Silversun

For the band, see Silver Sun.
Silversun
Created by Roger Simpson
Written by Graeme Farmer
Glen Dolman
Meg Mappin
Kirsty Fisher
Andrew Muir
Rob George
Fiona Wood
Ray Boseley
Jo Martino
Chris Roache
Directed by Paul Moloney
Mandy Smith
Pino Amenta
Starring Ryan Corr
Cherise Donovan
Angus McLaren
Sarah Walker
Eloise Mignon
Country of origin Australia
No. of episodes 40
Production
Executive producer(s) Mikael Borglund
Claire Henderson
Producer(s) Chris Roache
Roger Simpson
Roger Le Mesurier
Andy Walker
Running time 22 minutes
Production company(s) Beyond Simpson Le Mesurier
Release
Original network ABC
Original release 28 June – 1 September 2004

Silversun is a science fiction children's television series made in Australia by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC).

The show features the adventures of the adolescent members of the crew of the Star Runner, an interstellar spaceship carrying a cargo of 550 cryonically suspended colonists to their new home, Silversun.

In the year 2052, the Star Runner and its crew are two years into their 90-year journey to a livable planet 45 light years from Earth. The crew's goal is to get the "New Settlers" safely to the Silversun and begin a colony there. Because of the 90-year-length of the journey, the crew are mostly teenagers who will take over command of the Star Runner as the adults get older.

Cast

Production

The ABC began showing Silversun on 11 October 2004 at 5:00pm daily as part of its "ABC Kids" lineup. The final episode of the first season was broadcast on 3 December. Forty episodes of the program were produced, each at twenty-two minutes. The program was originally aired on the Seven Network in two groups of twenty episodes, and then shown again without a mid-way break on the ABC.

Silversun was re-run on Sunday mornings beginning 3 April 2005, until 1 January 2006. It was re-run again in 2009 each weekday at 5:00pm, finishing on 17 September 2009. The ABC has no plans to create another series of the program.

Many Silversun episodes revolved around the relationships and issues experienced by the young crew as part of adolescence. Some episodes dealt with issues of ethics and choices unique to science fiction, such as the question of whether the commander's clone should be treated as human or not, the unique human problems encountered by a crew on a lifelong voyage to the stars, and an encounter with a pulsar whose pulse cycle is in phase with the brainwaves of the crewmember Pancha, to her detriment.

Although some first-season episodes are self-contained, the majority deal with multi-episode plot conflicts occurring on board the Star Runner. These included the illegal re-animation of the character Zandie by the rogue crewmember Degenhardt in the earlier episodes, the crew's encounter with a wormhole, the infection of Commander Cyriax by an alien parasite, his subsequent cure through the use of a harvest clone of him discovered in suspension among the settler pods, and the clone's accidental awakening to full consciousness. The final episode ended in a cliffhanger.

Episodes

Season 1

# Title Original air date
1"Alien Presence"28 June 2004 (2004-06-28)
The crew investigate a supposed "alien" on board the ship. Cinnamon and Tycho try to make different smells come out of the air conditioning system, but their father, Steve, doesn't want them to. They also want to make different seasons occur on the ship, like winter one day, spring the next. Their plan is unsuccessful.
2"Electronic Sheep"28 June 2004 (2004-06-28)
Pancha discovers that she has a strange telepathic connection with Star Runner's computer, and she detects a system failure the computer failed to pick up. Leonella discovers that her boyfriend from Earth, Jarrax, has moved on and is going out with Leonella's best friend on Earth, Drina. Tycho & Cinnamon want more responsibility and want to make different smells come out of the air conditioning system.
3"Meltdown"29 June 2004 (2004-06-29)
Pancha's detection of a problem turns out to be a potential meltdown of all the frozen cryons. Luckily, Tane and Mara fix the problem just in time. Sheng creates blockers for Pancha to block out the computer's system, but they work a little too well. To determine whether the cryons are okay, the crew must choose upon a settler to reanimate and Dr Flickadello is chosen, but Degenhardt has his own ideas of who should be reanimated. Pancha sees Degenhardt purposely putting in the code to another cryon.
4"Chill Out"29 June 2004 (2004-06-29)
Degenhardt chooses not to reanimate Dr Flickadello, and enters someone else's code into the computer. The cryon that is reanimated is a fifteen-year-old girl called Zandie. The crew suspects a fault in the computer system, but Pancha knows what Degenhardt did.
5"Staying Alive"30 June 2004 (2004-06-30)
Zandie wishes not to be reanimated, and wants to stay on board Star Runner. When Pancha finds out about Degenhardt entering Zandie's code into the computer, because of her link with the computer through her implant system, Degenhardt forces her not to tell. Tycho reveals that he was the person that poured in three times as much fertilizer into the plants to make them grow quicker. Tane teaches Leonella how to use the punching bag, and Leonella teaches Tane yoga. Sheng & Mara try to reverse the plants failure to grow.
6"Trade Off"30 June 2004 (2004-06-30)
Mara finds out about Degenhardt illegally resuspending Zandie. Mara tells Degenhardt to inform Cyriax of what he did. Degenhardt faces a panel to answer questions about what he did. Pancha also has to face the panel for failing to tell the crew about Degenhardt's action. Pancha is let off with no punishment, but Cyriax tells Degenhardt he must choose a punishment for what he did. He chooses to be suspended in frozen animation to take Zandie's place. Meanwhile, Zandie is having a difficult time fitting in and lets Degenhardt know how angry she is for resuspending her.
7"Frozen Exile"1 July 2004 (2004-07-01)
Everyone tries as best as they can to stop Degenhardt from being suspended. They all organise a party for him. Because of Degenhardt being suspended in Zandie's place, Zandie thinks Cyriax is tricking her into reanimation. When Tycho and Cinnamon are set to find Degenhardt, they discover he is missing. Cyriax decides to stop Degenhardt from being suspended in frozen animation, and they all have a party. Later that day, the crew are getting too close to the orbit of a new planet.
8"No Probe-Lemo"1 July 2004 (2004-07-01)
Zandie and Degenhardt believe that Cyriax is the ONLY person controlling the ship, and no one else gets a say. The ship are saved from the gravitational pull of the planet they discover. The crew discover that the planet is habitable, and Pancha chooses to call it Blue-Two. To see if Blue-Two is habitable, they decide to send a probe down to investigate. It doesn't return, and when Squirt, the cat, is missing, Tycho and Cinnamon believe it is on the probe.
9"Hot Seat"2 July 2004 (2004-07-02)
Mara is given the chance to be in an interview that will be broadcast all over Earth, and she is worried that she might muck up the interview, and humiliate herself in front of the whole of Earth. Tane is angry because Mara gets chosen to be in the interview, and not himself. Meanwhile, Leonella is continually frustrated with her mother as she believes she is meddling in her and Tane's relationship. But she's offered help, by the most unlikely person.
10"Splitski"2 July 2004 (2004-07-02)
Zandie is angry that she is told what to do and when to do it. Leonella & Tane become too close, and Lillian tells them to break it off. Degenhardt, Zandie and Leonella lock themselves in a room until their demands are met that everyone should have a fair share on the ship. Pancha and Sheng begin to work together more often and is startled when the computer tells them they are a perfect match! But is the computer right?
11"Can Opener"5 July 2004 (2004-07-05)
Everyone discovers that Zandie is a "Hard Target", a person that is frozen in suspended animation because she can fight if there are any living creatures on the Silver Sun. Leonella gets worried about being locked in the room. Mara & Tane have a fight, and Mara tries to get Zandie, Degenhardt & Leonella out of the locked room. The Star Runner ship is about to go through a wormhole, a space-time singularity. If they go through the wormhole, they will go into a different dimension, and may not get out alive. They discover Leonella knows a little bit about wormholes, and they need Degenhardt's help. So they send a code-red report to get Leonella and Degenhardt out of the room. They stay in because of their demands. When Tycho and Cinnamon go and try to tell them that it isn't a drill, Degenhardt & Leonella go to the bridge. The two of them help out, and the ship makes it through the wormhole. Only problem is, how do they get out?
12"Where's My Star?"5 July 2004 (2004-07-05)
Being in a different dimension means that Star Runner has lost all contact with Earth, and the only computer access they have is through Pancha's connection with the computer. Degenhardt, Zandie and Leonella are put on probation because of their lockdown decisions. Mara, Sheng and Cinnamon try to find the wormhole. Cinnamon discovers a planet and names it after herself. She also finds an asteroid and names it after Tycho. Pancha, Mara, Leonella and Sheng discover they can use the energy force from the asteroid's orbit of the planet to get back through the wormhole, and back on track to the Silver Sun. The plan is successful. Meanwhile, Cyriax lets Degenhardt, Zandie and Leonella go back into the locked room. Leonella refuses, as does Degenhardt, and Zandie gets angry. Later on, Tycho discovers a green blob, and the episode ends.
13"Jelly Belly"6 July 2004 (2004-07-06)
The crew believe Tycho is joking about the green blob he spotted, but it appears at the hull of the ship again, and gets annoyed when no one believes for the second time around. Mara is impressed with Degenhardt's ability to work on the ship by himself, and Leonella suspects a little romance arising. Mara gets angry at Zandie, and tells her off. Pancha & Sheng discover something is stuffing up the ship's scanners, so Cyriax goes into space, out of the ship, to investigate. He finds out that a piece of hot metal from a satellite dish caused the problem, and returns on board the ship. The episode ends with Cyriax being attacked by the green blob, that somehow made its way into the astronaut outfit.
14"Last One Standing"6 July 2004 (2004-07-06)
Cyriax begins to feel pain, and a holographic alien of himself appears, which can't be seen by Tycho, who is watching him. He gets worse, and begins to tell Sheng off for no reason, which makes Sheng feel sad, but Pancha comforts him. Zandie takes Leonella's bed again, and gets angry at her. Mara tells Leonella to fight Zandie, but Leonella takes it too seriously, and decides to have a martial arts fight, that Zandie accepts. Everyone worries about Leonella fighting with Zandie, and when the time comes, they all cheer on Leonella. Zandie wins, and everyone treats her awfully, and Zandie begins to feel left out. A voice begins to talk to Cyriax, who is seen getting stronger at the end of the episode.
15"Two Faced"7 July 2004 (2004-07-07)
Zandie feels a bit left out, and Cinnamon, wanting to be Zandie's friend, steals some champagne from Steve and Karen and gives it to Zandie. She decides to drink it, and becomes really sick. Meanwhile, Cyriax begins to get stronger, and Tane and Degenhardt begin to suspect something is up when he goes off at them. When Cyriax and Tane play basketball, Cyriax pushes Tane against the wall and hurts him. Degenhardt tries to show the difference with Cyriax to Mara, but he shows no signs of difference. Cyriax gets stronger, and tries to hurt Degenhardt because he's a threat. Pancha wants to look different, and feels sad about her implant, so she creates a different look of herself, and tricks Sheng into thinking it is Amber Leigh, a girl from Earth.
16"Call Waiting"7 July 2004 (2004-07-07)
Zandie receives credits to talk to relatives or friends back on Earth. She receives a million credits, and when she has no one to talk to, she gives some of her credits to Mara so she can talk to her sick gran, who might die. Meanwhile, Sheng uses his credits to talk to the "supposed" Amber Leigh, who is just Pancha with an English accent. Pancha reveals this to Sheng shortly after, and they both reveal their feelings toward each other. Also, Cyriax has a feeling something is wrong with the engine of the ship, and orders everyone around angrily. The episode ends with Cyriax ordering everyone to turn the ship around immediately, and head back to the wormhole!
17"Hole In The Heart"8 July 2004 (2004-07-08)
Cyriax orders Mara to spy on everyone, and tell him when someone is doing something wrong. She reports the meeting that Degenhardt is calling about Cyriax's behaviour. Pancha & Sheng feel difference between each other, so Pancha creates a timetable for when she can see Sheng and when she can see her computer. Cyriax points out that there is a germ that is sabotaging the whole ship. He yells out that Mara is a disgrace to the ship, and she should be crushed. Mara's grandma takes a turn for the worst, and Mara feels lost. She decides to resign from the mission. And, as the episode concludes, Cyriax takes a turn for the worse.
18"Atmosfear"8 July 2004 (2004-07-08)
The crew turn the ship around, back toward the Silver Sun when Cyriax falls victim to the green germ. Sheng & Leonella try to find a way to kill the germ. They find a chemical, but if they feed it to Cyriax, he will die. The crew search the whole ship for any other traces of the germ. Meanwhile, Squirt is lost, and Tane & Degenhardt find him in a room, but they get locked in, and the chemical that could kill them is released into the room. Squirt gets saved, and Degenhardt and Tane make it out alive, using their suits and oxygen. Pancha blames herself and feels guilty for Tane and Degenhardt almost dying, and she breaks up with Sheng, because he's a distraction.
19"Begin-Again"9 July 2004 (2004-07-09)
Lillian reckons they should freeze Cyriax in suspended animation, and unfreeze him when they reach the Silver Sun. That way, he could get help. They discover the only way to save Cyriax is to send him back to Earth on an escape pod. Two people have to pilot the pod. Steve chooses Tane and Mara, but Mara doesn't want to go back to Earth, so Leonella decides to take her place, fighting many difficulties along the way. Sheng feels annoyed when he is not selected to pilot the escape pod, and stops communicating with Pancha for good.
20"One Way Ticket"9 July 2004 (2004-07-09)
Degenhardt hears Cyriax say something about BACKUP 397, so he, Pancha and Mara hold a search using the computers to find out about BACKUP 397, disobeying Steve's orders. Leonella & Tane are chosen to take Cyriax back to Earth. Cyriax is loaded on to the escape pod, and Tycho asks for Squirt to be sent back to Earth too. Meanwhile, Degenhardt and Mara check the final 397 thing they can think of, and try the cryon pods. They discover pod 397 supposedly has no one inside, but when they open it, Cyriax is revealed in there. But isn't Cyriax on the escape pod to Earth?

Season 2

# Title Original air date
21"Spare Parts"20 September 2004 (2004-09-20)
Degenhardt and Mara show everyone about Cyriax's clone, and they must use it to save Cyriax. Zandie gets angry that they are going to reanimate the clone, and tries to make it come to life, wake up and begin to dream. Tane & Leonella are to be rewarded for their courage, as is Lillian, while Degenhardt & Mara get charged for their actions. Meanwhile, Zandie attends to the clone and unexpectedly it responds to her.
22"Speaking Up"20 September 2004 (2004-09-20)
Sheng & Mara discover that Zandie simulated C2's brain when the clone begins to dream. It wakes up, and creeps up on Pancha, who takes it to the deck, where Cyriax sees his own clone. Degenhardt & Mara kiss, and Mara gives him a new look. Just at the moment C2 is about to be reanimated, it speaks out saying that he doesn't want to be reanimated, and wants to stay onboard the ship.
23"Join The Club"21 September 2004 (2004-09-21)
Leonella and Mara organise a ball for them, Tane and Degenhardt. Karen teaches the four of them ballroom dancing. Sheng and Tycho have an idea to use Pancha's computer technology to make C2 really smart. But C2 almost has a brain overload, and he gradually begins to get smarter. Degenhardt and Mara try to keep their relationship secret from Zandie, but Zandie sees them kissing.
24"Brain Drain"21 September 2004 (2004-09-21)
C2 tries to help everyone on board Star Runner, and hooks the ship up to a fuel barge where it cannot be unhooked. Meanwhile, the young couples have their formal, but it is Zandie who surprises everyone with her excellent dancing talent.
25"Will Power"22 September 2004 (2004-09-22)
Help from Earth will take two years to arrive at Star Runner, so Tane has a brilliant idea, but it fails. Tycho, Cinnamon, Zandie & Sheng throw a party for C2, who creates a name for himself - Will Power. Will decides he wants to go back to Earth and before he leaves he uses Tane's idea yet again to unhook the barge from the ship, which creates a huge explosion. Luckily, everyone gets out safe. The episode ends when the ship heads toward the Andromida Line, a point of no return. If they face any troubles after this line, there's no going back!
26"Crossing The Line"22 September 2004 (2004-09-22)
Everyone is at each other's throats on the ship, so Lillian decides to throw a party for crossing the Andromida Line. Sheng creates a chocolate bar, which is highly addictive and can make anyone who eats it go absolutely psycho. Nearly everyone eats the chocolate at the party except for Pancha, Degenhardt, Zandie, Sheng, Tycho & Leonella, and when the ship starts to swerve, the group have to do something because the people that ate the chocolate don't care about what's going on. The only cure - super-strong lemon juice! The episode ends when Tane sees Lillian and Cyriax sharing a kiss!
27"Dark Matters"23 September 2004 (2004-09-23)
The ship enters a place where dark matter occurs, and when Zandie, Degenhardt & Tycho tell a scary story to Cinnamon, she gets scared half way through the night, and runs away into the ship. Tane tells Leonella about Lillian & Cyriax having a relationship, but she doesn't believe him, until she sees it for herself. Leonella goes off at Lillian, but Lillian & Cyriax tell Leonella & Tane that they are not having a relationship. The next day, Cinnamon has gone missing, and she's been missing since the night before. Zandie, Degenhardt & Tycho begin searching for her, but can't find her. Mara finally does find her in the lift, but Cinnamon proclaims that when Degenhardt & Zandie searched the lift they couldn't see her. But when Mara & Cinnamon get out of the lift, no one can see, feel or hear them. Pancha does a scan on the computer, and there's no trace of the two girls. The crew think that they are not on the ship, even though they are!
28"Between Floors"23 September 2004 (2004-09-23)
Sheng & Pancha discover that the lift made Mara & Cinnamon disappear, and with Sheng's new idea, they are released from the shadow dimension, as the ship leaves the dark matter. Mara hints to Zandie that she saw her talking to Degenhardt about getting together, and tells her that she, and only she is Degenhardt's boyfriend.
29"Take A Walk"24 September 2004 (2004-09-24)
Cyriax reveals that two people will get the chance to space walk. Leonella & Tane are chosen, and Mara is angry that she didn't make it, but gets to command the walk. But, Mara, still upset she didn't get to do the space walk, starts to get in over her head with commanding the walk, by commanding everyone else. While in space, Leonella catches a glowing rock. Meanwhile, Tycho & Cinnamon wash the clothes, but it builds static electricity when someone comes in contact with another.
30"Rock The Boat"24 September 2004 (2004-09-24)
Zandie advises Degenhardt to break up with Mara because of their relationship, but he can't do it, and Zandie walks in on Mara & Degenhardt hugging. Asteroids begin appearing out of nowhere, and the ship is only barely missing them, but Mara discovers the glowing rock is interfering with the navigation system and making the ship not realise about the asteroids. Tycho throws the rock away without telling anyone, and he doesn't know whether it was for better or for worse!
31"Cold Shoulder"27 September 2004 (2004-09-27)
Zandie wants to be resuspended because Mara & Degenhardt are still together. But decides against it Degenhardt breaks up with Mara, and chooses Zandie. Sheng & Tane accidentally finish Cyriax's fishing game, and have to restart the game, and start from scratch. There is a star that is about to explode up ahead, and they can't dodge it, because they are too close to it!
32"Boil Over"27 September 2004 (2004-09-27)
When the star explodes, everything in the ship begins to get hotter, even the crion pods, and if they melt and reanimate, the people inside could have mental and physical problems for the rest of their lives! As everyone gets hotter, Zandie leaves her room, and tries to use the elevator, but it has broken down, and she faints inside! Meanwhile, Sheng seems to have developed a crush on Leonella!
33"Under Pressure"28 September 2004 (2004-09-28)
It's exam time, and everyone is feeling pressure. Pancha becomes strangely exhausted, as Sheng develops a crush on Leonella. Tycho and Cinnamon have a go at the simulation game, but it gets too real when the module is released from Star Runner with them on it. Everyone sits through the exams except Zandie, and everyone passes except Sheng, who was too caught up with his relationship with Leonella. Pancha faints.
34"Take Your Pulsar"28 September 2004 (2004-09-28)
Leonella spots a pulsar, a star that has died thousands of years ago. With her new implant battery, Pancha is still strangely exhausted, and faints again. Sheng discovers that the pulsar is reacting with Pancha's brainwaves, and the only way to save her is to destroy the pulsar, which they do with Zandie's brilliant thinking skills. Pancha comes back to life, and chooses never to use the computer ever again!
35"Musical Chairs"29 September 2004 (2004-09-29)
Pancha holds an oboe recital, but no one has the guts to tell her that she's bad at playing. Zandie takes over from Pancha as computer manager, and hears a voice speaking over the radio waves, and when Tane is alone on the bridge when he hears it, he answers the call and knows who it is.
36"Revelations"29 September 2004 (2004-09-29)
The crew discover that the ship is going in the wrong direction, and has been for a while, and Pancha, who has been reinstated as computer manager, realises a virus has been planted in the computer system. Zandie's pod goes missing, and when Pancha finds it, she discovers that it has the code for the virus on it. Zandie gets arrested, and faces a jury, but she is found not guilty when Pancha discovers a way that Zandie couldn't have done it. But now Steve, Lillian & Cyriax find out that there are ten other suspects for the crime. The episode ends when Star Runner encounters an identical ship, exactly like itself. Meanwhile, Sheng and Tycho play with Matter Transference, much to the annoyance of everyone else.
37"Ghost Ship"30 September 2004 (2004-09-30)
Steve, Tane, Mara & Degenhardt explore the ship Infinity, and they discover someone is roaming around the ship when Degenhardt & Mara open a pod and no one's inside! All of the crew of the Infinity had been put into suspended animation, and before doing so, the commander of the ship filmed a message to other ships heading towards the Silver Sun, but it is all fuzzed up, and no one can understand what Commander Darius is saying. The episode ends as a shadow figure appears in front of the screen as soon as Mara & Tane leave the room.
38"Enemy Within"30 September 2004 (2004-09-30)
Someone known as Julian Strega falls unconscious when he falls down from an upper level on the Infinity. He wakes up shortly after, and Leonella suspects that he and Tane known each other, and listens to a recording of Tane on the bridge, talking to Strega who was in big trouble on the Infinity!
39"Dark Past"1 October 2004 (2004-10-01)
Tane reveals to Leonella how he and Strega were friends, and how he saved his life. Karen discovers someone plotted the asteroid and the Infinity on a collision course. Commander Darius's pod has been booby-trapped, as have the other cryon pods that have the crew in them. Sheng's decrypting program is being deleted by Strega, and Sheng must battle him in a computer war. Tane is stood down to await the court marshal when Leonella tells Cyriax about Tane & Strega's friendship. Sheng & Pancha decrypt the log, and everyone sees what Commander Darius had to say. But as the episode ends, someone is asked to stand down and someone is arrested!
40"Journey Into Fear"1 October 2004 (2004-10-01)
Degenhardt pushes a button to bring out a cryonic pod, but the code he put in was booby-trapped, and in one hour, all of the people in suspended animation on the Infinity would reanimate. The only person that can save them is Strega. Strega goes to the Infinity with Tane, and the countdown stops, but Strega begins to move the ship towards the Sargasso disc, which is almost certain suicide for everyone on board, including Tane, Degenhardt, Mara & Zandie. Cyriax tries to stop Strega, but its no use, when the Infinity goes through the disc.

See also

References

  1. ↑ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0419367/fullcredits/
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 10/31/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.