Roy Scheider - Captain of Seaquest

Roy Scheider died this week. You may remember him from such classics as Jaws and the viscerally manly Fosse-helmed dance thriller All That Jazz. But to me, the late great Roy Scheider will always be Captain Nathan Bridger, commander of the Seaquest DSV. He led a crew of the best scientist/military type people the world could muster, working for some sort of underwater near-future worldwide alliance/order to protect the oceans. And now, just like his shipmates Darwin the dolphin and Jonathan Brandis, he too has been laid to rest in the briny deep. Brandis tragically hung himself in 2003. I’m just assuming here that Darwin died of old age. How long do Dolphins live? Like 8 years tops, I bet.
A Note:
I am writing this eulogy/tribute based only on what I remember from Seaquest. At first I had planned on refreshing my knowledge by downloading some old episodes, reading up on some Seaquest Wiki, and searching some bizarre Seaquest Fanboards for all the plot details and famous scenes that I couldn’t remember 12 years later. And actually I did those things, but before I got too far in, I decided it would be better to write this article based on what few memories I have of Seaquest. Because, ultimately, that’s where Captain Nathan Bridger’s lasting impact really is, in my heart.

I watched Seaquest DSV semi-religiously for all 2.5 great seasons. Well, two great seasons. At some point I got really, really confused. Also, I was like 8. At the end of the second season the Seaquest submarine ended up in some sort of cornfield and all the characters got confused. Also all of the audience, the producers, actors and advertisers got confused and they never really found their way back. I have no idea to this day what was supposed to have taken place. What took place in real life is that the ratings tanked and Seaquest got canceled midway through its third season, where Roy Scheider only appeared sporatically (he was supposedly retired). Ouch. I don’t even remember where Darwin ended up. He may have ended up at Seaworld, or more likely, he was dead in that cornfield. Yes, he was a talking brainy super dolphin but he still couldn’t leave the briny deep. Not even for the gently swaying yellow cornfields of Kansas.

My sister Carly and I tuned in every Sunday night (it may have been Wednesday) to see what kind of crazy hijinks the crew of the Seaquest might get into, and out of, under the leadership of the brave captain. Invariably, a few things would always happen. The dolphin would play a huge role in saving the day, speaking in squeaks and clicks and wearing a cute mini backpack like the girls at my middle school did. And secondly Jonathan Brandis would have an emotional heart to heart with the captain about how his parents were dead. The captain would be able to relate because a) he was a sensitive badass future captain who was just as comfortable relating to super science genius heartthrob teens as he was blasting advanced snorkel pirates out of the water and b) his parents were also dead, or had died or were deadbeats or something of that ilk. He was quite old so there is no telling if they had just died, which would have been fairly normal, or if they had been dead since he was like 5, which would have been decidedly more dramatic. I am assuming the latter.

Anyways, at some point after this deep emotional moment they would catch the undersea pirates, or rebels or insurgents, and blast their pathetic near-future new earth alliance disturbing asses out of the water, that or talk them down from undersea nuclear holocaust. It’s been twelve years and that part is kind of foggy for me. I can’t remember if they killed the bad guys mostly or if they took them to SCUBA Ocean Alliance colony prison. Honestly, I saw the Hunt For Red October around the same time in my life and I am fairly certain the two are bleeding together in my memory. It was so cool when Nathan Bridger defected to the U.S.

I do remember one episode where a bunch of the cast members, including some Blair Underwood look-alike and Jonathon Brandis are trapped in an undersea cave and they have to draw straws to see who has to stay and die (the underwater fighter-sub they arrived in didn’t have enough air for everyone). That episode was really intense. It raised some questions for me. Or at least does in retrospect. For example, just because JBrand acted like Einstein doesn’t mean they had to actually let him draw straws as an equal adult. He could have died. Looking back it seems vaguely inappropriate. But then again every thing about that show seems vague. I can’t actually remember if he was even in that scene. Or if that scene was in The Hunt For Red October. Or it might have been in Crimson Tide. When did that come out.

I don’t know what happened to Jonathon Brandis’ life after the show, but not much happened with his acting career. Eventually Carly tore down the poster she had of him up on her wall. And he killed himself sometime later. Which I don’t want to joke about. Darwin died at some point between 1995 and now, I assume. He was probably doing a dolphin backflip through a ring of fire for a delicious sardine when he just fell asleep and never woke up. And Roy Scheider passed this week, after a long and successful career, capped by his portrayal as the rugged, unafraid and dedicated Captain of the Seaquest DSV. And now, on the assumption that everyone else of import from that show has also passed into the great beyond, we lay the ship to rest with them, in her rightful place.

In the briny deep of my heart.

-danny

Enjoy this Seaquest Trailer: