1977’s Man from Atlantis delivers plenty of ’70s cheesiness and diminishing returns set in quickly, but it is also a fun retro-sci fi entry from its era.
What Is It?
A man washes up to shore with no memory of who he is or where he’s from, but he has the ability to live and breathe underwater. He takes the name Mark Harris and joins up with the Foundation for Oceanic Research as a crew member of the submarine Cetacean in order to assist with their exploration of the ocean and also to find out the truth about his origins.
Aired: NBC, 1977-78, One Season Totaling 13 Episodes plus 4 TV movies
Cast: Patrick Duffy, Belinda Montgomery, Alan Fudge, Victor Buono
Crew: Mayo Simon (Creator/Executive Producer), Herbert F. Solow (Creator/Executive Producer)
Legacy:
The original movies that spawned this series arrived at a time when there was little in the way of sci fi on TV and they delivered some fun ’70s sci fi cheesiness, but the camp factor amped up quickly when this became a weekly television entry.
A Closer Look:
Throughout the early and mid-1970s (especially the latter half of the decade), the broadcast networks shied away from sci fi and fantasy shows like Star Trek, The Twilight Zone, and The Outer Limits and instead utilized the superhero format to lure in sci fi fans. Shows like The Six Million Dollar Man, The Incredible Hulk, and Wonder Woman were at times among the only genre entries on the Prime Time schedule. NBC’s The Man from Atlantis joined the fray in 1977, offering yet another superhero-type character, though this one had at least a bit more in the way of sci fi elements. The four TV movies that introduced the character and ran during the second half of the 1976-77 season delivered straightforward action-adventure tales that were rooted in sci fi and veered away from the procedural format that we saw on so many other TV dramas. These proved popular enough for NBC to greenlight a series (and the unexpected success of Star Wars in the theaters in Summer 1977 had the television networks scrambling for sci fi entries), landing it on the schedule as a weekly entry in Fall 1977.
Unfortunately, diminishing returns set in very quickly for this show. While the four movies had their share of camp and cheesiness about them (especially with Victor Buono hamming it up as the villainous Mr. Schubert), they still delivered enjoyable genre tales. But the writers were definitely stretching the boundaries of suspension of disbelief by the time the show became a weekly series with such absurd stories as Mark going back in time and encountering Billy the Kid (who happens to be his lookalike) and then Romeo and Juliet. And it also delivered such high camp moments as Mark facing off against a giant, two-headed, land-walking seahorse (no, really). All of this was played as straight-faced as possible, instead of winking to the audience, which pushed it into the realm of bad camp.
One of the strengths of this series was its cast, particularly Patrick Duffy in the title role. He portrayed a conflicted yet sympathetic character caught in a world where he did not belong, and his performance shined through even the worst scripts. In addition, Belinda Montgomery offered a strong female presence even though NBC pushed her out toward the end of the show’s run. And Victor Buono had great fun chewing the scenery, though he started to overstay his welcome. There was plenty of hope for this show when it first arrived, but the series never quite found its sea legs and disappeared after a short run. Still, it is remembered as one of the few sci fi entries in Prime Time during the mid-70s, and some continue to have fond memories of the series.
Cancelled Too Soon?
Yes. The four television movies pulled decent ratings and NBC decided to add it to the schedule as an ongoing series starting in Fall 1977. But they slotted it on Thursdays at 8 PM EST against the top two shows on television, ABC’s Happy Days and Laverne and Shirley, which proved disastrous for the ratings. Whether it could have survived in another timeslot considering the ersatz scripts the weekly series delivered is uncertain. But NBC’s attempts to counter-program against ABC (and The Waltons was also drawing good ratings for CBS in that hour) were a complete failure.
The Story Continues:
Four novelizations were produced which adapted the four TV movies, but none of the episodes of the series were adapted nor were new adventures produced. A comic book series was put out by Marvel around the time that the ongoing TV series was airing and it ran for seven issues. In addition, the British magazine Look-In did a comic strip based on the series that ran for less than a year. Sadly, neither of the comic book entries have been collected. Then, in 2016, a new novel was released by Patrick Duffy titled simply Man from Atlantis. That picks up the story of Mark Harris about fifteen years after the events of the series when he discovers the truth of his origins. It was designed to be the first of a trilogy, but no additional novels have followed so far. The book is definitely worth seeking as a good continuation of the show and as further development of the Mark Harris character (watch for a review on this site). And hopefully the additional entries in the series will come out at some point.
Should It Be Rebooted?
Perhaps. This was a show that had an interesting concept and at least tried to deliver more in the way of sci fi stories than other genre shows on television at that time offered. With less camp and better scripts (though that doesn’t mean it couldn’t still be fun), a reboot of this could actually work. It never had a huge following, though, so I don’t know that NBC or another network would have much interest in revisiting the property. Patrick Duffy’s revival novel (see above) might be a good way to bring the show back, though they would have to recast the characters. Or that could provide the basis for a complete reboot.
Interesting Facts:
This was the first American television series aired in the People’s Republic of China, where it was titled The Man from the Bottom of the Atlantic, and it apparently was very popular in that country. The series also developed a notable following in other countries across the globe.
Patrick Duffy had to shave his entire body while playing Mark Harris. He also had to inhale water into his nose and mouth so as not to produce air bubbles while swimming or talking underwater.
Where Can You Watch It?
The four original movies have been released on DVD and the complete series has also been released on DVD, with only the pilot getting the Blu-ray treatment so far. You can also purchase the series VOD from Amazon and other providers. It is not currently available for streaming on any of the major services.
