Tom Halsey

> *Safe travels, Captain.*— Halsey to Ed Mercer
>
>

**Thomas "Tom" Halsey** was a Human Admiral in the Planetary Union. He held a desk position at Planetary Union Central in New York City on Earth.

 Halsey was one of the most important leaders among human admirals. He commanded the USS *Spruance* in the landmark Battle of Earth, and he served as a representative from Earth to the Planetary Union Council during the crisis over The Sanctuary.

He is portrayed by Canadian actor Victor Garber.

## Career

Very little is known of Halsey's past, although early in his career he worked alongside Kelly Grayson's father and were close friends.

Halsey mentored Ed Mercer during the latter's days as a student at Union Point.

### 2419

In September 2419, on Kelly's strong recommendation, Halsey gave Ed command of the USS *Orville* in spite of his recent history of irresponsible behavior after divorcing Kelly. Halsey gave Ed a chance because of his stellar academic record and resume prior to the divorce. Halsey also quietly transferred Kelly to the Orville as his new First Officer. Though Ed complained, Halsey required the two to work together.

After Ed obtained a partial copy of the *Anhkana*, the Krill bible, from the Krill destroyer *Yakar*, Halsey tasked Doctor Darden, a xenoanthropologist, with studying it.

### 2420

In February 2420, Halsey sent the Orville to host ambassadors of the Bruidians and the Navarians, as well as a Union archaeologist who would examine the Lopovian birthing bucket to determine which species has a claim to Lopovius.

In April, however, Halsey and Kelly's secret slipped out that the Admiral only granted Ed captaincy thanks to Kelly's recommendation. Halsey insisted that the reason he was originally promoted was irrelevant because Mercer had proven that he had the talent and the skills necessary to successfully lead a Union ship. Halsey's words offered little consolation and Ed ended the call on a dour note.

### 2421

Sometime in the middle of 2421, Halsey approved the Orville to take Professor Lamarche and Chalmi into the Cruxis system.

#### Battle of Earth

In the early winter of 2421, Halsey authorized the Orville to return its Kaylon Science and Engineering Officer, Isaac, to his home world of Kaylon 1. Halsey hoped that the Kaylon could be persuaded to join the Union against the Krill. The Kaylon seized the Orville upon arrival and sent a war armada to Earth.

Halsey received advance warning of the attack through his adjutant and ordered the entire Union Fleet to Earth. Halsey commanded the USS *Spruance*in the ensuing Battle of Earth. His ship lost main power early on and was forced to retreat.

After the battle, Halsey wanted a kill-switch installed on Isaac in case he turned again, but Ed and Kelly insist that would only repeat the mistakes of the Kaylon's creators. The Admiral begrudgingly let Ed take full responsibility for Isaac in the future.

#### Debate over The Sanctuary

Halsey and Ed represented Earth at the Planetary Union Council's debate over whether to recognize The Sanctuary as a sovereign state. When the Council was not in session, Halsey oversaw private deliberations the human admirals Ozawa, Tucker, and Perry.

## Alternate timeline

In an alternate timeline where Isaac never fell in love with Claire Finn, Halsey worked at Union Central in January 2421. At this time, Kelly called him in an attempt to stop the Orville from returning Isaac to the Kaylon. Halsey was shocked to learn that Kelly knew of the quantum accelerator, a closely guarded secret in the Union, but it was not enough to convince him that the accelerator sent her into the future because "the Aronov device is not a time machine," and he refused to forward her warning further.

## Production

Admiral Halsey is described merely as a fleet admiral in his mid-50s in the original pilot script. The character's age was likely lifted during casting as Victor Garber was either 67 or 68 while filming.

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## Trivia

* Halsey may be named after the real-life Admiral, William Halsey Jr., who commanded the US South Pacific Fleet from the flagships USS *Enterprise* and USS *Missouri* during World War II, and was the last officer appointed to the rank of Fleet Admiral.
* During the Kaylon invasion of Earth, Halsey commands the fleet from the USS *Spruance*. The real-life Admiral Raymond Spruance took command of the US forces shortly before the Battle of Midway in World War II, taking over from Admiral William Halsey Jr.
* Halsey's admiral badge from Season 1 was listed on Ebay in October 2020 for $385.
* Halsey's first name is revealed to be Tom in *Episode 3x02: Shadow Realms*. In *Domino*, his real name is revealed to be "Thomas" when speaking to the Kaylon.
	+ "Thomas" is the Greek form of the Aramaic name *Ta'oma'*, which means "twin".

## Appearances

* *Episode 1x01: Old Wounds*
* *Episode 1x09: Cupid's Dagger*
* *Episode 1x11: New Dimensions*
* *Episode 1.5x03: The Word of Avis, Pt. 1* (flashback)
* *Episode 2x08: Identity, Pt. 1*
* *Episode 2x09: Identity, Pt. 2*
* *Episode 2x12: Sanctuary*
* *Episode 2x13: Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow* (mentioned only)
* *Digressions, Pt. 1*
* *Digressions, Pt. 2*
* *Artifacts, Pt. 1*
* *Episode 3x02: Shadow Realms*
* *Episode 3x08: Midnight Blue*
* *Episode 3x09: Domino*
* *Episode 3x10: Future Unknown*

## References

1. ↑ Episode 1x01: Old Wounds
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Episode 1x01: Old Wounds Cite error: Invalid `<ref>` tag; name ":0" defined multiple times with different content
3. ↑ *Episode 1.5x03: The Word of Avis, Pt. 1*
4. ↑ Episode 1x09: Cupid's Dagger
5. ↑ Episode 1x11: New Dimensions
6. ↑ Artifacts, Pt. 1
7. ↑ Episode 2x08: Identity, Pt. 1
8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Episode 2x09: Identity, Pt. 2
9. ↑ Digressions, Pt. 1
10. ↑ Digressions, Pt. 2
11. ↑ MacFarlane, Seth. "The Orville 1x01 -Pilot". Fox. 2016.
12. ↑ The Orville: Admiral's Badge - Original Prop. Ebay. Last accessed Oct. 31, 2020.