300 Feet Below

Putting aside the fact that there was a movie made before the show, we have an excellent first episode.

Porter Ricks picks up a distress call from a doctor who was attacked by a shark and in dire need of blood. The copter drops the blood, but the Porter drops it. It's an amazing few minutes as he climbs up hire and hire to try to grab the box of blood from the hook it's attached to. A far angle shot shows the danger our hero is in. Of course when the box drops into the ocean, he drops with it in an amazing, fast dive that's pretty unbelievable.

The water there is 300 feet below. Now, I don't know exactly how deep that is or anything; and I don't know how things work in water but I was a bit surprised that they could see the shark's blood so quickly and clearly when it was attacked 300 feet down!

Eight year old Bud is given a lot of responsibility. While the Porter goes to check on the doctor, he tells Bud to get the flair ready to shoot and to be careful because it's cocked. There doesn't seem to be much worry, which means that regardless of the fact that Bud gets himself into lots of trouble in later episodes, there's an element of trust and authority that Bud will do the right thing and be careful.

The Porter has a lot of trust in his older son as he leaves it solely in Sandy's responsibility to get Flipper there and knows that it would happen. How many kids now days can be trusted like that?

I have a 5 year-old son who just loves anything to do with animals. The other day we were out shopping and ran across Season 1 of Flipper. I remembered watching it as a child and enjoying the show, so I thought I might take a chance on it and buy it for my son. And at less than $15, I really wasn't risking a whole lot. To my utter delight, my little boy just loves it.

So far, my son's favorite episode is "300 Feet Below". The plot involves a man who radios for help after being attacked by a shark. Badly needed plasma is delivered to the boat by helicopter, but it's accidentally dropped into the ocean. When Ranger Porter Ricks dives in to get the plasma, he runs into the same shark. Fortunately, Flipper is on hand to battle the shark and save the day. For me, I was surprised at how much real tension and suspense I got out of this episode. I was also surprised to see actual blood in a family television show from 1964. I didn't know you could do that back then. For my son, he talks almost every day about the Flipper vs. shark showdown and goes on to describe blow-by-blow how it all unfolded. He's hooked. And I'm thinking that's not a bad thing. With the state of television today, you could do a whole lot worse than Flipper.

Porter Ricks (Brian Kelly), and sons Sandy (Luke Halpin) and Bud (Tommy Norden) receive a distress call from shark attack victim William Traylor (as Bill Darmon). In her hot pink one-piece bathing suit, Jessica Walter is supporting, as Traylor's wife Elena - she reveals the couple had been quarreling, and were ready to separate, before the shark attack. They must get the wounded man an immediate blood A- type transfusion. A box of blood plasma is flown in, but is accidentally dropped into the ocean; when Ricks dives in to retrieve it, the menacing shark reappears…

This is the third "Flipper" story released, and the first of the episodic TV series. It follows films "Flipper" (1963) and "Flipper's New Adventure" (1964). The series continues to feature beautiful color location photography - over, and under, water. Attractive Mr. Halpin and Mr. Kelly are joined by new cast member Tommy Norden, as Sandy's "kid brother" Bud. This episode's distinctive highlight is seeing Flipper and Sandy dive from a Coast Guard helicopter into the water.

***** 300 Feet Below (9/19/64) Hollingsworth Morse ~ Brian Kelly, Luke Halpin, Tommy Norden