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Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (1964 - 1968)
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Pow
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PostPosted: Fri Mar 05, 2021 9:36 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

"Time Bomb" Trivia.

First aired Sunday, September 26, 1965.

Written by the writing team of William Read Woodfield and Alan Balter. This was the second of eight scripts the team wrote for Voyage, and the first to carry Balter's name.

Woodfield and Balter would become writers/producers later on for "Mission:Impossible," where their scripts for the espionage series would bring them three Emmy Awards nominations and one Writers Guild Award.

In 1971, they would be the writers/producers on the intriguing sci~fi television movie/pilot "Earth II."

Woodfield & Balter were very fine writers, but "Time Bomb" is not considered their best work by Voyage reviewers.

A "routine" and "tedious" adventure which "misses the mark."

The ABC Network had various restrictions for this episode.

They wanted a time jump for the series setting to go from 1973 in the first season, to 1977 with this script.

The network preferred having any political intrigue stories depicted as far into the future as possible.

Irwin Allen picked 1974.

The network preferred no references to China. ABC did not like any references to real foreign governments or even specific United States government agencies.

Item. Interesting how touchy the networks could be back then. They hated dealing with the slightest controversial material at all.

In the "Golden Age of Television," there were a number of terrific anthology TV series that dove into hard core issues.

By the 1960s, television networks were avoiding any hot topics in favor of more bland entertainment where no one, or no group, could take offense.

We are seeing this in the here and now. We have "Politically Correct" attitudes, along with "Cancel Culture."

How times...don't change.

I understand that now that China is an enormous market for our movies, studios have gone to great lengths to not offend such a lucrative market.

Scripts where China is cast as the enemy are not welcomed, or rewritten to eliminate any negative portrayal of that country.

In the Marvel comics, one of Iron Man's deadliest foes was the Mandarin who was Chinese.

In the Iron Man films they actually morphed the Mandarin from a Chinese villain to a Caucasian villain.

Political correctness was the reason given by the studio for making the alteration.

Still it's odd that ABC wanted no references to China back in 1965 at a time when they (and the Soviet Union) were considered America's enemies.

The budget was set at $151,229 by Allen's team. William Self, head of production at 20th Century Fox, slashed it to $140,491.

Final cost: $180,283.

Bruce, I want to thank you for your service. My brother was also in the US Air Force roughly the same time as you were and was stationed in Germany.
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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Fri Mar 05, 2021 10:08 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Pow wrote:
Bruce, I want to thank you for your service. My brother was also in the US Air Force roughly the same time as you were and was stationed in Germany.

Hey, I was in Ramstein, German, from June 1969 until October 197! Ramstein is the base where they have the big international air show each year! Cool



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PostPosted: Fri Mar 05, 2021 11:12 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

________________________________

I found an interesting article about the Seaview and the Flying Sub props from the series, with some nice photos the author took himself.

Enjoy! _
________________________________

Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea
1979 - 2013


by Bill Cotter (film historian)


Back in 1979 I proposed an article on Irwin Allen's series "Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea" to STARLOG magazine.

Happily they agreed and my writing partner, Mike Clark, and I went off on a search for the people behind the film and the TV series. Along the way we discovered that an executive at 20th Century Fox had two of the original miniatures from the show on display in his office.

These were two of the smaller models, the four-foot Seaview and one of the Flying Subs. Both were mounted on wooden bases and sitting on a shelf in the office.

We asked if we could photograph the miniatures and were told yes, but not in the office as it was too crowded. Instead, we were offered the use of a soundstage as long as we didn't get in anyone's way.

I still remember the thrill of walking across the Fox lot carrying the Seaview in front of me. I can also remember a mad desire to jump in the car and never head back!

Mike and I photographed the miniatures from a variety of angles and under some very hectic conditions. The stage was being prepped for the studio's Christmas party and there were ladders and workmen everywhere.

The people working on the stage weren't thrilled about us being in the middle of it all, so we were only able to get one quick roll of photos. Evidently these miniatures have long since gone missing, so this is a chance to see the only photos of them that I know of.

In addition, there are pictures of Irwin Allen in his office at Warner Bros. during our interview for the article, as well as shots of a large-size Flying Sub for sale at an auction, others in storage, and finally scenes of me successfully fitting my newly purchased FS-1 into the back of a Porsche!

There's also one shot of the Robot from Lost in Space before the costume was restored. Please contact me if you are interested in buying a CD of these photos for your collection.

Below ~The 19-foot model of the Seaview on display at Movie World. The setting was tacky but it was a thrill to see the Seaview in person.


_____


Below ~ Irwin Allen in his office at Warner Bros. as we interviewed him. To say the office was impressive would be an understatement — when he later moved out, more than a dozen people were fit into that space.


_____


Below ~ Here's the 4-footer being photographed on a soundstage at Fox. Sadly this miniature has vanished from sight. No, I didn't take it, but I have to admit that when I was carrying it around the lot it definitely occurred to me that it might just fit in my car.


_____


Below ~ This model of the Flying Sub was about 10 inches across.


_____


Below ~ Here I am happily celebrating my very own FS-1! This miniature was used for flying scenes and the famous plunge into the water, so it does not have any interior mock-up. It once held a smoke generator to simulate damage, but that was removed before I bought it. This photo was taken in 1980.


_____


Below ~ Update - July 17, 2013: I've enjoyed owning the Flying Sub all these years, but it took up a lot of space. It's tough to find a spot to keep a 3-foot submarine! After 33 years of seeing it in my library, I finally decided it was time to let it go. I sadly packed it up, put it in my car, and prepared to say goodbye.

Luckily I have a convertible or there's no way it would have fit!



____________


Below ~ FS-1 was taken to Profiles in History and sold in their December 2013 auction. I hope it found a good home, and that the new owner will enjoy it as much as I did.


_____
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~ The Space Children (1958)


Last edited by Bud Brewster on Fri Mar 05, 2021 2:20 pm; edited 1 time in total
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Krel
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PostPosted: Fri Mar 05, 2021 2:08 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Irwin Allen preferred to use made up countries and organizations as villains in his shows. This was for future syndication, as he figured that politics change, and adversaries become allies. Using current adversaries could date the show to the audience, and limit syndication opportunities.

Using the names of real Federal agencies back then could lead to trouble with said agencies. In the movie "The Presidents Analyst" they used the names Central Intelligence Agency, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Both agency's objected, so the actors had to dub their dialog. The C.I.A. became the Central Enquiries Agency (C.E.A.), and the F.B.I. became the Federal Bureau of Regulation (F.B.R.). Even today some productions use fake Federal agency names.

The Flying Sub was made in several scales. The small Seaview docking FS models kept going AWOL, as people purloined them for souvenirs.

The diving FS had a solid nose because it had to dive into the water. It had no window, but rather mirrors to reflect the water. It had lights in the engine exhausts for scenes filmed from the rear.

By the fourth season, the date the show took place in the 1980s.

David.
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PostPosted: Fri Mar 05, 2021 3:13 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

________________________________

I watched The Left Handed Man today (S2 E6), and in an early scene the Flying Sub was demonstrated to a government official who was making an inspection.

During Commander Cranes's demonstration slight the vessel made two water liftoffs and two water landings.

In the past I've scoffed at the notion that a flying vessel could smash into the water without being destroy and splattering its passengers all over the windows.

However, today I was impressed by the lift-off scenes. The Flying Sub's rocket engines didn't just lift it right up out of the water — revealing the fact that was on wires.

Instead, the vessel broke the surface at a shallow angle, skimmed along the water for a few hundred feet (while the rocket engines blazed red) and then became airborne in a very convincing "aircraft-like" manner!

Cool. Cool

As a fan of the WWII seaplanes, I think the Flying Sub should have come in slower at a shallow angle, instead of crashing into the surface.

And a truly advanced aircraft would have VTL abilities, making it easy for the Flying Sub to slow down and almost hover before contacting the water.

Did the Fying Sub have landing gear? If not, and FTL ability would solve that problem on land. Very Happy

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


Last edited by Bud Brewster on Sat Mar 06, 2021 4:18 pm; edited 1 time in total
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trekriffic
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PostPosted: Fri Mar 05, 2021 7:00 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I learned that the diving bell could fire a grenade when I rewatched “Jonah and the Whale” after Bud posted the link above. I loved that episode. I one time thought to carve a bull sperm whale out of balsa wood then cover it in epoxy putty to make the rogue seen in the episode. I would then paint and pose it behind an acrylic sheet with blue acrylic paint applied to suggest an underwater scene with appropriate dimness to match the depth the Seaview was at when it rammed her. I’d place my smaller Seaview model in the scene too, all lit up with the whale model positioned to hit her just forward of the sail on the port side.

Anyway, great episode and I like the way they worked to sell the science with the dialogue.
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PostPosted: Fri Mar 05, 2021 7:05 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

In the early FS episodes, they ran through a preflight checklist. This would later be cut, and the long takeoff shortened for time. They would sometime show the FS dropping out of the Seaview through the FS's front ports. But they would cutaway before the FS dropped completely out of the Seaview.

This is a painting that appeared in the show in Admiral Nelson's office. I believe it is a concept painting that appears to show the FS hovering.



Maybe they figured that giving the FS VTOL abilities would be too much. The FS was originally suppose to have two reactor walls, there are photos of the set study model showing such.

The FS did have landing gear and more, but the landing gear was only shown in one episode and not as landing gear. It was in the episode where Crane turns into a werewolf.



This photo shows the landing gear and manipulator arm, it does not show the arresting hook the miniature also had.

David.
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Pow
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PostPosted: Fri Mar 05, 2021 11:34 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

"The Left Handed Man"
Sunday, October 24, 1965.

The assassin is rather incompetent in his profession.

He is able to only succeed in two of his five targets.

Barbara Bouchet is stunning! She would go on to appear on ST:TOS episode "By Any Other Name."

I always enjoyed character actor Cyril Delevanti's performances.

Our professional hit man was played by Charles Dierkop.
He would also be a guest star on ST:TOS episode "Wolf in the Fold" as a murder suspect.

Budget approved by the network: $140,491.
Actual cost for the episode was: $150,108.

The Flying Sub was a magnificent looking design and a welcome addition to the series.

Years later, the Gerry Anderson sci~fi TV series UFO would have their version of a jet fighter (Sky 1) that would launch from underwater from the SHADOW submarine Sky Diver.

Thought their version was also cool and different enough looking from the FS 1 so as to be unique.
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PostPosted: Sat Mar 06, 2021 10:15 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

________________________________

I've wonder if the circular feature on the top and bottom was an air intake and blower which would give the Flying Sub VTL capability.



____________


While watched The Tunnel of Love (1958) on TCM I realized that the sexy brunet in that movie was Gia Scala, the blond Russian scientists in Jonah and the Whale.

She was even move beautiful in that movie, seven years earlier than in this episode. Cool

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PostPosted: Sat Mar 06, 2021 12:42 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I can't remember the exact term, but the circular features are the ballast tanks vents. The top one vents the air as the bottom vent takes in the water. The top ring could also be used as a docking socket.

After seeing the painting I theorized that they could make the Flying Sub VTOL by diverting exhaust from the jet engines. They would probably need some type of pop-out diverters for stabilization.

I remember in one episode they mentioned the Flying Sub pens at N.I.M.R., I always wanted to see that.

David.
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PostPosted: Sat Mar 06, 2021 4:07 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

________________________________

Well, I'm no engineer, but my thought was that a powerful fan blade inside the fuselage of the Flying Sub might be able to provide enough lift to lower the vessel gently to the ground or the ocean's surface for landings, and to raise it up a few feet from the ground and allow it to take off without a runway.

As I mentioned above, the ocean liftoffs look very good in the episodes, with the Flying Sub breaking the surface and engaging the rocket engines to make it skim over the surface and become airborne. Very Happy

If the circular top-and-bottom features functioned as I just described, they could easily assist the Flying Sub's speedy life off from the ocean surface. There would be no need to divert the rocket engine's thrust downward, thus allowing the rockets' full power to be directed forward.

The painting you posted seems to support this, although it doesn't prove my interpretation.






And of course, the system would still be capable of doing the "venting" of the water and air as you described above. Very Happy

Boy, are we good or what! Cool

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~ The Space Children (1958)
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PostPosted: Sat Mar 06, 2021 4:59 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

________________________________

I found an interest article on the MeTv (< — link) website about the Flying Sub! I'm not convinced that the original design was intended to be inverted, but I figured you folks would be interested in this article. Very Happy
________________________________

'The Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea' sub has been flying upside down all this time!

And we never even knew it.


By MeTV Staff





As Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea sailed into its second season in 1965, the formerly black & white series, like most of television at the time, blossomed into full color. Creator Irwin Allen decided to add some extra pizzazz to the bright, new color season, and the call went out to Fox production designer Willian Creber to come up with a super new mini-submarine.

While the show did already have a two-man sub that was a carry over from the original 1961 Voyage feature film, the vehicle did not have the ability to zip through the air, let alone be a high-tech character in its own right like the Flying Sub.



__________


The Flying Sub was an instant hit with viewers — and it caused a stir in the military. Some high-ranking generals demanded a functional version of the sub to be engineered. This, of course, proved to be impractical, as salt water and flying turbines do not mix well in reality.

The other issue that came to light was the sub's design. When it was first conceived, the flying yellow submarine was designed with its fins pointing downward. They would have acted like rudders, and maybe would have aided in steering the sub. The view screen would have been far more prominent. In other words, all these years, based on its initial designs, the Flying Sub has been flying upside down.

At an early production meeting to introduce the Flying Sub, Irwin Allen's wardrobe designer and right-hand man Paul Zastupnevich saw a better way to show it off and simply turned the original production drawing upside down. Viola! The Flying Sub was changed forever.

They then built three amazing scaled miniatures, all hand-carved in wood by Fox master toolmaker Ross Wheat, who also made up the patterns for all the fantastic craft that came from the fertile minds of the Irwin Allen crew.

The largest of the Flying Subs was four feet in diameter, flown on wires against a true-blue sky and plunged into the giant water tank at the old Fox ranch in the Santa Monica mountains.

So next time you watch Voyage, take a closer look at the Flying Sub and imagine what it may have looked like upside down — as it was first intended.

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PostPosted: Sat Mar 06, 2021 9:05 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I think that article is mistaken. The Flying Sub is designed after a stingray. Turning the design upside down defeats that design. Also having the fins on top works just as well underwater as if they were on the bottom. The FS design is not optimal for surface travel. Laughing Also the FS was intended to be able to land on a runway, or aircraft carrier. Having large fins on the bottom could be a liability.

In an old Starlog interview Paul Zastupnevich said that when William Creber showed Irwin Allen the design of the Spindrift for "Land of the Giants", IA examined the model. He then said no, it goes this way, turning the model upside down. That would explain why the Spindrift has it entrance on the starboard side, while most real aircraft have their entrance on the port side.

David.
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PostPosted: Sun Mar 07, 2021 9:46 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

________________________________

Yeah, David, I didn't buy it either. Rolling Eyes

All your objections make perfect sense. And the windshield is angled to provide a view both straight ahead and partially downward, which is the direction you'd want to look in a submersible.

This is also consistent with the way the controls are designed. The pilot holds two joysticks on the armrest, giving him an unobstructed view both straight ahead and downward.



__________


Also, notice how the control panel is lower than they always are in aircraft, well below the line of vision. This too is consistent with a windshield angled downward, not upward.
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PostPosted: Sun Mar 07, 2021 11:08 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

And our awesome looking Flying Sub makes a cameo appearance in Irwin Allen's 1971 TV movie/pilot "City Beneath the Sea."
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