LIEUTENANT O’NEILL

SEAQUEST DSV (PLAYMATES)

“Name: Tim O’Neill

Rank: Lieutenant J.G.

Assignment: Communications Officer, seaQuest DSV 4600

UEO Military ID#: LB668-7749-AP5

Security Access: A1C

Date of Birth: May 25, 1992

Character Profile: Shy and introverted. Mild demeanor. Polite and earnest. Inquisitive nature and tenacious work habits led to success as problem solver. Overcame severe claustrophobia to serve aboard submarines.

Personal History: Model student from East Lansing, Michigan, until becoming cadet at Annapolis. Navel Academy Graduate 2013. Earned Master’s Degree in advanced language studies. Fluent in 6 different languages. Completed Submarine Training at Pearl Harbor Base. Original seaQuest crew member 2014.

Mission Specialty: Responsible for overseeing all aspects of seaQuest communication transmissions and receptions with other below surface sources, and with upworld entities.”

One of the rather unfortunate things about SeaQuest was how much of the cast it lost over its three year run.  Only three actors made it from start to finish (well, technically four, since Frank Welker voiced Darwin the whole time, but he was only credited as “special vocal effects”), and one of them, was Ted Raimi (brother to director Sam Raimi) as Lieutenant JG Tim O’Neill.  Though more on the minor side in the first season of the show, O’Neill still got a figure in the short-run of the line, which worked out well in the longer run, given his increased presence as the show continued.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

O’Neill was released in the one and only series of Playmates Toys’ SeaQuest DSV line from 1993.  As noted in the intro, O’Neill’s arguably one of the more minor characters to get a figure, at least going by the show’s first season, but he did get a proper focus episode rather early on, and, more than likely, was also chosen because the glasses help him look a bit different from the other crew members.  The figure stands 4 1/2 inches tall and he has 14 points of articulation.  As with the rest of the line, O’Neill gets a totally unique sculpt.  The head is a fairly decent likeness of Raimi.  The hair’s maybe not quite how he wore it for most of the show, but it’s close to the pilot look, which certainly influenced the figures the most.  The glasses are a bit thick and clunky, but far from the worst, and I appreciate that they went for a separate piece.  O’Neill’s body sculpt once again show’s Playmates’ dedication to bringing some extra character into how each of them wore their uniforms, with O’Neill’s being the most uptight and rigid set-up of the crew released.  O’Neill’s color work is pretty much on par with the rest of the line.  It’s generally pretty clean, and he gets a nice little splash of red on his collar, which is neat.  O’Neill is packed with a Stun Gun, SeaPoc, Personal Audio Link, a rather sizable Communications Away Pack (befitting his status as the communications guy), a display stand, and a small rubber Giant Deep Sea Cephalopod.  Perhaps the only thing really missing here would be some sort of headset, given how frequently O’Neill sported one during his time on the bridge, but otherwise, not a bad batch of extras.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

O’Neill represents the first SeaQuest figure I bought as an adult, or at least got as an adult, since it was purchased on my behalf.  My parents found a whole set of them at an antique store shortly after I’d started college, and I got a text asking if I wanted an O’Neill, which, well, yeah, I did, since he’s my favorite crew member of the figures released.  So, he got to be one of the figures that sat on my dorm room desk for the better part of that year, which is I suppose pretty cool for him.