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SeaQuest DSV (1993-1996)
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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Tue Jun 27, 2017 2:16 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

________________________________

I, too, remember that years ago an "android" was a robot body with a human brain, or an artificially created semi-organic body, like the one in Alien.

However, these days both Merriam-Webster and Oxford dictionaries list the definition I used above.

I'm not familiar with the Captain Future stories, but the TV series called Captain Power and the Soldiers of the Future did have an army of robots, lead by Lord Dread, who was part human and part machine — which I guess sort of fits the "classic" definition of an android.



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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
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Gord Green
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PostPosted: Tue Jun 27, 2017 2:19 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

From Wikapedia:

Scientist Roger Newton, his wife Elaine, and his brilliant fellow scientist Simon Wright leave planet Earth to do research in an isolated laboratory on the moon. Simon's body is old and diseased and Roger enables him to continue doing research by transplanting his healthy brain into an artificial case (originally immobile — carried around by Grag — later equipped with lifter units).



Working together, the two scientists create an intelligent robot called Grag, and an android with shape-shifting abilities called Otho.





The deaths of the Newtons leave their son, Curtis, to be raised by the unlikely trio of Otho, Grag, and Simon Wright. Under their tutelage, Curtis grows up to be a brilliant scientist and as strong and fast as any champion athlete.

He also grows up with a strong sense of responsibility and hopes to use his scientific skills to help people. In the first adventure, he offers his services to the President of the System.

The publicity-shy Curtis takes the alias Captain Future. Simon, Otho and Grag are referred to as the Futuremen in subsequent stories.


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Gord Green
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PostPosted: Tue Jun 27, 2017 2:21 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Bud said:
Quote:
As for Captain Power and the Soldiers of the Future, that wonderful show did indeed have an army of robots, lead by Lord Dread, who was part human and part machine — which I guess we can call the "classic" definition of an android.

Actually, that's the definition of a CYBORG!
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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Tue Jun 27, 2017 2:42 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

________________________________

Oops! Damn, you're right. Embarassed

I confused myself by including the idea that an android could have a human brain and a robot body. It makes me wonder if an android can include any human organs or tissue without being considered a cyborg.

Having a brain in a robot body would definitely be an cyborg, but what about a human body with a computer brain? That seems like a real "gray area". (No pun intended. Rolling Eyes)

A man with prosthetic arms and legs wouldn't be a cyborg . . . but what about a robot with human arms and legs?

An what if the computerized brain of a robot included sections of brain tissue connected to the computer, to provide memories from the person it came from.

Wow, this complex! I'm getting a headache thinking about it. I don't know if I need a few ibuprofen or a total restart of the CPU inside my skull!

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Pow
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PostPosted: Tue Jun 27, 2017 4:13 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

So then Cliff Steele aka Robotman of the Doom Patrol is an android.
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Pow
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PostPosted: Tue Jun 27, 2017 4:22 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I do understand, Bud, that on ST:TOS having robots as part of the crew of the Enterprise was unfeasible for that era of technology & make-up for the most part.

Although running at the same time as ST:TOS was Lost In Space with a very impressive looking robot.

I'm just saying that it is an unrealistic facet of a wonderful series that did attempt to envision humankind's future.

And that Gene Roddenberry classifying it as space opera was beyond the production abilities of the show. It was a shortsighted evaluation on his part that was off by light years.
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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Tue Jun 27, 2017 8:50 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

________________________________

You make some excellent points, sir. Very Happy

However, at the risk of offending our good friend Brent Gair, whose devotion to Lost in Space and his objections to Star Trek's moral "lectures" (as he phrased it) are a matter of public record, I must say with reluctance that the robot in Lost in Space has never impressed me very much. Sad

It's sad inability to be truly mobile is unfortunate, it's complete lack of usable "hands" is inexcusable, and it's overall design is — compared to Robby's elegant appearance — like the difference between the rocket in Flight to Mars and one of those clunky old Atlas missiles!

I don't mean to offend the many folks who love B-9 from Lost in Space, but my own preferences for robot designs are on display at the link below. Just click on this guy and you'll see what I mean.


]
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)


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Pow
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PostPosted: Sat Jul 01, 2017 6:42 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Just watched my favorite — & I think their finest — episode of Seaquest DSV: "Such Great Patience."
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scotpens
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PostPosted: Sun Jul 02, 2017 2:35 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Bud Brewster wrote:
. . . I must say with reluctance that the robot in Lost in Space has never impressed me very much. Sad

It's sad inability to be truly mobile is unfortunate, it's complete lack of usable "hands" is inexcusable, and it's overall design is — compared to Robby's elegant appearance — like the difference between the rocket in Flight to Mars and one of those clunky old Atlas missiles!

To me, the Lost in Space robot always looked like Robby's poor relation. Designed by the same man, Robert Kinoshita, but on a much smaller budget.
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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Sun Jul 02, 2017 1:47 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

________________________________

The robot Will Robinson made in the movie was a good "redesign" of the TV show version.

I couldn't find a really good picture of it. This one was dark until I lightened it, but the background is distracting.






I did what I could to reduce the distraction, but the results ain't real pretty. Sad





This next one has a background almost as distracting, plus the color is wrong and it doesn't show parts of it on the left.





I went to work on it and changed the background, and I sort of "painted in" the missing parts. I couldn't do anything about the incorrect color.



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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)


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Pow
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PostPosted: Tue Jul 04, 2017 1:31 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

The robot from the LIS movie was a terrific design.

Then they had to have it damaged & Will jury rigs the bubble top piece that was like the robot from the LIS TV show.

Lame-o.

I also liked the holographic interface for the operation of the robot that Will used when he was on the Jupiter II.
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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Tue Jul 04, 2017 5:13 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

________________________________

The first robot was indeed great, and I hated the fact that he was destroy.

As I mentioned, I actually liked Will's rebuilt robot a lot more than the original.

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Pow
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PostPosted: Tue Sep 01, 2020 1:40 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Some SQ Facts.

Roy Scheider's character of Captain Nathan Bridger was based upon oceanographer Dr. Robert Ballard & scientist John C. Lilly. Dr. Ballard served as a technical consultant to the show.

Dr. Ballard would also appear at the end of each episode in the first season where he would inform the audience of current undersea research being done. The research usually was related to the content of that week's particular episode.

SQ DSV won the Emmy Award in 1994 for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Main Title Theme Music.

In 1995 the show won another Emmy for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Music Composition for a Series.

When the show began to go in the direction of heavy science-fiction, Roy Scheider was unhappy. "This is not what I signed up for," Scheider exclaimed. He asked to be released from his contract from NBC, and they did so with the proviso that he must appear in 3 of the third season episodes.

In spite of its low ratings the show was renewed by NBC for a second season — which surprised many. For the second season the production relocated to Florida.

Cast members Stephanie Beacham (Doctor Kristen Westphalen) and Stacy Haiduk (Lt. Commander Katherine Hitchcock) elected not to relocate to the Sunshine State, and so they exited the show. This was a pity. Both actresses were wonderful in their roles. Their leaving hurt the series.

Other cast members also did not carry over to the show's second season, which further hurt the series.

The wet suits used by the SQ crew were manufactured by the Sea Quest manufacturing company. However, the show was not named after this company.

In the first season, some scenes of experiments being done on the SeaQuest shown in the background were recreations of actual marine biological experiments.

The U.E.O. on the series was the United Earth/Oceans Organization and created in 2018. The United Nations was dissolved in 2006 because it was unable to deal with world tensions and the newly formed confederations and the rising animosity between them. The U.E.O. was a new U.N. that was dedicated to creating and maintaining a world peace.

SeaQuest Technical Specs

Length: 1007 Ft. Beam: 100 Ft. Displacement: 31,700 Tons submerged.

Propulsion: Nuclear fusion-powered turbines. Fuel: Tritium.

Crew: 282. 88 Navy operational crew. 124 Scientific crew. 20 Non-regular personal.

Deep Submergence Semi. This is the workhorse of the SQ.
It can carry massive amounts of cargo.

Speeder. A modular high-speed recon craft utilized for short-term missions. This was a very sharp looking design. Alas, it was used infrequently.

Stinger. Single-pilot fast-attack craft. Another nifty designed vehicle.

Sea Launch. Multi-purpose vehicle is the SQ's shuttle craft which can carry 25 people. Its Universal docking link allows the craft to dock with any vehicle or building under the sea.

WSKRS aka Whiskers. These are Wireless Sea Knowledge Retrieval Satellites that are spherical in shape. These drones operate outside and unattached directly to the SeaQuest. They can be dispatched in any direction in order to transmit all types of valuable data to the SeaQuest.

They also can be sent to the ocean surface performing as the SQ's periscope. WSKRS are equipped with video-imaging, sonar, and olfactory sensors. Three WSKRS are deployed around the SQ at all times; 21 are available.

A remarkable piece of technology.

HR Probe. This is a highly sophisticated piece of machinery that also operated independently of the SQ.

The unmanned vehicle had mechanical arms and legs. The probe could explore areas and objects that were inaccessible
or highly dangerous to crew.

Data was transmitted to the HR Probe operator back on board SQ who wore goggles allowing the crew member to see exactly what the probe viewed.

High tech gloves allowed the operator to manually manipulate the probe's mechanical arms.

Hands down the HR Probe remains one of the coolest and most practical inventions carried by the SQ.

The Vpal. This was the hand held communication link that had a video interface.

Again, like so much of the designs that went into SQ, this was a great looking prop.

EVA Suit. Used in very deep waters. Another fine design.

Due to the immense size of the SQ, there were internal shuttle sleds that could transport crew from one area to another rapidly. =The care and thought by the creators and artistic production team for SeaQuest DSV was superb.

From the look of the SeaQuest itself to the awesome technical tools the boat possessed; this show's standards were terrific. The sets were beautifully done for the submarine. It was also done with great thought and care as to how things were laid out and worked. Some science-fiction TV shows just throw up a lot of sets with blinking lights in order to look good and nothing else.

How things wor: What their function is was correctly laid out. All these factors are ignored as long as it dazzles the viewer.

Shows like Star Trek & Seaquest wanted to also dazzle their fans. However, they also wanted their respective vessels to make sense and be practical in their operations.

These shows demanded an interior logic that made sense for the the actors, for the writers and for the fans.

They wanted to appeal to the audiences intelligence and not just roll out mindless eye-candy.

SeaQuest DSV was a s-f series that had a marvelous cast and production staff supporting it all.

It did produce some very good episodes such as "Treasures of the Mind" where the SQ discovers the annex of the great Library of Alexandria.

"Such Great Patience" has the submarine exploring the immediate aftermath of an undersea earthquake which will offer important scientific knowledge to comprehending such geological upheavals.

The SQ discovers something even more astonishing revealed from the quake---an alien space craft millions of years old that was previously long buried!

Unfortunately though the show suffered from low ratings; cast changes; redirection of its premise and scripts that were substandard.

What once began with immense promise fell apart and morphed into an inferior show.

A real shame as so few underwater s-f TV series are ever attempted in the first place.
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Krel
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PostPosted: Tue Sep 01, 2020 9:08 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

At the end of one season, I believe it was the first, they blew-up the SeaQuest. It was rebuilt by the next season, but for some reason, they decided to state that it was smaller. They used the same sets, the SQ looked exactly the same, but it was suppose to be smaller. I have no idea why.

David.
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Pow
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PostPosted: Wed Sep 02, 2020 10:41 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Ensign Darwin was another interesting aspect to SeaQuest DSV.

Darwin was considered a full fledged member of the crew. Darwin was a dolphin.

There is a tube system integrated throughout the submarine that allows Darwin to travel within the vessel. An implant in Darwin allows a computer to be able to translate his electrical impulses into a basic speech pattern. A synthesized voice processes this so that humans may comprehend what Darwin is communicating.

His thoughts can be surprisingly complex and offer insights.

Darwin had his very own Aqua-Lung.

This allowed Darwin to remain underwater for long periods of time without having to swim to the surface for air. He could work right alongside humans wearing their EVA suits during a mission.
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