. I have to agree that the KrayTaks didn't fit the seaQuest mold, but I liked the other aliens. That actually made a bit of sense (though when they came back in the Fear that Follows, it was hard to understand). Seriously, if extra-terrestrials visited this planet 1,000,000 years ago, the most intelligent species available would have been dolphins. They would have to be in the sea to communicate properly.
That made sense. The other aliens, that was a stretch.
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Season 2 debuted here in Australia the week after Season One's finale was screened, and I had a little knowledge of the changes ahead (Scheider's beard and the Deluise brothers), but my sensitive 14-year-old mind was badly jarred by the drastic change in tone, cast and approach. I kept watching, but was increasingly dispirted by the lack of any of the sense of wonder I felt was inherent in season one. I also couldn't stand Dagwood (lame comic relief/Forrest Gump clone) or Wendy (that abortive romance with the much older Bridger...eww!). The addition of giant monsters (Crocs, Worms, Plants), silly aliens and ghosts (King bloody Neptune! Possessed treasure!) didn't help either.
Now that the years have passed and I'm more understanding of how tv shows often get retooled, I'm more willing to give S2 a fair hearing. So I will be getting it on DVD, though I anticipate a similarly depressing experience to that first viewing!
"Oh, I did my thesis on life experience." - Anonymous Harvard Guy, The Simpsons.
**peeks out of hiding** Actually, for me -- most of my favorite episodes are in S2. The primary one being the Atlantis episode ("Lostland")...
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But of course, that could just be because Ortiz gets to be crazy with his shirt off
~Nillindeiel~
actually i like season 2 also.
It got out of control having
GIANT, well
everythings...
but geesh. I still liked the idea.
While there are moments I would rather have not happened (Neptune, release of the evil god Sett, etc), there were some moments I genuinely liked.
Alone, for example, ludicrous premise (psychic superpower assaults the UEO), but I love how they ended it. The Avatar's actor just seemed... extremely realistic. He didn't overdo it or such, but was believable. He was confident, but not egotistical, he was dangerous, but not overbearing with it, etc. At the end, when he's confronted with bringing himself out of his coma, his delivery of "...I can't", perfectly played. Not to mention the whole Aleph Colony sequence was creepy as hell.
I am fond of the whole Tobias storyline, but Mark Hamil's performance always confused me. He was blind, presumably, but there were times when he moved as confident as a sighted person. How he maneuvered around the exterior of his spaceship, for example. I would have thought he had dropped his blind act, yet he couldn't see Keller directly in front of him when asking Scott to come with him.
Lostland was decent, but the ending was completely unbelievable, completely Dues Ex Machina. That and the biased professor... ugh.
aliens shuldnt be underwater why the hell not?anyone seen abyss?
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it was supposed to be an underwater star trek, inner space rather than outer space. Season 2 was simply more obvious about it.
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Oh, I agree that there was a heavy science influence on the show, but there was a definite star trek influence throughout.
An advanced vessel traverses its medium exploring the various flora, fauna, phenomena, and persons existing throughout. To me, that cries Star Trek, though an argument could also be made for Dr. Who (but that's drifting off topic). Being underwater was merely it's gimmick.
Heck the series didn't make it 3 episodes without bringing in telepaths on a show that was described in it's own bible as (and I paraphrase) "science-fantasy, as in what could really be in 30 years, rather than science-fiction". The instance with Darwin and Bridger/O'Neill in Devil's Window was somewhat passable, the negotiators in Treasure of the Mind not so much.
What I consider the final nail in the coffin, though, is just the name of the series. seaQuest...
sea vs star
quest vs trek
Oh, and I agree with you about the 2nd season, though there were oddly some moments I rather enjoyed in there. 3rd season worked wonderfully, though, and should have received the back half of the 3rd season as promised by NBC.