WITH AN EYE ON . . . : Packing off to Florida is a jolt for Marco Sanchez, but he can take the heat

“seaQuest DSV’s� emergence from the Pacific Ocean last season and submergence into the Atlantic this season may not be obvious to its audience. But it’s made a significant difference to at least one of the show’s stars who didn’t find it easy to move from the series’ Southern California location to Florida.

“I’ve had a hard time adjusting,� acknowledges Marco Sanchez, who plays Sensor Chief Miguel Ortiz. “I lived here a couple of years when I was very young, but I forgot how humid it is. It’s oppressive.�

While the weather might not be ideal for the actors, the location is perfect for the Amblin Entertainment (Steven Spielberg’s) and NBC-produced sci-fi adventure series, which takes place on a 1,000-foot submarine 25 years in the future.

“Florida’s geography is much more conducive to the show,� Sanchez says. “Universal Studios is out here, Sea World is here and so is Cape Canaveral. The state’s very inviting, and it’s a good way to keep the costs down.�

And Sanchez, 24, finds positive aspects off the set: “It’s hot, but it’s really beautiful. There are big, billowy clouds out and it’s very easy to get places. I sure don’t miss the traffic and fighting for a parking place.�

In addition to a cross-country location change, the show has become “less science-fact and more science-fiction,� Sanchez says. “The episodes last season that were more sci-fi did really well. This is a very ambitious show, with a big budget and big-name producer.�

Last season, he explains, “We attempted too much. There were too many cooks in the kitchen. This season, we’re more focused. Our gadgets are interesting, but only in relation to the people using them. We’re having more character development and humor and more levels of human experiences. We’ve got great imaginative stories.�

Right now, he says, “the show’s not trying to bite off more than it can chew. I tell you, spirits have been really good on the set despite the big move, tasks and changes everyone’s had here.�

Sanchez’ Ortiz remains in charge of the submarine’s WSKRS (Wireless Sea Knowledge Retrieval Satellite), the floating ball that gathers data, probes waters and guides the vessel.

Like his series this season, Ortiz is undergoing changes as well. “I had hair to my shoulders (last year) and they made me hack it off. Now it’s growing back. I bring that up because I see it as a metaphor for the more human aspects of the characters we’re seeing.�

After graduation from high school in Palm Desert at 18, Sanchez went to UCLA, where he received a degree from the school of theater, film and television in 1992.

His parents, who arrived in the United States from Cuba in 1964, unable to speak English, have been his role models. “My parents worked like hell,� he says with pride. “They’ve been very generous to me, even when they couldn’t figure me out, that I wanted to be an actor. They just said, ‘OK.’ �

One thing he finds endearing about Miami is the way Spanish is spoken. “There’s a certain way we Cubans pronounce things, an inflection. I hear it on the street here and I smile.�

Miami may be a bit too fast-paced for the young man from the desert town he refers to as “Podunk.� “I can only take Miami in doses. It’s really jumping all the time and is often more energy than I can take.�

For relaxation, Sanchez chooses more reflective pastimes: He draws pastels, writes and reads.

Because each hourlong episode takes seven workdays to complete, “It doesn’t give me time to do really much else,� he says. And “being new to the area, I end up staying home and reading when I’m off. Longer breaks I fly out and do publicity. I’m keeping busy.�

“seaQuest DSV� airs Sunday s at 8 p.m. on NBC but is preempted this week by “Tony Bennett: A Family Christmas.�