Review of Man from Atlantis

A storm churns up the ocean depths, and close to death, a man is washed up onto the shore. A hospital medical team is unable to stabilize him. Intrigued by 'a man who has forgotten how to breathe', naval medic, Dr Elizabeth Merrill accompanies a medical consultant into the emergency room. Noting the patients' appearance, Elizabeth asks to examine him. She comes to a quick conclusion, and hurriedly takes the man, in an ambulance, back to the ocean. Pushing his inert form, around in the water, face down, Elizabeth pleads with him to 'breathe', for she had discovered, that his lungs, instead of the usual 'air sacks', contained gill-like membrane. Slowly the man revives, his cat-like green eyes staring up, at her, through the waves. Elizabeth names him, Mark Harris. With government funding she puts Mark through a series of tests to find out his speed, agility and strength in the water. They prove to be superhuman. At home in the water, he's only able to stay on land for short periods of time, before he needs to return to it; or perish. At first, Mark does not communicate verbally, until he responds to a request to help locate a lost submersible. During his mission Mark encounters Mr. Schubert (who appears in several more episodes); the villain wanting to 'take over the world'. After saving the day, and although having no recollection of his origins , Mark decides to return to the ocean, but he has a change of heart, and stays, telling Dr Merrill, 'I have not learned enough'. Handsome Patrick Duffy is brilliant as Mark Harris, with his trade mark yellow trunks and unique swimming style. I don't think that there were many who saw the show, who didn't try, just once, to imitate it. I've, recently, had the chance to see the series again, which was absolutely fantastic. It still has to be one of my all-time favourite TV shows. I was sad that the series just suddenly stopped, with no real conclusion. Maybe some of the episodes; like the one featuring the two-headed sea horse, Oscar, do look a little silly now, but special effects have come a long way since the late 70s. The Man from Atlantis never pretended to be anything more than what it was, just pure entertainment; sci-fi fantasy.