True, true. But at least, Richard Basehart got to play a most honorable role in 'Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea', as an American naval, four-star admiral. Admiral Nelson's character was a man of great depth and substance. Different from other U.S. Navy admirals, Admiral Nelson was also a highly-trained and experienced oceanographic scientist, a PhD, I recall. His subsidiary role as ocean scientist often proved invaluable to Captain Crane and the Seaview.
Richard Basehart played his Admiral Nelson role seriously and with dignity throughout the show's four-year span, even when the crappy writers were starting to churn out crappy episode plots that were beyond campy. I wonder if the studio was cooking its own golden goose. No one can convince me that the Hollywood studio couldn't find more talented and creative scriptwriters. Even college film majors could have come up with better episode scripts in the latter part of the series.
What I also deeply liked about Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea were the outstanding leadership roles depicted by Admiral Nelson, Commander (captain) Crane, and Lieutenant Commander 'Chip' Morton (the executive officer). None of those men were nervous nellies who needed to scream and shout or verbally abuse the enlisted men. Strangely, the Seaview's crew was severely understaffed with commissioned officers. There were only three. A submarine like Seaview would have carried several ensigns, lieutenant j.g.'s; two or three lieutenants.
When looking at Richard Basehart's face close up on television, you could tell that he was getting old. At this point he was fortunate to land a good-paying job on a popular science fiction weekly televsion series. Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea brought Richard Basehart the universal fame he may have sought throughout his acting career. The irony is that his fame wasn't for the dramatic roles he was trained for and took in the most pride.
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