Hamelac is a Dorahlian and former theocratic leader of the Dorahl bioship. He was deposed in late 2419 by a combination of the Reformers and crewmembers of the USS Orville.
History
Hamelac was "First Guardian of the Word of Dorahl" and de jure despot of the Dorahl bioship, 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 bioship to warn the inhabitants that their ship would collide with a nearby star in six months. Hamelac's enforcers find several of the team, Commander Kelly Grayson and Chief of Security Alara Kitan, they shoot Alara, leaving her for dead, and they bring Kelly to Hamelac for interrogation.
Hamelac rightly thought Kelly came with other friends, ostensibly because they were members of the Reformers but quietly knew they came from "the Beyond" (the name for the world outside the ecosystem). He tortures Kelly in his office until it is invaded by Captain Ed Mercer, the Reformers Kemka and Tomilin, Isaac, Doctor Claire Finn, and a revived Alara. He quickly admits that there is a bare possibility that there is more to the world than what he sees. The Reformers find the Bridge of the bioship and his rule ends.
Personality
Hamelac is an ideological zealot in every meaning of the word. As the First Guardian of Dorahl, he is extremely devoted to the theology of his Bioship home and with it, the firm belief that there is no greater universe outside of what can be seen. This false worldview was originally attributed by the Reformers to a life long indoctrination from the Church of Dorahl, but is later revealed to be a result of Hamelac's own personal philosophy that if his fellow Dorahlians learn of the universe outside of their ecosystem, it would traumatize and destroy their culture. He is willing to go to extreme means to keep the truth concealed and his subjects in line, even resorting to horrendous torture and public executions of those who speak out against him.
Production
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
- ↑ Hamelac "makes all law," according to Kemka.
- ↑ "UPROXX 20: Robert Knepper Is Very Particular About How He Wants His Margaritas Made". Uproxx. April 4, 2017.