Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea

Production information and notes by Mark Phillips
Story synopses, Mike Bailey
 

Deadly Invasion  Original Airdate: November 20, 1966
  
     The men of Seaview are tracking "meteors" about to crash into the ocean, when the objects change course and head straight for the sub; several of them smash through the hull and it's noted that "automatic hull repair has now sealed all punctures."   Sharkey soon brings one of the little ships to the control room where the thing opens and a gas is emitted, disabling the crew and sending Seaview plunging out of control.

Not meteors...alien ships.
Meteors headed for splashdown.

Cool little alien ships...actually a pretty good premise for arriving life.
Miniature ship opens up.

Eerie smoke emits from the alien ship.
Jumpin' Jack Flash, it's a gas!


Nelson puts magnifier to little ship's innards.

     After several commercials, Crane gets things back under control and Nelson retires to the lab with the little ship and attempts to get the thing to open.  It eventually does and when he gets a look inside, his suspicions are verified: it's a miniature spaceship, complete with instrumentation.   I've always wanted to see more of what was inside there.

     Nelson reports to General Haines what has happened and adds his strong suspicions that this may be some type of hostile action, considering the close proximity of SATO Six, a decommissioned underwater nuclear base.  Seaview is ordered to the base forthwith.  When Nelson returns to his cabin, he's confronted by an old World War II buddy, presumed long dead; he quickly logics through that his friend Sam Garrity, must actually be a creature from the ship.  The alien takes control of Seaview and heads the sub, as predicted by Nelson, for SATO Six.  Nelson and Sharkey opt to fly ahead in the Flying Sub, taking two potentially expendable crewmen with them.  If SATO Six appears to be compromised, Nelson will activate the base's self-destruct sequence.  The Admiral orders Crane to fire on the base with torpedoes should he (Nelson) be unsuccessful, an eventuality Crane does not look forward to.
The very capable Warren Stevens as Nelson's old WWII buddy, Sam Garrity.
Warren Stevens as Sam Garrity

     When the Flying Sub party arrives at the base, the two red-shirts are promptly killed off and Nelson and Sharkey trapped inside cylindrical heat fields.  "Garrity" orders Nelson to start up SATO Six so the aliens can use its power to signal the rest of their fleet to earth.  Nelson signals Crane to fire his torpedoes, which he does, but they are nullified by the aliens.  Seaview arrives at the base and Crane and company invite themselves in.  Nelson and Sharkey escape and the Admiral figures out that the aliens weakness is radiation.   Nelson "agrees" to start SATO Six for the aliens, on the Caveat that Crane must retrieve some needed equipment from Seaview.  The Captain comes back armed with "radiation guns" and starts blasting; soon the aliens are all puffs of white smoke and Garrity dies when Nelson shoves him into the alien homing device, which subsequently explodes.

Docking with the undersea base.
FS-1 docks at underwater base.

 

Garrity and faceless buddies
"Garrity" and faceless alien bad-guys.

 

Strips of plastic quarantine the Admiral.
Nelson trapped in heat field on cool SATO Six set.

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Written: John & Ward Hawkins
Directed: Nathan Juran
Guest Cast
Sam Garrity........Warren Stevens
General Haines........Michael Fox
Peters.......................Brent Davis
Kelly.....................Ashley Gilbert
Combat man #1.....Marco Lopez
Combat man #2...........Ron Stein
Monsters.................John Benson
                                Chuck Clow

Mark Says: This show contained one of the scariest scenes I had ever seen on television as a kid - where crewman Peters hears footsteps clanking around a corner behind him and out of the shadows walk two monsters, immune to gunfire. Not only do they kill him, but they don’t leave a mark on his body. Even thinking about the scene gives me goose bumps. Of course, not as scary today but thanks for the memory! All in all, a pedestrian script with some very inventive moments. The fact that the alien assumes the form of Nelson’s long-dead friend Sam Garrity is creepsville and the energy bubbles surrounding Nelson and Sharkey are also a neat idea.

 

Comin' to getcha!
Mark says, "Creepy killers."


*****Please note--I first saw this episode when I was 17.  Mark first saw the episode in reruns when he was much younger.  In a way, I envy Mark.  The young boy's first impression was obviously much more delighted and sympathetic than that of the jaded teen. -- Mike.

My kingdom for a truly smokeless cigar.
Harmless puffs of smoke.

Mike Says: As a whole, this one did not ring my chimes.  Too bad -- I like the idea of the tiny ships and the seemingly non-corporeal aliens within.  Why then did they have to take the shape of silly faceless monsters?  Why were their comings and goings marked by silly flashing lights and harmless puffs of smoke, both of which totally lacked punch?   Why were those strips of vinyl hanging down in the plastic force-fields that surrounded Nelson and Sharkey?  And why were those two not incinerated when they went to escape?  Too many unanswered questions.  But Warren Stevens was cool.  In this outing, it was claimed that Seaview's crush depth is just a little over 3,000 feet.  More like 5000!

Brent Davis ("Deadly Invasion" Guest Star) Says: 

"As a three-year Marine Corps officer, I was close to getting out [and] after doing the part in the Marshall Thompson movie To The Shores of Hell, I decided to go to Hollywood and see what might happen. I fell into a contract at Fox [and] got started as a member of The New Talent Program and did my first part on this Voyage episode.

I did enjoy the Voyage shows. It was a good group to work with and I found David Hedison to be very nice. He was very friendly and very approachable. In fact, he posed for a picture with me, this young actor. Richard Basehart pretty much stayed to himself and Robert Dowdell also kept to himself. Like on many shows later, I enjoyed the stuntmen and the crew and hung around them. As a young actor it is always best to be quiet and not known as a bother.

As to Voyage, the sets were nothing remarkable but they did the job; they photographed well.

The casting director was a great guy, Larry Stewart. I played a bad guy for him when he directed a Buck Rogers TV show.

I was soon dropped from the Fox program but did two more Voyage episodes and the Lost in Space show. I continued to freelance over the years, plus a few commercials. Still working at it, and co-produced and co-starred a couple of years ago in a G-picture, called Hollywood, It's a Dog's Life. I am vested in the SAG pension fund, and serve each year on the Performer's Evaluation Group for the Emmy selections.

As to my favorite shows to work on: Voyage would have to rank up there, as well as Police Story (I did three of them), Mannix, Streets of San Francisco (I did two of them)."

 

Comin' to getcha!
Peters heading towards reactor

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