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| Ocean Girl | |
|---|---|
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| Also known as | Ocean Odyssey |
| Format | Sci-fi / Drama / Aliens |
| Created by | Jonathan M. Shiff |
| Starring | Marzena Godecki David Hoflin Jeffrey Walker Kerry Armstrong Lauren Hewett |
| Country of origin | Australia |
| No. of episodes | 78 |
| Production | |
| Running time | 24 min. |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | Network Ten |
| Original run | August 29, 1994 – 1998 |
| External links | |
| IMDb profile | |
| TV.com summary | |
Ocean Girl (Ocean Odyssey in the UK) is an Australian science fiction television series aimed for family audiences and starring Marzena Godecki as the lead character. The show is set in the near future, and focuses on an unusual girl named Neri who lives alone on an island, and the friendships she develops with other regular people over the course of the show.
Ocean Girl inspired an animated series, The New Adventures of Ocean Girl, which ran from 2000 to 2001, and has since been released on DVD. The animated series is unrelated to the original live-action show.
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Premise
Ocean Girl takes place in the future. Neri is a young girl with an affinity for water, and the ability to swim long distances and stay underwater for long periods of time. She lives alone on an otherwise deserted island. Early in Season 1, Neri befriends two regular boys: Jason and Brett Bates. This friendship is at first a highly-guarded secret due to Neri's fear of other humans. The Bates brothers live in an elaborate underwater research and environmental protection facility called ORCA (Oceanic Research Centre of Australia), located off the coast of Australia. A significant portion of the series takes place on ORCA itself, and looks at the activities of its inhabitants.
As the series progresses, it is explained that Neri came to Earth on a spaceship with her father when she was young, though he died soon after, leaving Neri to fend for herself. Prior to meeting Jason and Brett, Neri's only friend was a humpback whale (named Jali, and later Charley) with whom she can communicate. Later in the series Neri is revealed to have a sister named Mera, and the two are given the opportunity to return to their home planet.
Main cast
- Marzena Godecki as Neri
- David Hoflin as Jason Bates
- Jeffrey Walker as Brett Bates
- Alex Pinder as Dr. Winston Seth
- Kerry Armstrong as Dr. Dianne Bates (Season 1 & 2)
- Liz Burch as Dr. Dianne Bates (Season 3 & 4)
Broadcast history
The original Ocean Girl series ran on Australia's Network Ten between 1994 and 1998. Internationally, it was broadcast by the Disney Channel in the United States, Discovery Kids in the United Kingdom, YTV in Canada, ZDF and KI.KA in Germany, on RTÉ Two in Ireland and on Canal Panda in Portugal. The Disney Channel only aired the first three seasons, the last was not broadcast. Discovery Kids regularly broadcast all four seasons in continuous loops, up until 2003.
In the UK, the show was broadcast under the title Ocean Odyssey on BBC Two. It was aired during the 90s (exact date unknown) with a subsequent airing in 2002, though this airing halted before season 4 was complete. In 2004, the entire series was re-aired in full.
The show has recently been repeated on the ABC in Australia, as part of their ABC Kids afternoon block of children's programs.
DVD release
Umbrella Entertainment began releasing the series on region-free DVD, starting with Season 1 on November 7, 2005 and Season 2 on March 3, 2007. Season 3 was released on June 30, 2008. Season 4 will be released by April/May 2009[1].
Episodes
Season 1
| Episode | Title | Original Airdate |
|---|---|---|
| 01 | "Strange Encounters" | August 29, 1994 |
| Dr. Dianne Bates and her two sons arrive at ORCA, with Jason, the eldest, initially hostile of his new home. During a mission where Jason is supposed to shoot a tracking tag on to a humpback whale, he sees Neri for the first time. | ||
| 02 | "Bad-Berry Dreams" | September 5, 1994 |
| Jason is determined to find the girl he saw in the sea, despite no one believing him. A new girl named Vanessa arrives at ORCA and antagonizes Brett, setting him adrift in a boat. | ||
| 03 | "Secrets" | September 12, 1994 |
| Jason and Brett help save Neri when she is caught in a fishing net. They gain her trust and visit her island for the first time. Dianne Bates and her assistant, Winston, notice Neri's presence in their radar. | ||
| 04 | "Hell N' High Water" | September 19, 1994 |
| Neri warns Jason of an imminent seaquake, revealing her connection with Charley the whale. Jason's friends Damien and Lee are trapped in a flooded store room when the seaquake hits. | ||
| 05 | "Past Imperfect" | September 26, 1994 |
| Dianne and Commander Lucas agree to be civil to each other at Winston's request, leading Brett to misunderstand that Lucas is romantically interested in Dianne. Jason spends more time away from ORCA in order to visit Neri, making Vanessa suspicious of his activities. | ||
| 06 | "The Real World" | October 3, 1994 |
| Property developers target Neri's island with the intent of converting it into a resort. Jason tags along in the developers' visit to the island, intending to sabotage their trip. After seeing the developers, Neri starts becoming curious about Jason's world. | ||
| 07 | "Remember When" | October 10, 1994 |
| Toxic waste poisons Charley, and Neri swims to ORCA to ask Jason for help. Jason finds toxic waste barrels dumped by Zenco, a mining company that sponsors his mother's research. Lee, Brett and Brett's friends Froggy and Zoe work together to expose Zenco. Neri is almost seen by Vanessa. | ||
| 08 | "Behind Enemy Lines" | October 17, 1994 |
| At her insistence, Jason and Brett bring Neri into Orca. Neri enjoys her visit, and implies that she would like return visits. Vanessa is immediately suspicious of her, and Damien is attracted to her. | ||
| 09 | "Breaking Away" | October 24, 1994 |
| Neri returns to ORCA unannounced on the day that the ORCA children are given shore leave. Jason and Brett are forced to bring Neri with them to the mainland. Damien pursues his interest in Neri. Dianne and Winston tell Commander Lucas about Charley's "little friend". | ||
| 10 | "In the Deep End" | October 31, 1994 |
| A fellow marine biologist arrives at ORCA to validate Dianne's work, just when Charley's tracking tag malfunctions. Dianne and Winston finally see Neri. | ||
| 11 | "The Girl Who Fell from the Sea" | November 7, 1994 |
| Dianne and Winston welcome Neri on to ORCA and begin research with her in secret, despite Jason and Brett's concerns. Neri stays on ORCA, neglecting Charley. A spy breaks into Dianne's lab and steals some of her recordings. | ||
| 12 | "Running Tide" | November 14, 1994 |
| The spy who stole Dianne's recordings works for Dr. Hellegren, a competitor of Dianne's. Jason and Brett worry that Neri's getting too attached to life on ORCA. Commander Lucas learns about Neri. Hellegren traps Charley in an electric net, prompting Neri to leave ORCA. | ||
| 13 | "Siren Call" | November 21, 1994 |
| Jason and Brett work together with Damien, Lee, Froggy, Zoe, Jodie and Vanessa to help free Charley. Commander Lucas threatens to expose Neri, so Dianne deletes all the research on her. In the final scene, Neri leaves with Charley to join the migrating herds. | ||
See also
External links
- Ocean Girl at the Internet Movie Database
- Ocean Girl at TV.com
- Jonathan M. Shiff Productions - includes an Ocean Girl section
- Fansite
- Ocean Girl at the National Film and Sound Archive
References
- ^ Private correspondence with Umrella: "[...] we hope to release season four by April/May of next year."
