User Reviews

"Leviathan," an installment in "Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea's" second and first full-color season, is one of the few times where the main guest star is female. Karen Steele, later to have notoriety as one of "Mudd's Women" on "Star Trek", plays "Cara Sloane," the assistant to scientist Anthony Sterling (Liam Sullivan). Sloane seeks the aid of Admiral Nelson (Richard Basehart) and the crew of the Seaview to meet with Dr. Sterling in his underwater laboratory to discuss a major fissure that he has discovered in the sea's depths. However, Sloane sabotages the crew so that they will be tricked by the over-sized, and possibly false, ocean creatures that they encounter. She does this because Dr. Sloane's experiments and discoveries have resulted in some shocking changes in the scientist.

The episode boasts some impressive trick photography, especially with the sea animals, the Flying Sub, and a surprising revelation about the doctor. The latter's final appearance is shockingly grotesque and provides a stuntman with some interesting "combat" with the submarine Seaview.

This was one of the episodes that relied on new footage, as opposed to recycled stock film from the first black and white season.

LEVIATHAN was one of the high points of VOYAGE's first color--and apparently most popular--season, and is one of my favorite episodes of the series. This is almost wholly due to the concluding quarter of the episode, which displays some very impressive underwater model and stunt work. The first three quarters are sluggish and repetitive and full of the blatant suspensions of logic that consistently mar Allen's series. Indeed, LEVIATHAN is a capsule of the strengths and weaknesses of VOYAGE. Strong visuals, admirably straight-faced acting, and stirring music (Alex Courage channeling Bernard Herrmann) are complemented by simplistic plotting, appalling dialogue, and absurd science. Much as I enjoy watching a model Seaview moving amidst real sea creatures (rather rare in the series, actually) the hallucination gimmick cooked up by writer Welch quickly wears out its welcome, especially with added tinted giant creature footage recycled from the first season. Welch would prove a master of recycling--ad nauseum--in the ensuing seasons. As the Bondmania spy episodes petered out, this was clearly a model--for better or worse--for the more juvenile 3rd and 4th years. The rather shabby script treatment of Karen Steele's Cara--from the snarky misogyny of the first scene in the crew's mess, to the inane device of her doctoring the salt, and her abrupt, off-camera demise--captures quite well Allen's disdain for women in VOYAGE. It's very hard to even FIND a woman in the last two seasons. Not that any of this troubled me when I first saw this as a nine-year-old boy--presumably Allen's target audience. I loved it--and LEVIATHAN still gives me considerable perverse pleasure today. Perhaps in demonstration of VOYAGE's influence on the more-esteemed STAR TREK, compare this episode to the latter's WHO MOURNS FOR ADONIS? from its 2nd year. Again, great visuals buttress a ridiculous script about a really big guy who manhandles the starring vessel. Equally irresistible, though. ;)

This second season continues an amzaing run of quality material, last week it was The Deadliest Game and this week it is an even better show called Leviathan. Science Fiction is back in place as this hour features mind blowing images and Alexander Courage music that will remain forever locked in your memory! Despite some dated and sexist small talk from the seamen, this hour is a total knockout and the climax would rank as one of my favourite screen moments of all time!

The climax features a shocked Admiral Nelson, in the flying sub, looking out of the viewport at the submarine Seaview being held and rocked around by a giant human scientist. The Alexander Courage score really captures the disaster-feeling of this moment. This moment has the works: Top Basehart acting, Top Seaview effects, Top music, Sci-Fic and Disaster! Irwin Allen's Land Of The Giants pilot episode - The Crash - would later do a scene that resembles the Leviathan climax.

VttBotS isn't the world's most consistent series, but this time the Seaview dives through the sea of (plot) holes, including psychedelic tripping. How does Cara get from the laboratory, located at the sea bottom, to the Marine Headquarters anyway, only to ask the admiral for a ride back? Why does she have to put LSD in the salt, for the entire crew to hallucinate? Why does nobody see that the salt suddenly turns blue? Why do people only hallucinate when they look through the front window and not while they roam the ship?

Perhaps Cara just wants to have revenge because the crew treated her as an airheaded bimbo. You know, being male and in the military and lonely at sea and all.

For three quarters of the episode the crew staggers through repetitive hallucinatory scenes and it pretty rapidly gets boring as hell.

Once at the lab, the mad scientist of the week, who has turned into a giant who can breathe under water, attacks the Seaview for whatever reason. There is no explanation how he could leave the lab, so we just have to accept he can grow and shrink at will.

Luckily for the Seaview, he falls into the hole at the bottom of the sea, taking the laboratory (and Cara inside) with him as well.

The Yellow Submarine handled the hole in the sea problem much better, me thinks.