Storm-tossed research ship at sea.
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Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea |
Production information and notes
by
Mark Phillips
Story synopses, Mike
Bailey
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Production information and notes
by |
| Brand of the Beast Original Airdate: December 12, 1966 |
Nelson orders Crane to run Seaview at flank speed to try to rescue the top scientists and crew on board the British vessel Columbine that's foundering in a storm. When Seaview's reactor goes critical, Nelson is exposed to massive doses of radiation when he attempts to bring it under control. Mouse-over for dramatic Nuclear flare-up |
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The radiation causes a flare up of the mysterious rabies virus he was exposed to in the episode, Werewolf. He hides the condition from Crane and the crew and when he feels a transformation coming on, solicits Sharkey's help. The Chief locks Nelson in his cabin to prevent him from injuring others. While covering for Nelson, Sharkey invokes Crane's ill will, but Nelson, recovered from the bout with werewolfery, talks Crane out of confining the chief to his quarters. |  |
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Nelson has recurrent attacks, and Crane, discovering the truth, orders him to be subdued with tranquilizers. When that proves unworkable, the Captain orders live ammo to be used on his friend. In the meantime, Nelson raises plenty of werewolf havoc. Luckily, when Sharkey and Kowalski finally catch up with the Admiral, he's passed out, returned to normal. They lock him in his cabin for safety, but Nelson, feeling the onset of another attack, escapes through the ventilator system and orders Sharkey to send him to the bottom in the diving bell, thus getting him off the sub. |
| On discovering this, Crane orders the bell hauled back, but Nelson hits the quick-release, and the bell plummets to the sea bottom. Crane then remotely fires the ballast release and the bell rises like a rocket, subjecting Nelson to rapid decompression. When he comes out of the bell, he's returned to his normal self and Doc says there's no sign of virus left. Nelson hypothesizes that the nitrogen introduced into his blood during rapid decompression must have been fatal to the virus. Thus ends the episode. |  |
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Mark Says: When I was a kid, I thought it was really Richard Basehart who was under the werewolf mask, doing all those tortured spins and leaps throughout the show. But it's Jerry Catron who takes over every time the Admiral turns into a monster. This is another example where a great cast really works for its pay (Chief Sharkey caught between the orders of Nelson and Crane, the bewildered Doctor grappling with the Admiral's condition, Crane's confusion, etc). There's even a weird scene where Chip Morton's character suddenly appears for a cameo. Story wise, the episode is frustrating for its many lapses in logic and the werewolf makeup is more comical than frightening. It's another budget saver but it's the dedicated cast who really saves this one. |
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Mike Says: Fine miniature stock footage of an ocean vessel tossed at sea in the midst of a terrific storm sets the story in motion, plus the acting is terrific. Basehart may have hated this stuff, but he made it work, as did everyone else. The denouement, however, feels tacked on. Nelson tries to save the crew by isolating himself in the diving bell, Crane orders the emergency ballast released which sends the bell to the surface, and hey, wow, the sudden release of Nitrogen into Nelson's blood from the quick surface kills the werewolf virus. This ending is done in such an such a quick, off-the-cuff manner that if really feels just like what it is--a quick |
 Production art from Brand of the Beast. |
| way to abruptly resolve the jeopardy. Oh, and yes, the werewolf mask looks like they bought it at a costume shop. Even so, overall, I kinda' like this outing, although, for the life of me, I can't remember what happened to the damn scientists. |
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