a5c7b9f00b By the mid-21st Century, humankind has colonized the oceans and formed the UEO--the United Earth Oceans--as a military organization to police it. Formerly a high-ranking member of the UEO, Nathan Bridger retired after the death of his wife, and retreated to an isolated island to study dolphins. An attempt is made to hijack the Seaquest DSV, the UEO's most powerful undersea vessel, and Nathan--its original designer--is convinced to return to active service, to assume command of it. His second in command is Cmdr. Jonathan Ford. In second season, the DSV added Dagwood, a prototype GELF (Genetically Engineered Life Form), Tony Piccolo, a man with surgically implanted gills, and Dr. Wendy Smith, a telepath/empath, to its crew of specialists. The series has New Age leanings, often presenting stories that deal with environmental issues or mix myth and mysticism--from ghosts to "gods"--into its science fiction. In the early 21st century, mankind has colonized the oceans. The United Earth Oceans Organization enlists Captain Nathan Bridger and the submarine seaQuest DSV to keep the peace and explore the last frontier on Earth. It's always the same thing. No matter how good or bad a show is, the ratings alone decide it's faith. With good ratings a show is renewed every season and nobody will make changes to it's format. With bad ratings a show is canceled after (or during) it's first season.<br/><br/>But what if the ratings are not good enough to have the show renewed for another season, but not bad enough to have the show canceled either. Then they always make a second season that is so different from the first one that the few fans it had will stop watching and no new viewers will tune in. Will they ever learn it's better to cancel a show than to dramatically change it? Changing it will only make you lose the audience it has. It will not bring in new viewers! And that is what happened to SeaQuest DSV. It was a great show in the beginning. But the changes they made to the format didn't just scare the few fans it had away, it even scared it's lead (Roy Scheider) away! I remember going through my midteens with this show, but never saw anything particularly special about it. Watching it now, I realise many of the episodes, particularly in the first season, have some refreshing new ideas for a scifi and do not fall into the same worn out clichés. <br/><br/>Their ideas of the world relying further on deep sea resources by 2032 is partially being borne out, as we drill and mine ever deeper. While the mid 90s 'futuristic' computer graphics makes me wince even now in 2010, let alone for 2032, they had a go. Best of all is the massive submarine itself, Seaquest, the design of which still looks good to this day. I like the multi language and culture emphasis, and the way Seaquest seems to zip all over the world rather than just stay along the coastlines of the Western countries.<br/><br/>As for the negatives, the plot lines sometime wander into being a touch over moralistic, and the acting can at times be distinctly sub par. However, I do think this show still has something to offer - particularly the first season. In the third season premiere, the SeaQuest reappears, with most of its crew intact, ten years after their abduction at the end of season two. Captain Bridger retires to raise his new grandson, and Michael Ironside joins the cast as the more militaristic Captain Oliver Hudson, bringing along his "best student", Lieutenant J.J. Fredericks, who serves as seaQuest's ace sub-fighter pilot.
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