User Reviews

The Seaview is rocked by a mysterious explosion from the depths. Then strange creatures - amphibious mutations - use a sonic oscillator to bring the submarine down. The Flying Sub - F.S.-1 - takes off with Captain Crane ( David Hedison ), Chief Sharkey ( Terry Becker ) and Crewman Kowalski ( Del Monroe ) aboard, but the creatures bring that down too. Crane spots one of them through the viewport. They are the result of evolution having taken a different turn.

Kowalski is captured and undergoes surgery to bring him under their control. The amphibians order him to sabotage the Circuitry Room, to enable them to take over the vessel. They intend harnessing the power of Seaview's nuclear reactor to their sonic oscillator, with a view to freeing their own kind who are trapped at the bottom of the sea...

An episode from the fourth and final season. Arthur Weiss, who wrote it, also penned the wonderfully loopy 'Fires Of Death' and 'Journey With Fear'. By his standards, this is straightforward stuff. Once again a crewman is under the control of hostile creatures. As usual in this show, there is no attempt to portray the enemy as anything other than evil. Nelson defeats them by coming up with a sonic oscillator of his own. The amphibian costumes are pretty good, although it is a pity that Don Matheson's American accent is so strong. He plays 'Proto', the creatures' leader. The actor became a regular in Irwin Allen's 'Land Of The Giants' in which he played 'Mark Wilson'.

Del Monroe, who was 'Kowalski' in the series, sadly passed away earlier this year.

The crew of the Seaview battle deadly amphibians' intent on taking over the world...just another day then!

The Seaview is being thrown around by strange pressure impacts and while the helpless crew are unaware of the cause the viewer is given a preview of some darn-right angry looking amphibians lurking on the sea floor with a huge cannon causing trouble!

Nelson sends Crane the Chief and Kowalski to investigate in the flying sub (you know it makes sense) It isn't long before they are attacked by the same pressure impacts that hit the Seaview (naturally) Nelson for some reason insists on Crane giving a radio blow by blow account of the damage while Crane is battling to keep control! As you have guessed the flying sub is soon stranded on the bottom and Kowalski volunteers to swim outside and release the mechanical arm that has been jammed open and will prevent them leaving. Around this time Crane spots one of the amphibians through the front windows but it soon disappears before the other two have a chance to see it. Kowalski seems to be randomly swimming round rather than working underneath the sub and it isn't long before he's attacked and abducted by the amphibians (his own fault). Crane and the Chief are about to spring into action when the leader of the amphibians swims up through the hatch and starts barking orders at them and arrogantly informing them they are inferior and to be used and discarded (sounds like a civil servant)

In a nut shell the amphibians consider themselves technologically and mentally superior to humans but they still need the Seaview's reactor to help free their race that are trapped in some sort of grotto beneath the sea floor. (everyone wants the reactor from the Seaview, if it had been diesel powered, they wouldn't have had half this trouble!)

Basically, this is a season four "monster of the week" episode.... But that said I have always liked it. The amphibian costumes are really funky, the story rattles along nicely and Del Monroe does a good job acting as he is "taken over" and starts to transform into a nasty amphibian (its voyage, someone has to be taken over) This episode also demonstrates a voyage classic sub plot moment. Nelson once again quickly builds a "device" in his lab to combat the problem! Thank goodness he has a well-stocked laboratory!! Oh, and whatever gadget he makes always neatly disposes of the enemy and leaves no blood and guts up the bulkheads! All tidy in a puff of smoke! On the same subject, Nelson (not for the first time) decides to murder the presumably unconscious amphibians by giving them another dose of his device rather than capture them.

Good fun to be had here. Del Monroe takes the credits here as he turns a little fishy.