This program is brought to you by the Pro Dolphin League of the Proliferation of Good Dolphins. The P.D.L.P.G.D. Horrible acronym, but they’re working on it. In the meantime, some interesting studies with these water-mammals. Not fish. They breathe air, just like us. But since their flippers never developed opposable thumbs, they said fuck you, we out. And after a little time in the drink, they all flew off into space as documented in that documentary The Hitch-Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy and kinda in that sequel Thanks for All the Fish. Because they really like fish. And that’s why we don’t see anything about dolphins anymore. Weird.
Dr. Terrell (George C. Scott) presents to a room full of ladies and one suspect dude about the intelligences and capabilities of dolphins, and how his work in biology, zoology and fish psychiatry has led to some wonderful non-governmental observations. Q&A, something about a talking dolphin? Rubbish! Then we retreat back to the Dolphin Island Research Center and realize, maybe not so rubbish? Unfortunately, others are interested in this non-rubbishness too, and it gets kinda messed up. Seriously messed up, really.
This one is pretty solid from director Mike Nichols (The Graduate, Catch-22), and apparently written by Buck Henry, who is known for a bit more comedic fare as co-creator of Get Smart and starring, like, a LOT on Saturday Night Live back when it was funny. But this? No fake hokey dolphins, pretty sure they were all real. It’s 1973. Spielberg couldn’t even pull off a good shark a couple years later. And it is dramatic. Introduces enough suspense in the beginning to carry through into the larger story. But it’s all about a dad and his kid dolphin and growing up and political espionage. Both heart-warming and sad. Slyly educational/propagational while also making you realize that almost 50 years later, we haven’t seen much on dolphins outside of some bad Flipper movies and the Darwin fish-mammal from that seaQuest show in the 90s. Weird.
