
seaQuest DSV: Season 2- Where seaQuest Got Strange!

First off, I am a HUGE fan of the first season of seaQuest DSV! Unfortunately, season 2 lost a lot of what made season 1 so great! First off, several wonderful characters were removed from the series, including Dr. Kristin Westphalen, Chief Crocker, Lt. Krieg and Lt. Commander Hitchcock. I don't particularly like the interior design of the "new" seaQuest submarine. I don't like the fact that seemingly after every mission they return back to their home port instead of staying on patrol for an extended period as the real Navy does and they did in the first season. That brings up another thing I don't like, namely the new home port for the seaQuest called New Cape Quest on the Florida coast. I felt the sub base in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii worked just fine.
All that aside, the most disturbing thing wrong with season 2 was that the stories just got plain WEIRD! Some are downright BAD! One example is the simply stupid and pointless plot in the episode named "Playtime". That is 45 minutes I will never get back! In season 2 the story plots began taking the seaQuest away from its original purpose which was namely undersea exploration with the occasional sub battle or rescue thrown in for excitement. I always found the undersea adventures of seaQuest to be utterly exciting, engaging and logical (since we ARE on a submarine) not to mention that for sci-fi an undersea environment is relatively unique! Suddenly seaQuest became more concerned with aliens, underwater time warps, forays into the future and the like. I had heard that actor Roy Scheider who plays Captain Bridger in the series had left after the second season because he claimed that the show had gone in a direction he didn't agree with and that he simply wasn't going to continue with it. One can fully understand his decision to leave the show after they have watched it! I don't like some of the characters/actors that replaced the originals, such as Dr. Wendy Smith who replaced Dr. Westphalen, both as ships Doctor and as Bridger's love interest. She is too young for Bridger and doesn't have half the class of Westphalen! The replacement of Lt. Krieg with Lt. Brody was a huge mistake too! The character Piccolo is simply annoying! Also, one of my favorite characters who survived from the first season, Petty Officer Miguel Ortiz is now BADLY in need of a haircut! Little thing called Military Regulations! That would NEVER fly! Also, I miss the "Sea Facts" done at the end of each episode by Oceanographer Robert Ballard from the first season which in the second season are done by the cast, poorly at that!
That being said, the second season is not all bad. The special effects have, for the most part, improved over the first season, which for their time were impressive for broadcast television. The sets, costumes and locations are all fine. The photography is brilliant and beautifully lighted! The acting is first rate, especially from Roy Scheider who was always one of my favorites, ever since JAWS. One addition to the cast I did like was Lt. Loni Henderson who is not only cute as a bugs ear but is a good actress too! Even the character Dagwood is endearing in his own simplistic way! Bottom line is, if you are a seaQuest DSV fan this is a must have set. It still has much if that "seaQuest" feeling! Season 3 is where they really destroyed the series! Hint: In season 3 Roy Scheider's role as Captain is taken over by the cardboard cutout actor Michael Ironside! Nuff said!!
Long Live seaQuest DSV!
Review ID: 10000000012933783

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