Sealab 2020: Andrew Applauds Animation

Morning, class! Today we're taking a trip to the Challenger Seamount to meet the crew at work and witness shark attacks, oil spills, bounties on marine life, malfunctioning submarine destruction--  wait, what!!

Hey, everyone! I'm Andrew and I think it's about time I review a classic cartoon from back in the day. Waaaaaay back in the day.

It's Sealab 2020.

The Show:

Welcome aboard Sealab, a research base on the underwater Challenger seamount. Found on the base are a small but brilliant 250-strong group - men, women and children -  dedicated to the findings and cultivation of the newest scientific discoveries contingent to our world’s natural future. But in their mists are unforeseen threats -- shark and squid attacks, oil spills, environmental  catastrophes, threats to marine life, etc -- challenging the crew to their limits, but always coming out on top, with all lives spared. It IS Hanna-Barbera after all.

Created by Alex Toth and produced and directed by William and Joseph themselves, Sealab 2020 takes place at an underwater research base and features the adventures and tribulations of the people who work and live there, both of which in the year… 2020. The series, produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions, aired Saturday mornings on NBC from September 9 to December 2, 1972, lasting for one season of 13 episodes.

The Plots:

Sealab 2020 is one of Hanna-Barbera’s few animated series that is a full-blown drama. Although it has some genuine humor in a few scenes per episode, it is still a more serious affair.
Each episode features the crew going about their lives and jobs to find, create, cultivate and/or protect (or a combo of the four) new and old discoveries throughout the ocean blue in very serious plots pertaining to our environment and the lives of our aquatic friends, but also features genuine threats to indefinitely throw Sealab and its human inhabitants into disarray. Sea animal attacks, natural disasters, and random damages to Sealab, its inhabitants, and the Challanger Seamount make up a majority of the series' plots. Specific plots include a hunter planning to kill a blue whale as a whale expert and his son arrive ("The Singing Whale"); Hal and Gail are trapped in the home of a squid while trying to install a seismograph unit ("The Deepest Dive"); Sealab is damaged by an anchor and flooded ("Green Fever"); the crew try to stop and delay an unauthorized oil drilling but the workers ignore the warnings to their detriment ("Where Dangers Are Many"); and a malfunctioning sub destroys the edge of Seamount and threatens Sealab ("Collision of the Aquarius"). But in the end, our beloved crew always find a way to save their base/home and the friends and surfaces that depend on them for their survival.

These plots and environmental Aesop per episode may make for a boring, uninteresting and forgettable cartoon. But despite them, the series is actually incredibly entertaining. The conflicts in each episode do leave you at the edge of your seat, the action surprisingly exciting, the thrills are low-key exhilarating, and the day-saving climax is amazing and a breath of fresh air. And there are some fun moments and funny jokes in between that give you a breather before and after the conflicts.

Characters:

And now, let’s meet your Sealab crew

(well, the ones that talk a lot, have names & appear throughout):

Dr. Paul Williams - Sealab’s lead scientist
Hal Bryant, Gail Adams & Ed Thomas - the three lead junior scientists
Lieutenant Sparks - Captain Murphy’s second-in-command
Ms. Thomas - teacher and Ed’s mother
Robert “Bobby” Murphy - Captain Murphy’s grandson
Salli - Bobby’s best friend
Jamie - short blond friend of Bobby & Salli, and
Captain Michael “Mike” Murphy - head of Sealab’s security

While this group of merry men aren’t as zany or goofy or over-the-top as the casts of other H-B cartoons, they are still well-written and really well-rounded. 

-- Captain Murphy and Dr. Williams are very cordial and respectful to one another and take the other’s high position in Sealab into strong consideration. And when a major threat looms, both men converse (mostly in the Captain’s security quarters) to figure out how to suppress and solve the conundrum).
-- Each of the three scientists have some nice chemistry
--- Hal is sweet and gentle with a heart for sea animals ("basking sharks are like the puppies of the ocean.")
--- Ed is cool and sharp-witted with a touch of snark (and zero jive, thank God)
--- and Gail is strong-willed, confident and rises up to the challenge as well as the guys
-- And their relationship with their boss Dr. Williams is built on trust, respect, admiration and care, with no examples of criticism, admonishment or shame.
-- While they aren’t shown together more than a few times, Ed and Mrs. Thomas does have a good relationship as mother and son (and no, not husband and wife as some assumed -- ew.)

Also there are other characters in minor speaking roles, but you won’t see them in more than one episode.

One of my favorite elements of Sealab 2020 is its grasp on realism. Okay, future year aside The main characters are very smart people who handle their positions within Sealab and the challenges that befall it and them very well. Unlike the characters of most other H-B cartoons, they don't do ridiculous slapstick or physical comedy to reach the solutions to their problems and the climax of a given episode. They use realistic ideas and plans to save the day.

Animation:
Taking away the obvious factoid that many cels are recycled many times here (as per H-B’s wont), the series’ ink and pain look amazing. While everyone looks like normal people who would work at/live in an underwater. No black dots for eyes, no skinny body frames, and everyone does their job with decorum, professionalism and respect (for themselves and each other). Plus, thumbs up to everyone for the characters not wearing the loud, colorful and extremely dated fashions and styles of the decade (... well, hairstyles aside).

The animators do a great job of Sealab not being too futuristic. Yes again, it does take place in another year in the future, but please bear with me. Most depictions of the 21st century (specifically the designs of city buildings, the fashions, the technology, the human behavior, etc.) in TV and movies before, during and even after 1972 make every year in it look and sound way too strongly from a sci-fi comic book or novel. And as a human realistically living in this century, story aside (except for comedic ones), all of these depictions make me laugh till my guts hurt. So it’s refreshing to see a version of 2020 that doesn’t look like almost all the rest and instead go for a lighter minimal tone that focuses on the walls, inhabitants, adventures, conflicts and (although the jury’s still out on those water-cars).

Conclusion:

In my opinion, Sealab 2020 is a very entertaining Saturday morning cartoon in its own way. As a more dramatic production, it’s not like… literally every other SMC on that year’s schedule (whether on NBC or the other Big 3 networks), but it works in its favor. Some may see the pro-environmental slant and Aesops as boring and preachy, but to me they do help getting a message across to treat the planet much better (as we need it to live and breathe, rather than it needing us to walk on). And the outdoor and action sequences are no slouch in keeping me interested and invested.

I’ll be honest. I’ve never heard of Sealab 2020 throughout my childhood. If there ever was a time I watched it back then, it’s safely vaulted in the back of my mind. Heck, even other H-B shows of the decade got more clearer recollections ; late night airings of Devlin, Speed Buggy, Super Friends and Banana Splits; and even ToonHeads, Speed Racer, Rocky & Bullwinkle, and freaking Wait Till Your Father Gets Home on Cartoon Network back in the late 90s and early 2000s (and that’s if I’m lucky to stay up some nights) were what I got to see to my quiet prepubescent delight. The reason I do know of it now was… when I looked it up and watched it this year. Sure I was lucky to stay up and watch a certain parody of it when it debuted in 2003, but even then I had no idea that it was spoofing this show; I honestly thought they were drawn that way!

But I’m happy about watching & appreciating it now as an adult over never knowing it existed.

And that's my review of Sealab 2020.

Thank God the staff didn't write in a viral outbreak because it would've been depressing prediction gone true. Plus, if this series was just as iconic as other Hanna-Barbera shows (and of course no pandemic), we would've had a Sealab of our very own this year.

Thank you all for checking in, and thank Christ that the namesake year it took place in is over. It was a dang awful, unbelievable and heartwrenching year, and no doubt we've all suffered (myself included). But 2021 is around the corner, and as long as we keep the faith, stay safe, be kind(er) to and look after one another, and take the vaccine, we'll all get through this. I think we all need a win, and if we contribute well to the betterment of society and not be crap to each other, 2021 may be a colossally amazing year. We shall see.

Thanks again. I'm Andrew saying be safe out there, and love yourself and each other.

And may the good toons be yours....