Man from Atlantis (1977–1978) User Reviews (21)

Movies vs TV Show

[thediehard · 7/10 · 18 December 2006]

The first movie was wonderful, the three following movies were pretty good. (The fourth movie, which was only a 90-minute instead of the usual 2-hour, was the highest-rated movie of the year.) The four movies were published as books. The series, unfortunately, was utterly destroyed by Herb Solow, who made it into a "kiddie show, like a comic book" -- and Solow didn't even know comic books. A giant two-headed sea horse? A giant squid made from a plastic purple shower curtain? It was embarrassing. The blessedly short-lived comics series itself was even worse -- the stories were passable, but the art was about the worst that comics have ever dared to try to sell.

There were also four paperback books made out of the movies. They were pretty much exactly the same as the scripts.

Duffy did most of his own stunts, being better at holding his breath than the stunt man. (Boy, did he have a six-pack! Yummm....) But he really wasn't that good a swimmer -- he actually lost to the guy from Grizzly Adams in the swimming competition on "Battle of the Network Stars." Ouch.

Victor Bueno, the recurring head bad guy ("Mr. Schubert") said it was his favorite role of all time, since he could camp it up to his heart's content -- and this from a man who had done everything from Shakespeare on stage to villains on Wild Wild West and Batman. The other recurring bad guy, Ted Neeley, is probably better known for his role on a fairly famous musical -- as Jesus Christ, Superstar.

Man from Atlantis also served as the inspiration for main characters in Vonda McIntyre's "Superluminal" and her four-part Starfarers series. McIntyre is considered one of the top ten living science fiction authors.

Mark Harris is a classic "Stranger in a Strange Land" type character. Unlike Aquaman and Submariner, he is apparently the last, or only, one of his kind, a distinction he shares with another not-quite-human guy named Kal-El.

Surprisingly Good

[jasonleesmith6 · 8/10 · 19 September 2017]

I have only seen the pilot for this series, but I thought that it was surprisingly good. Certainly better and more interesting than some of its contemporaries, like "The Six Million Dollar Man" and "The Incredible Hulk." The plot wasn't perfect, but it was nuanced and interesting, and the scenes filmed underwater were believable. There was a sparing use of special effects, and those that were used were decent enough by 70's standards. I don't know how long a show could survive where the hero's only gimmick is that he could breathe underwater, but the pilot's plot didn't feel forced or contrived. It was a good movie, in and of itself. I am forced to wonder, though, with the popularity of Marvel properties at the time: "The Incredible Hulk," "Spider-Man" and things like the "Dr. Strange" TV movie, if this wasn't originally an effort to bring the Sub Mariner to television. He bears a striking similarity to Patrick Duffy's character: both have amnesia, are from Atlantis, and are looking for their home.

A little fishy...

[poe426 · 7/10 · 15 January 2013]

In an interview prior to the broadcast of THE MAN FROM ATLANTIS, author Harlan Ellison mentioned that he'd pitched an idea for a series to a network executive. The idea, he said, was "about a Prince Namor type of character." The network passed on the idea, but Ellison was convinced that just such a show would eventually materialize. It did. Because I'd grown up reading the revamped SUB-MARINER stories by Marvel Comics, I recognized Namor (that's "Roman," spelled backwards) the moment I saw him. The pilot wasn't bad, but the series itself WAS: in the episode featuring Kareem Abdul Jabbar, for instance, Namor (or whatever they called him to prevent a lawsuit) finds himself pitted against the NBA superstar in INVISIBLE WATER in a desert. Granted, the story lines of many comics are just as far-fetched, but this episode has to be seen to be believed. It's my fervent hope that some day some astute filmmaker will bring to the Big Screen Bill Everett's aquatic super hero, in all his glory. Now THAT would be something to see!

Purity of heart meets Herculean strength in Man from Atlantis

[FinalChange · 1 January 2007]

Here is yet another short-lived Fantasy series that until today remains an under-appreciated gem in bad need of a DVD release.

Patrick Duffy was superb in the role of Mark Harris, the Man from Atlantis. In the pilot he doesn't speak until the end but his performance is nevertheless quite compelling. This in spite of the eerie bright green contacts he had to wear for the part. Initially, Harris is introduced as a man with an inherent innocence and vulnerability that is in sheer contrast to his physical strength and superhuman powers.

Equipped with gills and webbed hands and feet, Harris is more cetacean than human, and relates better to marine life than the average mortal, but his pure heart and morals are way superior to ours and rival only those of Superman.

Harris swims dolphin-style, something never before seen in 1977. Plus Patrick Duffy looks quite amazing in his yellow swimming trunks. Belinda J. Montgomery was soporifically dull opposite Duffy, but that's okay. Patrick Duffy has enough talent to spare and will keep you captivated till the end of the episode.

All in all, this is a delightful little family show, with cheap special effects (such as an "invisible" river, a double-headed sea-horse, which resembles what it is: a man in a bad Halloween costume); however this is 1977, and after all computer graphics and other FX technology weren't yet invented. And again, Duffy's talent and good-looks more than compensate for any lack in the FX department.

So if your co-workers ate your lunch today and conveniently forgot yet again to fill up the coffee pot, sounds like you deserve a little escape. How about time-traveling to an alternate reality in the late 70's? Kick back and relax with Mark Harris, the Man from Atlantis with a childlike innocence, a heart of gold, and the strength of Samson or Hercules. And did I mention the looks of Adonis?

man washes on the beach, turns out to be aquatic superman

[jefffisher65-708-541158 · 6/10 · 27 June 2013]

The Man From Atlantis was one of the less-successful TV sci-fi efforts which appeared after the original Star Wars was such a blockbuster. As others have noted here, TMFA was played by Patrick Duff before he became famous on Dallas, an excellent choice for the role, he had such a natural grace - and I couldn't help noticing he has a great many female fans, not surprisingly, perhaps.

The character was sent to work for the Foundation for Oceanic research, and encountered various hostile villains, and/or events. Unfortunately, most of his foes were low-quality ones save for Victor Bueno's Dr. Schubert. I'm not entirely sure why the series wasn't better than it proved to be, fond as my memories of it remain - the television-movies were all excellent. Lower-quality scripting perhaps played a role in the show's short run.

I have to add my voice to those who have noted the similarities between Marvel's the Sub-Mariner(essentially a villain although they have played him as anti-hero, etc., over the years), although Mark Harris was indeed a much better-hearted, kind version. It's a surprise Marvel didn't sue the producers, really, as they could've made a strong case for copyright infringement.

In any case, despite the often weak scripts, and admittedly-cheesy 1970s-era effects, I rate the series six for Patrick Duffy's performance, and for the sake of nostalgia. For those interested, the paperback novelizations are by Richard Woodley, a writer seems to have done a good many of these film/TV tie-ins.

Gosh is it really 30 years old? Forget the FX - Still great to watch!

[karenosment2003 · 10/10 · 7 April 2008]

A storm churns up the ocean depths, and close to death, a man is washed up onto the shore. A hospital medical team is unable to stabilize him. Intrigued by 'a man who has forgotten how to breathe', naval medic, Dr Elizabeth Merrill accompanies a medical consultant into the emergency room. Noting the patients' appearance, Elizabeth asks to examine him. She comes to a quick conclusion, and hurriedly takes the man, in an ambulance, back to the ocean. Pushing his inert form, around in the water, face down, Elizabeth pleads with him to 'breathe', for she had discovered, that his lungs, instead of the usual 'air sacks', contained gill-like membrane. Slowly the man revives, his cat-like green eyes staring up, at her, through the waves. Elizabeth names him, Mark Harris. With government funding she puts Mark through a series of tests to find out his speed, agility and strength in the water. They prove to be superhuman. At home in the water, he's only able to stay on land for short periods of time, before he needs to return to it; or perish. At first, Mark does not communicate verbally, until he responds to a request to help locate a lost submersible. During his mission Mark encounters Mr. Schubert (who appears in several more episodes); the villain wanting to 'take over the world'. After saving the day, and although having no recollection of his origins , Mark decides to return to the ocean, but he has a change of heart, and stays, telling Dr Merrill, 'I have not learned enough'. Handsome Patrick Duffy is brilliant as Mark Harris, with his trade mark yellow trunks and unique swimming style. I don't think that there were many who saw the show, who didn't try, just once, to imitate it. I've, recently, had the chance to see the series again, which was absolutely fantastic. It still has to be one of my all-time favourite TV shows. I was sad that the series just suddenly stopped, with no real conclusion. Maybe some of the episodes; like the one featuring the two-headed sea horse, Oscar, do look a little silly now, but special effects have come a long way since the late 70s. The Man from Atlantis never pretended to be anything more than what it was, just pure entertainment; sci-fi fantasy.

A Limited Premise

[Stebaer4 · 5/10 · 14 November 2008]

Some things are good but only within certain limits This very show may well be one of them because its 4 TV-Movies grab people's attentions very well with the plots but once it was extended into a TV-Series it wore out including use of what Many Shows use as a last resort when they're on the way out of which is The Concept of The Evil Twin.But for The Fun of Nostalgia's sake you may turn to this to reminisce as well as watch for Patrick Duffy in his Pre-Dallas Days.This TV show even inspired a limited run of a Comic book series for 8 issues through Marvel Comics Group.

Truly Stephen "Steve" G. Baer a.k.a."Ste" of Framingham,Ma.

#33. RA and MAN FROM ATLANTIS (1977)

[tobiaswellworth · 10/10 · 27 July 2022]

It's not often that I feel about a show that should have lasted longer. It had a great cast, awesome sets, and a really cool premise. The stories were as naive as the main character and it worked since it was a show for children. Can't understand why it was canceled so soon.

Mark Harris' way of swimming was so unique that, that summer at the beach, you could tell who was a fan of the show by the way we all tried it.

The song from the main titles was also really impressive, and beautifully haunting.

Gone way too soon.

the man from Atlantis vs the city beneath the sea

[childsplay2 · 4/10 · 12 May 2009]

I have the man from Atlantis pilot and the City beneath the sea movie.And when i saw the movie The city beneath the sea i noticed that the character Aquila swam the same way that mark Harris dose on the show Man from Atlantis,did anyone else notice this besides me?If you did let me know.The show in it self was OK but not perfect.The year for city beneath the sea was [1971]and the man from Atlantis was [1977]If you have both the movie man from Atlantis/and city beneath the sea on VHS or DVD compare the two and see for your self that one was copied from the other as far as the swim moves goes,thanks for reading my comment

Patrick Duffy is Chinese girl's Dream man!

[freewoman007 · 10 December 2005]

I grew up in P.R. China, "Man from the Atlantic" was the only show that was interesting enough to watch for everyone in my city when I grew up,I remember people would stop everything they do, some of us don't own a TV, we would go to other people's house and watch the show together, it was great! I still remember how intriguing the TV show was, mind blowing for a girl grew up in Communist China who had nothing to watch except propaganda. I loved Patrick Duffy, in fact I did many web search to find this show's English name, because I only know the Chinese translation of the name of the show. Now I am going to buy the show again and relive my fond memory! I am excited. Patrick Duffy, I love you. : ) (now I know why I love Irish men so much)

I Remember This Great Series From The 70's

[daddygracenyc · 10/10 · 30 May 2022]

I came across this old series featuring Patrick Duffy in his early career before 'Dallas'. I was still in undergraduate school. I fail in love with this series and I watched it weekly. Over 45 years later, I came across this series on Tubi television and it brought back fond memories.

I recommend this series to a new generation born after the 70's to watched this heartwarming and entertaining series with sexy and attractive Patrick Duffy. Patrick was very hot in those days.

Great for it's time

[mikelynncrowe · 8/10 · 28 January 2019]

A great t.v. show with special effects that were surprisingly good for the time. I remember this show and was happy to find a copy of the series. My nieces have grown up with movies and t.v. programs the leave little to the imagination, however they have enjoyed my wife's and myself on a tour of the nostalgic. This show the Six Million Dollar Man, The Bionic Woman and Wonder Woman are favorites at our house.

A cult undersea TV series

[paulorcbarros · 17 October 2005]

"The Man From Atlantis" (1977 - 17 episodes of 60 minutes), is a cult TV series created by Herbert F. Solow and Mayo Simon for NBC. The pilot episode begins when a man (the actor Patrick Duffy) is found unconscious on a beach after a storm. Taken to a hospital, the doctors discover that this man is not a simple victim of drowning. The Doctor and sea biologist Elizabeth Merril (the actress Belinda Montgomery) is called to investigate the case and find evidences that the mysterious man has characteristics of amphibians. Impressed by her discovery and with the desire of helping her new friend, she decides to take him to the scientific foundation of aquatic research for which she works and she decides to call him Mark Harris. The sea abilities of Mark attract the attention of everybody, including the Navy, and Doctor Merril thinks that he is probably one of the last survivors of the legendary Atlantis. From there, the man of Atlantis lives many adventures with Doctor Merril in a submarine, that travels into the great depths, always investigating the mysteries and the dangers related to the oceans. Mark had membranes in his hand fingers and his eyes was extremely sensitive to the light. The series made success in Brazil and Patrick Duffy became famous, years later, in "Dallas". As the series had more success in the foreign countries than in the U.S.A., "The Man From Atlantis" was canceled after only one year of exhibition.

Brilliant escapism

[jhmoondance · 10/10 · 7 August 2021]

I've just watched this as an eager excited adult much of the same feelings as I did when it first aired 44yrs ago! It was wonderful seeing Patrick Duffy the 'water breathing man' resurrected in this role.

It's such an easy watching series n I can't understand why there were only 4 films n 13 episodes as its such a brilliantly easy program to watch.

For its time the special effects are quite good. A modern day remake would be brilliant!

Was Never In Danger Of Winning Any Awards But Enjoyable Action Show

[Big Movie Fan · 16 December 2002]

I have fond memories of The Man From Atlantis. I remember wishing how I could swim like him when I saw this show and hearing some children wanting to emulate him as well.

Patrick Duffy was the last survivor of an underwater civilization. He was named Mark Harris by the human world and went to work for the Foundation for Oceanic Research. Soon after, he battled the usual array of villains and monsters, his archenemy being the almost likeable Mr Schubert.

There was a Marvel Comics character who had been around since 1939 called Namor the Sub-Mariner. He was from an underwater civilization and was similar to Mark Harris. I don't know how true this is but I believe Marvel were going to make a Namor the Sub-Mariner film but this series kind of made that idea redundant.

The show was certainly enjoyable-not taxing on the brain and entertaining enough whilst it lasted, which wasn't for many episodes.

Let's Reminisce !

[elshikh4 · 22 March 2012]

I won't go critic on this, because the last time I have watched it was the very first time I've had, and that belongs to another time, older time, so.. let's reminisce.

It was the first half of the 1980s. I was pretty young, maybe 7 or 8 year old. And I remember well that I was amazed and amused.

The submarine was a hero apart. I was waiting it with passion, seeing it as sophisticated vehicle to discover the unknown. Though, the vehicle that owned my imagination at the time, forcing me to build a copy of it, randomly of course, was the plane of Tales of the Gold Monkey!

Mark was interesting character for me back then. I even used to call the show "Mark's show", or "Mark: man came from Atlantis". His hands in specific had my head spinning. Now, know this: I went to fill our bathtub with water, nearly daily, then put my hands in it for a long long time, just for the sake of having hands like mark's. Somehow I believed that being in water for some time gives you those correlated, frog's kind of, fingers!

Else matters fascinated me about Mark, like the way how he didn't produce bubbles underwater from his nose and mouth. Plus, his eyes. They never blinked underwater. Apparently, a lot of efforts were spent to perfect tricks like these.

As for Mark's girl, something like "they wouldn't get married" used to come across my mind. I don't remember why, but maybe because he's a guy who loves to be in the water longer than anybody?, maybe because he looks too different, coming from - literally this time - another world!

Everything was tame, I don't remember something spooky or violent. It managed to be surprising and dreamy in every episode. And it made me love scientists as guys who live pretty cool life, have adventures for all the time, and meet new worlds every day.

One episode I won't forget, it was about that magical man who causes everybody he shakes hands with a hysteria of laughing; it was original, funny, and surprising too; because I wouldn't imagine that such a nice guy might be evil as it turned out to be. I doubt that that character was played by Pat Morita, best known later as Mr. Miyagi (I'll look this up now).

It was, as I love to call it, the childhood of the American TV. Those ideas were pure and simple. Now, I don't find that a lot, or at all. The TV, along with the world maybe, becomes darker as time goes by I think!

Brings back fond childhood memories

[wenyi_lin · 1 February 2006]

I watched this show in P.R.China many years ago during a time when there was nothing else entertaining on Chinese TV. It was the first American TV show aired in China and everyone who had access to a TV set watched it. I have fond memories of the show, it was interesting and had enough action to be entertaining. Considering the alternatives at the time, which were communist propaganda films, it was quite a treat.

But even then, a portal at the bottom of the ocean that leads to a city where Romeo and Juliet lived still seemed to be quite a stretch. So I understand why it only lasted one season.

But this show will always have a special place in my heart for being the first American entertainment program that I have seen.

legends

[Kirpianuscus · 17 March 2017]

a legendary series. itself a mix of legends. because it propose the story of a special man , a lot of adventures, seascapes and few scientific references, a sort of love story and references to the myth of Atlantida. and, more import today, a Patrick Duffy before Bobby Exing. so, a series who , for its public, remains a nice memory. sure, in contemporary perspective, it seems be naive and almost childish. but it is not real the right verdict. because it has the gift to remind the flavor and the colors and emotions of the air from the Jules Verne books or from The Amphibian Man. and the ball of legends is , always, a good gift. so, Man from Atlantis.

The dolphin man!

[gharbeia · 21 February 2005]

When I saw these TV series again on PinkTV a couple of weeks ago it only took me a fraction of a second to identify it and it revived very old memories in me. I was barely six when I first saw it in the very early eighties but I never forgot Mark, with his yellow swim suit, and distinctive swim, which I always tried to imitate in the pool and sea. Although I couldn't understand a word of what was said at that time, I nevertheless still remember many of the episodes, characters, and just complete scenes. I still didn't understand what was said in the run in PinkTV as it was dubbed in French, but I enjoyed it no less, and it was nice to find out that my friends have the same fund childhood memories. I'm glad I know the series name at last :-)

Fun for it's time, it's an interesting, live action take on..

[ColemanDerrick · 26 July 2001]

The Man From Atlantis was a decent show for the 1970s. And as I allude to in the summary, it is curiously similar to The Sub-Mariner. I really don't know if Marvel Comics had anything to do with this, but the project just smells of the half-hearted, live action tv takes of Marvel heroes televised during the time. Like Spider-Man, The Hulk, and Captain America movies, when you see the Man From Atlantis, you will think it is a more romantic, benevolent version of Prince Namor. The initial pilot was good, and the series could have been better. It failed because there were no challenging super villains for Mark to fight. In my opinion, if you are going to do a television series about a merman, go the superhero route, complete with colorful monsters and villains, or don't try it at all.

Oy, what a mess!

[TVholic · 3 May 2003]

This never should have been made into a series. Except for very early shows like "Sea Hunt" and "Flipper," nearly all undersea series sooner or later fall into the same trap. With some wonder but little drama beneath the waves, plots turn to alien invaders, time travel, dinosaurs, robots, mind control, evil twins/imposters, the supernatural and other claptrap. "Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea" was the first and most egregious example of this. After the first season's cloak and dagger plots were exhausted, Voyage became the rubber-suited monster of the week show. More recently, SeaQuest 2032 (née DSV) struggled mightily to stick with science, but eventually brought in a battleship-sized alligator, time travel to the Cuban missile crisis, even a ghost story, although it never sunk to VTTBOTS depths with leprechauns, the ghost of Blackbeard, lobster men, plant men, the abominable snowman and a werewolf. But none seemed to go straight to the schlock as this series did. According to this show, the sea floor is strewn with time and dimensional portals. Through them, water-breathing Mark Harris could venture to an arid desert region to face off against Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, to ancient Verona to actually meet Romeo and Juliet, and to the Old West, where he found the lost twin he never knew he had. All the while, it used and reused stock effects footage of the submarine from the first movie.

This was reportedly the first American show broadcast in the People's Republic of China. I wouldn't wish this on our worst enemies. Still, Patrick Duffy did like to say at the time that he was a bigger star in China than here in the US.

The WBshop has now released all of the TV movies and the complete series on DVD. One can clearly see how the quality plummeted through the second through fourth movies before bottoming out in the series.