The premiere issue of the (very) short-lived sci-fi magazine Not Of this Earth contained features on both men at the helm of the upcoming show for the NBC network produced by Steven Spielberg –
Indeed, this wasn’t the first rodeo for veteran actor Scheider and Director Kershner (having worked together years before on Loving) with both going on to contribute to numerous genre projects and considerable box-office success. The powerhouse combination of their names, plus Spielberg meant that executives were probably justified in their belief they had the hit of the season in their grasp.
With the pressure on once an order for a full 22-episode season was made, filming the pilot for seaQuest DSV would represent a challenge for the actor on his first television series (Scheider had sworn off TV since Assignment: Munich in 1972) and a Director also more accustomed to shooting for the big screen. However, despite the limitations of the set and a script in need of a few more revisions, ‘To Be Or Not To Be’ was nonetheless a huge ratings success and set the bar for subsequent episodes.
While Scott Nance interview with Roy Scheider is one of very few coversations on record with the actor about the series, look out for more insights to come from the much-missed Director as the SQV posts more vintage interviews with Kirshner about his experiences on the pilot.
Finally, although it may not seem that posts are few and far between recently, I direct your attention to the Main Menu navigation bar above where I have spent considerable time updating and reorganising to build up the site to make it even better. The SQV is always a work in progress and relies heavily on contributors and fans so please DO go to the ‘Mission’ page to submit any suitable content.
Meantime, I’m especially proud of the recent features ‘Six Hours On The Set’ and ‘Farpoint Encounters’ as well as an update and revision to the pages ‘In Print’ , ‘Playmates Toys’ and ‘Cast & Crew’. Did I also mention the first season Episode Guide is complete backed up by a new Publicity page to support it? hopefully you can see I’ve not been resting on my laurels and for anybody curious about me and my motivation/passion for this page, please check out the post below for The Geek Authority’s YouTube video where I chat with the wonderful Lorenzo Marchessi.
Stay safe ‘Questies – MUCH more to come..!
ML