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Space Cases
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1996 television program debuts
   
1990s american television series
   
nickelodeon shows
   
science fiction television series
   
1990s nickelodeon shows
   
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  Format Science Fiction , Children s
  Runtime 30 Minute s
  Starring Walter Jones <br /> Jewel Staite <br /> Rebecca Herbst <br /> Kristian Ayre <br /> Rahi Azizi <br /> Paige Christina <br /> Anik Matern <br /> Cary Lawrence <br /> Paul Boretski
  Country United States
  Network Nickelodeon
  First Aired March 2 , 1996
  Last Aired January 27 , 1997
  Num Episodes 27
  Imdb Id 0115366
  Tv Com Id 3622


''Space Cases'' was a children's Science Fiction Television series that aired on Nickelodeon for two seasons.


HISTORY

Space Cases was created by Peter David and Bill Mumy . The show premiered on March 1st, 1996. Almost exactly two years later, the show was cancelled. The show aired for a time on Nickelodeon's Saturday night block of shows known as Snick . Although the show is no longer aired on Nickelodeon, it was sometimes seen on the Canadian Family Channel . It has never come to DVD.


MAIN CAST



SUPPORTING CAST




PLOT SYNOPSIS

At some point in the future, life has been discovered on most planets in our Solar System. Starcademy is established off-planet (~see note below), and holds as a private school for space technology and exploration. T.J. Davenport, the Vice Principal of the school, doesn't favor the Space Cases (the remedial class at Star Academy), so when they're given only three weeks to improve their grades or be expelled from the school, she assigns to them teacher Commander Seth Goddard. Goddard had been assigned to the school by the Star Dogs for a habit of violating regulations. This teaching job is also his last chance, so he does not like the idea of being forced to teach the five misfit soon-to-be heroes and heroines.


THE CHARACTERS

  • Harlan Band is from Earth , and is attending the academy to become a StarDog like his father. Harlan's father was killed during the conflict between humans and the Spung, and because of this he is often antagonistic and prejudiced against Radu, at least in the beginning. The Spung enslaved the Andromedans as warriors and slaves due to their superstrength, and so Harlan's father was most assuredly killed by an Andromedan in the wars. Harlan is headstrong and the natural leader of the student, acting as pilot/commander on the bridge. However, he is extremely overconfident, which sometimes leads to he endangering the crew.

  • Rainbow-haired Catalina is from Titan, a moon of Saturn , and has the power to shriek at sonic levels in a manner similar to the '' Mortal Kombat '' character Sindel . She is the engineer on the Christa, and is quite the technical genius, due in large part to her invisible friend, '''Suzee''', who lives in another Dimension on a planet called Yensid. The others think that she is merely imaginary when Catalina speaks to or refers to her. She soon realizes this. Suzee becomes a regular in the second season of the show, when she and Catalina are pulled into one another's dimensions. Suzee can temporarily inhabit other people's minds, and also has Gills , so she can breathe in any Atmosphere , though not the Vacuum of Space .

  • Radu is from the Galaxy Andromeda . He has no real family since he was hatched from an egg. Radu has super-sensitive Hearing , superhuman strength, and suffers from an Inferiority Complex . The Andromedan culture is based on uniformity of mind and purpose, making Radu's desire to go to school and improve himself an anomaly of character. His super-ears give him incredible balance, and as an Andromedan he possesses some low-level psionic powers, making him an ideal navigator for the Christa, as he has a near-perfect innate sense of direction. He also has a significantly greater molecular density than most humanoids, which accounts for his superior strength, stability and long hair (it's nearly impossible to cut).

  • Bova comes from Uranus , and can create Electricity at will from his forehead antennae. He has an incredible metabolism, which also gives him an incredible appetite. He will eat nearly anything, and is always hungry. Being from Uranus, and thereby the butt of nearly every joke, he is consistently pessimisstic in every situation, a Uranian cultural trait.

  • Rosie Ianni hails from Mercury , and has the ability to produce Heat at will. At the beginning of the series, she wore a helmet to help her control this ability, but it was removed in subsequent episodes, revealing her inherent bald head, which is a trait her mother and father both have as Mercurians. Rosie is the mothering influence within the crew, always trying to make sure that her fellow cadets are happy and getting along. She serves as doctor/scientist and has a tendency to adopt seemingly cute things that turn out to be troublesome for the crew.

  • Thelma ('''T'''echno '''H'''uman '''E'''mu'''L'''ating '''MA'''chine), the mysterious ship's only inhabitant, is an Android who often malfunctions, owing to no small part to the fact that when Harlan first found her, he accidentally broke her Memory chip, a small Gem . She has a habit of taking things too Literally and often doesn't realize moderately obvious things.

  • Warlord Shank is a villain in the Space Cases series, portrayed by actor George Takei . Warlord Shank is a Spung commander who is a deadly space pirate and adversary for the crew of the Christa and he has elite Spung officers working for him. He first appears in his killcruiser when he intercepts and threatens to destroy the Christa after discovering that Elmira could be onboard. He develops into a major villain throughout the series run.



THE STORYLINE

In the pilot episode, the Space Cases are kept at school during a field trip, and Harlan decides to sneak the whole class into a mystery ship, the Christa (named after Christa McAuliffe , the history teacher who died in the explosion of the space shuttle Challenger in 1986 ). Davenport and Goddard follow to retrieve and reprimand the kids, but the Christa immediately identifies the kids as its crew and takes flight. The Christa also has a Robot named Thelma, whom is powered by a crystal located somewhere in the ship. However, while exploring the ship, Harlan stands on it, destroying it, so she becomes less than reliable. While the ship was leaving Earth's orbit, it gets caught in a rip in space, stranding it far from Earth. The trip home is estimated to take about seven years, four months, and twenty two days. The series focuses on the group's attempts to return home.

Of course, this journey would not go smoothly. They would often run into dangerous obstacles, such as the alien race Spung and a strange energy force known simply as Ma, giving the kids whatever they wanted while draining the Christa of its power.

Since the series mostly takes place in space, it is very similar to the TV series '' Power Rangers In Space '' and '' Power Rangers Lost Galaxy ''. Also, Harlan's actor Walter Jones played Zack Taylor , the original Black Ranger on '' Mighty Morphin Power Rangers ''.

The plot of being lost in space though is also common to other films and TV shows, not the least of which being, ironically enough, Lost In Space , starring SC co-creator Bill Mumy. ''Space Cases'' is particularly similar to '' Star Trek Voyager ''.

~Note: The show's website mentioned below has a lot of information. Some of the material comes through the site's adminitrator from co-creator Peter A. David. According to this information, the Starcademy is located in orbit around Pluto .


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