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Meet the crew of Sealab 2021. A brilliant half-robot
scientist. An insane captain. And a woman who bares her breasts
for little to no reason. They all live in an underwater metropolis
for reason, or reasons, unknown...
When
I started to watch
Season
Two of
Sealab 2021
I was a little unsure of what to expect. The premise seemed
lazy - rehash an old animated series to appeal to a more modern
audience. Also, having quickly undertaken some quick Internet
research, it appears that this is not a collection of just
Season Two episodes - and that they are not in original broadcast
order.
When
the DVD turned up for review I was shocked at how badly battered
the box looked. Then, on closer inspection, I realised that
it was designed to look like an old comic. This design looks
fantastic, and when you open up the case there are a few pages
of a spoof comic book Sealab 2021 story (complete with
a spoof ad that old comic collectors will be familiar with).
My
worst fears were realised when I watched the first episode,
Der Dieb. There seemed to be no plot at all and the whole
episode just limped along - painfully.
But
this was followed with an episode that had me rolling around
laughing, The Policy. This really shows how simple
Murphy is. He runs up a huge credit card bill and in an effort
to pay off his debt, he sends his unwilling crew in search
of sunken treasure. The problem all started because Sparks
insists on telling Murphy that a credit card was a "magical
goodies creator."
The
rest of episodes are an odd mix. All are funny, in their own
right, but they range from an episode where the only thing
changed from the original cartoon series is the voices, to
episodes that have been totally reworked, to an episode that
is mainly just a scene outside of the Sealab.
7211
is basically the original Sealab episode Collision
of the Aquarius redubbed with the new cast. This episode
doesn't work quite as well - mainly because it does just look
like it's been redubbed and the jokes are few and far between.
Bizarro
was my favourite episode. This sees the old sci-fi show cliché
with the introduction of alternate universe characters called
Bizarro. Quinn's Bizarro character is just too weird (and
annoying) to be believed, but will have you laughing until
your sides hurt.
Other
great episodes include Tin Fins (which is a spoof behind
the scenes show for a Sealabs 2021 movie); Hail,
Squishface (a homage to both the original Star Trek
episode The Trouble with Tribbles and Aliens);
and Fusebox (very funny episode where most of the show
is one shot of Sealab's exterior in a power cut)
While
Erik Estrada (who most of you will remember for playing Frank
"Ponch" Poncherello in CHiPs) gets top billing, his
character Marco Rodrigo Diaz de Vivar Gabriel Garcia Marquez,
doesn't appear that frequently.
Extras
on this collection include: A Tribute to Harry Oz (who
played Murphy and tragically died of cancer in 2003); 20
Questions with the Cast (a girl in a bikini interviews
the actors (who appear as their animated characters); Take
a tour of 7030 (a quick look at the production company
- where all the workers are bikini clad babes - yeah, right!);
Rough Cut (a spoof run through of the episode Der
Dieb using the bikini clad girls to read through the script);
and Ronnie - Episode Review (a rough cut of an episode
that never got made). There are also audio commentaries to
all the episodes, but the sound is pretty poor and nothing
really intelligent is said.
In
conclusion, this collection is, for the most part, a hoot!
Anyone with a sense of humour should get their hands on it.
Nick
Smithson
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