It goes up, then down, then up again.
Seasons 1, 2 and 3 were the glory days of Sealab 2021. When Harry Goz, the voice talent of the main character Captain Murphy, died, things started to take a turn downhill.Shanks, a football coach that appeared in the episode "Tornado Shanks" in season 4, replaces Murphy in the following seasons. There are some funny episodes, but some of them make a long-time Sealab fans cringe at the sight. Sealab has never really recovered from Harry Goz's untimely death. If you want to see the best of Sealab, pick up seasons 1, 2 & 3. After that, watch at your own risk.
Seasons 1, 2 and 3 get a solid 9/10 in my book. Sealab 2021 did a lot for Adult Swim before Aqua Teen Hunger Force took the main stage. I still watch Sealab, but sometimes it's very painful. Newer episodes like to borrow ideas from the earlier seasons to try and represent it and make it still funny. Doesn't always work too well.
However season 5 continues to show more promise, and season 6 is in talks - and I actually look forward to that. I would definitely avoid season 4, I don't know what happened there but it is awful. Now though, I think the crew at Williams Street finally got its edge back and Sealab is beginning to pick up speed again. I'd like to see Sealab be consistently funny again.
I hope Sealab is put to rest on a good note. But until that day, I am sure there are plenty more great Sealab episodes to come.
score 10/10
stargunner 7 April 2005
Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw1055812/15008
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