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Seaquest DSV



         


The title given to this article is incorrect due to technical limitations. The correct title is seaQuest DSV.

seaQuest DSV was an American science fiction television series originally aired on NBC between 1993 and 1996. In its final season, it was renamed seaQuest 2032.

Set in "The Near Future", seaQuest mixed high drama with realistic scientific fact. It starred Roy Scheider (Police Chief Brody in the movie Jaws), as Nathan Bridger, captain of the eponymous high-tech submarine - seaQuest DSV 4600.

The series had a troubled beginning. Without the interest of Steven Spielberg, who acted as an executive producer, it might never have made it to the screen at all. Filming of the first season was marked by producer disputes, changes at the helm (on- and off-screen), and even an earthquake.

On its debut, it was slated by the critics, who dubbed it "Voyage to the Bottom of the Ratings", and criticised everything from the characterisation of the show's female characters to Darwin, the show's dolphin! Fans, however, loved it, and "Questies" tuned in to NBC every week to watch the show develop.

Spoiler warning: Plot or ending details follow.

In the first season finale, the seaQuest was sacrificed by Bridger to prevent an ecological disaster, and NBC and Universal used this opportunity to tinker with the show's format. Out went Royce D. Applegate, John D'Aquino, Stacy Haiduk, and Stephanie Beacham, who, as Dr. Kristin Westphalen, was one of the first season's strongest characters. In came a directive from the studio that everyone, except Roy Scheider, had to be under 30. The series had suffered badly in the ratings, pitted as it was against Lois and Clark, which, in its first season at least, was a programme of extremely high quality.

The studio also wanted more sci-fi oriented episodes, which first emerged towards the end of season one, when seaQuest encountered a million-year-old alien ship buried in the ocean floor. If they wanted more fans, they almost got their wish. Newer fans emerged, but many of the fans of the first season were unhappy at the studio's attitude to the show's "sci-fact" approach, and abandoned the show.

By the end of season two, seaQuest DSV was again suffering. The season's heavily sci-fi climax, "Splashdown", saw the crew inexplicably transported to another planet, where they all died. Or so it seemed. The threat of cancellation loomed large. Universal took one last gamble with the series, and gave it one more chance.

Another revamp resulted in the third season, the series now called seaQuest 2032. The seaQuest reappeared, its crew intact, ten years after their abduction at the end of season two. Captain Bridger stepped down to raise his grandson (although Scheider appeared in two further episodes of the season), and Michael Ironside entered the fray as the more militaristic Oliver Hudson, as the UEO faced the threat of the Macronesian Alliance. Much darker than the previous series, many felt that seaQuest had finally found its feet, successfully blending science, drama, and fantasy. However, Universal and NBC didn't see it that way, and after only 13 episodes, the series was cancelled.

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