''Sealab 2020'' is an American animated television series produced by

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 ...

and broadcast on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters ...

from September 9 to December 2, 1972, on Saturday mornings. The series was created by

Alex Toth Alexander Toth (June 25, 1928 – May 27, 2006) was an American cartoonist active from the 1940s through the 1980s. Toth's work began in the American comic book industry, but he is also known for his animation designs for Hanna-Barbera throughout ...

, who also created such other Hanna-Barbera cartoons as ''

Space Ghost Space Ghost (Tad Ghostal) is a fictional superhero created by Hanna-Barbera Productions in the 1960s for TV network CBS. He was designed by Alex Toth. In his original incarnation, he was a superhero who, with his teen sidekicks, Jan and J ...

'' and ''

Birdman and the Galaxy Trio ''Birdman and the Galaxy Trio'', or simply ''Birdman'' or ''The Galaxy Trio'', is an American animated television series by Hanna-Barbera Productions that debuted on NBC on September 9, 1967, and ran on Saturday mornings until September 6, 1969. ...

''. A total of 13 episodes were aired, with two episodes remaining unaired. As with most Hanna-Barbera series, the show was in occasional rotation on

Boomerang A boomerang () is a thrown tool, typically constructed with aerofoil sections and designed to spin about an axis perpendicular to the direction of its flight. A returning boomerang is designed to return to the thrower, while a non-returning b ...

, the TV channel that owns the Hanna-Barbera archives. From 2000 to 2005, the series had returned for a second life when it was parodied as ''

Sealab 2021 ''Sealab 2021'' is an American adult animated television series created by Adam Reed and Matt Thompson for Cartoon Network's late-night programming block, Adult Swim. Cartoon Network aired the show's first three episodes in December 2000 before ...

'' on Cartoon Network's

Adult Swim Adult Swim (AS; stylized as dult swim'' and often abbreviated as s'') is an American adult-oriented night-time cable television channel that shares channel space with the basic cable network Cartoon Network and is programmed by its in-house ...

Plot

The series took place at Sealab, an underwater research base on the Challenger

seamount A seamount is a large geologic landform that rises from the ocean floor that does not reach to the water's surface (sea level), and thus is not an island, islet or cliff-rock. Seamounts are typically formed from extinct volcanoes that rise a ...

. Commanded by Captain Michael Murphy, Sealab was home to 250 people, and was dedicated to the exploration of the seas and the protection of marine life. Dr. Paul Williams, a Chinook oceanographer, led the scientific research team. Among other things, the crew of Sealab faced such challenges as attacks from

shark Sharks are a group of elasmobranch fish characterized by a cartilaginous skeleton, five to seven gill slits on the sides of the head, and pectoral fins that are not fused to the head. Modern sharks are classified within the clade Selachi ...

s and

giant squid The giant squid (''Architeuthis dux'') is a species of deep-ocean dwelling squid in the family (biology), family Architeuthidae. It can grow to a tremendous size, offering an example of deep-sea gigantism, abyssal gigantism: recent estimates ...

s, potential environmental disasters, and threats to Sealab and marine life from shipping.

Cast

Ross Martin Ross or ROSS may refer to: People * Clan Ross, a Highland Scottish clan * Ross (name), including a list of people with the surname or given name Ross, as well as the meaning * Earl of Ross, a peerage of Scotland Places * RoSS, the Republic of Sout ...

as Paul Williams * John Stephenson as Captain Michael "Mike" Murphy, Quincy Jones *

Josh Albee Josh Albee (born September 19, 1959) is an American television actor, known for his work as a child actor during the 1970s, and for the role as the young, mute boy Caleb in the feature film, '' Jeremiah Johnson''. Albee remained active in acting ...

as Robert Murphy *

Pamelyn Ferdin Pamelyn Wanda Ferdin (born February 4, 1959) is an American animal rights activist and a former child actress. Ferdin's acting career was primarily during the 1960s and 1970s, though she appeared in projects sporadically in the 1980s and later ...

as Sally Murphy * William Callaway as Lieutenant Sparks *

Jerry Dexter Jerry Dexter (April 18, 1935 – June 21, 2013) was an American actor and radio presenter best known for playing teenage boys and young men in animated television series for Hanna-Barbera Productions from the late 1960s to the 1980s. Early life ...

as Hal Bryant *

Ann Jillian Ann Jillian (born Ann Jura Nauseda; January 29, 1950) is a retired American actress and singer whose career began as a child actress in 1960. She is best known for her role as the sultry Cassie Cranston on the 1980s sitcom '' It's a Living''. ...

as Gail Adams *

Ron Pinkard Ronald F. Pinkard (born January 22, 1941 in Denver, Colorado) is an American actor best known for his role as Dr. Mike Morton in the Jack Webb produced television series ''Emergency!'' Early life Pinkard was raised in Denver, Colorado. He attende ...

as Ed Thomas, Mrs. Thomas's son *

Olga James Olga James (born February 16, 1929) is an American singer and actress best known for her role in the film ''Carmen Jones'' (1954). Her later acting credits include a role in the Broadway musical ''Mr. Wonderful'' and a reoccurring role on ''The ...

as Mrs. Thomas, Ed Thomas's mother * Gary Shapiro as Jamie *

Mike Road Mike Road (born Milton Brustin;The Boston Advertiser, June 29, 1958 March 18, 1918 – April 14, 2013) was an American voice actor and Warner Bros. television series contract player whose television career dates back to the 1950s and in f ...

as Matthew Mills *

Casey Kasem Kemal Amin "Casey" Kasem (April 27, 1932 – June 15, 2014) was an American disc jockey, actor, and radio personality, who created and hosted several radio countdown programs, notably ''American Top 40''. He was the first actor to voice No ...

as Craig Bracken * Don Messick as Lawrence Cummings

Episodes

Parody

''Sealab 2020'' was parodied by the Cartoon Network Adult Swim show ''

'' from 2000 to 2005.

Home media

On May 22, 2012,

Warner Archive 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 ...

released ''Sealab 2020: The Complete Series'' on DVD in region 1 as part of their Hanna-Barbera Classics Collection. Although promoted as 'The Complete Series', the DVD consists only of the thirteen aired episodes and does not include Episodes 14 and 15 that were unaired. This is a manufacture-on-demand (MOD) release, available exclusively through Warner's online store and Amazon.com. The pilot episode "Deep Threat" is included in the

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 ...

''Saturday Morning Cartoons: 1970s Vol. 2'' DVD set.

Print media

The fanzine

Lancelot Link ''Lancelot Link, Secret Chimp'' is an American action/adventure comedy series that originally aired Saturday mornings on ABC from September 12, 1970 to January 2, 1971 and rebroadcast the following season. The live-action film series featured a ...

Fan World, published by Cornell Kimball, often covered Sealab 2020.

References

External links

*
''Sealab 2020''
at Don Markstein's Toonopedia
Archived
from the original on May 19, 2017. {{Children's programming on NBC in the 1970s 1972 American television series debuts 1972 American television series endings 1970s American animated television series 1970s American science fiction television series American children's animated adventure television series American children's animated science fiction television series English-language television shows NBC original programming Television series set in 2020 Television series set in the future Television series by Hanna-Barbera Nautical television series Underwater civilizations in fiction