http://www.wbshop.com/City-Beneath-the-Sea-+EST-MOD/1000116269,default,pd.html
Also Roddenberry's Genesis II and Planet Earth...
Also Roddenberry's Genesis II and Planet Earth...
OT: City Beneath the Sea on DVD
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I snagged a bootleg copy of this a few years ago. Talk about guilty pleasures.
Of all the Irwin Allen projects CBTS is the Irwin Allenest; a big, silly, cheesy, star-studded sci-fi disaster movie with lame dialogue, terrible performances, snazzy art direction, cool FX, and Joseph Cotton. What more can a middle-aged sci-fi geek ask for?
Jeff, something you may know (if anyone does): Who wrote the score?
Of all the Irwin Allen projects CBTS is the Irwin Allenest; a big, silly, cheesy, star-studded sci-fi disaster movie with lame dialogue, terrible performances, snazzy art direction, cool FX, and Joseph Cotton. What more can a middle-aged sci-fi geek ask for?
Jeff, something you may know (if anyone does): Who wrote the score?
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Rob -
The score was written by Richard LaSalle (IMDB.com is a great resource). As it turns out, LaSalle had worked for Irwin Allen before - he wrote the score for 7 episodes of Land of the Giants during Season 2. I rather liked the music myself.
When it comes to CTBS being one of the "Irwin Allenest" of them all, I was entranced by it at the age of 11. Even back then, you could spot the connections to Allen's other productions due to the use of models, costumes, etc. I still enjoy watching it from time to time, despite the cheese factor - as I do with all of Irwin Allen's televsion efforts.
Looking forward to getting a DVD of it though.
Bryan
I still think this had great potential as a series, especially when compared to Allen's final sci fi potshot, the incredibly juvenile The Return of Captain Nemo. The setting was interesting and would have allowed for far more story variety than something like Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea with its redundant monster-of-the-week template. And you'd still get to see the Seaview and Flying Sub periodically.
Looks like Planet Earth and City are nice-looking widescreen transfers and Genesis II is 4x3--but still great quality. Wonderful to have those holes plugged after all these years--the Warner archive is really a gold mine.
Looks like Planet Earth and City are nice-looking widescreen transfers and Genesis II is 4x3--but still great quality. Wonderful to have those holes plugged after all these years--the Warner archive is really a gold mine.
City Beneath the Sea is cheesy, all right. One hundred percent pasteurized process Cheez Whiz! But it's great fun -- a silly sci-fi movie and a silly disaster movie all in one. The only way it could be more Irwin Allen-ish would be if the Master of Disaster had given himself a cameo.
MODERATORS: I would suggest consolidating this thread and the CBTS thread on the Moebius Models board with the third one on the Movies board.
Yeah, my bad--the news was just too cool to confine to one thread.
One thing about Richard LaSalle--he was infamous for regurgitating a lot of other composers' music, including his own! City Beneath the Sea has some leftovers from Lost in Space and a LOT of Jerry Goldsmith's Planet of the Apes in it. He did another TV disaster movie called The Memory of Eva Ryker with Natalie Wood that is wall to wall rehashes of Miklos Rosza's Time After Time score, and he also lifted tons of Planet of the Apes for a Buck Rogers score with Jamie Lee Curtis on a prison planet. Now we're really off topic...
One thing about Richard LaSalle--he was infamous for regurgitating a lot of other composers' music, including his own! City Beneath the Sea has some leftovers from Lost in Space and a LOT of Jerry Goldsmith's Planet of the Apes in it. He did another TV disaster movie called The Memory of Eva Ryker with Natalie Wood that is wall to wall rehashes of Miklos Rosza's Time After Time score, and he also lifted tons of Planet of the Apes for a Buck Rogers score with Jamie Lee Curtis on a prison planet. Now we're really off topic...
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Thanks.
Since all three pilots were made for TV in the 1970s, wouldn't they all have been filmed in full Academy frame (1.33:1)? Or would they have been shot so they could be shown in either full-frame or matted widescreen for overseas theatrical release?
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I assume that's an IA recycling of the J2 in the background..When I was a kid I![]()
You know, I always thought the 'blue glow' that the Spindrift flew into at the start of Land of the Giants was a process shot, but later 'behind the scenes pics showed it was a big ball that was lit up (and I assume some process work as well to enhance the look). So now I wonder if the FLAMING BALL OF DOOM that's just ONE of the problems to be dealt with in CBtS was the same effects model with red lights in it...
(it was a very, very bad week for Pacifica)
While I would have loved it if the pilot had led to a series, I suspect it would have run into the same problem that ST: DS9 and Babylon 5 ran into.
(sidebar: See, both DS9 and B5 were conceived as 'cheap to make' shows, with most of the budget going to the interior of the respective stations, and the concept that 'all the adventure comes to US' and so you'd have lots of heavy character driven drama...note that both shows eventually added spaceships so they could go out and do stuff and not be just walking and talking and sitting and talking and oh yeah, talking)
I figure that by the second season CBtS would either have added their own sub (most likely a modified Seaview) or the cast would be using a LOT of Aquafoils and flying about hither and yon. Or both. And I would have ate it up with a big ol' spoon.
Hm, there's another interesting conjecture model to build. Play at being IA for a moment. You're adding a sub to the concept of the show because it's needful to go and do stuff, maybe visit other underwater cities or bases. You gotta do it cheap, so you're going to modify the 4-window Seaview. What do you do?
You need to keep the FS bay, and you're going to save money by re-using launch and retrieve footage, maybe by using an optical printer to get in tighter to the bay to hide the manta fins, which you might remove from the model.
Other than that, what do you change? Might that not lead to interesting models?
(it was a very, very bad week for Pacifica)
While I would have loved it if the pilot had led to a series, I suspect it would have run into the same problem that ST: DS9 and Babylon 5 ran into.
(sidebar: See, both DS9 and B5 were conceived as 'cheap to make' shows, with most of the budget going to the interior of the respective stations, and the concept that 'all the adventure comes to US' and so you'd have lots of heavy character driven drama...note that both shows eventually added spaceships so they could go out and do stuff and not be just walking and talking and sitting and talking and oh yeah, talking)
I figure that by the second season CBtS would either have added their own sub (most likely a modified Seaview) or the cast would be using a LOT of Aquafoils and flying about hither and yon. Or both. And I would have ate it up with a big ol' spoon.
Hm, there's another interesting conjecture model to build. Play at being IA for a moment. You're adding a sub to the concept of the show because it's needful to go and do stuff, maybe visit other underwater cities or bases. You gotta do it cheap, so you're going to modify the 4-window Seaview. What do you do?
You need to keep the FS bay, and you're going to save money by re-using launch and retrieve footage, maybe by using an optical printer to get in tighter to the bay to hide the manta fins, which you might remove from the model.
Other than that, what do you change? Might that not lead to interesting models?
It might. But Allen wouldn't change a thing so he could use stock footage from Voyage.
I do think the concept would have allowed for travel to other facilities and plenty of investigation of weird underwater phenomena--in fact what happened on Star Trek and other shows is that these kind of wide-ranging story possibilities are built into the show, but as the series goes on budgets are reduced, actors are paid more and the producers are forced to do more and more "bottle" shows that stick to the series' standing sets. But at least CBTS would have had more potential stories that could take place within Pacifica than the limited palette available to Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea. Of course that's assuming Allen got a better class of writer on the show. John Meredith Lucas wrote City Beneath the Sea and he worked on some good Star Trek episodes--and City would have been in a perfect position to inherit some of Trek's other "out of work" scribes. But we'll never know...in some alternate universe Genesis II and City Beneath the Sea produced enough episodes to run in syndication forever...
I do think the concept would have allowed for travel to other facilities and plenty of investigation of weird underwater phenomena--in fact what happened on Star Trek and other shows is that these kind of wide-ranging story possibilities are built into the show, but as the series goes on budgets are reduced, actors are paid more and the producers are forced to do more and more "bottle" shows that stick to the series' standing sets. But at least CBTS would have had more potential stories that could take place within Pacifica than the limited palette available to Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea. Of course that's assuming Allen got a better class of writer on the show. John Meredith Lucas wrote City Beneath the Sea and he worked on some good Star Trek episodes--and City would have been in a perfect position to inherit some of Trek's other "out of work" scribes. But we'll never know...in some alternate universe Genesis II and City Beneath the Sea produced enough episodes to run in syndication forever...
Well, it *could* be Fox would object to the use of a stock Seaview because that's fairly iconic to VttBotS (and tied to the movie which is a different department and thus might be more prickly)..
Actually, I do wonder how it would work out. It was shot at Fox, using full access to the Fox prop and wardrobe warehouses and Fox's effects crew...hm.
Well, I think for merchandising they'd want a different looking sub. I dunno.
Altho I have to wonder, how did they get the Seaview back in shape after they altered it for 'In like Flint'? taking off the V fins was a pretty major thing to do..I wonder which one they used, was it the 17 foot surface runner? Blah blah blah
Actually, I do wonder how it would work out. It was shot at Fox, using full access to the Fox prop and wardrobe warehouses and Fox's effects crew...hm.
Well, I think for merchandising they'd want a different looking sub. I dunno.
Altho I have to wonder, how did they get the Seaview back in shape after they altered it for 'In like Flint'? taking off the V fins was a pretty major thing to do..I wonder which one they used, was it the 17 foot surface runner? Blah blah blah
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Hi guys glad to have stumbled on this forum.Yeah I dug the CBTS pilot made in 1970 released 71.But Irwin made a earlier CBTS in 68 same concept different cast.The flying Subs in that one used the Cockpit of the Spindrift(don't ask).CBTS was shot 1:33,or 4x3 AKA 12x9.So if you see it 16x9 it has been cropped for the DVD release.Alot of the movies I have bought on DVD at 16x9 are cropped from 4x3 as my VHS movies has more top and bottom.Pity it didn't become a series.A 5th or 6th Irwin Allen series I could live with that.
The earlier CBTS was a limited pitch film more than a pilot, but it did show more of the futuristic drill rig, you can see it here:
The sub in "Our Man Flint" was not the Seaview, although they did use the control room, and deck set. They also used the CMDF set for Z.O.W.I.E. and practically every sf set piece Fox had.
I'd really like to get some of the Warner's Archive films, but they are just too expensive for what you get. Oh well, that's life
David.
The sub in "Our Man Flint" was not the Seaview, although they did use the control room, and deck set. They also used the CMDF set for Z.O.W.I.E. and practically every sf set piece Fox had.
I'd really like to get some of the Warner's Archive films, but they are just too expensive for what you get. Oh well, that's life
David.
If you go to Warner's website, you will find that you can purchase any five of the archive collection titles for $49.99. That equates to $10 per title.
I was able to get City Beneath the Sea as well as Planet Earth, Genesis II, Earth II and Countdown, saving 50%.
I was able to get City Beneath the Sea as well as Planet Earth, Genesis II, Earth II and Countdown, saving 50%.
Respectfully disagree on the sub in Our Man Flint (you have the right title, I always seem to switch the order of them for no good reason), I've watched that scene of the Galaxy sub over and over, and that sail and the whole aft end, the way it curves down, says Seaview. MAYBE the sail was replaced but it might just be an optical illusion.
I would guess (and I'm sure the super hardcore sub guys will correct me
) they used one of the 2 foot models, as that water looks pretty 'big' to me.also note the use of the full size 'Seaview at dockside' set, the careful framing to not show the planes on the sail or the missile hatches.
Just my thinking
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