08 January 2006:
Released in Fall 1993, SeaQuest DSV was a unique science fiction series. Produced by Spielberg himself, SeaQuest focused mainly on man's exploration of the deep and the changes mankind would face in order to co-exist with the environment. It also gave us a peek into the twenty-first century by integrating the scientific advancements that were beeing made at the time such the internet, underwater mining, and the rise of economic confederations (like the European Union). It also accurately predicted the political shape of conflict in the new millenium. In SeaQuest, rather than nations fighting one another, the world's biggest source of conflict comes from terrorist groups, rogue tyrants, and corrupt industries who don't want to give up their exploitive ways to preserve the fragile environment.It's said that each episode of SeaQuest cost about $2 million! I imagine most of it was spent on the amazing sets, which blow Star Trek and Babylon 5 out of the sky! SeaQuest also had a decent cast who could act pretty well. I think part of the reason why most of the creative staff left after the first season was the fact that SeaQuest didn't attract the audience that it was gunning for. Instead of college students and young adults, it attracted kids my age (10-12). There was also no overall story, each episode was an adventure of the week where, at the end, everything returned to the way it was at the beginning. Most of the characters didn't evolve, with the exception of Bridger, Lucas, and Ford. And the most of the plots ranged from silly to ludacris. With the exception of To Be or Not to Be, The Devil's Window, Whale Song, Photon Bullet almost all the conflict was external - those episodes also happen to be my favorites. Basically, SeaQuest's downfall was that it was too much vision and not enough personality.
