Totally Spies!

Totally Spies!
Genre	Action Comedy Teen drama
Format	Animated series
Created by	Vincent Chalvon-Demersay David Michel
Written by	Vincent Chalvon-Demersay Nicole Demerse Michelle Lamoreaux Robert Lamoreaux David Michel Rhonda Smiley
Directed by	Stephane Berry
Voices of	(see Cast)
Theme music composer	Patric Caird
Country of origin	France Canada (Season 3-Present)
No. of seasons	6
No. of episodes	156 (List of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)	Stephane Berry Vincent Chalvon Demersay Michelle Lamoreaux Robert Lamoreaux
Producer(s)	Vincent Chalvon Demersay David Michel
Editor(s)	Daniel Reynes David Sauve
Location(s)	France Canada
Running time	21 minutes
Production company(s)	Marathon Media Image Entertainment Corporation (Season 3-5) Marathon Images (Season 6-present) Zodiak Media The Walt Disney Company France(Season 6-Present)
Distributor	Cartoon Network (2003–2010) Disney XD (Europe) Teletoon (Season 3-Present) TF1
Broadcast
Original channel	ABC Family TF1 Teletoon (Canada)(2002-present/Season 1-present)
Picture format	NTSC (480i) HDTV 720p
Original run	November 3, 2001 (2001-11-03) – Present
Chronology
Followed by	Totally Spies! The Movie
Related shows	The Amazing Spiez!
External links
Website

Totally Spies! is a French/Canadian animated television series created by Vincent Chalvon-Demersay and David Michel and is produced by the France-based production company Marathon Media and the Canadian company Image Entertainment Corporation . The show was made to resemble anime styles and was originally based on the concept of a girl band. It focuses on three teenage girls, Sam, Clover and Alex, who work as covert espionage agents for the World Organization of Human Protection (WOOHP), headed by their over-bearing and highly intelligent leader, Jerry.

It premiered on ABC Family on November 3, 2001, and premiered in Europe in the spring of the following year. Since the series' debut, 156 episodes have been broadcast, completing its sixth season to date. This includes several specials and a theatrical movie production, made and released between the fourth and fifth season. It has been broadcast in over 150 territories internationally. Several products tied to the series have been released, which include a series of comic books and video games.

Development and production

The show's conception came from the rise of girl band and female singers in the music industry. Wanting to capitalize on the niche, David Michel and Vincent Chalvon-Demersay put their idea into development, which later shifted into production within a year. According to Michel, the series' animation style was intended to incorporate anime influences.*^[1] The production company, Marathon Media, intended on building on the series brand by forming a three-piece girl band, utilizing German talk show Arabella to create it. Using a panel of judges, 20 demo videos were selected and the winners were selected based on the strength of their performance and the show's viewers. The band was selected and released a single in the spring of 2002, through EMI. According to managing director Dirk Fabarius, "The plan is to eventually create an entire album and establish and promote Totally Spies as a real band."^[2] While the idea did not materialize, the series was promoted through other merchandising. It was announced in the spring of 2001 that the series would air in the autumn on ABC Family, and would be distributed to the European countries in the following year.

Following the end of the fifth season, the series's movie, Totally Spies! The Movie, was produced and released to theaters in France on July 22, 2009. The movie received a television release in the United States, on April 25 the following year, coinciding with the airing of the series fifth season there. In August 2011, Marathon Media confirmed that production for the sixth season was underway and set to premiere in 2013.^[3] It was later confirmed that 26 episodes would be produced and that the show would be licensed in Spain and Latin America, with European territories following suit.^[4] To coincide with the sixth season's premiere, Zodiak Kids CP Paris, in association with Château de Versailles Spectacles (CVS) and TF1, organized an event at the Palace of Versailles, taking place during the summer of 2013.^[5] The event would be preceded with activities including a screening of a special featuring the spies on a mission in the palace gardens.^[5]

Series overview

The series centers around the adventures of three teenage girls - Sam, Alex and Clover - who live a double life as spies working for the World Organization of Human Protection (WOOHP). The girls are recruited by the organization's leader, Jerry Lewis, to solve crises that arise around the world. Many of their missions involve dealing with disgruntled villains who have been wronged in some form during their past. Several have exacted revenge on the spies by invading their personal lives. The b-stories focus on the girls' daytime lives as high school students, dealing with relationships, school and school rivals (Mandy).

Characters

Sam (Samantha)

Sam is the de-facto leader of the group. She is the most intelligent and logical of the group, usually using her vast knowledge to help the girls during their missions, as well as their daily lives.^[6]

Clover

Clover is the girly girl of the group who enjoys shopping, fashion and boys. She is portrayed many times as vain and shallow, putting the most trivial issues above everything else. Despite this, her dexterity, her self-confidence and her knowledge of pop culture has proved useful in the girls' missions.^[6]

Alex (Alexandra)

Alex, being the most athletic of the girls, is very energetic and dexterous. However, she has a tendency to be clumsy and slow at times while being very caring, acting as the glue that holds the girls' friendship together.^[6]

Jerry

The girls' leader, Jerry Lewis, is the founder of the World Organization of Human Protection (WOOHP). He is very protective of the girls, oftentimes invading their privacy to ensure that they are safe. Despite having a sedentary role in WOOHP's affairs, Jerry has displayed mastery of martial arts when occasionally assisting in the girls' missions. He also creates useful gadgets that helps the spies in every mission.

Other characters

Many of the series recurring characters are involved in Sam, Alex and Clover's personal lives as high school. Mandy, the school's queen bee, is the girls' main antagonist. She is very popular and self-centered, focusing on her appearance, accessories and boys. She is Clover's main rival in high school, later college, as they often compete for the same things. She is usually followed by a posse, which consisted of Caitlin and Dominique (high school), her Southern raised cousin Mindy (season five) who bears similarities to Mandy, and Trent (season six). David is an artsy student who the girls and Mandy are attracted to. He often remains oblivious to the girls affections for them, but remains good friends with them. Arnold is the school's stereotypical nerd who occasionally socializes with the girls and follows Mandy around from time to time. He sometimes acts as an obstacle in the girls' missions.

Several other recurring characters in the series are agents of WOOHP who assist the girls in their missions. Britney is introduced as a new recruit in the second season. She embodies the best traits of the three girls and is instantly liked by everyone except Alex, who warms up to her later in the series. Dean is a WOOHP agent who appears in the third season as the girls' trainer, and appears later as head of the organization's gadgets. He is the object of the girls' affection and stands as the only boy that can resist Clover's charm. In season three, WOOHP is revamped with new technology, including G.L.A.D.I.S (Gadget Lending And Distribution Interactive System), a computer system created to assist in gadget handling. She develops a mind of her own, and as a result tends to rebel against Jerry, much to his disdain. She is deactivated in the fifth season because of her attitude. Blaine is introduced in the fifth season as a student at Malibu University, later Clover's love interest, who turns out to be a freelance agent assigned to eliminate Clover. After learning about Clover's true nature, he decides to join WOOHP as an agent and continue his relationship with Clover.

Many of the series' villains have been one-offs, which a few occasionally recurring in another episode, an incidence which Michel has been openly receptive to.*^[1] Season four, however, saw some previous villains playing a more substantial role in the series. Many of these villains include Helga Von Guggen, Tim Scam, Terrence Lewis, Myrna Beesbottom and Boogie Gus. Terrence, whose role was largely expanded in the fourth season, appeared in the last three episodes of the third season, the three part special "Evil Promotion Much". Having a rivalry with his brother Jerry stemming from their childhood, he was the leader of the League Aiming to Menace and Overthrow Spies (LAMOS), group formed by former villains to exact vengeance on the spies and Jerry. Von Guggen, a disgraced fashion designer whose plots revolve around taking over the world with her fashion, has recurred in two episodes before the fourth season. Scam, a petty thief, has recurred in several episodes during the first three seasons. Myrna, a former WOOHP agent and the spies former babysitter, appeared in two episodes of the third season.

Cast

Episodes

Broadcast

Totally Spies premiered on November 3, 2001 on ABC Family. It later premiered in Europe on channels such as Germany's ProSieben, France's TF1 and the United Kingdom's Channel 4 during the spring of 2002.^[2] The show later moved to Cartoon Network, where it attracted 1.6 million viewers (aged 4 – 10) daily^[7] and continued airing until 2009.^[8] The show has also attracted over one million viewers in France since its debut.^[7] It was later re-licensed and its fifth season, along with Totally Spies! The Movie and the show's spin off The Amazing Spiez!. The show aired its sixth season in France and is being broadcast around Europe.^[8]

Reception

Joly Herman of Common Sense Media gave the series a mixed review, writing that "We think it's a decent show to catch once in a while, but anything more regular might give viewers the like, slightest headache."^[9] Joe Corey of Inside Pulse had a more positive review, calling the show "fun enough for small kids who want a Charlie’s Angels undercover action show. The trio do their best to balance the fun of being in the espionage game without it being too risky."^[10] Matt Hinrichs of DVD Talk gave a positive review, calling the action in the first three seasons "decently written enough for adults to enjoy."^[11]

Media

Home video and DVD

Goodtimes Entertainment released the first twelve episodes of the show's first season on VHS and DVD in 2004 in three volumes: Totally Spies Volume 1: First Secret Missions, Totally Spies Volume 2: The Getaway, and Totally Spies Volume 3: Spies Attack. Coinciding with the production and release of the show's sixth season, New Video Group/Flatiron Film Company acquired American DVD rights for the series as well as some digital rights for the first three seasons of the series. They've released the first and second seasons (in two volumes each), as well as a box set containing seasons one through three. The third season will finally be released in two volumes on January 14, 2014.^[12][13]

Video games

The Totally Spies series was initially followed up with two video games titled Totally Spies! and Totally Spies! 2: Undercover. Both were developed by Mistic Software and published by Atari for the Nintendo Game Boy Advance and/or Nintendo DS.^[21][22] IGN rated Totally Spies! 2: Undercover with a score of 4.0/10 citing poor overall game presentation. Totally Spies! 3: Secret Agents was released in Europe and Australia for the Nintendo DS.^[23] Totally Spies! Totally Party was released in North America, Europe and Australia for the PlayStation 2, Wii and PC.^[24][25]

Spin-off

A spin-off series on Cartoon Network called The Amazing Spiez! features new characters as spies, though Sam, Alex and Clover make occasional cameos. Jerry is also seen saying his famous "Hello, Spies!" phrase. The series focuses on four young teenage siblings, Lee, Megan, Marc and Tony Clark, who have new and improved gadgets.^[26] The show had its world premiere on March 15, 2009, on Disney Channel Asia; and it had its US premiere on April 26, 2010, on Cartoon Network. Only Season 1 episodes and ten Season 2 episodes aired in the US. It was not as successful as the original series.

Martin Mystery, a series that aired from 2003 to 2006, can also be considered a spinoff series as they were guest characters in a Totally Spies episode, although this occurred 4 years after Martin Mystery ended.

Comics

A Totally Spies! comic book comes out 12 times a year in Sweden.^[27] Five books with about 90 pages came out in Brazil as well. Each book represents an episode from the series. There is another comic called Totally Spies Unleashed; this opens with “I Hate the 80s!”, in which a bad guy, Boogie Gus, has invented a retro ray that de-ages people. The second story, “Attack of the 50 Ft. Tall Mandy”, turns their nemesis into a giant in a plot that involves a beauty contest and an escaped evil scientist.^[28]

References

External links

• Official website
• Totally Spies! at the Internet Movie Database
• Totally Spies on Whoop.org
• Totally Spies! Fashion Agents on Facebook