Nathan Bridger

Nathan Hale Bridger
seaQuest DSV character
Roy Scheider as Captain Bridger
First appearance	To Be or Not to Be (09/12/1993)
Last appearance	Good Soldiers (12/20/1995)
Created by	Rockne S. O'Bannon
Portrayed by	Roy Scheider
Information
Gender	Male
Occupation	Commanding Officer in the Navy
Title	Captain
Spouse(s)	Carol Bridger (Deceased)
Children	Robert Bridger (MIA)
Nationality	American

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.

Bridger's backstory claims that he had served in the U.S. Navy for over thirty years; during which time he served with William Noyce and Manilow Crocker. The character also trained at the Naval Academy with Scott Keller, however, Keller elected to head for the space program while Bridger remained in the navy (Keller would appear in several first and second season episodes). In the episode "Good Soldiers", Bridger is revealed to have been a part of the early G.E.L.F. (Genetically Engineered Life Forms) experiments; something that he always regretted. Upon reaching the rank of captain, Bridger was subjected in an extensive set of brain wave scans designed to impress human personality traits onto a computerized submarine. However, the experiment failed and the Navy elected to develop the Martenson Screen; a hologram designed to counsel the ship's captain in times of crisis. The hologram was modelled after Bridger's long-time friend, Professor Martenson. Bridger soon set to work on designing a revolutionary new kind of submarine, which he called the "seaQuest", which would measure approximately 1,000 feet (300 m) in length and would be the undisputed ruler of the seas. While planning the new type of ship, Bridger also served as an instructor at the Naval Academy teaching students such as Marilyn Stark, whom he would face-off against in the series pilot, "To Be or Not to Be."

As revealed in the pilot, in the early wars of the 21st century, Bridger's son Robert attended the naval academy with Benjamin Krieg (who later came to serve aboard the seaQuest under Bridger's first tour), however, Robert was apparently killed in action, although Bridger was never able to confirm his death. With his son dead, Bridger retired from the navy and retreated to a deserted island in the Yucatan with his wife Carol, to whom he promised he would never serve the military again after the death of Robert, leaving his work on the seaQuest unfinished, laid out in a drydock. On "Bridger's Island", the captain devoted the majority of his time to science, away from the violence and brute strength of the navy. It was on this island where Bridger found a dolphin caught in a fisherman's net in a lagoon. He rescued the dolphin, nursed it back to health and named it "Darwin." Soon after, he set to work on developing a rudimentary communication system with the dolphin. Shortly thereafter, Carol died, leaving Bridger widowed and alone.