Sea Hunt

Gee I miss Sea Hunt. I probably started watching and remembering it when I was eight or nine years old. By that time it was already four or five years in re-run. I can't remember any specific episodes but, I do have very fond memories of Mike Nelson and every shows promise of adventure with a pleasant finale. No tremendous explosions or unrealistic battle scenes, just a good solid yarn that always seemed like a recounting of a real event. The undersea photography, supported by background sounds of Mike's breathing through SCUBA gear, remains etched in my mind!

In a sense, today's Bay Watch, in a "cheesecake" sort of way carries on the tradition of simple honest story line, lack of violence and down-to-earth adventure telling. I'd still rather watch Sea Hunt, I must be getting old.

What a night. Perry Mason then Have Gun, Will Travel followed by Gunsmoke (when it was a half hour) and finally at 10:30PM came 'Sea Hunt' with its wonderful opening theme music and Mike's boat sailing off to a new adventure. Terrific.. Regardless of the story it was the lead character (played by Lloyd Bridges), strong, honest, sincere. A Man's Man and a Boy's Man. This brought on an interest in boats that lasted for years. Why they don't show on cable or make it available on video, no idea.. Too bad.

I loved watching ''Sea Hunt '' back in the day , I was in grammar school and would get home do my homework and by 4:30 would be ready to watch ''Sea Hunt '' and Mike Nelson in his underwater adventures .I loved it ! He took to you a place not very accessible at that time , under the great blue sea . Pre ''Thunderball '' or even before Cousteau became common , there was Mike Nelson sparking the imagination of kids .I'd be willing to wager that more than a few kids developed their passion for oceanography or biology or one of the sciences from watching this show .Underwater photography also progressed , the fascination for exploration is easily stimulated thru watching this show . Watch and enjoy !!!

Lloyd Bridges will always be Mike Nelson of Sea Hunt. I'm sorry but I just can't think of this late actor any other way. He did some comedy and was in several films and another TV series but this Scuba diving series of his was tops. His voice over narration really was unique and made the show what it was. It doesn't seem to be anywhere on any cable channel which is too bad.

Born in 1947 and raised watching tens of thousands of hours of tv (am I the only living person who watched all the episodes of Whirlybirds - four times?), Sea Hunt is a real childhood memory for me. It was fun, it was cool and it was on every week. We were so innocent in those days, audiences would watch just to see scuba diving. The only show I looked forward to more was Science Fiction Theater ("Hello, I'm your host, Truman Bradley.")

One odd touch sticks in my mind these forty years later. I'm thinking it must have been deliberate. Each and every episode - I swear - seemed to use one particular line of dialog. At some point in an underwater scene, Mike Nelson utters with surprise - in narration, of course - "And then I saw it!" Is there an insider out there who can shed light on this phenomenon? Or, heaven help me, does 30,000 hours of television actually turn your brain to jello?