Lucas Wolenczak
Encyclopedia
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.
, Lucas was a highly intelligent teenager who graduated magna-cum-laude with a degree in Applied Science of Artificial Intelligence from Stanford University
, achieving a GPA that has been unbroken. When his parents divorced, Lucas' father, Dr. Wolenczak; one of the world's most valued scientists, was able to pull some strings allowing Lucas to serve aboard the seaQuest DSV as part of the boat's scientific contingent.
Lucas has other pursuits beyond the intellectual. He is a baseball
fan, and on occasion during his time on seaQuest DSV wears a Florida Marlins
jersey with a notation of their victory in the 2010 World Series
.
Along with Lieutenant Commander Katherine Hitchcock, Lucas designed a new, one-person submarine, which he called the Stinger. (Although Hitchcock wanted to call it the Gazelle) Lucas was adamant about calling it the Stinger, claiming that if he called it the Gazelle, he would get beaten up.
Along with Dr. Kristin Westphalen
, Lucas worked with Darwin and the vocorder in an attempt to teach the dolphin more words and to better understand the psychology of the dolphin mind.
served as Lucas' father-figure. Bridger, who had lost his own son, came to look at Lucas as his adopted son, and vice-versa. (To the point that Bridger admitted to Lucas that he was one of the main reasons he wanted to keep living after the death of his own son and wife.) Originally, their relationship was rather rocky, but it quickly grew into a very close friendship.
When Captain Bridger chose to resign rather than seek and destroy an unidentified whaling ship attacker, he personally came to Lucas to explain his decision. While Lucas claimed later that he "didn't care", he was clearly upset at the prospect of losing the captain. When Bridger returned to the ship, he admitted that he missed him.
Without a maternal figure in his life, Lucas was often consoled by Dr. Westphalen. She, much like Captain Bridger and Lucas, were apart from their real families and sought comfort and affection from each other, almost like a surrogate family. When a hurricane threatened to kill their away team stranded on the surface of the Bermuda Triangle
in a life boat, Westphalen was able to comfort Lucas' fears and provided much needed support.
The closest friend he had aboard the ship was Lieutenant Benjamin Krieg, seaQuests supply and morale officer. Krieg, who was fond of making a quick buck, would often engage in elaborate schemes to make money, usually with Lucas' help, however, the duo's "get rich quick schemes" never really panned out. As the months went on, Ben admitted to thinking of Lucas as a "younger brother", and Lucas thought of Krieg as an older one. As such, Lucas usually went to Ben for advice. When Lucas planned to sneak away from the seaQuest to attend a party with his girlfriend, Juliana, Ben not only loaned him cologne, but also a condom
(although, Ben did advise against the use of it, claiming that he'll have plenty of time to "be stupid").
Lucas was apparently well liked however, as Lieutenant Tim O'Neill once joked that he was voted "Most popular on seaQuest."
On a shuttle mission, Lucas, along with Lieutenants Brody, O'Neill and Henderson, were swept into an underwater "drainhole" and ended up in an underground cavern. With their shuttle damaged and encountering Marcus Rawlings, another person trapped in the cavern, only four members of the party would be able to have a chance to escape after the oxygen generator was damaged beyond repair. Lucas ended up drawing the short stick and was therefore condemned to death. Shedding tears, he attempted to remain positive, claiming he would finally be able to find out everything he ever wondered about death, but, Lucas was soon allowed to live after Rawlings volunteered to remain behind. Escaping from the "drainhole", Lucas stole The Stinger and raced back into the cavern to rescue Rawlings.
Shortly thereafter, Lucas became involved with a young girl named Sandra Kirby and was willing to resign his appointment as the chief computer analyst of the seaQuest to remain on land with her. However, he soon became ensnared in an elaborate scheme engineered by her father to gain control of the ship and deal a crippling blow to the UEO. Fortunately, Lucas' ingenuity allowed him to program the ship's computers to transmit an emergency beacon, allowing the authorities to apprehend the Kirbys.
At first, Lucas abused his new position by pulling rank in order to gain admittance to a Deon International dining establishment, although Captain Hudson warned him not to wear his rank around "like a new pair of shoes." When Deon International plotted to flood the Saudi Desert with a massive iceberg
, they planted refugees on its surface to prevent the seaQuest from destroying it, led by a former member of seaQuests crew: Lieutenant Benjamin Krieg. However, because of their powerful friendship formed during Krieg's tour on seaQuest Lucas was able to convince him to vacate the iceberg and allow the seaQuest to foil Deon's plans.
Captain Bridger was displeased with his choice to join the military, a fact that he didn't hesitate to mention. However, Bridger soon realized that Lucas had done exactly what his own son had done, and eventually came to accept his decision. He also wished that Lucas could meet his son once he found him, for he thought that they'd get along well.
and is one of three characters to remain with the series for all three seasons, as well as being the only actor to appear in every episode. The character has often drawn comparison with Wesley Crusher
from Star Trek: The Next Generation
, as both are teen-aged child prodigies, both of whom have "saved the ship" in several instances of their respective shows, and both would eventually join their respective military services. (Actually, Wesley Crusher chose not to finish the Academy and decided not to join Starfleet at the end of season 7, in the TNG episode "Journey's End". He was an Acting Ensign for most of the series, as was Brandis' character in season 3.)
While seaQuest DSV was originally designed to target the young male demographic (aged between 18-34), the Lucas character proved to be very popular among teenage girls, many of whom flooded NBC
, the show, and Brandis himself with fan mail. As a result, the character began to take center stage in a number of episodes such as "Photon Bullet", where he was reunited with his It
co-star Seth Green
; "The Last Lap of Luxury"; and "Higher Power" as well as print ads and promos for the show. By the second season, Brandis had moved up to second billing in the credits, right after Roy Scheider
's (and Michael Ironside
's in the third season). In 1994, Brandis was at the top of Seventeen magazine's readers' poll of "10 sexiest guys". After the show's cancellation, he continued to receive bags of mail from seaQuest fans.
For his portrayal of Lucas Wolenczak, Brandis won a Young Artists Award in 1993 at the age of 17. He enjoyed some time as a teen idol, but the Wolenczak role was the peak of his acting career. Brandis hanged himself on November 11, 2003, and died of complications associated to that attempt on November 12, 2003 at the age of 27.
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...
, played by Jonathan Brandis
Jonathan Brandis
Jonathan Gregory Brandis was an American actor, director, and screenwriter.-Early life and career:Brandis was born in Danbury, Connecticut, the only child of Mary, a teacher and personal manager, and Gregory Brandis, a food distributor and firefighter. He began his career as a child model and...
. 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
Born on December 23, 2002 in Buffalo, New YorkBuffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...
, Lucas was a highly intelligent teenager who graduated magna-cum-laude with a degree in Applied Science of Artificial Intelligence from Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
, achieving a GPA that has been unbroken. When his parents divorced, Lucas' father, Dr. Wolenczak; one of the world's most valued scientists, was able to pull some strings allowing Lucas to serve aboard the seaQuest DSV as part of the boat's scientific contingent.
Lucas has other pursuits beyond the intellectual. He is a baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
fan, and on occasion during his time on seaQuest DSV wears a Florida Marlins
Florida Marlins
The Miami Marlins are a professional baseball team based in Miami, Florida, United States. Established in 1993 as an expansion franchise called the Florida Marlins, the Marlins are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League. The Marlins played their home games at...
jersey with a notation of their victory in the 2010 World Series
World Series
The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball, played between the American League and National League champions since 1903. The winner of the World Series championship is determined through a best-of-seven playoff and awarded the Commissioner's Trophy...
.
seaQuests Computer Genius
Before boarding seaQuest, Lucas invented the "vocorder", a communications device that translates the clicks and squeals of dolphins into English (and vice-versa). However, the program was not complete. As a result, Darwin, the seaQuests resident dolphin, could speak no more than approximately 125 words of English.Along with Lieutenant Commander Katherine Hitchcock, Lucas designed a new, one-person submarine, which he called the Stinger. (Although Hitchcock wanted to call it the Gazelle) Lucas was adamant about calling it the Stinger, claiming that if he called it the Gazelle, he would get beaten up.
Along 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....
, Lucas worked with Darwin and the vocorder in an attempt to teach the dolphin more words and to better understand the psychology of the dolphin mind.
Relationship with Captain Bridger
With Lucas having been all but abandoned by his parents, Captain Nathan BridgerNathan 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...
served as Lucas' father-figure. Bridger, who had lost his own son, came to look at Lucas as his adopted son, and vice-versa. (To the point that Bridger admitted to Lucas that he was one of the main reasons he wanted to keep living after the death of his own son and wife.) Originally, their relationship was rather rocky, but it quickly grew into a very close friendship.
When Captain Bridger chose to resign rather than seek and destroy an unidentified whaling ship attacker, he personally came to Lucas to explain his decision. While Lucas claimed later that he "didn't care", he was clearly upset at the prospect of losing the captain. When Bridger returned to the ship, he admitted that he missed him.
Relationship with the Crew
Lucas initially had a crush on Lieutenant Commander Hitchcock, however, she preferred that they just remain friends.Without a maternal figure in his life, Lucas was often consoled by Dr. Westphalen. She, much like Captain Bridger and Lucas, were apart from their real families and sought comfort and affection from each other, almost like a surrogate family. When a hurricane threatened to kill their away team stranded on the surface of the Bermuda Triangle
Bermuda Triangle
The Bermuda Triangle, also known as the Devil's Triangle, is a region in the western part of the North Atlantic Ocean where a number of aircraft and surface vessels allegedly disappeared under mysterious circumstances....
in a life boat, Westphalen was able to comfort Lucas' fears and provided much needed support.
The closest friend he had aboard the ship was Lieutenant Benjamin Krieg, seaQuests supply and morale officer. Krieg, who was fond of making a quick buck, would often engage in elaborate schemes to make money, usually with Lucas' help, however, the duo's "get rich quick schemes" never really panned out. As the months went on, Ben admitted to thinking of Lucas as a "younger brother", and Lucas thought of Krieg as an older one. As such, Lucas usually went to Ben for advice. When Lucas planned to sneak away from the seaQuest to attend a party with his girlfriend, Juliana, Ben not only loaned him cologne, but also a condom
Condom
A condom is a barrier device most commonly used during sexual intercourse to reduce the probability of pregnancy and spreading sexually transmitted diseases . It is put on a man's erect penis and physically blocks ejaculated semen from entering the body of a sexual partner...
(although, Ben did advise against the use of it, claiming that he'll have plenty of time to "be stupid").
Lucas was apparently well liked however, as Lieutenant Tim O'Neill once joked that he was voted "Most popular on seaQuest."
Destruction of the
seaQuest When Lucas' father's world-wide underwater power plant inadvertently split the Earth's crust, causing lava to spill into the ocean, Lucas and the rest of the seaQuest crew were forced to abandon ship, so that Captain Bridger could dive the boat into the well and detonate her nuclear warheads, effectively plugging the hole. With the destruction of the boat, Lucas and Bridger set to work on creating the seaQuest-II. Upon its completion, they returned to the new ship.The New Ship
Life aboard the new seaQuest was a bit different than the old. Lucas now had a roommate, Seaman Anthony Piccolo. Although the two appeared to be rivals at the start, they soon became closer. Originally, Piccolo had claimed the top bunk in the quarters for himself, but Lucas soon won it back in a poker game.On a shuttle mission, Lucas, along with Lieutenants Brody, O'Neill and Henderson, were swept into an underwater "drainhole" and ended up in an underground cavern. With their shuttle damaged and encountering Marcus Rawlings, another person trapped in the cavern, only four members of the party would be able to have a chance to escape after the oxygen generator was damaged beyond repair. Lucas ended up drawing the short stick and was therefore condemned to death. Shedding tears, he attempted to remain positive, claiming he would finally be able to find out everything he ever wondered about death, but, Lucas was soon allowed to live after Rawlings volunteered to remain behind. Escaping from the "drainhole", Lucas stole The Stinger and raced back into the cavern to rescue Rawlings.
Shortly thereafter, Lucas became involved with a young girl named Sandra Kirby and was willing to resign his appointment as the chief computer analyst of the seaQuest to remain on land with her. However, he soon became ensnared in an elaborate scheme engineered by her father to gain control of the ship and deal a crippling blow to the UEO. Fortunately, Lucas' ingenuity allowed him to program the ship's computers to transmit an emergency beacon, allowing the authorities to apprehend the Kirbys.
Disappearance
On May 14, 2022, the seaQuest was abducted from Earth by the KrayTaks from the planet Hyperion and transported back to their home world. With the ship's destruction again imminent, Commander Jonathan Ford ordered Lucas to take The Stinger and abandon ship. Moments later, the seaQuest was impacted by a massive barrier mine, and was hulled. Lucas wanted to go back and attempt to save Captain Bridger, who had been trapped on the Hyperion mother-ship, along with a team from seaQuest, but Bridger ordered him away and told him "not to let them take away what you believe." Upon the destruction of the Hyperion mother-ship, Lucas and the G.E.L.F. crew member Dagwood, along with Darwin, apparently the only survivors from the seaQuest, surfaced on the Hyperion water, apparently destined to spend the rest of their lives on the alien world. Refusing to believe his comrades to be dead, Lucas swore he'd find any other survivors from the crew. Failing to do so, he promised to one day carry the story of seaQuest back to Earth.Joining the Navy
Ten years later, Lucas and the majority of the crew, as well as the seaQuest boat reappeared on Earth, having been returned to Earth, intact, by the Hyperion rebels they fought beside. Upon returning to Earth, the crew discovered that the Earth had become a much more dangerous place. Captain Bridger realized this the most, and retired as captain, placing Captain Oliver Hudson in command of the seaQuest. Hudson, a hardened Navy man, refused to have any civilians aboard his boat. Lucas, realizing it to be the only way to stay aboard, enlisted in the UEO Navy as an Ensign and was allowed to remain aboard the boat.At first, Lucas abused his new position by pulling rank in order to gain admittance to a Deon International dining establishment, although Captain Hudson warned him not to wear his rank around "like a new pair of shoes." When Deon International plotted to flood the Saudi Desert with a massive iceberg
Iceberg
An iceberg is a large piece of ice from freshwater that has broken off from a snow-formed glacier or ice shelf and is floating in open water. It may subsequently become frozen into pack ice...
, they planted refugees on its surface to prevent the seaQuest from destroying it, led by a former member of seaQuests crew: Lieutenant Benjamin Krieg. However, because of their powerful friendship formed during Krieg's tour on seaQuest Lucas was able to convince him to vacate the iceberg and allow the seaQuest to foil Deon's plans.
Captain Bridger was displeased with his choice to join the military, a fact that he didn't hesitate to mention. However, Bridger soon realized that Lucas had done exactly what his own son had done, and eventually came to accept his decision. He also wished that Lucas could meet his son once he found him, for he thought that they'd get along well.
Background
Lucas Wolenczak was portrayed by actor Jonathan BrandisJonathan Brandis
Jonathan Gregory Brandis was an American actor, director, and screenwriter.-Early life and career:Brandis was born in Danbury, Connecticut, the only child of Mary, a teacher and personal manager, and Gregory Brandis, a food distributor and firefighter. He began his career as a child model and...
and is one of three characters to remain with the series for all three seasons, as well as being the only actor to appear in every episode. The character has often drawn comparison with Wesley Crusher
Wesley Crusher
Wesley Crusher is a character in the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation. He is Beverly Crusher's son and is portrayed by actor Wil Wheaton, the character was a regular for the first four seasons. Afterwards, the character appeared sporadically. The character also appeared briefly in...
from Star Trek: The Next Generation
Star Trek: The Next Generation
Star Trek: The Next Generation is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry as part of the Star Trek franchise. Roddenberry, Rick Berman, and Michael Piller served as executive producers at different times throughout the production...
, as both are teen-aged child prodigies, both of whom have "saved the ship" in several instances of their respective shows, and both would eventually join their respective military services. (Actually, Wesley Crusher chose not to finish the Academy and decided not to join Starfleet at the end of season 7, in the TNG episode "Journey's End". He was an Acting Ensign for most of the series, as was Brandis' character in season 3.)
While seaQuest DSV was originally designed to target the young male demographic (aged between 18-34), the Lucas character proved to be very popular among teenage girls, many of whom flooded NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
, the show, and Brandis himself with fan mail. As a result, the character began to take center stage in a number of episodes such as "Photon Bullet", where he was reunited with his It
It (1990 film)
It is a 1990 horror television miniseries based on the novel of the same name. The story revolves around an inter-dimensional predatory life-form that is simply referred to as "It", which has the ability to transform itself into its prey's worst fears allowing it to exploit the fears and phobias...
co-star Seth Green
Seth Green
Seth Benjamin Green is an American actor, comedian, voice actor, and television producer. He is well known for his role as Daniel "Oz" Osbourne in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, as Dr. Evil's son Scott in the Austin Powers series of comedy films, Mitch Miller in That '70s Show, and the voice of Chris...
; "The Last Lap of Luxury"; and "Higher Power" as well as print ads and promos for the show. By the second season, Brandis had moved up to second billing in the credits, right after Roy Scheider
Roy Scheider
Roy Richard Scheider was an American actor. He was best known for his leading role as police chief Martin C...
's (and Michael Ironside
Michael Ironside
Michael Ironside is a Canadian-born actor. He has also worked as a voice actor, producer, film director, and screenwriter in movie and television series in various Canadian and American productions. He is best known for playing villains and "tough guy" heroes, though he has also portrayed...
's in the third season). In 1994, Brandis was at the top of Seventeen magazine's readers' poll of "10 sexiest guys". After the show's cancellation, he continued to receive bags of mail from seaQuest fans.
For his portrayal of Lucas Wolenczak, Brandis won a Young Artists Award in 1993 at the age of 17. He enjoyed some time as a teen idol, but the Wolenczak role was the peak of his acting career. Brandis hanged himself on November 11, 2003, and died of complications associated to that attempt on November 12, 2003 at the age of 27.