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dr_hermes
15 July 2009 @ 10:00 pm
What's wrong with this cover?  


One of the first things you learn in life is that you can't smoke a cigarette underwater! I don't care how clever a fish you are.

This cover is from April 1962, a tie-in to a children's show that featured a deepsea diver trying to cope with a lost sea populated by talking fish and ruled by a beautiful mermaid. Adventures like these are usually a sign of "rapture of the deep" and a good reason why you should watch your oxygen level carefully. No, actually DIVER DAN was an innocuous show aimed at very small children, and it has a certain naive charrm when you're watching an episode today. Here is the obligatory YouTube clip

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cLKAmodyVrA

See, if this show turned up in a comic written by Alan Moore or Grant Morrison or one of those deconstructionist guys, Dan would be lured into removing his helmet at a promise of magically getting to be with the beautiful mermaid. At which point he would drown and she would cackle while turning into a horrid hag, revealing a pile of old diver suits behind her.
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[info]smeghead2068 on July 16th, 2009 02:44 am (UTC)
DIVER DAN is one of the first TV memories I have, along with Beany & Cecil. Loved it, and have the poorly produced DVD.

On another note, THIS Tv network showed an old Sea Hunt last night(not sure if this is a regular scheduled thing, as I don't waste much time on broadcast TV since this digital fiasco has made it unwatchable.)I'm certain I haven't seen it in 45 years. I really like the half-hour drama format, becasue it makes for some tight writing and editing. Other cases in point: The original run of Danger Mand and Peter Gunn.
[info]dr_hermes on July 16th, 2009 03:53 am (UTC)
I agree with the half-hour format producing good drama. The old radio shows like PHILIP MARLOWE showed this as well. Of course, TV shows back in the day ran fewer commercials than they do now. They also were spared little pop-up reminders of other shows on the newtwork or (worst of all) little animations at the bottom of the screen touting the next program. It's worth buying DVDs of a favorite show to escape the distraction of advertising on the screen DURING an episode. I swear that I ever got to a movie and the feature pauses for a commercial, that theatre will never see me again.
[info]terry_mccombs on July 16th, 2009 06:12 am (UTC)
It's the Spongebob Squarepants of Earth II.
[info]dozy81 on July 18th, 2009 12:33 am (UTC)
One of the things I like about this site is getting introduced to things I've never heard of before. Had no idea DIVER DAN even existed. If I'd seen it as a kid, I probably would have enjoyed this show a lot.
[info]dr_hermes on July 18th, 2009 01:02 am (UTC)
Glad you like some of this stuff, there's a history of whackiness in our culture.