I disagree with what seems to be a majority of other reviewers that this show goes downhill after Season 1. If anything I feel it improves as it goes along, though admittedly NEVER achieves what definitely SHOULD have been perfection given the quality of talent this show had both behind and in front of the cameras. If you enjoy creative science fiction, you will enjoy SEA QUEST, and I believe you will find the 2nd season to be the best of the 3. The stories are creative and it is both very well acted and well written. Character development is sadly lacking though, which I think is the fatal flaw of SEA QUEST. Definitely NOT on a par with STAR TREK VOYAGER here. You find yourself wishing a lot of things happened which never do especially in terms of crew interaction. SEAQUEST also tries to do far too much in its time frame. It seems like nearly every show involves a near end of the universe which SEAQUEST must somehow defuse within 45 minutes.
So, in a nutshell:
ON THE PLUS SIDE:
1: ROY SCHEIDER - the man is always fun to watch, and SEAQUEST pays a few subtle homages to the JAWS legacy along the way...
2: A very young (18) BRITTANY MURPHY shows up cute as a button near the end of Season 3.
3: For those who like dolphins, DARWIN is a treat.
4: Stories are creative, more so starting in Season 2.
SHORTCOMINGS:
1: Not enough character development, too busy trying to save the world
2: Too many plodding exterior underwater shots of the vessels
3: Theme music is a snooze - they could have used a ditty by Selena Gomez
4: The series ends just as it seems to be hitting its stride - typical network shortsightedness - I suppose NFL NBA and NASCAR are more important.
5: Not enough eye candy - the female cast members are attractive, but not used to their full potential (no bikinis sad to say), and attractive guest stars are few and far between.
6: Other than Darwin the dolphin star, there is almost no other sea life in the show.
7: The whole Mark Hamill storyline really is remarkably annoying. SPOILER HERE, STOP NOW IF YOU CARE: This show actually starts out in 2022 for the first season and then somewhere along the line Luke Skywalker shows up and kidnaps the whole ship in a big UFO to another planet to win some pointless war, then returns it 10 years in the future. This premise of a UFO snatching up the whole ship and whisking it away to another planet HAD a lot of potential, but in the end just squandered its special effects budget on a silly pointless story. Plus, Mark Hamill is one of the most overrated actors of all time. Seriously, if not for STAR WARS he'd be selling knives on 4am infomercials.
8: DEUS EX MACHINA happens FAR too often in this show.
All in all though, well worth watching. I've sat through far worse.
So, in a nutshell:
ON THE PLUS SIDE:
1: ROY SCHEIDER - the man is always fun to watch, and SEAQUEST pays a few subtle homages to the JAWS legacy along the way...
2: A very young (18) BRITTANY MURPHY shows up cute as a button near the end of Season 3.
3: For those who like dolphins, DARWIN is a treat.
4: Stories are creative, more so starting in Season 2.
SHORTCOMINGS:
1: Not enough character development, too busy trying to save the world
2: Too many plodding exterior underwater shots of the vessels
3: Theme music is a snooze - they could have used a ditty by Selena Gomez
4: The series ends just as it seems to be hitting its stride - typical network shortsightedness - I suppose NFL NBA and NASCAR are more important.
5: Not enough eye candy - the female cast members are attractive, but not used to their full potential (no bikinis sad to say), and attractive guest stars are few and far between.
6: Other than Darwin the dolphin star, there is almost no other sea life in the show.
7: The whole Mark Hamill storyline really is remarkably annoying. SPOILER HERE, STOP NOW IF YOU CARE: This show actually starts out in 2022 for the first season and then somewhere along the line Luke Skywalker shows up and kidnaps the whole ship in a big UFO to another planet to win some pointless war, then returns it 10 years in the future. This premise of a UFO snatching up the whole ship and whisking it away to another planet HAD a lot of potential, but in the end just squandered its special effects budget on a silly pointless story. Plus, Mark Hamill is one of the most overrated actors of all time. Seriously, if not for STAR WARS he'd be selling knives on 4am infomercials.
8: DEUS EX MACHINA happens FAR too often in this show.
All in all though, well worth watching. I've sat through far worse.