User reviews

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.

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.

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.

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

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 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.

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.

"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.

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.

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!

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.

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!

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.

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.

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 :-)

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.

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.