Sea Hunt – An Underwater Classic

by Guy Belleranti

In 1958 a new kind of adventure series came to television. The name of the program was Sea Hunt. Starring Lloyd Bridges the show followed the exploits of Mike Nelson a former Navy frogman turned sea investigator.

The 30 minute program ran for four very successful seasons. All but two of the 155 episodes were in black and white.

Sea Hunt was unique for its time. The ocean setting brought in an aura of the mysterious for even less was known about this watery world then than now. Furthermore, scuba diving was still a relatively new endeavor.

Week after week main character Mike Nelson became involved in underwater adventures. A strong-willed and sincere man, Nelson took on criminals, performed rescues, dove for underwater salvage and had encounters with sharks, octopuses, killer whales and manta rays.

Nelson usually worked alone off his boat the “Argonaut”. Every episode featured a bit of voice over narration by Bridges, helping to bring Nelson’s thoughts and concerns to the viewer. The interesting underwater photography, supported by the background sounds of Nelson breathing through his scuba gear, also put the viewer right in the action.

Indeed, credit must go to Bridges’ performance as Nelson. However, many guest stars also added to the program’s drama. Many were little known at the time, but just consider a few of the names: Bruce Dern, Jack Nicholson, Leonard Nimoy (Star Trek), Larry Hagman (I Dream of Jeannie, Dallas) and Robert Conrad (The Wild Wild West). In addition, Bridges’ two now famous sons, Beau and Jeff, also made appearances in a couple of episodes.

A few other interesting aspects about Sea Hunt include the following:

- The theme music perfectly added to the mood of the Nelson’s undersea adventures.

- One of the producers of Sea Hunt was Ivan Tors. And after Sea Hunt, Tors went on to produce other adventure shows (several ocean-based) including Flipper, Daktari, Gentle Ben and Primus.

- Each Sea Hunt episode closed out with a short monologue by Bridges where he said something about the sea and then invited viewers to come back for the following week’s adventure.

And come back they did. It’s too bad they no longer make TV programs like this.

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