Characters / The Deep (2015)

The Nektons

The Nektons as a whole.

L to R: William, Antaeus, Jeffrey (in bowl), Kaiko and Fontaine

• Aerith and Bob: William and Kaiko are fairly typical names. Antaeus and Fontaine? Much less so.
• Ambiguously Brown: Word of God says they're mixed race. Promotional interviews about the original graphic novel explicitly stated that William is African and that Kaiko is Japanese, but it's unclear if the same applies here.
• Badass Family: They are NOT to be messed with.
• Bold Explorer: The entire family is dedicated to exploring the mysteries of the world's oceans. And the Nektons have been doing this for generations.
• Cool Boat: The Nektons have the Aronnax.
• Friend to All Living Things: Besides some welding lasers and a collection of high-tech power tools, they possess no weapons and are dedicated to protecting all creatures both human and animal.
• In the Blood: "My family are explorers. We have been for generations."
• Science Hero: Dedicated to exploring the mysteries of the world's oceans.
• There's No Place Like Home: This is ultimately the driving force for why the Nektons are always drawn to the ocean. Turns out, the Nektons are a family of Lemurians.

William Nekton

Voiced by: Michael Dobson

• Action Dad: Loving mother and intrepid undersea explorer and adventurer.
• Genius Bruiser: An oceanographer with the build of a heavyweight boxer.
• Papa Wolf: More than once displays his willingness to inflict physical harm on those who threaten his children.
• Real Award, Fictional Character: William won Olympic gold medals in swimming.

Kaiko Nekton

Voiced by: Kathleen Barr (Season 1-3); Elfina Luk (Season 4)

• Ace Pilot: The underwater equivalent of this. Will says she is greatest sub pilot alive and all the evidence supports this. In "The Dark Orca", she discovers she can roll the Aronnax: something no one thought was possible.
• Action Mom: Loving mother and intrepid undersea explorer and adventurer.
• Badass Bookworm: Marine biologist, sub pilot, mechanic, and more than capable of handling herself in a fight or any kind of emergency.
• Encyclopaedic Knowledge: Justified as she is a marine biologist. Kaiko is able to identify the species of most seas creatures as soon as she sees them.
• Mama Bear: If Fontaine or Ant are in danger, Kaiko will move heaven and earth to save them. And God help anyone or anything that gets in her way. In "Fossil", she faces down a prehistoric crocodile that is threatening her family.
• Spell My Name With An S: If she's of Japanese origin, then her name would normally be romanized as "Keiko."
• Wrench Wench: Kaiko is the one keeps the Arronax running.

Antaeus "Ant" Nekton

Voiced by: Vincent Tong

• Agent Mulder: Ant believes in mermaids and aliens.

• Brilliant, but Lazy: Always trying to find a way to avid his chores.

• The Chosen One: Nereus and Proteus firmly believe that Antaeus is the one who will reassemble the Efemicrom, and get it to reveal Lemuria's location.
• Foolish Sibling, Responsible Sibling: The Foolish Sibling to Fontaine's Responsible Sibling.
• Gadgeteer Genius: Enjoys inventing anything from new Knights to portable fishbowls for Jeffrey
• Ironic Name: In Greek Mythology, Antaeus was a giant who was invincible as long as he stood on the ground. An odd name for an ocean explorer.

• Older Hero vs. Younger Villain: He has a strong rivalry with Mad Madeline of the Dark Orca crew, who is two years his junior.
• Precocious Crush: Ant has one on Fontaine's best friend Jess.
• Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: In "Fossil", it is revealed that Ant is afraid of bats.

Fontaine Nekton

Voiced by: Ashleigh Ball (Season 1-3); Shannon Chan-Kent (Season 4)

• Agent Scully: Refuses to accept any of Ant's insane theories for what is going on, and can usually offer a rational alternative.
• All Girls Want Bad Boys: She clearly has feelings for Smiling Finn, a pirate, who feels the same way.
• Boyish Short Hair: When you spend as much time in the water as she does, short hair is way more practical.

• Encyclopaedic Knowledge: Downplayed compared to Kaiko.
• Foolish Sibling, Responsible Sibling: The Responsible Sibling to Ant's Foolish Sibling.
• Only Sane Man: Is always the first one to point out how insane Ant's latest theory/plan is.
• Short Teens, Tall Adults: Fonatine is 15 years old and 149 cm (4’10”) tall. Her mother is 170 cm (5’7”) tall.
• Teen Genius: Paired with Encyclopedic Knowledge. Definitely taks after in mother in terms of intelligence and love of learning.

Jeffrey

• A Boy and His X: A boy and his fish.
• Free-Range Pets: Despite being a fish, Ant has a special machine that allows Jeffrey to explore with the team and the Arronax has water systems so Jeffrey can be in any room he chooses.
• Loyal Animal Companion: He is completely loyal to Ant after the latter saved him from being trapped in a fishing line.

The Guardians

The Guardians as a whole.

• Secret-Keeper: They know about something evil being contained in Lemuria, and are concerned about what Proteus wants with it.

Nereus

Voiced by: Lee Tockar

• Eccentric Mentor: Gives the Nektons clues in the form of riddles rather than being straightforward with them.
• Really 700 Years Old: He's an original Lemurian from when the kingdom fell. In fact, he was the brother of the final queen of the kingdom.
• Secret-Keeper: He often keeps a lot of things from the Nektons. It can be very vexing for them.
• Technologically Blind Elders: For all his wisdom, Nereus is completely lost when it comes to operating technology.

Proteus

voiced by: Brian Drummond

• Big Bad: Of the first season, in the second season, he's demoted to Big Bad Wannabe.

The Dark Orca Crew

The Crew as a whole.

L to R: Smiling Finn, Mad Madeline and Captain Hammerhead

• The Alleged Car: The Dark Orca is in a constant state of disrepair, which is commented on in several different episodes.
• Evil Counterpart: To the Nektons. Both are family groups who live on submarines and travel the world's oceans. But while the Nektons try to protect the seas and everything in them, the Dark Orca is looking to plunder them.
• Dysfunctional Family: Hammerhead doesn’t care if his children are hurt while he searches for treasures. The siblings are regularly pitted against each other, sometimes on purpose and other times through their father's carelessness.
• The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything: They're really only shown attacking shipping in their introductory episode. In subsequent appearances they're mostly just looking for sunken treasure, coming into conflict with the Nektons only because they just want these historical artifacts for their monetary value rather than preserving them.
• The Psycho Rangers: To the Nektons, but in place of a Kaiko or Jeffrey counterpart, they have Danny Boy and some minor goons.
• Rock Beats Laser: In the semi-futuristic setting of the show, their technology is largely garbage, but they're cunning and skilled enough to use it effectively to stay one step ahead of the World Ocean Authority and to keep pace with the Nektons as their most frequent adversaries.
• Submarine Pirates: The Dark Orca alternates between preying on shipping and scavenging the seafloor for lost treasures.
• Villainous Lineage:
  Finn: It's the family business, you know? Some kids become doctors or accountants. I have to become a pirate.

Captain Hammerhead

Voiced by: Michael Dobson

• Bad Boss: Has no issue with ordering his crew to perform unsurvivable tasks.
• Beard of Evil: A big bushy black beard, befitting a pirate captain.
• The Captain: Of the Dark Orca.
• Even Evil Has Loved Ones: He clearly cares for his children, even once going out of his way to retrieve a memento of Madeline's late mother. He even weaponizes this, using his concern for Madeline's safety to get her onto the Aronnax in order to steal the Chronicle of the Deep.
• Evil Cannot Comprehend Good: He doesn't get why the Nektons don't have missiles in their submarine, for without them the Nektons can't attack and steal.
• Names to Run Away from Really Fast: The Hammerhead is species of shark that is a confirmed maneater.
• Seadog Beard: Sports a long bushy beard.
• Talk Like a Pirate: Even though it's a modern setting, Hammerhead speaks with the archetypal West Country accent.

Smiling Finn

Voiced by: Samuel Vincent

• Big Brother Instinct: Towards Madeline.
• Foolish Sibling, Responsible Sibling: The Responsible Sibling to Mad Madeline's Foolish Sibling.
• Lovable Rogue: Charming, slippery, and surprisingly effective.
• Only Sane Man: Of the Dark Orca Crew.
• Ship Tease: Between him and Fontaine Nekton.
• Token Good Teammate: He secretly gave the Nektons back a massive pearl they tried to steal from a giant oyster.
• White Sheep: Paired with Token Good Teammate. Finn doesn't want to be a pirate. He only goes along with the schemes because they're his family.

Mad Madeline

Voiced by: Kazumi Evans

• Annoying Younger Sibling: To Finn, being a reckless hothead who often bickers with him a lot.
• Daddy's Little Villain: Unlike Finn, Madeline wants to be a pirate just like her father.
• Foolish Sibling, Responsible Sibling: The Foolish Sibling to Smiling Finn's Responsible Sibling.
• Tomboy with a Girly Streak: She loves mermaids
• The Smurfette Principle: The only explicitly female member of the Dark Orca crew (since we're never shown what the rest of Hammerhead's Faceless Mooks look like under their diving gear).

Danny Boy

Voiced by: Brian Drummond

• Bald of Evil: He has black hair on the back of his head, but none on top. He's also a pirate.
• Beleaguered Assistant: Usually serves this role to Hammerhead. Frequently given impossible tasks, ordered into life threatening situations, and blamed for things that are actually Hammerhead's fault.

Other Characters

Professor Fiction

Voiced by: James Higuchi

• Absent-Minded Professor: Undeniably brilliant, also undeniably scatterbrained.
• Crazy-Prepared: Carries an EMP device with him at all time, just in case.
• Keet: Rivals Ant for sheer enthusiasm.
• Mad Scientist: Develops most of the tech used by the Nektons, in addition to being rather eccentric.

Devil Daniels

Voiced by: Trevor Devall

• Bunny-Ears Lawyer: He's initially taken for a fraud by the Nektons, but while he's a phony in many respects, the "monsters" he finds and his ability to harm them are quite real. Past the first season, they start viewing him as a legitimate menace, if not necessarily a personal threat.
• Egomaniac Hunter: Styles himself as a hunter of monsters.
• Engineered Heroics: In a show teeming with aggressive sea monsters, every rare sea beast Daniels encounters is a Gentle Giant that he needs to goad into acting antagonistically.
• Fake Brit: Speaks with an RP accent when on-camera, but reverts to an American accent whenever he's alone or taken off-guard.
• Glory Hound: Everything he does is to garner more fame for himself.
• Hitler Cam: Typically films himself from this angle. When the Nektons finally confront him, he's barely taller than Fontaine.
• Know-Nothing Know-It-All: He's clearly only skimmed through Moby-Dick because he doesn't know that Captain Ahab dies at the end and doesn't even know who Herman Melville is.
• Miles Gloriosus: Presents himself as a bold and daring adventurer, but literally everything about this persona is fake.
• Nerf Arm: He's patented a powerful and ironically humane harpoon gun whose discharges are tipped with highly effective suction cups.
• Not So Harmless: On his lonesome, he managed to sneak up on a giant sea creature and shoot it with a taser dart before the events of the eleventh episode. When the Nektons try to confront him, he quickly steals the Rover for his own use.
• Slave to PR: Because he thrives on his popularity, the Nektons usually blackmail him into doing what they want by threatening to reveal his true colors to the public.
• Villainous Underdog: His high-tech yacht is absolutely puny compared to the Aronnax, but his wits and determination make him a wily foe to have.
• The Worf Effect: After proving himself an effective tracker and hijacker in his initial episode, he is easily subdued and captured by the Dark Orca crew in Loki's Castle.

Dolos

Voiced by: Brian Drummond

• Attack Animal: Owns a large red octopus named Hydra that he treats as a guard dog and dotes on. Hydra even wears a spiked collar to boot.
• Child Hater: He finds them annoying. Especially Ant.
• Information Broker: Will occasionally comes to him for information, as does Captain Hammerhead.
• Insufferable Genius: He's smarter than you, and not afraid to let you know it.
• Jerkass: After selling the Nektons a the treasure map, he proceeds to literally sell the Dark Orca crew a second map to the same treasure seconds later, pitting the two families against each other. And once Ant lets it slip that the treasure is a seed bank, Dolos figures out that its container is made of solid gold and tries to screw over both parties to get it first himself, even knowing that the islanders who need the treasure will go into ruin without it.
• Playing Both Sides: Has no compunctions about selling a treasure map to multiple parties. He's just doubled his payday.
• Meaningful Name: Dolos is the ancient Greek god of trickery and deceiving. The name is pretty fitting for a dishonest scammer like him.

Alpheus Benthos

Voiced by: Andrew Francis

• A Pupil of Mine Until He Turned to Evil: He was a previous apprentice of Nereus, until he decided he wanted to use the power of Doreus' Scepter to Take Over the World.
• Big Bad: Of the second season.
• Dirty Coward: Ambitious, but not very brave.
• Evil Plan: Alpheus' plan is to obtain the Scepter of Queen Doreus and use it to awaken all the Monumentals, including The Terror, and effectively use them to threaten all the nations of the world into achieving peace.
• Ironic Name: In Greek mythology, Alpheus is a river god and a son of Poseidon.
• Smug Snake: Even when his plans go awry, and/or he's outwitted, his expression always has a very smug look about it.
• Well-Intentioned Extremist: He simply wants world peace, but his methods of trying to get it involve awakening a series of giant monsters so they can lay waste to the nations of the world.

---