Ted Sprague
| Theodore Sprague | |
|---|---|
| |
| Portrayed by | Matthew John Armstrong |
| First appearance | Nothing to Hide |
| In-story stats | |
| Known ability | Induced Radioactivity |
| Gender | |
| Age | 33 |
| Date of birth | August 28th, 1973 |
| Residence | Ted Sprague's home |
| Occupation | Medical equipment salesman |
| Significant others | Karen Sprague, deceased |
Theodore 'Ted' Sprague is a resident of Los Angeles, CA. He has the ability to emit radiation from his hands.
Character History
Nothing to Hide
Matt and Audrey are investigating the murder of Robert Fresco, an oncologist at UCLA. His body was found burned to a char and emitting 1,800 curies of radiation. A fingerprint found seared into the man's bone is matched using the FBI's CODIS system to Theodore Sprague.
Matt and Audrey investigate the house and find signs of severe radiation damage throughout: photographs have the faces singed out, there are burns on the keyboard of a computer and around a doorknob, and nearly everything in the bedroom, where the radiation count is highest, is burned and melted into scrap.
Matt finds a chemotherapy prescription belonging to Karen Sprague and issued by Dr. Fresco. He and Audrey travel to Karen's hospital, where they enounter Ted at his dying wife's bedside. He readily admits to accidentally killing Dr. Fresco when they argued about Karen's prognosis, and only resists when Matt and Audrey try to take him away from his wife's bedside. He grabs a nurse and holds her hostage, and tells them that he doesn't know what will happen if they shoot him ... he might even explode. Matt uses his telepathic abilities to calm Ted by relaying messages from a comatose Karen. Ted releases the nurse, whose arm is covered in radiation burns. After a last reminiscence, Karen dies, and Ted agrees to go peaceably with Audrey for questioning.
Later, as he is being processed by the police, two small marks are apparent on his neck. They are identical to marks Matt discovers on his own neck.
Seven Minutes to Midnight
Ted is sitting alone in an interrogation room when Matt Parkman and Audrey Hanson come in. Audrey gives Theodore a glass of water. Theodore complains that they won't let him go to his wife's funeral. Audrey tells him that they need him to answer a few more questions. She asks Ted how he's able to do what he does. Ted exclaims that nothing matters since he killed his wife. Matt glances at his radiation badge and notices it's turned red. Ted screams that he just wants to be left alone and doesn't know anything about any nuclear material. Matt tells him to relax, but Ted just gets angrier. He tells them out of frustration that if they want him to be the bad guy then he'll blow the place apart. He grabs the glass of water and it quickly begins boiling. Audrey threatens to shoot him and Ted tells her to just do it. Matt tries to calm Ted down by showing that he's not alone in having abnormal powers. He tells Ted they're just trying to understand what's going on and to relax. He manages to calm Ted down and tells him to take him back to when this all started.
Matt hears Ted think that he blacked out and when he woke up things just started dying. Remembering his own experiences, Matt asks him how long he blacked out for and whether he was drinking. He asks if when he woke up he had bruises on his arms. Ted shows them the mark on his neck and Matt shows the same marks on his own neck. Ted explains that he was in Kansas a few months back having sold a dialysis machine to a university hospital. He went to the hotel bar where he saw a couple from Wyoming, a few professors, and a student from Haiti. The next thing he knew he woke up in his car two days later in Arizona with cuts and bruises on him. Matt asks Ted if he feels sick at all or gets headaches and Ted admits he has headaches. Audrey asks Ted if there are any more dead bodies that they need to know about and Matt defends him, telling Audrey that it's not his fault. Matt tells Ted that he, too, blacked out and lost two days, and now he can't stop hearing people's thoughts. Matt offers a description of the Haitian man Ted saw at the bar and they confirm that they both saw the same guy right before they blacked out. The FBI Agent Audrey had worked the Walker murder scene with comes in and several agents take Ted away. As he's being escorted out, Ted tells Matt to find the Haitian. Later, Ted escapes, burning a car in the process.
Memorable Quotes
(after Audrey threatens to shoot him) "Do you have any idea what would happen if you did that because I don't. Maybe I'll explode. Maybe I'll take out this whole hospital. Maybe I'll wipe out this city like an atomic bomb! "
- - Ted (Nothing to Hide)
Powers
Ted has the ability to emit radiation. He seems to have some control over the intensity, but judging from the damage to his home and his accidental killing of Dr. Fresco, his ability to control his power is severely limited, possibly more so when he is emotionally agitated.
- After his arrest, Ted is seen boiling water at FBI Headquarters, a scene depicted in one of Isaac's paintings
- Ted puts out 1,800 curies (Ci) of radiation without even coming in contact with radiative material.
Notes
- Ted is based heavily on the engineer, a terrorist character from the 72 minute version of the original pilot. Both men have the same powers, and both men have wives they love very much who die of cancer, probably related to their own radiation powers.
- Ted has an unusual mark on his shoulder which is identical to Matt Parkman's.
Trivia
- Theodore Sprague lives at 93 Laramie Street, Los Angeles, CA, 90016.
- Ted is 5’10” tall, weighs 175 pounds and has brown eyes and hair.
Fan Theories
Please refer to Theory:Ted Sprague for fan-created theories and other speculation.