Thunderstone (TV series)
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| Thunderstone | |
|---|---|
| Format | Science fiction |
| Created by | Jonathan M. Shiff |
| Starring | Jeffrey Walker Mereoni Vuki Emily Browning Daniel Daperis |
| Country of origin | Australia |
| No. of episodes | 52 |
| Production | |
| Running time | 30 minutes |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | Network Ten |
| Original run | February 12, 1999 – ? |
| External links | |
| Official website | |
| IMDb profile | |
| TV.com summary | |
Thunderstone is a 1999 Australian children's television series produced by Jonathan M. Shiff Productions set in a post-apocalyptic world after Earth is hit by a comet. The main character Noah is played by Jeffrey Walker (also known for his roles in Ocean Girl, The Wayne Manifesto and Mirror, Mirror). Other famous actors who appear in the series are Gerard Kennedy, Emily Browning (who later appeared in Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events) and Daniel Daperis.
The show was originally broadcast on Network Ten. Both the first and second series also aired on ABC Kids.
Contents |
[edit] Plot
The main character Noah Daniels, his family and other survivors live in an underground colony called North Col in the year 2020. It's impossible to live on the planet's surface, because of the extreme cold and constant snow storms.
The comet's impact destroyed all animal life, so to keep the children's knowledge of biology up to date, they are taught about these extinct animals with the aid of a holodeck. Noah is fascinated by these animals and even after being chased by a virtual tiger, he can't stop his curiosity. He secretly returns to the holodeck at night to explore the animal kingdom on his own. But when he's discovered by the holographic guards, their interaction with the machines, transport Noah in time.
He lands in Haven, a place where a group of kids (the Nomads) travel around trying to stay out of the clutches of the evil Tao who wants to mine all the valuable blue mineral thunderstone to power the vehicles for his men and to use this wealth to get to power.
At first Noah, thinks he has travelled back in time because animals exist in Haven, but he eventually finds out that the thunderstone Tao is after originated from the Nemesis Comet. He has travelled forward in time after all, meaning somehow the scientific work of his father will allow life on the planet's surface.
But the question remains. Will Noah ever get home?
The second series revolves around Noah and the Nomad leader Arushka (Mereoni Vuki) travelling through time, trying to bring animals to Haven.
[edit] What is Thunderstone?
Thunderstone is the name given to the chemical compound the Nemesis comet was made out of. It is a source of energy and power, and can be used to do anything from make explosives to allowing vehicles to run on it like gas. It also reacts violently when it comes in contact with itself, causing it to disintegrate if enough impact is made. When drunk as a compounded solution, it grants long life to the drinker. The entire series revolves around its unique chemical properties to advance the plot.
[edit] Series history
[edit] Season 1
Season one revolves around Noah's adventures in Haven. As he brings more and more animals from the past to inhabit Haven and continues to jump back and forth through North Col, Haven, and the past before the Nemesis Comet hit, he attracts attention from the Triumvirate in North Col and the Shadow Master in Haven. This causes a chain of events that reveal the true identity of the Shadow Master (in itself a plot twist), and his goal to acquire enough Thunderstone to become immortal. Noah and company devise a plot to destroy the core of the Nemesis Comet which was recently discovered by the Shadow Master, to prevent him from gaining absolute control over Haven. They destroy it by using its explosive property by combining it with huge amounts of salt and igniting it. The Shadow Master is killed as he approaches the supply of Thunderstone, watching his life's work become terminated. Tao's true nature is also revealed, and his minions flee and become no more.
Released to DVD on Monday, 30 June 2008. As advertised at EzyDVD.
[edit] Season 2
With the Shadow Master and his minions defeated, Noah stays at North Col but misses Haven and is tempted to go back. When he does, he becomes stranded since there is no longer any thunderstone left, or so it seems. In this season, the plot revolves around acquiring a large Thunderstone Cube, which Noah learns about from fugitives from the future, named Mayah and her brothers, who brought it there under a lake. After obtaining it, Noah realizes he could travel back in time and use its power to destroy the Nemesis Comet completely, preventing the apocalypse. The season ends with Noah using the energy to completely incinerate the comet and thus, ironically, cause everything he did in Season 1 to cease to exist, in his own words: "Not in this dimension". This causes Mayah and her brothers to cease to exist, and the Earth now has a brighter future. The comet broke off into a ring of thunderstone that revolves around the Earth, which is a major plot point for season three.
[edit] Season 3
Noah is recognized for his genius, and this season begins with experimental wormholes of his design. This allows him to set up a space colony. The people from the future of this space colony wish to assassinate young Noah, because his future self was said to have murdered their parents. They use Noah’s time travel technology and make several attempts on his life. The Season involves Noah trying to find the truth about what happened and making peace with these people.
[edit] Cast
[edit] Agent Cummings (Christopher Elliott)
A regular cast member during the third series, Agent Cummings duty was to protect the planet and protect Noah the child prodigy. Little did he know his attempts to protect Noah were actually thwarting his desire to protect the planet, because it was preventing Noah from diverting a potential tragedy which could end the existence of all life on their planet. Wormhole technology was an essential part of Noah's rescue tragedy and Agent Cummings prohibited it, afraid it would attract aliens to the planet.
[edit] Trivia
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Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines. The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones. |
- In the first season, Sundance and his twin brother, Sutch, were both played by the same actor. Sutch however is never mentioned or seen again in the later seasons.
- Noah's character may have been named after the biblical Noah, as he tries to repopulate haven with animals in the same way Noah was supposed to have repopulated the earth after the Biblical Flood.
- There are several instances of temporal paradoxes in the show, the most notable being Noah and the Nomad’s final act in season two, in which their act of destroying the Nemesis Comet should have caused them to cease to exist, or at least no longer exist as they are in season three. These however could be written off as anomalies, as during the entire series it is emphasized that time is incredibly unstable.
[edit] External links
- Thunderstone at the Internet Movie Database
- Jonathan M. Shiff Productions - producer's website which contains a wealth of information on the series.
- Thunderstone at the National Film and Sound Archive
