"Double agents. Triple agents. Where does it all end?"
A stone cold, highly trained spy/assassin, Vail (the superb Jan Merlin, with these serpent eyes and hints of a demented grin when it appears he's close to the kill) working for the Great Red Threat impersonates a Washington agent (after killing him), boards Seaview, and has a mission to "silence" a defector with great knowledge that is a major threat to the Western enemy. Southeast Asia Red Spy Network, operated by Col. Dubov (Oscar Beregi Jr.; The Twilight Zone), has information inside the brain of Commie Koslow (Than Wyenn, mostly bedridden, on a gurney in the Seaview sickbay), but an escape attempt in Jakarta is interrupted by machine gun fire, with the defector badly wounded. He will not give his information to the US if his beloved Anna (Danielle De Metz) isn't with him on board so Nelson will have to return to get her. This abruptly halts what was to be a one way trip from the east to the west, but complications on getting Koslow to America alive will only continue to develop. "No Way Out" is another sterling example of how the first season of Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea kicked all kinds of ass. Merlin's killer free to move about for a portion of the episode, Nelson and Crane unaware of his true identity, another possible double agent on board to provide an extra twist, and the difficult protection of Koslow who remains in critical condition after machine gun fire in Jakarta caused major blood loss. This episode has a humdinger of a chase sequence where Vail escapes into the ventilation system, a whole network of pipes that lead to different areas of the Seaview. Trust and love is betrayed when loyalties to the other side take precedent (I will leave this as it is written not to totally spoil the twist at the end, although I think an earlier scene where a rescue out of a Commie outpost is a bit telling when the one helped is startled to find Nelson in the room). This episode wisely milks every ounce of tension from the idea that Vail might kill Koslow at any moment while his masquerade as an American agent remains intact. Just about as much fun as one could have with this show; it is a sad thought when one realizes how far the show would fall when such great episodes like this one prove how good Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea could be. To me, not just one of the best episodes of the first season but of the entire series' four years on the air.
A stone cold, highly trained spy/assassin, Vail (the superb Jan Merlin, with these serpent eyes and hints of a demented grin when it appears he's close to the kill) working for the Great Red Threat impersonates a Washington agent (after killing him), boards Seaview, and has a mission to "silence" a defector with great knowledge that is a major threat to the Western enemy. Southeast Asia Red Spy Network, operated by Col. Dubov (Oscar Beregi Jr.; The Twilight Zone), has information inside the brain of Commie Koslow (Than Wyenn, mostly bedridden, on a gurney in the Seaview sickbay), but an escape attempt in Jakarta is interrupted by machine gun fire, with the defector badly wounded. He will not give his information to the US if his beloved Anna (Danielle De Metz) isn't with him on board so Nelson will have to return to get her. This abruptly halts what was to be a one way trip from the east to the west, but complications on getting Koslow to America alive will only continue to develop. "No Way Out" is another sterling example of how the first season of Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea kicked all kinds of ass. Merlin's killer free to move about for a portion of the episode, Nelson and Crane unaware of his true identity, another possible double agent on board to provide an extra twist, and the difficult protection of Koslow who remains in critical condition after machine gun fire in Jakarta caused major blood loss. This episode has a humdinger of a chase sequence where Vail escapes into the ventilation system, a whole network of pipes that lead to different areas of the Seaview. Trust and love is betrayed when loyalties to the other side take precedent (I will leave this as it is written not to totally spoil the twist at the end, although I think an earlier scene where a rescue out of a Commie outpost is a bit telling when the one helped is startled to find Nelson in the room). This episode wisely milks every ounce of tension from the idea that Vail might kill Koslow at any moment while his masquerade as an American agent remains intact. Just about as much fun as one could have with this show; it is a sad thought when one realizes how far the show would fall when such great episodes like this one prove how good Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea could be. To me, not just one of the best episodes of the first season but of the entire series' four years on the air.
