“The 21st Century: mankind has colonized the last unexplored region on Earth, the ocean. As Captain of the seaQuest and her crew, we are its guardians, for beneath the surface lies the future.”
The words of a noble man, Captain Nathan Hale Bridger. When we say the word “seaquest,” we must quickly define what we’re talking about. The word has two meanings: one was the name of the show, the other the name of the titular seafaring vessel. And what a vessel that was! So what was seaQuest, and why did it fail so badly that not many people even remember it anymore?
Well, let’s start at the ground level. seaQuest DSV was a science fiction franchise launched for the NBC television network in 1993. It was created by Rockne S. O’Bannon, who would later create the successful Farscape franchise. It had some very prominent production figures attached to it: Roy Scheider, an accomplished actor from the 70’s famed for his role on Jaws, and none other than the great Stephen Spielberg himself.
I confess. I’m a huge fan of seaQuest. I was first introduced to the franchise as a 10-year-old boy fascinated in sci-fi. The first episode I saw was the season 2 finale, Splashdown. But when I look back on this show today, I see a very different story. When seaQuest was airing, I never had the chance to watch it from episode 1. Had I such an opportunity, I’m sure I would have come to a different conclusion back then. It’s impossible to deny it: the show had problems. So what made this show fail?
Well, I disagree with most who have made comments online. I think there isn’t any one cause. I believe it to be a combination of several errors in understanding, ultimately fueled by NBC. If I were to nail down any cause, I’d say it was NBC. I’ll discuss this as we go.
First, the show was intended to be sci-fi, but not like any other sci-fi franchise out there. Spielberg and O’Bannon wanted a character drama within a sci-fi universe, but keeping the sci-fi very factual. The result was a very believable environment, and one that was even relevant to the time of production. The events took place within the 2010’s, only 20 years from the present times. The realism used made the show fun and educational. I believe in this sense that the show was ahead of its time. These days, sci-fi has to be as explainable, and even as real, as possible. seaQuest had that in the early 90’s.
But this leaves us with a bit of a problem. It’s not true sci-fi, but it masquerades as such. I love the realistic feel, but am I watching a Trek-wannabe or Hunt for Red October? I think this was part of the problem. It was a good concept, but it was a concept the public wasn’t quite ready for.
Now, many criticized the characters. Honestly, any new show will face this at some point. We need to give the characters time to flesh themselves out. It doesn’t happen overnight, not if you want a really well-developed character. That may have been the problem here. Some characters demonstrate a good deal of development in the first season. The boy genius, Lucas Wolenczak, is a great example. But what about Ben Krieg, Manilow Crocker, or Katherine Hitchkock? I don’t see much there at all. But they weren’t terrible characters, either. They interact with one another quite well and create a nice espirit de corps.
All in all the first season wasn’t that bad. In fact, it was great. But it didn’t perform that well in the ratings. No, it didn’t flop, but it wasn’t a breakout success, either. That was the problem at the conclusion of the first season: it didn’t bring in enough ratings to warrant another season, but too many ratings to earn cancellation. When NBC executives met to discuss the future of the show, they were forced to make decisions. They decided the show needed a facelift. So they changed roughly half of the main cast, moved film locations, and made the show more sci-fi.
It was a noticeable difference. Many believe this is what killed seaQuest. Well, I agree to a point. But I understand why the decisions were made. NBC did what it felt it had to do to make the show a success. In television history, changes to show’s premise can result in higher ratings. It’s all about giving the viewer what the viewer wants to see. In this case, was it a success? Well. . .
In spite of all the complaints you’ll read out there about the changes, it’s clear to me that it worked. When I was watching, I was enraptured. But I was very young. Most of the friends I had loved the show. But we were very young. You see, NBC wanted a show that would bring in that younger demographic. It worked. But did it keep the older crowd, who had come to love the first season? Not really. This represents the problem with the change, not the change itself, but the alienation it brought. It was too drastic, too quickly.
Now the characters brought in at the second season weren’t all that bad. On the contrary, quite often they created an even better working atmosphere than in the first season. Tony Piccolo was the wise-cracking street-smart delinquent who was both a thorn-in-the-flesh and the best of all buds to Lucas. Dagwood may have been a sight to see, but his child-like behavior was such a refreshment to watch. The ladies were not treated nearly as well, though. That’s because they executives brought in babes, not brains. I don’t mean to be offensive. It’s just a fact, and it’s one you feminists could have a field day over. The women characters were eye candy and little more. Lonnie Henderson and Wendy Smith, both highly attractive individuals, just didn’t show much development at all over the course of the season. In fact, Wendy Smith was seen as a weak combination of two Trek characters: the somewhat telepathic Deanna Troi and the caring Dr. Crusher. A good argument, I feel. No, when the chips are counted at the end of the day, I opt for the first season’s Dr. Wesphalen any day. Hands down.
The plots of the episodes became flat-out ridiculous at times. Again, I stress that I’m a huge fan. I even love the move to a more sci-fi friendly tack. But it wasn’t well executed. The move actually began in the first season, with the episode Such Great Patience. I admit it’s my favorite episode of that season, and it’s a good example of a transition handled well. It was a more sci-fi oriented episode fraught with alien encounters. Yet, it kept the science fact that was so recognizable in that season. Many chided this and still do, on the account that aliens don’t belong on the ocean floor. But that was well-explained, and if you really give it some thought, it makes sense. In evolutionary science, if aliens had visited the planet when it was stated (so many millions of years ago), the only intelligent species worth talking with would have been dolphins. You have to be in the ocean to do that. It made sense.
But in the second season, the episodes take a clear campy tone. I think it was due to the younger thrust of the marketing. I see that it was a problem, but not really because of the change here. It’s all the tone. Had we more episodes like Such Great Patience in season 2, it wouldn’t have been nearly as bad. Instead, we had 60-ft. crocodiles, man-eating plants, and yet more aliens with an all-too-unbelievable premise. Again, it’s not the concept here that was bad. It was execution. The episodes in question all seem very cheap and cheesy to watch. It was good enough for a 10-year-old, but not respectable enough for a 20-year-old.
But even with all of these flaws, the second season had some unbelievably bright spots. A few episodes really stand out as jewels. The episode that most people mention is Vapors. Yes, it’s a great one. Purely character-oriented and little situation, but it gives us a chance to see these new characters interact with each other. We actually get to thinking, “Hey, this isn’t too bad.” Another one is The Sincerest Form of Flattery. It’s pure sci-fi, but the air of urgency erases the camp. Very well done. I even think the first two episodes were decent. Yeah, the concept of genetically engineered humans with built-in camouflage was a bit freaky. But all in all, the episode had that character interaction that it needed. It established the new season well, if only that season had kept this feel.
So after a mediocre season at best, what happened with seaQuest? It was a tough call to make. The changes in format had taken their toll (even though it did work in a few areas). Even Roy Scheider voiced some biting remarks, calling the show’s feel “childish trash. I feel betrayed.” Scheider drew criticism himself for these remarks. Even though he may have been right, I think he should have held his tongue. Remarks like that can change public consciousness more than any executive decision can, and I think it did. He was begging for a way out, and the executives wanted to keep the show going. So yet another line of changes was made. This time, it would prove to be not so bad.
Well, take it with a grain of salt. Let’s try to look at the big picture. You have a main actor who is unhappy and making a big stink, a fledgling franchise struggling to find its fight, and board that wants to give it one more try. What do you do? You bring in another main actor. It happens in television quite often. The problem here was that Scheider’s character, Captain Bridger, was well-loved by viewers of both the first and second season. Any new captain risks alienating all the viewers. But what if that captain is played by Michael Ironside? Well, that’s where opinion was mixed. Certainly Ironside’s character, Captain Oliver Hudson, is an inferior character. But it was what the show needed in that circumstance.
The third season of the show saw a change in name. Now, it was seaQuest 2032, moving the timeframe forward and bringing the titular vessel and its crew back to Earth at just the right time. With seaQuest gone for more than 10 years, oceanic nations became more aggressive. One such nation, the Republic of Macronesia, threatened to annex the entire Pacific, perhaps even the entire world’s oceans. The UEO was powerless to stop such aggressor nations without their peace-keeping vessel. Then it was found in the middle of a cornfield in Nebraska. One by one, the crew returned, but they had no memory of where they were, or what they did.
Captain Bridger returned, but only to hand over seaQuest to the new captain. I confess. I disliked Hudson. He was all battle and no compassion. Bridger was the opposite. But I will say, given the war-prevention aspect of this season, Hudson made more sense. And the overall tone of the show changed once again, but for the better. The entire season became an urgent, prevent-all-catastrophes race. It was much more serious and more mature. It did have its flaws. We were forced to accept yet more new characters at the expense of older ones. Wendy Smith and Miguel Ortiz were both written off as killed in action. Brody would be killed during the course of the season. But it wasn’t that bad. Certainly an improvement over the second season changes.
Everything seemed to be working for seaQuest this time. It was like the show had finally found feet. But only thirteen episodes into the new season, the show was abruptly cancelled. Why? I don’t believe for a minute it was the changes this time. I believe seaQuest could have continued for another 3 or 4 seasons. The problem here (as I’ve said from the start) was NBC. NBC finally had the show it wanted, but aired it in an unsual timeslot, on Wednesday evenings. NBC would always favor pre-empting the show in favor of sports coverage. This resulted in months between episodes. That’s what killed the ratings. Many of the fans would have watched, but never knew when it would be on. Unreliable broadcasting meant fewer viewers, meaning lower ratings, meaning cancellation.
And the seaQuest sank.
So that’s it. I still reiterate that it wasn’t one thing that brought down a promising franchise. There were many reasons, perhaps the root of it being NBC. Several seaQuest alumni would go on to guest star in other sci-fi franchises, especially Star Trek. Both Stephanie Beacham (Dr. Westphalen from season 1) and Rosalind Allen (Dr. Smith from season 2) guest starred on Next Generation. Marco Sanchez (Miguel Ortiz) played a MACO in Enterprise. Richard Herd (Admiral Noyce) played another Admiral, Owen Paris in Voyager. In addition several Trek alumni and other well-known actors guest starred on seaQuest.
It was a sad tale. The franchise had so much potential, but in the end, it went down like the Titanic. I personally hope the real 2010’s are as prosperous as the first season and none of the faults of the latter ones.
