| Charlie Jade |
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SUMMARY OF PLOT There are three parallel, alternate realities:
During the pilot episode, scientists from Vexcor attempt to open a Wormhole from the alpha-verse to the gamma-verse in a bid to drain water from the latter to the former. In Gammaverse, terrorists Bern and Reena -- aware of Vexcor's intent -- prepare to sabotage the facility. Before the stable wormhole can be completed, a massive explosion at the site of the portal (a large open air water reservoir) leads to a chain reaction explosion that moves through all three universes. This results in Charlie being thrown into the beta-verse, into a different Cape Town that he is unfamiliar with. Would-be terrorist Reena is also thrown into the Betaverse. The explosion renders the "link" between universes impassable, which leaves Vexcor employees in Beta and Gamma cut off from their head office in Alpha. Vexcor attempts to rebuild the link, and re-establish contact. At the same time, they must deal with the P.R. fallout from the explosion, and must try to conceal the true purpose of the facility and what the company was up to. Suspicion initially falls on a Vexcor Scientist named Elliot Krogg -- but eventually, they discover Reena is in Cape Town, and target her as the terrorist behind the explosion. Vexcor's attempts to cover their tracks are complicated by Charlie Jade's presence in Beta -- and the fact that he soon hooks up with Karl Lubinsky, an expatriate American who runs a conspiracy website devoted to tracking all things Vexcor. Together, Charlie and Karl gradually divine Vexcor's true intentions -- and also uncover a terrible secret promoted by Vexcor's doomed scientist, Elliot Krogg. Krogg wrote a memo to Vexcor HQ detailing a possible catastrophic effect to establishing a long-term link from Alpha to Gamma. If the link is made permanent, it will collapse all matter in the Betaverse, destroying everyone and everything in 'our' world. Karl and Charlie are the only things that stand between our world's annihilation. Meanwhile, with travel between the universes cut off -- Vexcor Alpha must turn to the one person who can travel without a link: the son of company founder Brion Boxer, 01. 01 Boxer is made company courier by Essa Rompkin, CEO of Vexcor. He travels by an unknown method that involves dousing himself with water and "slipping" between universes. The method of travel is mysterious, but it results in changes to body chemistry. In later episodes, 01 Boxer's blood is used to transfuse, and revitalize his father, who is sick from some genetic malady -- perhaps as a result of too much travel between universes. 01 is a fascinating case, as he seems to manifest a different personality in each universe. In Alpha he acts like a spoiled child. In Beta he is an hedonistic adolescent, and in Gamma he is a loving husband and father to two children. 01's motivations are mysterious -- he can seem like a villain, but he is definitely following his own agenda. CAST
CREATORS Robert Wertheimer and Chris Roland are the creators of Charlie Jade. BACKGROUND Though viewers will doubtless recognize a similarity to Blade Runner , especially in the scenes set in the Alphaverse, Wertheimer has said in interviews that much of the ethos of the series is primarily influenced by Derrick Jensen 's book ''The Culture of Make Believe'' Charlie Jade had two teams of writers. The pilot and first eight episodes were overseen by Executive Producer Guy Mullally, Stephen Zoller and David Cole. Mutual creative differences led to an amicable parting of the ways, paving the way for the second team, consisting of Head Writer Alex Epstein, and Story Editors Denis McGrath and Sean Carley. In addition to its Canadian writing staff, the show also featured the work of several South African television writers, including Dennis Venter, and Collin Oliphant. The majority of the Directors who worked on the show were from Quebec, including Pierre Gill and Eric Canuel . The Pilot was directed by T.J. Scott. Other directors included George Mihalka, Jimmy Kaufman, Anton Beebe, and South Africans Neal Sundstrom and Daryl Roodt. Each universe has a remarkably different look. The color palette of the Alphaverse is dominated by greens. The betaverse is very blue in tint, and Gamma is dominated by reds and warm earth tones. Charlie Jade was considered one of the hot tickets at the MIP show when it was shown there in 2004. However, the series has yet to be picked up in major territories such as the U.K. or the United States. In these areas, the show seems to enjoy a somewhat "underground" appeal, and the entire series has been widely bit-torrented. Charlie Jade's challenging narrative, and somewhat controversial take on issues, such as the presentation of a sympathetic "terrorist" character, may have made the show unpalatable for a wide audience. But arresting visuals, elliptical storytelling and dream like qualities make for a show that is more cinematic than most normal TV fare. It demands viewer attention, and can sometimes be confusing. In June 2005, Canadian Broadcaster CHUM took an unusual step. Admitting that the show required a great level of attention, CHUM commissioned a special catch-up episode, "Can of Worms." Despite the fact that principal photography had been wrapped nine months before, a small crew gathered in Montreal to film a wraparound story designed to bring new viewers up to speed. Can of Worms runs between Episodes 16 and 17 of Charlie Jade. There are 21 episodes in Charlie Jade's first season. MYSTERIES OF CHARLIE JADE
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