Set in "the near future" (the year 2018 in the first season), seaQuest DSV originally mixed high drama with realistic scientific fiction.

[4] The first two seasons star Roy Scheider as Captain Nathan Bridger, designer and commander of the eponymous naval submarine seaQuest DSV 4600, the ship prefix standing for "deep-submergence vehicle".

The seaQuest was designed by retired naval captain Nathan Bridger and built by NORPAC (a military organization mentioned in the pilot) and given as a loan to the UEO after its creation.

Many new colonies have been established there and it is the mission of the seaQuest and its crew to protect them from hostile nonaligned nations and to aid in mediating disputes as well as engage in undersea research, much of which was still in the preliminary stages when the show began production in 1993.

Bridger, though originally reluctant due to a promise he made with his wife after their son, Robert, was killed in a naval military action before her death, is convinced to return to the navy, under the auspices of the UEO, and assume command of the seaQuest.

The first season's storylines primarily dealt with plausible oceanographic research, environmental issues, political machinations of the world and the interpersonal relationships of the crew.

In the first-season finale, Bridger sacrifices the seaQuest to prevent an ecological disaster and for a short time it was not known if the show would be renewed for another season.

Stacy Haiduk (Hitchcock) informed producers that she did not wish to relocate to Orlando for the second season, having just returned to Los Angeles after spending four years in Florida during the production of The Adventures of Superboy.

Joining the series for season two were Edward Kerr as Lieutenant James Brody, seaQuest's weapons officer; Kathy Evison as Lieutenant Lonnie Henderson, ship's helmsman; Rosalind Allen as Dr. Wendy Smith, the boat's new chief medical officer; Michael DeLuise as Seaman Anthony Piccolo, an ex-convict who has genetically engineered gills and Peter DeLuise as Dagwood, a prototype genetically engineered life form (G.E.L.F.

As the seaQuest itself was rebuilt in the storyline, it allowed for the sets to be redesigned for the new Florida location and a shortened version of the Emmy award winning main title theme was instituted as the series returned to the airwaves on September 18, 1994 with the two-hour television movie season premiere, "Daggers".

The second season explored heavy science-fiction concepts such as genetic engineering, aliens, parapsychology, time travel and various "monsters of the week" (including killer plants, a giant fire-breathing worm, a prehistoric crocodile and an ancient demon.)

"[13] By the end of season two, seaQuest DSV was again suffering, partly attributed to a perceived decrease in the quality of the writing as well as preemptions by NBC due to sports coverage.

The world is not a nice place, it's not comfortable...corporate entities have grown to the point where they rival and sometimes are more powerful than actual national governments.

UEO is not the big kid on the block anymore, seaQuest is no longer state of the art; it's a boat and it's a military vehicle and I'm going to take it places it has never been before Blaming continued disputes with producers and abandonment of the show's original premise, Roy Scheider requested to be released from his contract with NBC.

Rosalind Allen was released as Dr. Smith proved to be unpopular with the audience and because producers felt that her character's telepathic abilities would not fit with the more serious tone planned for the new season.

Marco Sanchez (Chief Petty Officer Miguel Ortiz), who had requested to remain with the series, was also released after NBC decided it wanted the principal cast number dropped from ten to nine, leaving Jonathan Brandis (Lucas Wolenczak), Don Franklin (Commander Jonathan Ford), and Ted Raimi (Lieutenant Tim O'Neill) as the only three cast members who remained with the show since the first episode.

[17] Also considered for the lead of the series was actor Jonathan Banks, who had previously appeared in the first season episode "Whale Songs" as radical environmentalist Maximilian Scully.

[18] After weeks of negotiations where Ironside offered producers a number of changes to the storytelling structure of the series, which were agreed upon, he finally signed on.

Lilly was a pioneer researcher into the nature of consciousness using as his principal tools the isolation tank, dolphin communication and psychedelic drugs, sometimes in combination.

Albert Hofmann, Gregory Bateson, Ram Dass, Timothy Leary, Werner Erhard, and Richard Feynman were all frequent visitors to his home.

Several cast members also dabbled on the creative side of the show, as both Ted Raimi and Jonathan Brandis penned episodes during the second season.

Conversely, Robert Engels, one of the show's executive producers (and writer of two episodes, "Greed For a Pirate's Dream" and "Hide and Seek") during the first season, portrayed the recurring character Malcolm Lansdowne.

Don Davis also won an Emmy in 1995 for "Outstanding Individual Achievement in Music Composition for a Series" (Dramatic Underscore) for his score for the second season premiere, "Daggers".

Kenneth D. Zunder was nominated for the Emmy award for "Outstanding Individual Achievement in Cinematography for a Series" for the episode "Such Great Patience".

In 2005, Universal announced that the first season of seaQuest DSV would be released on Region 1 DVD along with a week-long marathon of the show on the Sci Fi Channel.

On December 12, 2015, the Australian DVD label ViaVision, through its distributor Madman Distribution, released season 1 on Blu-ray in full 1080p High definition.

[30] On April 15, 2020, selected episodes were made available on the early preview of the streaming service Peacock,available to Xfinity subscribers with qualifying devices.