The Star Trek character you forgot was played by family guy Seth MacFarlane

In case it wasn't obvious from his sci-fi comedy show The Orville, TV guru Seth MacFarlane is a huge, huge Trekkie. “The Orville” is very reminiscent of “Star Trek: The Next Generation” in its construction, lighting and character types, only with some silly jokes and unusual comments. MacFarlane also once presented William Shatner as Captain Kirk on the big screen at the Academy Awards. Some might even know about a Star Trek fan film that MacFarlane made while still in high schoolin which he cast himself as Captain Kirk.

His Trekkie credentials don't stop there. On one of the “Next Generation” Blu-rays, MacFarlane recorded a commentary track “Cause and Effect” series in conversation with the episode's writer, Brennon Bragg. He also appeared in the documentary “Trek Nation” and has included numerous references to “Star Trek”. in his animated sitcom “Family Guy” “American Dad!” and “The Cleveland Show.” Yes, MacFarlane has always been a Star Trek fan.

So he must have had a formative experience on Star Trek: Enterprise. Many hikers may have forgotten this, but MacFarlane played a character named Ensign Rivers in two episodes of this series. He didn't have a major role, but his appearance makes him a canonical character in all of Trek lore. Ensign Rivers first appeared in the third season episode “The Forgotten” (April 28, 2004) as an unnamed engineer who is insulted by Trip Tucker (Connor Trainor), the company's head of engineering. He also appeared in the fourth season episode “Affliction” (February 18, 2005), when his character was finally given a name. Ensign Rivers didn't seem to like his experience on the Enterprise, as he was serving on a new ship, the USS Columbia, the second time we saw him.

In “The Forgotten”, the USS Enterprise is recovering from a fire in previous episodes and has to repair many systems. Trip Tucker is sleep deprived and overworkedwho must oversee all aspects of the ship's engine improvements. Ensign Rivers is summarily reprimanded for missing a micro-fracture in the engine's magnesium casing. Rivers defends himself by saying he did a pressure test, but that wasn't enough for an angry Tucker. That's his entire cameo in The Forgotten.

However, Rivers reappears several times in “Affliction,” but only to deliver lines like “Yes, sir” and “Here's the diagnostic you requested” and “The dilithium matrix is ​​stable.” He has maybe a minute of screen time in total. In one scene, he questions why Tripp wants the dilithium matrix to be within 0.3 microns when the manual says 0.5 is acceptable. Ensign Rivers is by no means a dynamic or complete character, but MacFarlane certainly found it fascinating to read classic Star Trek technology. It's the technological quirk and technical attention to detail that brings so many Trekkies back to the franchise, so MacFarlane was likely happy with it. Not all Star Trek actors liked it.

Because Rivers was played by a recognizable celebrity like MacFarlane, his character was a little more recognizable than most of Trek's random engineers, doctors, and bridge officers. As such, Ensign Rivers received his own playable card in the 2006 edition of the Star Trek Customizable Card Game, a popular and extensive game that was first released in 1994 and has been expanded ever since. On his card, Ensign Rivers was eventually given Stewart's name, no doubt a deliberate reference to Stevie Griffin, the character McFarlane plays on his show “Family Guy.”