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Hamelac was a former theocratic leader of the Bio-ship from Jahavus Dorahl's species. He was deposed in late 2419 by a combination of the Reformers and crewmembers of the USS Orville.

Life[]

Hamelac was "First Guardian of the Word of Dorahl" and de jure despot of the bio-ship, holding the power to make all law.[1] He violently imposed rule and religious adherence through his government. Hamelac's religion entailed denial of a world beyond the ship's ecosystem, a belief enforced to maintain order and consolidate power. Hamelac's preferred method to punish doubters of the Word was to incite a violent mob and then hand the victim over. He was especially concerned about finding, torturing, and then killing suspected members of the Reformers, whom he saw as an existential threat to his rule.

In late October or early November 2419, a small away team from the Orville was dispatched to the bio-ship to warn the inhabitants that their ship would collide with a nearby star in six months. Hamelac's enforcers found several of the team, First Officer Kelly Grayson and Chief of Security Alara Kitan. They shot Alara, leaving her for dead, and brought Kelly to Hamelac for interrogation.

Hamelac rightly thought Kelly had arrived with other friends, ostensibly because she was a Reformer but secretly because he understood that she entered from "the Beyond" (the name for the world outside the ecosystem). He tortured Kelly in his office until it was invaded by Captain Ed Mercer, the Reformers Kemka and Tomilin, Isaac, Doctor Claire Finn, and Alara. He quickly admitted there was a bare possibility that there was more to the world than what he saw.

Soon after, the Reformers and the Orville's away team discovered the bio-ship's old Bridge, and the Union arranged for a team to rendezvous with the bio-ship in the future. Hamelac's reign is presumed to have ended.

Production[]

Hamelac sketch

An early concept sketch by the show's wardrobe designer, Joseph Porro. Note the different spelling of Hamelac's name.

An early draft spelling of Hamelac's name was "Hemelac."

Hamelac was played by Robert Knepper, a Star Trek alum who played Wyatt Miller in The Next Generation. Knepper confirmed he would appear in The Orville in April 4, 2017, though he declined to state further details.[2]

Appearances[]

Notes[]

  1. Hamelac "makes all law," according to Kemka.
  2. "UPROXX 20: Robert Knepper Is Very Particular About How He Wants His Margaritas Made". Uproxx. April 4, 2017.
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