Main Characters of seaQuest DSV season 1
Encyclopedia
This is the complete list of the main characters of seaQuest DSV
SeaQuest DSV
seaQuest DSV is an American science fiction television series created by Rockne S. O'Bannon. It originally aired on NBC between 1993 and 1996. In its final season, it was renamed seaQuest 2032. Set in "the near future", seaQuest mixes high drama with realistic scientific fiction...

season 1
. The series went through significant cast changes after every season it was on the air. This list contains only those characters that were given credit in the main titles of the first season (therefore, does not contain characters such as Admiral Noyce (which is located at List of recurring characters on seaQuest DSV) or Lieutenant James Brody (which is located at Main characters of seaQuest DSV season 2
Main Characters of seaQuest DSV season 2
This is an almost complete list of the main characters of seaQuest DSV season 2. The series went through significant cast changes after every season it was on the air...

).

Early life

Ford comes from a very financially well off family, his father owning "Ford Freeport: Aquacultural Engineering", one of the largest undersea farming companies in the world. He had a bad relationship with his father and brother. In 2022 a sharp raise in the temperature of the water in the South Atlantic, caused by an undersea mining operation, a deinosuchus
Deinosuchus
Deinosuchus is an extinct genus related to the alligator that lived 73 to 80 Ma , during the late Cretaceous period. The name translates as "terrible crocodile" and is derived from the Greek deinos , "terrible", and soukhos , "crocodile"...

 (gigantic prehistoric crocodile
Crocodile
A crocodile is any species belonging to the family Crocodylidae . The term can also be used more loosely to include all extant members of the order Crocodilia: i.e...

) thawed out and was threatening the local ecosystem
Ecosystem
An ecosystem is a biological environment consisting of all the organisms living in a particular area, as well as all the nonliving , physical components of the environment with which the organisms interact, such as air, soil, water and sunlight....

 and the life of the local people. With the help of his family they stopped to creature and settled their differences. Ford's father decided to take a year off from work and give Jonathan's younger brother Ben the run of the company. His mother is deceased.

Appointment to seaQuest

Part of the original seaQuest
SeaQuest DSV 4600
The UEO seaQuest DSV 4600 and the UEO seaQuest DSV 4600-II are the two titular submarines featured in the science fiction television series "seaQuest DSV", which ran for three seasons on NBC from 1993-1996...

s crew under Captain Marilyn Stark (2015-2017), Ford was forced to relieve her of command when she disobeyed orders and attempted to attack several other submarines after being ordered to stand down. For 13 months after this incident Commander Ford oversaw a major refit of the
seaQuest to have the ship generally geared more towards scientific exploration/research and peacekeeping missions. In 2018, after the refit was complete, Admiral William Noyce was trying to convince retired Captain
Captain (naval)
Captain is the name most often given in English-speaking navies to the rank corresponding to command of the largest ships. The NATO rank code is OF-5, equivalent to an army full colonel....

 Nathan Bridger
Nathan Bridger
Captain Nathan Hale Bridger was a character on the television series seaQuest DSV and was played by Roy Scheider. Within the canon of the series, Bridger was not only the commanding officer of both UEO submarines named seaQuest DSV, but was also the designer of the boats.-Early career:Bridger's...

, the subs original designer, to take command and ordered Ford to act arrogant, cowardly and generally unfit for command in an effort to get Bridger to stay on board. Despite the ploy not working Bridger decided to stay on board after defeating Stark during her attempt at revenge.

Early on he was in continual conflict with Dr. Kristin Westphalen
Kristin Westphalen
Dr. Kristin Westphalen was a character on the television series seaQuest DSV and was played by Stephanie Beacham. She was a Physical oceanography and the chief medical officer of the seaQuest and leader of the science team aboard the ship....

, the ship's Chief Medical Officer
Chief Medical Officer
There are four Chief Medical Officers in the United Kingdom who are appointed to advise their respective governments on health related matters: Her Majesty's Government, the Northern Ireland Executive, the Scottish Government and the Welsh Assembly Government...

 and head of the science department. After the discovery of the Great Library of Alexandria
Library of Alexandria
The Royal Library of Alexandria, or Ancient Library of Alexandria, in Alexandria, Egypt, was the largest and most significant great library of the ancient world. It flourished under the patronage of the Ptolemaic dynasty and functioned as a major center of scholarship from its construction in the...

, in which Ford helped with the Excavation (he being the one who accidentally found it) and was a lot more interested in seaQuests exploration and research mission and not just the military and peacekeeping aspect. The character had a romance with Lonnie Henderson in the shows third season, although this fizzled out after Henderson had to shoot someone she used to love in order to save Ford.

Background

Commander Ford was portrayed by actor Don Franklin
Don Franklin
Don Franklin is an American actor, best known for his roles in seaQuest DSV as Commander Jonathan Ford, Seven Days as Captain Craig Donovan, and as one of The Young Riders .-Partial filmography:...

 and is one of three actors to remain with the show for all three seasons. Ford appears in every episode except for "And Everything Nice." The character of Ford was originally supposed to have a far different background, originally having him been a poor kid from Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...

 who joined the navy to get away from his gang life after witnessing the death of his older brother. Since this was never established in the first year (except for the novelization of the pilot episode and non canon sources such as the others novels and an issue of the comic) this was disregarded for the rest of the series.

Lieutenant Commander Katherine Hitchcock

Lieutenant Commander Katherine Hitchcock was the Chief Engineer of the seaQuest DSV 4600
SeaQuest DSV 4600
The UEO seaQuest DSV 4600 and the UEO seaQuest DSV 4600-II are the two titular submarines featured in the science fiction television series "seaQuest DSV", which ran for three seasons on NBC from 1993-1996...

following her refit in 2018.

While at the naval academy, she, along with Benjamin Krieg, were top of their class, and were eventually wed. However, the marriage only lasted a year.

Being Chief Engineer, Hitchcock was also third in command aboard the seaQuest and was placed in command in several occasions, such as the Liberté space station incident where Commander Ford had been infected with an unknown virus and was unable to perform his duties.

On a mission to save a family from the clutches of an outlaw at the Broken Ridge mining facility, Hitchcock masqueraded as a singer in order to gain access to the mine and allow the family to board the seaQuest.

During an experiment that involved the flooding of the boat, Hitchcock, Ford, Lucas
Lucas Wolenczak
Lucas Wolenczak is a character on the television series seaQuest DSV, played by Jonathan Brandis. He is one of only three characters to remain on the show for all three seasons and is the only character to appear in every episode.-Before seaQuest:...

, Krieg, and Chief Crocker were attacked by environmental radicals who intended to use the ship's computer to disable various pollutant manufacturers around the globe. Hitchcock was held prisoner on the bridge along with Lucas where she began to gain their trust by telling them nothing but the truth (under the orders of Commander Ford), although, their leader ultimately believed she would lie to him. She fulfilled her orders by telling the leader that if he attempted to leave the seaQuest as it was sinking, the water pressure would crush his submersible. He didn't believe her and ultimately died.

She and Lucas later developed a prototype for a single-seat submersible that featured perfect laminar flow that replicated the tail of a fish in order to cut down on turbulence. Hitchcock had wanted to name it the Gazelle, though Lucas insisted on the Stinger. Ultimately, the name Stinger became official.

As the seaQuest`s tour of duty came to an end, both she and Commander Ford were offered command of the H.R. Clinton, though, the UEO offered her more money to take command than Ford. With the destruction of the seaQuest shortly afterwards, Hitchcock agreed to take command and did not come aboard the new seaQuest in 2021.

Background

Hitchcock was portrayed by actress Stacy Haiduk
Stacy Haiduk
Stacy Haiduk is an American actress. She is known for playing Lana Lang on Superboy from 1988 to 1992, Katherine Hitchcock on season 1 of seaQuest DSV from 1993 to 1994, Hannah Nichols on All My Children from 2007 to 2008, and the dual roles of Patty Williams and Dr...

 and appears only in the first season of the series. Haiduk, unhappy with her character's development in the first season, opted not to return to the series for the second season. Her character was replaced by Kathy Evison
Kathy Evison
Kathy Evison is an American actress born in Boulder City, Nevada in 1963. She is best known for playing Lonnie Henderson in season 2 and 3 of seaQuest DSV.-Biography:...

's character, Lonnie Henderson.

Lieutenant Benjamin Krieg

Lieutenant Benjamin Krieg served as seaQuest`s procurement officer. He had previously attended the naval academy with Captain Bridger's son Robert and with Katherine Hitchcock, whom he was later wed to for a year. While at the academy, he painted the homecoming mule pink, something that Captain Bridger later found amusing. Krieg had aspirations of a command at sea, but, he never was able to fulfill that dream. Krieg was involved in a few minor transgressions during his tour of duty, such as attempting to extort an Arctic research outpost by selling them thermal underwear at an inflated price, as well as sneaking two-pounds of outlawed ground beef aboard the boat with the intention of making a real cheeseburger. When seaQuest finished its tour of duty and was summarily lost at sea, Krieg resigned from the navy and originally applied to become manager of a fast food franchise, though he tried to convince his fellow crew members he was either going to join the seminary or go to med school.

After the seaQuest-II was lost at sea, Krieg believed that all his old friends were dead. He attempted to run for the Presidency of the United States
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....

 on an "Eat Peace" platform, but, apparently not many understood what that meant. By 2032, he had apparently relocated to Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

 when it became the heart of the Macronesian Alliance. He attempted to lead a group of refugees to safety. Larry Deon gave them a large floating iceberg as their sanctuary. Little did they know that Deon had merely put them there to prevent seaQuest from destroying it. Deon did not count on the fact that Krieg, a former member of the seaQuest crew, would be convinced by Lucas Wolenczak, one of Krieg's closest friends aboard the boat, to be led to safety. Initially skeptical, though eventually pleased, to find that his old seaQuest crew mates were still alive after ten years, Krieg was given a fresh seaQuest uniform upon his return to the ship. Lucas asked him to stay aboard, but, Krieg refused, claiming while seaQuest had to save the world, he had to try and change it.

Background

Krieg was portrayed by actor John D'Aquino
John D'Aquino
John D'Aquino is a Canadian-American actor who is perhaps best known for his role as Lt. Benjamin Krieg in the NBC TV series seaQuest DSV during the show's first season, a role he later reprised in the third season and President Richard Martinez in the Disney Channel Original Series Cory in the...

 and appears in the first season of the series as a main character, and a guest appearance in the third season. D'Aquino, along with Royce D. Applegate was fired at the end of the first season in order to give the next season a "Younger, sexier feel". His character was somewhat replaced by Michael DeLuise
Michael DeLuise
Michael Robert DeLuise is an American actor, film director, and film producer.-Early life and career:DeLuise was born in Los Angeles, the second son of actor and comedian Dom DeLuise and actress Carol Arthur, and the brother of actor, writer, director Peter DeLuise and actor David DeLuise.DeLuise...

's character, Tony Piccolo.

Lieutenant JG Tim O'Neill

Lieutenant JG Tim O'Neill was the communications officer of the seaQuest DSV 4600
SeaQuest DSV 4600
The UEO seaQuest DSV 4600 and the UEO seaQuest DSV 4600-II are the two titular submarines featured in the science fiction television series "seaQuest DSV", which ran for three seasons on NBC from 1993-1996...

, originally serving under Captain Marilyn Stark. He remained aboard the boat after she had been relieved of duty and the seaQuest was refitted to serve as more of a research vessel.

O'Neill specialized in foreign languages, was fluent in at least a dozen and could adequately speak several others. He also shared some sort of unknown psychic link with Darwin which allowed him to sense when Darwin was ill.

A religious man since childhood, O'Neill was taught to believe that evolution topped out with mankind and had a difficult time believing in intelligent life on other planets, although, secretly wished that it existed.

He briefly pursued a relationship with Lieutenant Lonnie Henderson in 2021, although, he was uncomfortable with the notion of a shipboard romance and decided not to continue with it, although, the two remained friends.

Somewhat of a nervous individual, O'Neill was prone to occasional acts of heroism, such as fearlessly rushing to save Henderson from the clutches of an alien predator that had invaded seaQuest in 2022. He also questioned the direction his career was headed that year and tendered his resignation to Captain Bridger, though, Bridger assured him that the crew saw him as a valuable commodity, and decided to stay.

Ten years after the Hyperion Incident and the seaQuest`s return to Earth, O'Neill decided to remain aboard the boat under the command of Captain Hudson. O'Neill ran afoul of Hudson on several occasions, such as not responding to orders quickly enough during an emergency situation and questioning Hudson's orders to fire on Captain Bridger's fleet. O'Neill nearly ended his career by stealing a seaLaunch to rendezvous with his on-line girlfriend while in the middle of an unstable political area. However, his girlfriend, Heiko Kimura, turned out to be a defector from the Chaodai. He once again disobeyed orders by refusing to deliver Kimura into their hands, however, his actions ultimately saved both Kimura and the seaQuest, prompting Lucas Wolenczak
Lucas Wolenczak
Lucas Wolenczak is a character on the television series seaQuest DSV, played by Jonathan Brandis. He is one of only three characters to remain on the show for all three seasons and is the only character to appear in every episode.-Before seaQuest:...

 to suggest that he may be in line for a promotion.

Background

O'Neill was portrayed by actor Ted Raimi
Ted Raimi
Theodore "Ted"/"Half Ted" Raimi is an American actor, perhaps best known for his roles as Lieutenant Tim O'Neill in seaQuest DSV and Joxer the Mighty in Xena: Warrior Princess/Hercules: The Legendary Journeys...

 and was one of three actors to remain with the series for entire duration. The Character of O'Niell was originally supposed to be a character named Garry Stephen Bachmann from Ottawa, Canada. This was then changed to be a woman named MacKenna O'Neill, then the character was changed back to a male and renamed "Mack O'Neill". This name was used right up until filming was to begin, name tags designed for his uniforms that read "M. O'Neill" are known to exist before it was ultimately changed to "Tim." This is also why his name was Mac in the comic and Stephen Bachmann in the non canon novels.

Chief Manilow Crocker

Chief Manilow Crocker was on the brink of retirement when Admiral Noyce personally asked him to sign aboard seaQuest when it was put back to sea in 2018. Crocker had served together with Captain Bridger before and, as a result, did not regret his decision to serve one more tour with his old friend.

As Chief of Security aboard seaQuest, Crocker was responsible for the safety of all aboard. On more than one occasion, he was ordered to board enemy vessels and colonies to take the occupants into custody. Crocker was also the first Human being to lay eyes on an actual alien when the seaQuest found an ancient alien starship entombed in an underwater rock face. The alien fired at Crocker, but, it was merely a method of transportation which moved Crocker to a holding area aboard the alien ship, before finally returning him to seaQuest.

As seaQuest`s tour ended, Crocker was finally able to retire and had secured a civilian job as head of security for Tucker Enterprises. Unfortunately, Crocker's wife Helen, informed him via a video message that she had fallen in love with another man, devastating the Chief. With his personal life in ruin, Crocker volunteered to a dangerous mission to take a seaLaunch to the World Power facility that was engulfed in an exposed lava flow in the hopes of finding Dr. Lawrence Wolenczak and possibly a solution to the problem. His mission a success, Captain Bridger ordered him to abandon seaQuest with the rest of the crew in order to spare his life.

With seaQuest destroyed in the incident, Crocker firmly believed that there would never be another seaQuest.

Background

Chief Crocker was portrayed by actor Royce D. Applegate
Royce D. Applegate
Royce D. Applegate was an American actor and screenwriter. Born in Oklahoma, his most visible role was that of Chief Petty Officer Manilow Crocker on the first season of the Steven Spielberg-produced television series seaQuest DSV.In 1985, Applegate played tragic family man-turned-kidnapper Donald...

. In the second season, Crocker was replaced by Lieutenant James Brody as head of security aboard seaQuest, while Applegate was dismissed from the cast, replaced by Edward Kerr
Edward Kerr
Edward Kerr is an American actor.Raised in Kansas City, Missouri, he attended Rockhurst High School and Vanderbilt University before deciding to pursue an acting career....

.

Sensor Chief Miguel Ortiz

Miguel Ortiz was a member of seaQuest's original crew under Captain Stark. After she was relieved of duty, he stayed on, serving again under Nathan Bridger's command.

As the Sensor Chief, Ortiz was responsible for controlling the boat's WSKRs (Wireless Sea Knowledge Retrieval Satellites) and was also involved in various away missions. He could understand Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...

 and had a knowledge of Greek mythology, particularly that of Atlantis
Atlantis
Atlantis is a legendary island first mentioned in Plato's dialogues Timaeus and Critias, written about 360 BC....

.

Like Dr. Wendy Smith, it is assumed that Ortiz was killed in action while the crew was trapped on Hyperion.

Background

Marco Sanchez
Marco Sanchez
-Life and career:The son of Cuban immigrants, and the youngest of 4 siblings, Marco Sanchez was raised in Palm Desert, California. Having studied theater throughout junior high and high school, he entered the UCLA School of Theater, Film, and Television in 1988. In the summer of 1989, he studied...

 portrayed Ortiz during the first and second season of the show. He requested to remain for the third season, but was ultimately let go after NBC decided to lower the cast number.
The character that ultimately became Ortiz underwent 2 radical changes before becoming what it did. First he was a man named Drew and then was changed to being the son of a rich Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...

ese family named Ngyuen Ky before settling on making him Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...

n, the name originally being Mundo Ortiz.

Darwin

Darwin is a dolphin. He is able to communicate to the crew through the assistance of a translation device known as the vo-corder, and to navigate throughout the Seaquest via a series of water-filled access tunnels leading to the ship's moon pool openings, where he could interact more directly with the rest of the crew.

Before accepting command of the Seaquest, Nathan Bridger, while living on an island, befriended and began working on communicating with and training Darwin, using hand-signals to communicate. The two were close friends, and even in his capacity as captain, Bridger often referred to him as "My dolphin," treating him at times like a very fond pet, and at other times like an equal, even diverting the ship from a research mission in order to seek medical assistance when Darwin became sick, citing that he was a member of the crew just as much as anyone else.

Lucas was also shown to have a particularly close relationship with Darwin after Darwin and Bridger joined the crew, and it was Lucas who developed the vo-corder translation system (based on Bridger's notes) for communicating with Darwin. Lucas once noted that Darwin tended to follow him around, and that they were something of an inseparable pair.

Darwin, being in a unique position, often assisted the crew in key ways, such as planting a homing beacon on another ship, splashing water onto a containment field device when Bridger and Crocker were trapped inside, and various other accomplishments.
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