On 'Man From Atlantis', Mark Harris, a sea being, reportedly survived on a diet of kelp and plankton. It was not unusual to see the warm-blooded Mark sitting on the floor of the ocean contemplating. It was noted "the lost civilization of Atlantis has had a powerful hold on man's imagination for centuries. Explorers, archaeologists and scholars have searched for Atlantis in all the oceans of the world."
The Greek philosopher Plato first mentioned Atlantis, which existed 9000 years before the birth of Solon. Edgar Cayce, through his spiritual resources of knowledge, told the world before his death in 1945 there were 2 large continents which sank into the ocean following catastrophic tremors - Atlantis (the size of Europe and Russia combined) in the Atlantic Ocean and Lemuria (or Mu) in the Pacific Ocean. It was believed the lost continent of Atlantis disappeared around 9500 BC.
Mark Harris had often been compared to Mr Spock of Starship U.S.S. Enterprise in 'Star Trek' because he had "an expressionless face and speaks in stilted phrases." Patrick Duffy told David Houston, "It was discussed (the resemblance), but just so far as to say forget it. I think maybe that in some instances there might be a conscious effort on my part not to do certain things just because I saw it and liked the way Nimoy did it. So I'll deliberately go a different direction, and 9 times out of 10 it works."
Patrick pointed out, "You know, Mark Harris is not unemotional. There is not that element that has been bred or trained out of his Vulcan blood. It’s perfectly conceivable that he’ll erupt in a fit of anger. But he just hasn’t been treated in a way so far that would bring it out. I like playing a sort of tenuous feeling that strong emotion is possible for him. Somehow he just hasn’t been in the land environment long enough to be … he’s still detached, an objective observer."
Leonard Nimoy told Associated Press of his Vulcan character, "I’ve seen him described as a cold, unemotional alien. I don’t think that’s accurate. Spock is not unemotional – he’s in control of his emotions. There is a pool of emotions in this character and the fun for the viewer is to see if they can catch a crack in his reserve or a gleam in his eye. That gives him more dimension. With no emotions he would have no dimensions at all."
Patrick described Mark Harris, "I find him extremely, intelligently naïve. He’s very quick. He’s unencumbered by hangups and idiosyncrasies. He has a total lack of that kind of ego that stops us from taking a different direction because we hate to admit that the one we took in the first place was wrong. He’s totally open to suggestion without having to weigh: is it cool or uncool?
"I keep trying to make him very animalistic – as unencumbered physically as he is mentally. Those clothes, for instance. They first had me in clothes that were very tight. It looked nice and was very fashionable, but I thought he (Mark Harris) would not like that.
He's used to swimming in the ocean hypothetically naked all his life. To find himself in a skin-tight shirt and Levis would not be comfortable. So we got a loose Midwest collegiate outfit - corduroy pants, checkered shirt, things like that."
Leonard Nimoy told Sherry Devlin in 1984, "I was – I still am - very Spock-like in many ways. I am much more logical because of Spock. And he is much more human because of me … Thanks to Spock, I haven’t been without work since September 1966. I am very lucky." It was noted 2 months after 'Man From Atlantis' wrapped, Patrick Duffy was offered the part of Bobby Ewing on the hit TV series, 'Dallas'. Patrick recalled, "It ('Man From Atlantis') got me 'Dallas' and it's the first time in my life I didn't have to audition for something."
Dale Midkiff played Jock Ewing in 'Dallas: The Early Years' (1986) could be seen in the TV movie, 'Another Woman's Husband' back in 2000. Based on the novel 'Swimming Lessons' by Anna Tuttle Villegas and Lynne Hugo, 'Another Woman's Husband' was produced by Chuck McLain of 'Bare Essence'. Patrick made the observation, "In very few professions do you go from obscurity to where so many people are telling you that you’re great. There’s a dichotomy between why you’re so ordinary one minute and now so suddenly terrific. Then you're swamped with temptations."
A certified scuba diver since 1967, Patrick told the press he had not been swimming since 1973 when he was tested for the part of Mark Harris in 'Man From Atlantis'. "I didn’t even have a swim suit when they tested me," Patrick remembered. "I had to audition in my underwear. My swimming has improved now (after the 4th 'Man From Atlantis' movie) and I'm getting used to the 52-degree water. Even the webbing on my hands isn't uncomfortable anymore."
The movie, 'Star Trek III' was filmed in 10 weeks on a $16 million budget. Leonard Nimoy told the press, "The show is extremely optimistic. It is the 23rd century and mankind is still around. There is a federation of planets working together. There is no doomsday. The characters (on 'Star Trek III') aren't really flesh and blood but they aren't cartoons, either. Young children can enjoy 'Star Trek' as an adventure. Ten or 15 years later, they can enjoy its philosophical and social side."
