The Odyssey (TV series)

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The Odyssey was a Canadian-produced half-hour adventure-fantasy television series for children, originally broadcast 1992-95 on CBC Television. It starred Illya Woloshyn as Jay Ziegler, Ashleigh Aston Moore as Donna/Alpha (credited as Ashley Rogers), Tony Sampson as Keith/Flash, Andrea Nemeth as Medea/Sierra Jones, Mark Hildreth as Finger, Janet Hodgkinson as Val Ziegler (Jay's mother), and Devon Sawa as Yudo.

In the series pilot, 11-year-old Jay tries to join a tree-fort club, and a telescope that belonged to his father (who has been missing several years and is presumed dead) is stolen. When Jay tries to retrieve the telescope, he falls from the tree-fort, injures his head, and lapses into a coma.

In the coma, Jay finds himself in a fantasy world where no one reaches the age of 16. Not having heard of adults, the children here have shaped society in their own ways, sometimes resembling a police state. Jay, not knowing how he has got here, embarks on a journey to return home—a place he can't remember. The journey becomes a quest to find his long-lost father, who fell overboard from a small boat into a lake whilst they were on a fishing trip together, and has not been seen since.

Meanwhile, Jay's mother and a coma therapist try to get Jay to regain consciousness, with the help of his friends.

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

A turning point is reached when Jay's father's appears to him as he is regaining consciousness, which Jay is forced to keep as a secret from his mother. As Jay struggles to reorient himself in the waking world and the many changes that have occurred, he finds that he is still dealing with issues through the world from his subconscious.

The series, created by Paul Vitols and Warren Easton, was produced in Vancouver by Water Street Pictures. Over the three years of production 39 episodes were made. The show was broadcast in the U.S. by the Sci-Fi Channel, in the UK by Channel 4 in 1995, and also in a number of other countries. Awards won by the series include Top Ten World Program at the Cologne Conference, a Canadian Gemini for Best Youth Program, and the WorldFest Gold Award at the Houston International Film Festival.