Martin Mystery (animated series)

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Martin Mystery
From Left to Right: Billy, Diana, Martin and Java
Genre	Animated series
Creator(s)	Alfredo Castelli Stephane Berry
Starring	Samuel Vincent Kelly Sheridan Dale Wilson Teryl Rothery
Country of origin	Canada France
No. of episodes	66
Production
Running time	approx. 0:22 Minutes
Broadcast
Original channel	Marathon Production Disney Channel Disney Channel Nickelodeon/4Kids TV (2005) Disney Channel Asia YTV Disney Channel Asia
Original run	October 1, 2003 – Present

Martin Mystery (2003) is an animated television series. It is loosely based on the Italian comic Martin Mystère.

The series reimagines the title character Martin Mystery and his step-sister (his father married her mom) Diana Lombard as 16-year-olds attending Torrington Academy, a high school in Sherbrooke, Quebec. They work for the covert organization, "The Center", which secretly protects the people of Earth from extraterrestrial and supernatural threats. Not everyone who works for the organization is human. The short and green-skinned Billy is one of Martin's best friends. Java works in the cafeteria of Diana and Martin's school and is a caveman from 200,000 years ago. As far as "The Center" is concerned, Martin's vast knowledge of the supernatural and his remarkable intuition compensate for his poor personal hygiene and huge ego. Diana resents these qualities at times, as Martin does not seem to often understand the seriousness of his missions, but generally loves him like any real brother. In a small twist of irony, Diana and Martin are lovers in the original comics version, and not siblings.

Diana is prone to many of the missions' scarier moments and often becomes a victim that Martin has to rescue, much to her chagrin. Together they form an excellent mystery solving team at the same time full of horrors and dangers.

Martin Mystery had been aired in Canada on YTV and KidsDiscovery Channel in English and on VRAK.TV in French since 2004. In May 2005, Nickelodeon and NickToons Network begin to air Martin Mystery as well, Nickelodeon removed Martin Mystery from their line up in August 2005. It is also seen on MBC 3 & ART Teenz channels nowadays but in Arabic (Starring "Mariam El Khesht" as "Diana Lombard" & "Moawad Ismail" as "Martin"). Martin Mystery began airing on Disney Channel on 2004 on its weekday afternoon line up. It was temporarily replaced by Sabrina, The Animated Series and was returned on the line up. Its airing schedule was changed from Monday to Friday to Thursday and Friday as Emperor's New School airs from Monday to Wednesday. This January, it was totally removed from the weekday line up. It currently airs on Disney Channel Asia every weekend mornings.

The show is produced by Marathon Production (a French television production company based in Paris), which also produces Totally Spies and Team Galaxy. Like Totally Spies, Martin Mystery takes on a style reminiscent of Japanese anime, although it is produced in Europe. Boys resembling Martin and his rival, Marvin, and Diana have appeared as cameos in Totally Spies in its episode "Super Agent Much?" and many others.

1 Major Characters
2 Minor Characters
3 Monsters
4 Martin's U-Watch
5 Episode Guide
6 Trivia
7 Media Releases
8 External links

[edit] Major Characters

Martin Mystery

Martin is just like any other 16-year-old, and has a wild passion for the paranormal. But after unwillingly solving an amazing 'out of this world' mystery, he finds himself working as a paranormal Investigator for "The Center". Whether at school or on a mission, he always remains the same outrageous immature teen, constantly bursting with energy. He seldom thinks before he leaps into danger, often to help someone in peril. Martin has a peculiar love for everything slimy, sloppy and gooey - things that make Diana gag. Martin loves to play pranks and creep out his stepsister, who often retaliates with physical abuse. As leader of the trio, Martin is also the only one who wears a U-Watch.

Diana Lombard

Diana is a serious, rational, and obsessive straight-A 16 year old student with nothing in common with her stepbrother. As an agent at The Center, she strives to bring more seriousness into Martin's life, and is Martin's female counterpart during investigations. Diana is at times quite jumpy on missions, but shows great courage when called on. Not sharing Martin's love of the paranormal, she often tries to explain something with logic before it becomes apparently paranormal. Diana has the hardest time keeping her cool with her quirky, irresponsible stepbrother, and will generally slap, kick, punch, or strike him. She is usually seen with her two signature hair clips and her small purple shoulder bag. Her best friend is Jenni.

Java The Caveman

Java is the 200,000 year-old caveman, a friend and aide-de-camp to Martin and Diana who works at Torrington as a cook and a janitor. He assists them in their investigations and his brute strength is useful when battling monstrous foes or breaking through barriers. A lover of lizards and spiders, Java nevertheless has fears of cats and heights, and is unable to swim. Also the member in the trio who speaks the least, his English is spoken on a fairly simplistic level (i.e.- "What that?", "Diana bald", and "Java no like this place"). Java is, however, a significant source of comedy in the show through his reactions to various scenarios, and various situations related to his poor hygiene as a caveman (i.e. - his offensive foot odor and filthy feet).

M.O.M.

As the multi-tasking director of "The Center", she oversees the investigation of paranormal activities throughout the world. Martin's amazing capabilities make him one of M.O.M.'s favourite agents - if 'favourite' is meant by the agent that she least likes to have appear in her office. Her real name is unknown, though she has used the alias Ms. Olivia Mandell, which is derived from her initials of M.O.M. Before working at the center she used to drive an ice cream truck. Serious and uncompromising, she has to deal with Martin blowing up every piece of gadgetry she is working on whenever he appears for a debriefing in her office. Despite her typically dry sense of humor, she is actually quite- as Billy says- "a real party animal."

Billy

A tiny green alien who works for "The Center" as M.O.M.'s personal secretary, oftentimes seen flying on his mini hovercraft. His role is generally a supportive one; he pops up anytime during a mission to give him, Diana and Java valuable information, and he does analysis on slime or fabric samples sent by Martin. In the second season, Billy was revealed to have once been a great alien warrior known as Ganthar, on another planet, but gave up violence for good; which is the reason he doesn't go on missions with the other three agents. He arrived to Earth in the Roswell, New Mexico "alien" crash in 1947. Billy recently adopted a human disguise- the "B.S. 1000"- to be with Martin and Diana at their school.

[edit] Minor Characters

Jenni Anderson

She is Martin's constant- and rather unrequited- love interest. Her view of Martin is generally not very flattering: this includes "immature", "freak", or "loser." Jenni is also one of the prettiest girls attending Torrington, her appearance being that of blue eyes, flared auburn colored hair, black blouse and skirt, and knee-high boots. She is also Diana's best friend. Though Jenni usually sees Martin as a "brat", there have actually been times where she is actually interested pursuing a relationship in him. Unfortunately for Martin, it never lasts because her mind is erased, or because he messes something up.

Marvin

Martin's rival, and evidently one who does extreme things (such as "snowboarding down K-2.") He does virtually everything that Martin himself can do (better of course), and even dresses in a style similar to him. Marvin's similarity-yet-dissimilarity to Martin may be a nod to Bizarro's resemblance to yet difference from nemesis Superman. Marvin's father is a pilot. He works for the Center and has his own U-Watch.

Gerald Mystery

Martin and Diana's father. He is a very rational, logic-minded scientist who spends much of his time in the field. He also considers anything related to the paranormal 'balderdash.' In the second season, he finds out about the center and is sworn to secrecy.

Darla Simmons

Darla is the stereotypical nerd girl of Torrington Academy, most noticeable by her clothes, her appearance, and even the way she carries her books. For one particular episode- 'Curse of the Looking Glass', she became Darlene, a very beautiful girl whose looks were irresistible to other males.

Antonio

Usually referred to as 'Tonio,' he is one of Martin's best friends. He appears fairly infrequently in the show, and mostly in the first season.

Caitlin

A girl interested in almost everything Martin is, including the supernatural and monster movies. Caitlin was Martin's girlfriend for a brief amount of time until dumping him after he missed a date with her while fighting a revenge-driven genie.

Principal Pebbleton

The principal of Torrington Academy, though he holds Diana in high esteem, he despises Martin due to his complete disregard for school and his habit of pulling pranks.

[edit] Monsters

Main article: Monsters in Martin Mystery

[edit] Martin's U-Watch

Martin Mystery, who is very much the leader of the trio, carries a high-tech device called the U-Watch. This is a piece of equipment that is an essential part on their missions, and is also the way they are usually paged to the Center. Marvin also wears one. The primary functions are:

Legendex: a database of every monster, curse, creature, and event worthy of note known to The Center

Slime Scan: analyzes slime samples if it is of unknown origin. This is arguably the function most utilized by Martin

Bio Scan: analyzes any biological residue and sends information on The Center's database

X-Rod: fires a net to capture a creature. It can also extend into a quarterstaff (like Sun Wukong's staff) for melee combat

I-Cutter: creates an energy blade that cuts through walls, locks, and doors; it has also been shown to shoot a concentrated "laser blast" on a occasion. Like the X-Rod, it is the only other weapon capable of actual fighting .

Tracker: has a GPS system that can used to track down people or objects

Turbo Bungee: a grappling hook that enables the wearer to escape from confined spaces

Alpha Goggles: a pair of glasses with internal light beams mounted at the rims, perfect for viewing in enclosed or dark locations

U-Shield: generates a force field that can cover the area of an entire room. It also acts as an air supply for limited durations underwater (but only for an amount of time)

It should be noted that the 'unofficial' functions include an internal flashlight, communications device, and even a laser/blaster function which is rarely used. Interestingly enough, it has never been verified that the U-Watch actually tells the time.

M.O.M. wears her own U-Watch, the 'Ultra U-Watch' which is also capable of opening portals. There is also an upgraded version of the U-Watch: the 'X-Watch,' given to higher-ranking agents. It has additional functions such as 'Hologram', 'Ultra-Concentrated Sunbeam', and 'X-Goggles.' These features have been indicated in the episode "The Lost Tribe", and it is a device that Martin desires.

[edit] Episode Guide

Main article: List of Martin Mystery episodes

[edit] Trivia

Diana's favorite comfort food is poached salmon.

Martin's favourite color is orange.

Number of times Jenni expressed interest in Martin: 5

MOM's office doubles as a nightclub, and she has been described as "a real party animal".

In an episode where Martin and the group go investigate the paranormal in Oregon, all the townsfolk are pictured as stereotypical southern hillbillies, despite being a northern state, and is one of the closer states to Canada. Some have interpereted this as the company's view on Americans in general.

"Code 7-5-9-2" brings MOM's office into full lockdown.

While Java is a caveman, he has adapted to a modern lifestyle, except for his unremitting fear of technology, and his unbearably stinky foot odor, which probably stems from his feet's lack of ventilation, as cavemen didn't wear shoes. In addition, he does not wear socks with his shoes. It is often noted that Diana is grossed out by the stench, and must wear a gasmask to protect herself whenever Java takes off his shoes, because the smell is just too overwhelming. However, this odor may be caused from Java's lack of hygiene.