The series is unrelated to the 1996 film of the same title, which was also a remake of the 1960s TV series and films.
Plot
Season one opens with the adult Dr. Keith "Bud" Ricks (Brian Wimmer) from the original 1964 Flipper series leading dolphin research at the Bal Harbour Research Institute in the Florida Keys. Dr. Pam Blondell (Colleen Flynn) a naval officer, relocated to the Florida Keys to join Dr. Ricks at the institute to perform dolphin research. Dr. Blondell is accompanied by her son Mike (Payton Haas), a rebellious teen. Mike is unhappy about the move until he meets Maya Graham (Jessica Alba), a free-spirited 14-year-old girl who has a special connection with Flipper and the ocean. On a few occasions, Mike and Maya would get into some trouble forcing a rescue from Flipper, Keith, and Pam.
At the beginning of season two, Dr. Ricks, Dr. Blondell, and her son Mike are written out of the series by leaving Bal Harbour. Dr. Jennifer Daulton takes over as the institute's director. Maya becomes an intern at the institute, while two new interns, Dean Gregson (Scott Michaelson) and Holly Myers (Anja Coleby), are introduced. Next door to the institute, a new substation for Air Sea Rescue opens, introducing Deputies Tom Hampton (Whip Hubley) and Quinn Garnett (Wren T. Brown). The deputies are responsible for rescuing people in trouble at sea, and perform numerous rescues through the season and even catch crooks and criminals causing harm to the public and environment. Hampton and Dr. Daulton have an on-and-off romance during the season. Edward "Cap" Daulton (Gus Mercurio), Dr. Daulton's estranged father, also moves to Bal Harbour to try to re-establish a relationship with his daughter. Cap is a charter-boat captain and owns his own boat, the Maria D, named after his late wife.
In season three, Dr. Daulton and Maya are written out of the series by leaving Bal Harbour to perform research in the Red Sea and San Diego. Lt. Alex Parker (Tiffany Lamb), a lieutenant commander in the US Navy, becomes the institute's director, and marries Tom Hampton. Hampton and Parker, along with her two kids, Chris (Craig Marriott) and Jackie (Laura Donaldson), set up housekeeping, and the series begins to focus more on their family. Deputy Mark Delaney (Darrin Klimek) also replaces Garnett as Hampton's partner at the substation. At the marine institute, Holly remains an intern, but Dean leaves. Cap still appears throughout seasons three and four, but is noticeably absent from many episodes. Chris was unhappy about the move to the Florida Keys at first but slowly became accustomed to his new home and Jackie forms an unbreakable bond with Flipper.
In season four, Tom's niece Courtney Gordon (Skye Patch), moves in with the Hampton/Parker family after being unhappy living with her mother in Washington, DC. Season four is essentially a continuation of season three with no major changes. Most episodes are self-contained, with very little in the way of serialized storylines between episodes.
The series ends on an initially tragic note as Flipper accidentally becomes beached on a sand dune and is unable to free himself. Upon learning what has happened, the entire cast rushes to the scene, but arrives too late; Flipper's heart stops as they are trying to save him. The final scene of the series shows Jackie mourning Flipper's loss, then he is shown to be alive and the show ends with them playing in the water and she says, "Everything's gonna be just fine".
Regis Broadway as Brad (guest season 3; recurring season 4)
Gabriella Florio as Suzy (guest season 3; recurring season 4)
Since Flipper was filmed in Australia, producers had to rely heavily on Australian talent. Several regular cast members and most guest stars spoke their dialogue using non-native American accents. During seasons three and four, Whip Hubley and Gus Mercurio were the only American actors in the main cast. All other main characters were portrayed by Australian actors.
Flipper had many notable guest stars, including Alan Dale, Dwight Schultz, Nicholas Hammond, Jane Badler, Robert Coleby (father of Anja Coleby), and Season Hubley (real-life sister of Whip Hubley). In fact, many of these guest stars made more than one appearance, portraying different characters each time. Seasons three and four regular cast member Darrin Klimek also appeared briefly as a different character in the season-one episode "Treasure Hunt".
MGM Home Entertainment released the first season of on DVD on June 3, 2010, as a manufacture-on-demand (MOD) DVD-R.[2]
On April 2, 2013, TGG Direct released seasons 2–4 on Region 1 DVD.[3]
Locations
The primary setting for Flipper was the Bal Harbor Research Institute, a fictional dolphin research facility funded by fictional Bal Harbor University.
Between seasons one and two, the Air Sea Rescue Substation was built next door to the research institute when the series began focusing less on ocean- and dolphin research-based plots. The Air Sea Rescue was located directly on the beach and had access to its own helicopter and hovercraft for rescues. A speedboat was also added in season three.
The Shipwreck was a restaurant located between the marine institute and the substation. The restaurant opened in season two and was featured until the end of the series. During season one, the Shipwreck's building was the residence of Dr. Keith Ricks.
At the start of season three, Tom Hampton married Alex Parker and they moved into a house with Alex's children, Chris and Jackie. The house contained an in-ground swimming pool and large dock.
Filming locations
Initial production on Flipper began in the Florida Keys, with the pilot and two other episodes filmed there in season one. Three locations were used for the Bal Harbor Research Institute, including Pigeon Key and the Dolphin Research Center on Grassy Key, with a third location used for the beach where Maya first meets Mike. A fourth location, just east of Conch Key adjacent to Overseas Highway 1, was used when Maya meets Keith in a Jeep to inform him Mike is in trouble. This is the same location used in the movie True Lies.
Three different filming locations were used to portray the research institute. The pool area of the institute was filmed at Sea World, Gold Coast. The two-story building was notable for being the only set used for the entire run of the series, although it did not appear in every episode. The same set was reused with little modification for other film and television productions such as Sabrina Down Under. After filming on Flipper wrapped, the building was demolished to accommodate Sea World's Imagine Dolphin Show attraction located nearby. Although the area is unrecognizable today, an aerial shot in the season-one episode "F. Scott" shows the original configuration of the building at Sea World.
During the first two seasons only, indoor office space for the institute also appears. It is believed that this was filmed on a soundstage at either Sea World or Warner Bros. Movie World.
The exterior façade of the institute's building along the waterfront were filmed in park space abutting the Gold Coast Broadwater located in Southport, Queensland (a suburb of Gold Coast) near Ephraim Island. The Ephraim Island road bridge is visible in many waterfront shots in the latter half of the series. The same location was used for the Air Sea Rescue Substation and The Shipwreck. All three buildings along the beachfront and park space were demolished in the early 2000s to make way for apartment buildings and a small harbour.[4]
The Hampton/Parker family home was filmed at an actual house (now known as McKinnon House) located at 1 Howard St. in the Gold Coast suburb of Runaway Bay.[5] The house was located just south of the research institute, substation, and shipwreck filming locations. The exterior of the house today is relatively unchanged since filming of Flipper wrapped in 2000.
Numerous scenes were filmed in and under the water. Many scenes above water were filmed in the channels and islands of the Gold Coast Broadwater, while some diving scenes were filmed in giant water tanks located at Warner Bros. Movie World.
