Background
Following the end of the second season of seaQuest DSV, Roy Scheider (Captain Bridger) had become very vocal and negative about the direction the show was heading; focusing more on heavy science fiction and fantasy-type plots, coupled with the fact that he believed that the show should maintain an arc, rather than just be individual episodes (similar to other sci-fi type shows such as Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Babylon 5). Scheider had requested to be released from his NBC contract, however, the network only partially agreed, allowing him to downgrade from a regular cast member to a recurring guest character.
Ironically, following Scheider's departure, the show (having been renamed "seaQuest 2032") did incorporate several character and plot arcs and moved away from much of the "gimmicky" science-fiction elements that had been prevalent in the second season. The slogan around the set for the third season was "seaQuest DSVerisimilitude" (which was printed on a number of film crew shirts). The show's Emmy award winning theme music from the first two seasons was replaced as well.
With Scheider's departure, NBC brought in Michael Ironside to replace him as the star of the show as Captain Oliver Hudson, who was named after Henry Hudson, a famous sea explorer in the 16th century. Marco Sanchez (Sensor Chief Miguel Ortiz), who had been with the show since the pilot, and Rosalind Allen (Dr. Wendy Smith), who joined the show in season two, were both released as well, as NBC had opted to downsize the number of cast members in order to cut costs.
The "Ballard Institute" where Hudson debriefs Lucas is named after Dr. Robert Ballard who served as the technical advisor on "seaQuest DSV" and presented marine trivia segments during the first season's closing credits.
The photo that Lucas finds in the debris of Bridger's house is that of him and the captain from the season 2 premiere, "Daggers."
Read more about this topic: Brave New World (sea Quest 2032)
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