User Reviews

"The Deadly Dolls" begins with a Punch-and-Judy-like routine performed by puppet replicas of Admiral Nelson (Richard Basehart), Crane (David Hedison), and Cmdr. Morton (Robert Dowdell), controlled by a master puppeteer, played by legendary Vincent Price.

It is later revealed that Price has a plan to replace the crew with life-size puppets and use the Seaview as the "host" for an alien life force.

Although there are several lapses in plot logic (which shall remain quiet here), the viewer can still appreciate the pacing and the performances, especially Basehart as he supplies the voice for his puppet doppelganger who pops up repeatedly, either on Price's shoulder or on a set piece.

Basehart really must've enjoyed his "voiceover" because he gets to playfully and menacingly deliver the best lines. He even gets the best of Price on occasion.

Vincent Price notched up guest-starring roles in several iconic 1960's shows, such as 'Batman' and 'The Man From U.N.C.L.E.', so it is not surprising he eventually crossed the path of Irwin Allen ( they had worked together before on the film 'The Story Of Mankind' ). One would have thought 'Lost In Space' would have been more up his street than 'Voyage', but the veteran horror star played 'Professor Multiple', a puppeteer who specialises in shows featuring caricatures of real people, a sort of one-man 'Spitting Image'. When the episode proper opens, the assembled crew are laughing their heads off at Multiple's take-offs of Nelson, Crane and Chip. Even more extraordinary is the fact that the puppets are faceless when not in use. Word comes from Inter-Allied H.Q. that Multiple has been found murdered, meaning the one aboard Seaview is an impostor. He is in fact an agent of an alien creature that wants to use the Seaview as a new home. The fake Professor sets about replacing key Seaview personnel with life-like puppets. They are indistinguishable from the real ones, except they are under Multiple's control.

Price's presence gives Charles Bennett's humdrum script ( basically a reworking of the previous season's 'The Wax Men' ) a bit of a lift. Looking very much as if he has just stepped off the set of 'Master Of The World', he is great value. His sidekick - for want of a better word - is a puppet version of Nelson, which sits on his shoulder like Long John Silver's parrot, doling out comments on the unfolding plot. Voiced by Richard Basehart, the puppet at times threatens to upstage Price ( no mean feat ).

Some terrific SFX in this show, in particular F.S.-1 being attacked by energy bolts from the alien creature and Seaview glowing as it knifes through the murky depths.

In his book on Irwin Allen series, Jon Abbott calls the episode 'drivel' and I suppose he has a point. It is also great fun, for the reasons I have mentioned.

"The Deadly Dolls" is one of my favourite episodes of "Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea" in its "monster of the week" era. Whilst I have to admit that I much prefer the earlier espionage episodes (and the few we got in the colour era) the inclusion of the perfectly hammy Vincent Price guaranteed I'd enjoy this episode. Whether he was the rich nut who challenges people to stay the night in a haunted house, the embittered Shakespearean ham, the last man on earth surrounded by vampires, or the evil puppet master, Vincent Price was up to the role.

Here, Price plays Proffesor Multiple (I bet there isn't one "Multiple" in your local phone directory, unless it's a business!) who entertains a select few of the Seaview crew with his puppet skit (Nelson vs Crane with Chip Morton as referee) which is simply hilarious for the dialogue. His presence isn't really explained, after all, the Seaview is usually quite a secret and his puppet show would be more likely given on NMRI grounds.

Multiple makes sure that he is able to sneakily stay aboard when the Seaview sails from the Research Centre dock. Sharkey finds Multiple's puppets and gets zapped, a puppet in human form, taking his place. Chip Morton follows suit. Eventually, Multiple has everyone but Nelson and Crane, replaced by a puppet in human form, all under his control.

Eventually, Nelson and Crane discover that the real Multiple was murdered and also replaced with a puppet. As the puppets aren't really "alive" they don't fear death nor the fact that the Seaview is rushing towards its crush depth. As Multiple has the crew under his control he reveals the purpose of his mission to Admiral Nelson: an alien being which is underwater, is like a hermit crab, needing a new shell and the Seaview is it.

Nelson and Crane find that fire is the one thing that can destroy the puppets, and a laser beam will take care of the alien being. Throughout the episode, we get appearances of Admiral Nelson in soft foam puppet form and he's pretty hilarious. We get plenty of "cheap" episodes where the main cast play villainous versions of their usual character, but the soft foam Nelson was certainly different!!

8/10.