Tag Archives: SeaQuest DSV

#4030: Darwin

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , ,

DARWIN

SEAQUEST DSV (PLAYMATES)

“Name: Darwin (Male Atlantic Bottlenose Dolphin — “Tursiops Truncatus”)

Rank: Non-Commissioned Officer

Assignment: Special Missions, seaQuest DSV 4600

UEO Military ID#: DD001-2018-NB0

Security Access: Classified

Date of Birth: Estimated as 2007

Character Profile: Playful. Trusting. Friendly to humans. Highly intelligent mammal. Extremely loyal to Captain Bridger. Special relationship with Lucas Wolenczak.

Personal History: Born in Caribbean waters. Rescued following gill net accident and trained by Nathan Bridger at Caribbean research center, 2015. Learned interspecies communication via hand signals, forming close bond with Bridger. Assigned to seaQuest, 2018, where Vo-Corder technology developed by Lucas Wolenczak allowed central computer to translate natural dolphin clicks and whistles into simple human speech. Uses dolphin tube system aboard ship to interact with crew and follow close friend, Lucas.

Mission Specialty: Dolphin Re-Breather allows prolonged dives at extraordinary depths without resurfacing — for strategic underwater assigments.”

Oh boy, I’m back to SeaQuest, aren’t I?  Bet you guys thought I’d get it all out of my system.  Well, no such luck!  I’m fully committed!  Or, maybe I should be committed.  I don’t know.  It’s one of the things.  In addition to its human cast, SeaQuest also had amongst its crew a creature more naturally adept to water, a dolphin.  Billed only as himself in the opening credits, Darwin the dolphin was, in fact, a rather convincing use of effects, largely relying on puppets, as well as “special vocal effects” by the legendary Frank Welker.  Darwin was a pretty big hit, and was ultimately one of only four characters to remain with the show for its entire run.  Not bad for a puppet.  Obviously, there was no way he was getting left out of the tie-in toys, no matter how short-lived the line may have been.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Darwin was released in 1993, as part of Playmates one and only SeaQuest DSV tie-in assortment.  Darwin was actually short packed at the time of release, which, coupled with his popularity, made the figure quit a hot commodity for a while.  The figure is about 5 inches long and, while he doesn’t have articulation in a traditional sense, he does have some points of movement.  His two pectoral fins are able to be pushed inwards, which opens his mouth, and emits a squeaking sound, sort of as if he’s “talking.”  Darwin’s sculpt was all-new and unique to him.  Obviously, as a dolphin, he’s rather a departure from the established style.  He’s a pretty good recreation of a bottlenose dolphin, and specifically looks accurate to the models of Darwin we saw on the show.  He’s in a rather basic pose, and sculpting is fairly clean.  There’s kind of an ugly joint where the mouth is meant to open, but it’s on the underside mostly, so not crazy visible.  Darwin’s paint work is honestly more involved than you might expect, with all the proper color variation on his skin, plus fully painted interiors on his mouth.  For a line of this scale and style, that’s generally pretty rare, so the extra effort’s appreciated.  Darwin was packed with his Dolphin Rebreather, a rather sizable overlay piece, which attaches quite securely to the figure, and gives him a more distinctive flair.  He also includes a vocoder, sonar tag (missing from my figure), and display base with a special attachment to hold him in place horizontally.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I remember Darwin being difficult to get early on, and specifically remember my dad getting Darwin separate from the others because of his rarity.  I was always a fan of dolphins, so I always liked Darwin.  As such, he wound up as one of the figures I actually got as a kid, albeit years after the other two I had.  Cosmic Comix had one (literally the only SeaQuest figure I recall them ever carrying), so I bought it, and he’s just been floating around in my collection ever since.  There’s not a ton going on with this figure, but I still think he’s cool, and appreciate the efforts by Playmates to set him apart from just a generic dolphin toy.

#4022: Chief Crocker

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , ,

CHIEF CROCKER

SEAQUEST DSV (PLAYMATES)

“Name: Manilow Crocker

Rank: Cheif Petty Officer

Assignment: Security Chief, seaQuest DSV 4600

UEO Military ID#: TT929-4417-MO1

Security Access: A2A

Date of Birth: October 10, 1968

Character Profile: Tough. “Old Salt.” Proud enlisted man. High regard for seafaring history and custom. Superstitous and cautious. High-tech weapons specialist. Expert diver. Gruff, grizzled exterior masks warmhearted, generous nature. Dives for treasure. Searches for lost ships as hobby.

Personal History: Enlisted in U.S. Navy following high school, 1985. Initial service aboard destroyer as gunnery mate. Served under then Lieutenant Commander Nathan Bridger, 2006. Transferred to Pearl Harbor Base security detail 2010. Planned to retire in 2018, but Admiral Willam Noyce personally requested his assignment to seaQuest as Security Chief.

Mission Specialty: Responsible for all aboard ship and away team safety and security. Knowledgeable in undersea search and rescue.”

Hey, it’s more SeaQuest stuff, and it’s not even nine years later!  Is that allowed? I’m gonna go with “yes”, because it’s my site, and if I wanna talk about SeaQuest, well I guess that’s what I’m gonna do. I do have to say, I somewhat feel like my thunder’s been stolen on this intro, with just how in-depth Playmates went on their bios for the back of the box on these guys.  So, pretty much everything you need to know about today’s focus, Security Chief Crocker, is listed up there.  Like the fact that his first name is Manilow.  I don’t think that even comes up on the show.  But there it is.  All written out.  Let’s check out Crocker!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Chief Crocker was released in Playmates’ one and only assortment of their SeaQuest DSV tie-in line from 1993.  Crocker’s not the most prominent member of the crew included, but got a decent amount of screen time, and, most importantly, added some variety of design to the show’s cast.  The figure is about 4 3/4 inches tall and he has 14 points of articulation.  Like Bridger, he demonstrates the SeaQuest line’s improved articulation scheme over Playmates’ Star Trek line of the same era, so there’s quite a bit of posing to be had with him.  Crocker’s sculpt is another unique one, which benefits from his stockier build than the rest of the crew, as well as demonstrating the slightly different way Crocker wore his uniform compared to the other crew.  He’s got his proper turned down collar, as well as the weapons belt worn by the security officers, complete with working thigh holster.  Crocker also gets a SeaQuest branded baseball cap, something that most of the crew wore at one point or another during the show’s first season, but which was most frequently worn by Crocker, making it a solid choice for his design.  The head sports a pretty respectable likeness of Royce D. Applegate, and gets a decent amount of detailing especially on the facial hair.  Crocker’s color work is pretty well handled.  It’s cleanly applied, with sharp detailing on the eyes, as well as all of the insignias and markings on the uniform.  Crocker was packed with a Stun Gun, PAL, Away Team Launcher with a Tranquilizer Harpoon, Handcuffs, a small rubber killer whale, and a display stand.  The main launcher is the same one included with Bridger, but with a new missile.  It’s just as gimmicky here, but it’s still fun, so I can’t complain.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Crocker is the only figure from the original run that I actually got when he was still new.  My dad was buying himself a set, and offered to get me one, and apparently Crocker was the one I decided I wanted.  I don’t know why exactly, but if I had to hazard a guess, I’d say I liked his hat.  Like Bridger, he spent most of his time mixed in with my Trek figures, which suited him pretty well.  He certainly took a bit of a beating over the years, and I think he’s still pretty fun.  And I’m adding this extra sentence because otherwise I was gonna end on 666 words, and I don’t think that would be kind to Crocker’s superstitious nature, so this one’s for you, Manilow!

#4014: Captain Nathan Hale Bridger

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , ,

CAPTAIN NATHAN HALE BRIDGER

SEAQUEST DSV (PLAYMATES)

“Name: Nathan Hale Bridger

Rank: Captain

Assignment: seaQuest DSV 4600

UEO Military ID#: AI147-5024-TS9

Security Access: Indefinite

Date of Birth: November 10, 1963

Character Profile: Passionate, decisive leader. Extremely intelligent and inquisitive. Diplomatic and open minded. Dedicated to maintaining peace. Advanced degrees in geology and biology. Driven by great love for the sea and its exploration.

Personal History: Original lead designer on NORPAC Confederation’s Project seaQuest, 2007. Death of only son during military combat led to resignation of commission, 2010. Took refuge on isolated Caribbean island to pursue marine research. With rescued bottlenose dolphin, Darwin, pioneered method of rudimentary communication between humans and dolphins using hand signals. Close relationship developed. Assumed command of refitted seaQuest at request of Admiral Noyce, 2018.

Mission Specialty: Responsible for acting as intermediary, balancing concerns of Commander Ford’s Navy personnel and Dr. Westphelan’s scientific crew aboard seaQuest.”

Nine years ago, I brought up a thing I don’t often discuss around here: the ‘90s!  Okay, not that, but it *is* something *from* the ‘90s, namely SeaQuest DSV, the Amblin-produced sci-fi series that had a really great debut season, and then also two more seasons after that.  There was a lot of push behind the show at the start, including, amongst other things, a line of figures from Playmates, who were in the thick of handling the Star Trek license at the time.  The covered the majority of the show’s cast, including its lead, Captain Nathan Bridger, portrayed by veteran actor Roy Scheider.  Let’s take a look at that figure today!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Captain Nathan Hale Bridger was released in the first and only series of Playmates’ SeaQuest DSV tie-in line in 1993.  As the show’s star, his presence was kind of a guarantee.  Notably, this marked Scheider’s first time as an action figure (and his last time too; NECA solicited one for their Jaws line, but his estate pulled the rights before release), which was pretty cool.  The figure stands just shy of 4 3/4 inches tall and he has 14 points of articulation.  The SeaQuest figures had an articulation scheme similar to Playmates’ Trek line, but tweaked to actually be a bit better.  They get proper t-hips, rather than the somewhat pointless v-hips, and also had thigh swivels (which Trek only had on the larger First Contact figures).  It means that Bridger gets a rather impressive movement scheme, should you wish to go all action oriented with him.  Bridger’s sculpt was totally unique to him.  Like with the articulation, Playmates was clearly aiming to keep these figures in line with their Trek stuff stylistically.  They’re the same style, but, again like the articulation, they seem a bit improved.  The detailing’s a little sharper, and the uniform has less areas of smooth coverage, and the internal proportions are a little better, with the head in particular being smaller relative to the body than the Trek figures tended to be.  There’s a lot of nice character specific elements on his uniform, like Bridger’s slightly more casual layout, with rolled up sleeves and a more zipped down collar.  The main selling paint is the head sculpt, which is honestly a pretty respectable likeness of Scheider, so you can pretty clearly tell who he’s supposed to be without much of a hint.  Apparently, though, Scheider didn’t feel the same, and went back and forth with Playmates and their factories regarding the exact nature of it, which is rumored to have played a part in the short-lived nature of the line.  The paint work on this figure is pretty good.  Generally, it’s pretty basic application, especially on the head.  The uniform gets some pretty impressive work on all the markings and insignias, though, and ultimately the only detail missing his his name on the front of the uniform.  Bridger was packed with a Stun Gun, PAL (Personal Audio Link), SeaPoc computer, mammal vo-corder, away team launcher with undersea spelunking hook, and display stand.  It’s a pretty nice selection of standard issue stuff, for the most part.  The launcher and spelunking hook are definitely goofy and gimmicky, but they’re also totally removed from the main figure, so they don’t really ruin anything.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I missed SeaQuest and its tie-in figures in their initial run (being under two at the time), but came around pretty quickly, thanks to the show’s consistent re-runs on the Sci-Fi Channel, and the fact that my dad had a full set of the figures.  Bridger’s not my *first* figure from the line, but he’s a very early one,  purchased for my by my dad, some time in the late ‘90s.  He mostly got mixed in with my Trek figures (especially the Cadet Data, given the similar uniform set-ups), which got him some decent play when I was a kid (which resulted in the bald spot my figure’s got on the back of his head).  He’s really not a bad figure, and showed that Playmates was very much throwing their all behind what was an unproven property.  It’s a shame it didn’t pan out, but he’s a nice figure.

#1196: Dr Z – Rubin Zellar

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , ,

“DR. Z” — RUBIN ZELLAR

SEAQUEST DSV (PLAYMATES)

drz1

Okay, I went slightly ‘90s with yesterday’s Cannonball and Domino review.  I went a little more ‘90s with the Superman Red review.  Today, I’m going full ‘90s.  Yes, today I tackle SeaQuest DSV. SeaQuest, to those of you that don’t know, was a sci-fi series from the early ‘90s set in the futuristic world of 2018, aboard the naval submarine SeaQuest DSV 4600.  It was a little like classic Trek, but in the water.  Its first season was very strong, and heavy on the actual science (each episode ended with Dr. Robert Ballard explaining the science of that week’s plot), and featuring a diverse and fun cast of characters.  There were two seasons after that, but it’s generally in everyone’s best interest not to talk about them.  The series was fortunate enough to get a short-lived line of toys by Playmates (the then current holders of the Trek license, no less), which covered most of the main crew, plus two of the show’s antagonists.  Today, I’ll be looking at one of the antagonists, Biochemical Terrorist Rubin “Dr. Z” Zellar from the episode “Games.”

THE FIGURE ITSELF

drz2Dr. Z was released in 1993 as part of the first and only series of Playmates’ SeaQuest DSV line.  He’s based on his early appearance from “Games,” when he’s first picked up by the SeaQuest and is masquerading as a prison warden.  He probably spends a greater portion of the episode wearing a borrowed SeaQuest science staff uniform, but that might have proved slightly confusing in the toyline, since it would have made him look like an actual member of the crew.  The figure stands about 4 1/2 inches tall (putting him in the same scale as Playmates’ Trek line) and has 14 points of articulation.  While the Trek figures all got saddled with those wonky v-hips, the SeaQuest figures actually got pretty traditional t-hips, and also got thigh swivels too.  Odd that the unproven show got the better treatment.  The sculpt is pretty similar to the Trek stuff in style, which is to say it’s not super ultra realistic, but it’s still a halfway decent recreation of Zellar’s look from the show.  The head sports a passable likeness of Zellar’s actor Alan Scarfe, and the general proportions are actually a little better than the Trek stuff I’ve looked at.  The standout bit of this figure is definitely the fur coat, which is surprisingly well detailed for a figure of this era and scale.  Zellar’s paintwork is pretty solid; it’s not the most exciting work, but what’s there is nice and clean, and the once again the jacket stands out with some detail work to keep it from being too drab.  Zellar was packed with a number of cool accessories, including a pick axe, a display stand, and a ….weird gun thing.  The coolest piece is the T5-6000 Cryo-Chamber, originally meant to carry Zellar, but in actuality carrying the prison warden he replaced.  It’s just a simple plastic shell with a cardboard illustration on top, but I really like it.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I picked up Zellar from Yesterday’s Fun this past summer, as he was one of the two SeaQuest figures I didn’t yet have.  There’s no denying he’s a well done figure, but he’s also one of the most frustrating figures from the line.  SeaQuest was hardly defined by its antagonists, so the fact that we got two of them in place of the three missing members of the Season 1 crew, is really annoying.  “Games” is certainly a memorable episode, and Zellar’s a compelling villain, but the success of the episode hinges more on its focus on Dr. Kristin Westphalen, who was absent from the toyline (interestingly enough, she was the only of the three unreleased crew members to get a prototype, but was left unreleased for whatever reason).  Zellar’s presence in the line seems to have come at the expense of the character that would give him an actual reason to be in the line at all, which just feels rather backwards.