''Man from Atlantis'' is a short-lived
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
science fiction
Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...
/
fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving Magic (supernatural), magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy ...
television series that ran for 13 episodes on the
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...
network during the
1977–78 season, following four
television film
A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...
s that had aired earlier in 1977.
Ratings success by these movies led to the commissioning of a weekly series for the 1977–78 season, but it was canceled at the end of the first season due to a declining audience and high production costs.
Plot
![Patrick Duffy Man From Atlantis 1977](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/90/Patrick_Duffy_Man_From_Atlantis_1977.JPG)
The series stars
Patrick Duffy
Patrick Duffy (born March 17, 1949) is an American actor and director widely known for his role on the CBS primetime soap opera ''Dallas'', where he played Bobby Ewing, the youngest son of Miss Ellie, and the nicest brother of J.R. Ewing (pla ...
as an
amnesia
Amnesia is a deficit in memory caused by brain damage or disease,Gazzaniga, M., Ivry, R., & Mangun, G. (2009) Cognitive Neuroscience: The biology of the mind. New York: W.W. Norton & Company. but it can also be caused temporarily by the use ...
c man given the name of Mark Harris, believed to be the only surviving citizen of the lost civilization of
Atlantis
Atlantis ( grc, Ἀτλαντὶς νῆσος, , island of Atlas (mythology), Atlas) is a fictional island mentioned in an allegory on the hubris of nations in Plato's works ''Timaeus (dialogue), Timaeus'' and ''Critias (dialogue), Critias'' ...
.
He possesses exceptional abilities, including the ability to breathe underwater and withstand extreme depth pressures, and superhuman strength. His hands and feet are webbed, his eyes are unusually sensitive to light, and he swims using his arms and legs in a fashion suggestive of an underwater
butterfly stroke
The butterfly (colloquially shortened to fly) is a List of swimming styles, swimming stroke swum on the chest, with both arms moving symmetrically, accompanied by the butterfly kick (also known as the "dolphin kick"). While other styles like ...
or
dolphin kick The dolphin kick is a kicking movement used in swimming. It is frequently used as part of the butterfly stroke and in underwater kicking.
See also
* Fish kick
The fish kick is a method of kicking while swimming, generally used underwater. It ...
. Following his discovery, he is recruited by the Foundation for Oceanic Research, a governmental agency that conducts top secret research and explores the depths of the ocean in a sophisticated
submarine
A submarine (or sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability. The term is also sometimes used historically or colloquially to refer to remotely op ...
called the ''Cetacean''.
![Alan Fudge 1977](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/40/Alan_Fudge_1977.JPG)
The supporting cast includes
Belinda J. Montgomery as Dr. Elizabeth Merrill (who had nursed Mark Harris back to health) and
Alan Fudge as C. W. Crawford, Jr., both of the Foundation for Oceanic Research.
Victor Buono
Victor Charles Buono (February 3, 1938January 1, 1982) was an American actor, comic, and briefly a recording artist. He was known for playing the villain King Tut in the television series '' Batman'' (1966–1968) and musician Edwin Flagg in '' ...
played the villainous Mr. Schubert in the
pilot
An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators, because they a ...
and several episodes of the series.
Kenneth Tigar appeared in the second, third, and fourth movies as Dr. Miller Simon, M.D., also of the Foundation for Oceanic Research. The series added an ensemble cast as "The Crew of the ''Cetacean''", consisting of Richard Laurance Williams, J. Victor Lopez, Jean Marie Hon (who had also been seen in ''
Ark II
''Ark II'' is an American live-action science fiction television series, aimed at children, that aired on CBS from September 11 to December 18, 1976, (with reruns continuing through November 13, 1977 and reruns returning from September 16, 1978, ...
''), and Anson Downes.
In the 12th episode, a new female lead character replaced Elizabeth Merrill, Dr. Jenny Reynolds, played by actress Lisa Blake Richards. (Belinda Montgomery had managed to get out of her contract with the help of lawyers.) The last episode did not feature any female lead character.
Production
![Man from Atlantis](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/88/Man_from_Atlantis.jpg)
The show was produced by
Herbert Franklin Solow
Herbert Franklin Solow (December 14, 1930 – November 19, 2020) was an American motion picture and television executive, screenwriter, motion picture and television producer, director and talent agent.
Biography
Solow was born to a Jewish ...
's studio Solow Production Company, a company spun off from the live-action arm of American animation studio
Hanna-Barbera Productions
Hanna-Barbera Cartoons, Inc. ( ) was an American animation studio and production company which was active from 1957 to 2001. It was founded on July 7, 1957, by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera following the decision of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer to c ...
.
The Foundation for Oceanic Research headquarters building was represented by the
Point Fermin lighthouse in San Pedro, California. The ''Cetacean'' submarine's voyages were shown through miniature work by the special effects team of
Gene Warren
Gene Warren Sr. (August 12, 1916 – July 17, 1997) was born in Denver, Colorado, and won an Academy Award for the special effects on George Pal's ''The Time Machine'' in 1960. He also contributed to such projects as '' The Way of Peace'' (1947), ...
.
Critical reaction
Critic
Tom Shales
Thomas William Shales (born November 3, 1944) is an American writer and retired critic of television programming and operations. He was a television critic for ''The Washington Post'' from 1977 to 2010, for which Shales received the Pulitzer Pr ...
, reviewing the show for the ''
Washington Post
''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
'', opined that "kids may be impressed" by the heroics and special effects, but the show lacked "adult appeal" and that the stories would "soon wear thinner than water".
Episodes
Television movies
Series
Home media
The
pilot
An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators, because they a ...
film was released on
VHS in 1986 by
Worldvision Home Video, and re-released in 1987 by
Goodtimes Home Video
GoodTimes Entertainment, Ltd. was an American home video company that originated in 1984 under the name of GoodTimes Home Video. Though it produced its own titles, the company was well known due to its distribution of media from third parties and ...
. It was later released on DVD as a part of the Warner Archive collection from
Warner Home Video
Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Inc. (formerly known as Warner Home Video and WCI Home Video and sometimes credited as Warner Home Entertainment) is the home video distribution division of Warner Bros.
It was founded in 1978 as WCI Home Video ...
on October 6, 2009.
On July 26, 2011,
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...
released ''Man from Atlantis: The Complete TV Movies Collection'', featuring all four television films, as well as ''Man from Atlantis — The Complete Television Series'' for Region 1
DVD
The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...
. The pilot film was released on
Blu-ray
The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of sto ...
by
Warner Archive Collection
The Warner Archive Collection is a home video division for releasing classic and cult films from Warner Bros.' library. It started as a manufactured-on-demand (MOD) DVD series by Warner Bros. Home Entertainment on March 23, 2009, with the inte ...
on March 12, 2019.
International releases
''Man from Atlantis'' was the first American television series to be shown in the
People's Republic of China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
in 1980, with the title translated to ''"The Man from the Bottom of the Atlantic"''.
It was at the time when the "
Gang of Four
The Gang of Four () was a Maoist political faction composed of four Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials. They came to prominence during the Cultural Revolution (1966–1976) and were later charged with a series of treasonous crimes. The gang ...
" lost power to
Deng Xiaoping
Deng Xiaoping (22 August 1904 – 19 February 1997) was a Chinese revolutionary leader, military commander and statesman who served as the paramount leader of the People's Republic of China (PRC) from December 1978 to November 1989. After CC ...
, and science research began to get attention, along with economic development. In
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
it was named ''O Homem do Fundo do Mar'' (''The Man from the Bottom of the Sea'' in
Portuguese
Portuguese may refer to:
* anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal
** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods
** Portuguese language, a Romance language
*** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language
** Portu ...
). In
Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...
, the title was a direct translation of the original, ''O Homem da Atlântida,'' being screened on
RTP1
RTP1 (''RTP um'') is a Portuguese free-to-air television channel owned and operated by state-owned public broadcaster Rádio e Televisão de Portugal (RTP). It is the company's flagship television channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstr ...
. In
Kuwait
Kuwait (; ar, الكويت ', or ), officially the State of Kuwait ( ar, دولة الكويت '), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated in the northern edge of Eastern Arabia at the tip of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to the nort ...
, it was released in the early 1980s in English with
Arabic
Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...
subtitles. In the
Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
, the series was broadcast by
TROS
Tros or TROS may refer to:
* 18281 Tros, an asteroid
* Transformer read-only storage, a type of read-only memory
* TROS, a Dutch broadcasting union, originally an acronym for Televisie Radio Omroep Stichting
* Tros (mythology), a figure in Greek ...
broadcasting association, from June 15, 1978 until September 5, 1980. In
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
, the series was broadcast by
ARD from 1982 to 1983 and in 1988 by
RTL plus
RTL (from '), formerly RTL plus and RTL Television, is a German-language free-to-air television channel owned by the RTL Group, headquartered in Cologne. Founded as an offshoot of the German-language radio programme '' ,'' RTL is consider ...
with the title translated to ''Der Mann aus Atlantis''. The show preserved its name in
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
as well, where it aired as ''L'Homme de l'Atlantide''. In Turkey, the series also preserved its name and was broadcast as ''Atlantis'ten Gelen Adam''. It was also shown on
SABC
The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) is the public broadcaster in South Africa, and provides 19 radio stations ( AM/ FM) as well as six television broadcasts to the general public. It is one of the largest of South Africa's state ...
in
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
in 1979, with the original title.
In the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
, ''Man from Atlantis'' was shown, in most regions, in an early Saturday evening slot on
ITV
ITV or iTV may refer to:
ITV
*Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of:
** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...
starting in September 1977, opposite the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
'', which was then in its 15th season. Although ''Man from Atlantis'' had not been a ratings/audience-share or demographic success in the US, the series actually beat ''Doctor Who'' during its transmission in the UK. (This happened again in 1980–81 when ITV screened ''
, the series was one of the early successes of the then interregional network Telemilano, future
, that began to air the series on February 11, 1980 under the name ''L'Uomo di Atlantide''. The first TV-film, ''Man from Atlantis'', was released on video in
in the 1980s. In
, the only channel at that time. ''HaIsh MeAtlantis'', a literal translation of the English title, also enjoyed reruns.
published a novelization titled ''Man from Atlantis'' #1, written by Richard Woodley, which was followed by ''Man from Atlantis'' #2: "Death Scouts" from the same author. The line continued unnumbered with ''Killer Spores'' (1977) and ''Ark of Doom'' (1978), also by Woodley, the latter being the retitled novelization of "The Disappearances".
.
''.
Toys passed on making Star Wars action figures for the UK as they thought the Man from Atlantis would be more successful.
Series star Patrick Duffy wrote a sequel novel, titled simply ''Man from Atlantis,'' which was published in June 2016.