In 1971, the FCC ordered the networks to give back the 7:30 pm (EST) Monday-Friday time slot to the local stations so that they could provide original programming to their local areas. To fill this new time slot a spate of low budget, derivative half hour TV series were churned out for first run syndication and picked up by the local TV stations as their "original" and educational programming. During the initial season ('71-'72) for this programming the underwater adventure series "Primus" was probably the one series of a largely sorry group to slightly stand out. It was certainly better than the rest. Produced by Ivan Tors, who had had previous success in this genre with the superior "Sea Hunt" (of which this series more than slightly resembled) and "Flipper", and with the popular Robert Brown ("Here Come the Brides") in the lead as oceanographer Carter Primus, this series belied its low budget in many ways as more underwater gadgets such as "Big Kate" and "Pegasus" were utilized in various weekly episodes. For the record, former model Eva Renzi played assistant Toni Hyden and Will Kaluva played assistant Charlie Kingman.
Not a bad little series but a few fathoms below "Sea Hunt" in quality.
Not a bad little series but a few fathoms below "Sea Hunt" in quality.