Lieutenant JG Tim O'Neill was the communications officer of the seaQuest DSV 4600, 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.[1]
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.[2]
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.[3] 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[4] and questioning Hudson's orders to fire on Captain Bridger's fleet.[5] 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 to suggest that he may be in line for a promotion.
He graduated from the University of Detroit Mercy in 2020.
Background[]
O'Neill was portrayed by actor Ted Raimi and was one of three actors to remain with the series for entire duration.[N 1] 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".[7] 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".[8] This is also why his name was Mac in the comic and Stephen Bachmann in the non canon novels.
Notes[]
- ↑ Indeed, the only episode not to feature O'Neill was The Siamese Dream.[6]
References[]
- ↑ seaQuest episode 103: The Devil's Window
- ↑ seaQuest episode 122: Such Great Patience
- ↑ seaQuest episode 215: Dream Weaver
- ↑ seaQuest episode 302: In the Company of Ice and Profit
- ↑ seaQuest episode 307: Equilibrium
- ↑ Episode list - Wikipedia
- ↑ seaQuest Operations Manual, 2nd Revision (Writers Bible)
- ↑ seaQuest DSV: The Official Publication of the Series