Blue Water High

Blue Water High is an Australian television drama series, broadcast by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation on ABC1 and on Austar/Foxtel Nickelodeon channel in Australia and on various channels in many other countries. Each season follows the lives of a young group of students at Solar Blue, a high-performance surf academy where several lucky 16-year-olds are selected for a 12-month-long surfing program on Sydney's northern beaches (Avalon, Sydney, and New South Wales in Australia).^[1]

There are three series in Blue Water High. The first two series were screened in 2005 and 2006 and the producers did not intend to create a third and final series. However, due to popular demand by fans, they relented and made one more series with only Kate Bell returning in a main role. Series three ended with the closure of Solar Blue, indicating that the show would most likely not continue.

Plot summary

Series one

The first series consisted of twenty-six episodes. It starred Adam Saunders as Heath, the relaxed joker who struggles with school; Tahyna Tozzi as Perri, resident glamour queen from the Gold Coast; Sophie Luck as Fly, the youngest; Kate Bell as Bec, the local; Khan Chittenden as Edge, the aggressive and competitive teenager; Chris Foy as Matt, the generic 'smart guy' and Mara Scherzinger as Anna, a famous German Kiteboarder. At the end of the year, two of them (one girl and one boy) get a wild card spot on the pro-circuit tour. The first series was released on DVD in 4 volumes, though fans are strongly urging for a complete re-release featuring the entire season in one package as was later done with Series Two. Sophie Luck won the 2005 Australian Film Institute Award for Best Young Actor for her role in the series. The winners for series one were Fly and Edge.

Series two

Filming of a second series began in early January 2006 in Sydney, Australia, with a revised cast, which included Sophie Luck who was back as Fly, Adam Saunders as Heath, who leaves in episode six and Trent Dalzell as Corey, Ryan Corr as Eric, Lesley Anne Mitchell as Brooke, Taryn Marler as Rachel, Gabrielle Scollay as Amy, and James Sorensen as Mike. It premiered on 28 June 2006. Sophie Luck, Adam Saunders, Kate Bell, Chris Foy, Tahyna Tozzi, Nadine Garner and Khan Chittenden have all reappeared in the second series in various episodes. The winners of Series Two were Brooke and Eric.

The complete second series was released on DVD in Australia on 1 October 2007.

Series three

The third and final series began filming in October 2007. Kate Bell returns as Bec for series three and is joined by Craig Horner as Garry. The new Solar Blue pupils are Guy (Kain O'Keeffe), Charley (Lachlan Buchanan), Adam (Eka Darville), Bridget (Cariba Heine), Loren (Amy Beckwith) and Cassie (Rebecca Breeds). Series Three began screening on Rollercoaster on 3 April 2008.

The winners are Bridget and Adam, but Bridget decides to go to university instead of joining the Pro Circuit, so Loren gets the wild card after Cassie literally 'draws the short straw' (as they both have the same number of points in the final surf-off so they decide who gets the wild card this way). In the last episode, Simmo makes a surprise return as one of the three judges in what is described as "one of the best finals Solar Blue has seen", saving the day as he pulls "not a rabbit out of a hat, but an elephant", ensuring that the winners of the final surf-off still get a wild card invitation.^[2]

Cast

Series one

Series 1 cast of Blue Water High, from left to right: Back Row: Bec, Heath, Matt, Simmo, Deb, and Anna. Middle Row: Perri Front Row: Edge and Fly

• Rebecca "Bec" Sanderson – Kate Bell
• Dean "Edge" Edgely – Khan Chittenden
• Perri Lawe – Tahyna Tozzi
• Matthew "Matt" Leyland – Chris Foy
• Fiona "Fly" Watson – Sophie Luck
• Heath Carroll – Adam Saunders
• Anna Peterson – Mara Scherzinger
• Craig "Simmo" Simmonds – Martin Lynes
• Jilly – Liz Burch
• Deborah "Deb" Callum – Nadine Garner
• Joe Sanderson – Matt Ruddock
• Simon Heart – Clae Whitelaw
• Mr. Savin – Don Halbert

Series two

Series 2 cast of Blue Water High, from left to right: Back Row: Amy, Fly, Eric, and Corey Front Row: Rachael, Mike, and Brooke

• Eric Tanner – Ryan Corr
• Amy Reed – Gabrielle Scollay
• Michael "Mike" Kruze – James Sorensen
• Brooke Solomon – Lesley Anne Mitchell
• Corey Petrie – Trent Dalzell
• Rachael Samuels – Taryn Marler
• Heath Carroll – Adam Saunders
• Fiona "Fly" Watson – Sophie Luck
• Craig "Simmo" Simmonds – Martin Lynes
• Dave Jones - Joe Ireland ^[3]
• Jilly – Liz Burch
• Greta – Natasha Sitkowski
• Mr. Savin – Don Halbert

Series three

Series 3 cast of Blue Water High, from left to right: Back Row: Garry, and Bec Middle Row: Bridget, Cassie, and Loren Front Row: Guy, Adam, and Charley

• Guy Spender – Kain O'Keeffe
• Charley Prince – Lachlan Buchanan
• Adam Bridge – Eka Darville
• Bridget Sanchez – Cariba Heine
• Lauren "Loren" Power – Amy Beckwith
• Cassie Cometti – Rebecca Breeds
• Garry Miller – Craig Horner
• Rebecca "Bec" Sanderson – Kate Bell
• James Cassidy - Tom Fisher
• Michael De Santa - Erol Cimen^[4]
• Mr. Savin – Don Halbert

List of episodes

1. "The Contenders"
2. "Winners and Losers"
3. "Trouble in Paradise"
4. "Fly Takes a Dive"
5. "Anna Loses Her Way"
6. "Edge Wipes Out"
7. "Friends in Need"
8. "Brothers and Sisters"
9. "Sharks in the Mind"
10. "Timing Is Everything"
11. "Out of Control"
12. "Dreams and Dramas"
13. "Life on the Line"
14. "Bad Boy Heath"
15. "Joker's Wild"
16. "It's Hard to Be Normal"
17. "Perri Lies Low"
18. "Winning Isn't Everything"
19. "Right Dance, Wrong Partner"
20. "Big Wave Fears"
21. "The Kiss"
22. "Behind the Scenes"
23. "Tough Choices"
24. "The Band Plays On"
25. "Suspicious Minds"
26. "And the Winner Is..."

Series two (June–December 2006) and Series three (April–September 2008)

Episodes of season 2 and 3 were not named, but were numbered from 1 to 26.

International broadcasts

Country	Channel	Year
Italy	Italia 1	2006–2010
Mexico	Boomerang	2005–
New Zealand	TV2	2007–
Australia	ABC TV	2005–
Australia	Australia Network	2014–
Sweden	SVT	2007–
Poland	ZigZap	2007–
Germany	KI.KA	2007–
Ireland	RTÉ Two	2007–
Spain	La 2 Neox and Clan TVE	2007–2010
France	Filles TV	2007–
	France Ô	2012–
Norway	TV2 Zebra	2007–
Portugal	SIC and SIC K	2009–2012
Netherlands	RTL 8	2009–
Brazil	Boomerang Brazil	2009–
British Virgin Islands	Falkland Islands Television Service	2009–
South Africa	Go	2009–
	Magic World 112	2010–
Great Britain	Boomerang 2006 Pop Girl	2011–2012
Belgium	Ketnet

Africa

In South Africa, Blue Water High was aired twice a week on Go on the local satellite system, DSTV. After DSTV added more MNET channels, Blue Water High started airing every weekday at 19:30 on Magic World 112 from 1 July 2010.

Europe

In Germany, the series is called Blue Water High, die Surf-Akademie (which means "Blue Water High, the Surf Academy") and is broadcast on KI.KA (a children's channel). In Ireland Blue Water High was broadcast on RTÉ Two as part of The Den and in Spain, the show was broadcast on La 2 and ClanTVE. In France it was broadcast on Filles TV as Blue Water High: Surf Academy in 2007 and France Ô has started reairing the series on 12 November 2012. In Norway the show aired on TV 2 Zebra. SIC in Portugal also bought the first season, and it aired in the country from Monday to Friday at 5pm in Summer 2009; the show was named Mar Azul ("Blue Sea"). It also started again on SIC K in December of that year. The series also began airing on RTL 8 in the Netherlands from 2009 onwards. In the UK it is broadcast on Pop Girl.

North America

Blue Water High was broadcast on the internet in North America through the former The WB Television Network, which was resurrected by the Warner Bros. television arm as a website in 2008.^[5]

Oceania

In Australia, the country of its origin, Blue Water High currently airs once every day in the afternoon on ABC3 and on Nickelodeon once every Sunday night. In New Zealand, Blue Water High currently airs every Saturday afternoon on TV2.

South America

In the Spanish-speaking countries of Latin America, the show is titled Blue Water High, Escuela del Surf, which translates as "Blue Water High, Surf Academy", and is broadcast on Boomerang Latin America. In Brazil, it is broadcast by Boomerang Brazil under the title Galera do Surfe (The Surf Crowd). In Falkland Islands, Blue Water High was aired on Falkland Islands Television Service Tuesdays to Friday at 15:00 and Saturday at 11:30.

References

External links

• Official UK website
• Blue Water High at the Internet Movie Database
• Blue Water High at TV.com
• Blue Water High at the National Film and Sound Archive
• Blue Water High - "Winners and Losers" at Australian Screen Online