H2O: Just Add Water
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- The correct title of this article is H2O: Just Add Water. It features superscript or subscript characters that are substituted or omitted because of technical limitations.
| H2O: Just Add Water | |
|---|---|
 Logo for H2O: Just Add Water |
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| Genre | Children's television series |
| Created by | Jonathan M. Shiff Productions |
| Directed by | Colin Budds (2006) Jeffrey Walker (2006) |
| Starring | Cariba Heine Rikki Chadwick Claire Holt Emma Gilbert Phoebe Tonkin Cleo Sertori Angus McLaren Lewis McCartney |
| Theme music composer | Shelley Rosenberg |
| Opening theme | "No Ordinary Girl" |
| Composer(s) | Ric Formosa Ricky Edwards Danny Beckerman |
| Country of origin |  Australia |
| Language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 52 (List of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) |
Jonathan M. Shiff Kay Ben M'Rad (2006) |
| Associate producer(s) |
Joanna Werner (2006) |
| Story editor(s) | Philip Dalkin (2006) |
| Editor(s) | Geoff Lamb Strutts Psyridis |
| Location(s) | Gold Coast, Queensland |
| Cinematography | Bruce Phillips (2006) Zenon Sawko (2007) |
| Camera setup | Single-camera |
| Running time | 30 minutes |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | Network Ten |
| Picture format | PAL, HDTV |
| Audio format | Surround sound |
| Original run | 7 July 2006 – Present |
| External links | |
| Official website | |
| IMDb profile | |
| TV.com summary | |
H2O: Just Add Water is an Australian television programme for teens, preteens, and children that is filmed on location at Sea World on the Gold Coast, with outdoor school scenes filmed at Somerset College. It first screened on Network Ten in Australia and is currently screening on channels in over one hundred countries worldwide,[1] with Nickelodeon in the United States premiering the series on March 14, 2008.[2] The show's premise revolves around three teenage girls facing everyday teen problems with an added twist: they're mermaids with powers over water. The theme song "No Ordinary Girl" is performed by Ellie Henderson in series one and by Kate Alexa in series two.
The series was nominated for the 2007 Logie Award for "Most Outstanding Children's Program",[3] as well as a 2007 Nickelodeon UK Kids' Choice Award for "Best TV Show".[1]
Although planned for only two seasons and a total of 52 episodes, executive producer Jonathan M. Shiff has confirmed a third series will be produced for airing in early 2009, saying that "there is lots of potential for a third season with normal teenagers who have super powers," and that open water filming may be an option in addition to the filming done at Sea World and the Broadwater.[4][5]
Contents |
Plot
Emma, Cleo and Rikki are sixteen year old girls growing up on the sun-drenched beaches of the Gold Coast. Emma is confident and athletic, Cleo is slightly insecure and awkward while Rikki is the aloof and rebellious new girl.
Because of Rikki, the girls find themselves stranded at sea one day, floating towards the mysterious Mako Island. The three girls find themselves exploring the eerie jungle-covered island before becoming trapped in an ancient cavern under a volcano. Discovering an underwater channel, they decide to swim to safety. As they enter the pool, the light from a full moon illuminates the water, creating a mysterious glow.
Emma, Cleo and Rikki get off the island as fast as they can and back to "normal" life. However, the girls discover life is never going to be normal again; ten seconds after they touch water, they turn into mermaids. After further experimentation, they find they have supernatural powers; Emma can freeze water, Rikki can boil water and Cleo can turn a drop of water into a bucketful and mould it into any shape as well as being able to control and manipulate it to her every whim.
The girls enlist the help of their friend Lewis, who considers himself a scientist, and he attempts to discover the secret behind their transformations.
Everyday situations turn tricky as the girls struggle to cope with their new-found powers, which have numerous advantages and disadvantages, while also trying to keep them a secret from everyone else.
Characters
Main
- Emma Gilbert (Claire Holt) - Emma possesses the ability to transform into a mermaid upon contact with water just like Cleo and Rikki. She is a confident, organised, competitive and driven individual, as evident in her dedication to regional swimming, which her power precludes her from competing in. She first became a mermaid while swimming at the beach. Though she is often the most conscientious and considerate of the girls, at times she can be pedantic and controlling, once even suggesting that she considers chewing a prescribed number of times before swallowing as a normal practice. Her ideas for organisation and control sometimes brings her into conflict with Rikki, who is Emma's polar opposite. Emma has shown a number of love interests throughout the show, in season one, Byron, a local "surfer" boy, and in season two her little brother's horseback riding teacher, Ash who later becomes her co-worker at the JuiceNet Cafe as well as her boss. Emma, like all of the girls, has a special power over water. She has the ability to freeze any object or liquid containing water. She also, with the help from Rikki has the power to summon on a hurricane like storm.
- Cleo Sertori (Phoebe Tonkin) - Cleo is also able to become a mermaid like Emma and Rikki. While initially afraid of swimming and her new powers, her friends help her overcome this hurdle, and she is later able to embrace the changes she has undergone. She first became a mermaid while taking a bath. In contrast to Emma, she is often awkward, insecure, and a little shy. She is the most "girly" out of the three Next to Emma and is well intentioned and empathetic. Towards the end of series one, Lewis and Cleo form a relationship; this does not last long, as Cleo breaks up with Lewis because she claims he is to "clingy", near the beginning of series two. At the end of series two, after Lewis saves Cleo from being trapped in a shark reef, he dumps Charlotte and they rekindle their relationship. Cleo has the power to turn a drop of water into a bucketful and mould it into any shape as well as being able to control and manipulate it to her every whim. In season two Cleo, like Emma and Rikki develop a new power and she gets the power over wind.
- Rikki Chadwick (Cariba Heine) - Rikki is a mermaid as well. She is the new girl in the neighbourhood and is considered 'different' and rebellious. Rikki first became a mermaid when she was hit by water from the park sprinkler system. She is contemptuous of the social hierarchy at the local high school she and the others attend, and frequently speaks her mind without euphemism. Rikki has a strong adventurous streak and is the first to fully embrace the possibilities of the girls' new powers. During the course of series one, Zane and Rikki develop feelings for each other and start an on-and-off relationship. Rikki was the last to gain her powers. Her power is the most volatile and dangerous of all three. Rikki is able to heat up water or anything containing water. She also got extra powers too and can start fire and summon lightening
- Lewis McCartney (Angus McLaren) - Lewis has been Cleo's friend since they were five, and following the girls' transformation, also becomes friends with Rikki and Emma. He is academically gifted, thinks of himself as a scientist and has a passion for fishing. He discovers the girls' secret early on in the series and becomes determined to find the cause. He is in love with Cleo, which is later revealed to be reciprocated, and the two form a relationship late in series one. After the happenings of the first full moon of series two, Cleo breaks up with Lewis. They stay friends but remain a little embarrassed. Lewis develops a friendship with Charlotte, the new girl, who has a crush on Lewis and 'becomes' his girlfriend, much to Cleo's dismay. At the end of series two, Lewis suddenly dumps Charlotte due to the 'incident' at Mako Island at the moon pool with the girls and returns to Cleo.
Supporting
- Charlotte Watsford (Brittany Byrnes) - Charlotte is the new girl in town and is the girls' rival during series two. She enjoys various forms of art, appreciates the sciences and 'becomes' Lewis's girlfriend. She hates Cleo as well as Rikki and Emma who hate her back, a dislike made even stronger after she becomes the fourth mermaid late in series two, armed with the powers of all three girls, and when Lewis breaks up with her and returns to Cleo. Charlotte is eventually revealed to be the granddaughter of Gracie one of the original three mermaids who 50 years earlier gave her powers up to the 50 year full moon. In the end of series two she gets revenge by planning Cleo, Rikki and Emma to lose their tails and powers, so Lewis only cares for her, but in the end she is the one who loses everything, even her friendship with Lewis, due to the 50 year full moon.
- Zane Bennett (Burgess Abernethy) - Zane is the local bad boy, and seems to think that he can get away with anything because his dad is rich. He appears to be arrogant, but has been seen to have a softer side. He desperately wants to impress his father, local land developer Harrison Bennett, who is more arrogant. Zane is an excellent swimmer. After becoming trapped on a sinking boat, he is rescued by Emma, and sees the end of her tail before she is able to slip away. Because of this, Zane becomes obsessed with finding the "sea monster". This later has Zane gets Cleo to have him do some research at the marien park where she works. Zane and Cleo are with each other when Louis, Emma, and Ricki see them. Cleo's parents think Cleo has a boyfriend and they have Kim find something to support this. Kim takes a picture of Louis and Cleo hugging. Kim later lies and says that Zane and Cleo have eloped. Zane and Cleo are discovered at the maien park when they are trying to help a sick dolphin. The parents and friends find out that Cleo and Zane haven't eloped. Later on in series 1 Zane and Rikki develop feelings toward each other. While they later break up due to being "too different" from each other, they rekindle their relationship in series two after Zane discovers the girls are still mermaids. Zane becomes more of a supporting boyfriend in series 2.
- Miss Louise Chatham (Christine Amor & Teri Haddy (young Miss Chatham)) - Louise Chatham is a mysterious old woman whom Cleo meets while working at the Marine Park. She hints to Cleo that she knows the girls secret and warns them about the effects of the full moon. Later, her boat is declared unseaworthy and Emma invites her to stay at her place. However, Miss Chatham sneaks out at night and sails off with her boat. After an altercation on the boat with Zane, she suffers a heart attack and is taken to a hospital by Lewis. Before going to a retirement residential home, she reveals to the girls that she once was a mermaid too, but that "the burden became too great, so she had to give it up", hinting that there is a way to give up their powers.
- Byron (Christopher Poree) - Byron is a swimmer and the love interest of Emma during series one. While under the effects of a full moon, Emma tries to seduce Byron, almost leading to him finding out her secret.
- Miriam (Annabelle Stephenson) - Miriam is the girls' rival in series one. When she hosts a pool party, Cleo attends and almost reveals her secret to the other guests, though intervention by Emma and Rikki prevents this. Miriam is considered the local princess and is commonly found hanging out with Zane (though he denies that they were ever together). She is also allergic to strawberries, as heard in "The Big Chill".
- Kim Sertori (Cleo Massey) - Kim is Cleo's little sister. She finds her sister weird, and after discovering Cleo's diary she attempts to figure out what is going on. This leads her to figuring out that the girls are mermaids and she tries to expose her sister as one. The girls are eventually able to come up with a plan to convince her that Miriam is a mermaid instead. With the help of Elliot, she is always keeping an eye on things.
- Elliot Gilbert (Trent Sullivan) - Elliot is Emma's little brother. The two are very close and Emma makes many references to the fact that they have never had any secrets between them. After being saved from drowning by Rikki, Elliot develops a crush on her, though she is quick to reject his feelings.
- Wilfred (Ariu Lang Sio) - Wilfred is the owner of JuiceNet and is Emma's boss. When his is away he usually leaves Emma in charge of the juice bar.
- Dr. Denman (Lara Cox) - Dr. Denman is a Marine Biologist who finds Cleo's toenail samples that Lewis left behind. She tries to get Lewis to tell her where he found those samples and he still refuses to tell her. In the end, she asks Lewis to travel with her for her work, but he decides to stay with Emma, Cleo, and Rikki instead.
- Ash (Craig Horner) - Ash is the current supervisor of JuiceNet due to Emma's disappointment at first (Emma wanted the job). Ash is a keen horse rider, and has worked as a riding coach. He and Emma have formed a relationship and have gone out on a few dates. In the episode 'Moonstruck' of season 2, Emma was affected by the full moon (with Cleo and Rikki) and almost revealed her secret by calling him into the bathroom when she was wet with a tail. Luckily, Lewis steps in and stops him. During the series two finale, Emma reveals that she is a mermaid to Ash, and all he says is "Cool."
Complications
The majority of the series deals with the girls having to cope with their new-found abilities that more often than not complicate their regular teenage-girl activities. A number of complications arise, most prominently as the girls have to hide their powers for fear of the consequences of being found out.
Discovery
Although the girls make every effort to keep their secret safe, there is the constant danger as they can transform 10 seconds after being touched by the slightest drop of water. Because of Zane's efforts to find out about the "sea monster" that saved his life while aboard Miss Chatham's sinking boat, their secret is revealed to a few people: Zane, his father, Dr. Denman, and her men. They manage to convince everyone that their abilities have disappeared after entering the moon pool during a lunar eclipse which conveniently happened in the "mermaid discovery" time range.
Cleo's diary
In "Something Fishy", Cleo's sister Kim finds Cleo's diary, which contains all the details of her, Rikki and Emma being mermaids. The diary has all the details of their powers and even drawings of their tails but it is all in code. This leads the suspicious Kim and Emma's brother Elliot into believing that her sister is a monster of some sort. She plots with Elliot to expose Cleo on stage at the Miss Sea Queen Pageant that Cleo enters to try and spite the girls' arch-enemy Miriam. Eventually, Kim's plan backfires spectacularly with Cleo using her powers to protect herself from a water hose. Cleo tells Kim that the diary is an English assignment and therefore is fiction. In the end of the episode, Cleo destroys the diary by hiding it at the bottom of the ocean, making the pages unreadable.
Lockets
The three lockets were made by Max Hamilton for the original three mermaids, (Louise Chatham, Gracie and Julia). Emma discovers the first one at the bottom of the moon pool on Mako Island. Later Emma gives it to Cleo to keep after Miriam almost manages to steal it. Cleo is later told by Miss Chatham that this locket belonged to Gracie.
The second belonged to Miss Chatham, but unfortunately sank with her boat due to Zane's mishap. Miss Chatham was devastated after it was lost because it was the 'treasure' that she had spoken fondly of. Emma, feeling sorry for her, went down to the wreck of the boat, found it and gave it back to Miss Chatham.
The third, belonging to Julia, is found by Rikki in a jewelery store when she's with Zane. Rikki tries to find the money to pay for it, but Miriam gets there first and buys it. She teases Rikki with it and leads her to start a fight. Later Miriam, after being provoked by Zane, throws it in the Broadwater next to the JuiceNet café. Zane dives into the water to find it before Emma can get there, and gives it to Rikki. Rikki however feels it is selfish to keep it, and returns the locket to Miss Chatham. Miss Chatham gives the locket back to Rikki, and gives hers to Emma, saying "It feels right they are all together."
As stated by Max in "The Gracie Code", all three are slightly different, most noticeably in the crystals at the top of the lockets: Emma has a white stone, Rikki has a red one and Cleo's is purplish blue. On the back of the lockets is what seems to be waves represented by 3 wavy lines.
The moon
The moon is the source of how Cleo, Emma and Rikki receive their powers in the pool on Mako Island. The moon also affects each of them differently, and different moon cycles affect them differently as well.
Effects of the full moon
During the series it is revealed that a full moon has very strange effects on the girls. These effects are explored over a number of various episodes. These effects only last for 12 hours after being affected or as long as the full moon is in the sky. During a full moon, the moon pool on Mako Island some times protects the girls from the moon's strange effects (This however is not really explored to much throughout the series), allowing them to be normal again. Sometimes they do not remember what happened when they were under the influence of the full moon.
Emma is the first to fall under the effects of the full moon, which turns her into a wild and carefree mermaid--exactly the opposite of her normally organised self. In this state, she freely tells everyone exactly what she thinks of them, regardless of whether it would offend them or not. It also causes her to change into a mermaid, unable to transform back, and draws her to Mako Island. While under the effect of the full moon, Emma feels inexplicably drawn to water and develops a craving for fish as well as a craving for Byron.
By the next full moon, the girls are better prepared; however, Cleo accidentally sees the moon's reflection in a sink full of water and falls under its effects. She does not turn into a mermaid, instead becoming a siren, attaining a beautiful singing voice which causes all the young men who hear it to fall in love with her, including Zane, Lewis and Byron. She is also recorded and played on the radio. However, it seems to have no effect on older men like her father, who merely tells her she sounds good.
Rikki is the third to experience the effects of the full moon, which causes her power to overload. Instead of merely heating liquids, she begins to heat up the air and set fire to objects around her. During this time, Zane comes to Mako Island to try and find the "sea monster", and discovers Rikki sitting amongst a circle of flames. Rikki kisses him, causing Zane to quickly overheat and pass out, becoming dehydrated and appearing sunburnt. The girls realise that Rikki's power is the most volatile and must be tightly controlled.
In the first episode of the second season, all three girls are affected by the full moon, which causes them to swim to the moon pool on Mako Island. Because of a particularly rare planetary alignment which was taking place at the time, their powers are enhanced, and they use their new abilities to attack and blow away Lewis, who followed them to make sure everything was okay. Following their reversion to their normal state, the girls struggle to control the effects of these new powers: Cleo creates a storm while upsetting a glass of orange juice her sister is carrying, Emma manages to freeze the entire kitchen bench as well as the fridge and freezer, and Rikki manages to set her favourite pair of pants on fire while trying to dry them. She repeats this later in the episode with Lewis's pants.
The next full moon is on the same date as the camping trip for the Sertori family. Their choice of location could not have been any worse: Mako Island. To ensure that none of the girls fall under the spell of the moon, Cleo brings Emma and Rikki along. Lewis joins the trip as well, bringing Charlotte at her insistence. Even though the girls sleep in a "moonlight-proof" tent, Cleo is affected once more when Kim opens the tent. When Lewis warns the other girls of this, they decide that they have been afraid of the moon for too long, and venture outside to rescue their friend despite the danger. Both are instantly struck by the moonlight, but somehow manage to channel the effects so as to help them find Cleo. Rather than exhibiting ridiculous or flamboyant behaviour, they become single-minded and emotionally indifferent, as well as being somewhat vicious in their reaction to threats. Charlotte follows Cleo to the moon pool and is about to touch the water, but Emma freezes it just before she does, preventing Charlotte from becoming a mermaid.
By the following full moon, the girls have finally sealed off the house completely. Things are spoiled when Ash pays a surprise visit to Emma, and Cleo catches a glimpse of the full moon, causing her to become giddy and childish in her behaviour. While Emma has her "date" with Ash, Rikki keeps Cleo locked up in the bedroom because she has been 'moonstruck'. However, Cleo causes Rikki to see the moon as well by pulling down the cardboard covering the window, and the second mermaid falls into a similar state of giddiness. Together they lure Emma into the bathroom, toss her in the bath and make her see the moon as well. They plan to let Ash see Emma as a mermaid, and he is on the verge of entering the bathroom when Lewis, being called earlier by Emma, bursts in and stops him. Later on in the episode, Emma finally admits her feelings for Ash and the two kiss.
By the next moon, Charlotte has become aware of her grandmother's past and uses the moon pool to become a mermaid herself. The other girls are unaffected by this moon. Somehow however Charlotte also acquires the enhanced moon powers as this is only supposed to happen on the special planetary alignment.
It seems, however, that the full moon's effects can be resisted, as when camping at Mako Island, the girls seem to be semi-resistant to its effects. While their behaviour seemed to be affected, they regained enough consciousness to focus on their goal and regain memories of this later. In the final episode of Season 2, they as well resisted the full moon. While they looked straight at it, they exhibited no effects, other than enchanted powers.
Effects of a lunar eclipse
In "A Twist in the Tail", it is revealed by Miss Chatham that the girls are able to lose their mermaid powers while they are in the moon pool of Mako Island while a lunar eclipse takes place. This helps the girls trick several people, who have discovered their abilities, into believing they are no longer mermaids. The episode later reveals that their powers are only lost for twelve hours, not forever.
The 50 year full moon
During the last episode of season 2, "Finale", it is revealed that every 50 years a special full moon occurs, during which all the planets are aligned with the moon and earth, making its effect extremely strong. Strong enough to take away a mermaid's powers forever if they enter the moon pool while it is in its active state. However, this moon also enhances a mermaid's powers and makes them much stronger, as shown during this episode when Charlotte suddenly develops a fit of anger, and uses her powers to make the plumbing and water system of Emma's house go haywire, out of spite toward the girls.
It is also revealed that this is how Gracie, Charlotte's grandmother and one of the original three mermaids, gave up her powers forever at the last full moon 50 years ago.
At the end of this episode, while the moon is over the moon pool, a big show down begins at Mako Island. Charlotte tries to nudge all three girls into the moon pool while it is active, in attempt to make them lose their powers forever, so that she will be a "true mermaid". However, they then use their powers all together to fight back and win, making Charlotte fly into the air and drop into the moon pool, resulting in her losing her powers forever.
Power advancement
At the beginning of series two, the girls are once again affected by a full moon. After entering the Mako Island moon pool during a rare planetary alignment, the girls' powers advance to a new level. Although the girls can still do what they could before, new and more powerful abilities begin to form. Cleo can now control the wind; Rikki can create fire at will and summon lightning; and Emma can freeze any object regardless of the presence of water by using the water in the air and create blizzards, and in "Control" is shown having some control over the weather. and when all three girls use there powers together they can create storms. At first, the girls had difficulty controlling both their old and new powers, but by the end of "Fire and Ice" had regained some discipline.
When Charlotte becomes a mermaid there is a normal full moon but the strange thing is that not only does she have all three original powers (which is probably because the moonpool divides the powers amongst those in it, so if there is only one person in it, she will acquire the three powers) but for some unknown reason she develops the additional powers as well.
Production
Mermaid tails
The mermaid costumes took six months to build, with the tails made from body casts and comprising individually hand-crafted scales. The finished product weighs between 12 and 15 kilograms. Once in costume, the girls have to be lifted into the water. On-screen, the zip on the mermaid suit is visible from the back, though attempts were made to minimise this, such as adding extra scales and crafting a ridge of material around the length of the zip. The tail fin itself was designed with a foot pedal to assist the actresses with swimming. This, along with the fin, adds two feet to the length of the costume.
There are three different types of tails: the tails the girls swim in,the "floppy tail" used for bath and shower shots and The "hard tail" for stunts.
Due to the recently developed third season the creator of the show says "Thank goodness we saved those mermaid tails in a preservation storage!" Because originally the show was supposed to be only two seasons.
Episode list
DVD releases
Four DVD sets have either been released or announced for Australia. Each set thus far features four episodes and bonus feature.
- H2O: Just Add Water: Volume 1 was released on 12 September 2007. Included are the episodes "Metamorphosis", "Pool Party", "Catch of the Day" and "Party Girls", as well as the series trailer and profiles of the main characters.
- H2O: Just Add Water: Volume 2 was released the same day and includes "Something Fishy", "Young Love", "Moon Spell" and "The Denman Affair". This set features a photo gallery of series one.
- H2O: Just Add Water: Volume 3 was released on 5 March 2008 and includes "Dangerous Waters", "The Camera Never Lies", "Sink or Swim" and "The Siren Effect". This set also contains character profiles of Zane and Lewis.
- H2O: Just Add Water: Volume 4 was released on 7 May 2008 and includes "Shipwrecked", "Surprise!", "The Big Chill" and "Lovesick", and features an H2O quiz game.
- H2O: Just Add Water: Volume 5 will be released on 9 July 2008 and will include "Under the Weather", "Bad Moon Rising", "Hurricane Angela", "Hook, Line and Sinker" and "Red Herring".
References
- "Media Kit (Series 1)". Press release. Retrieved on 2007-10-17.
- ^ a b LifePR (2007-09-27). "'H2O - Just Add Water' nominated for Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Award Series". Press release. Retrieved on 2007-10-07.
- ^ H2O. Nick.com. Retrieved on 2008-03-06.
- ^ 2007 TV Week Logie Awards: Most Outstanding Children's Program. Yahoo7.com.au. Retrieved on 2007-07-07.
- ^ "Magical mermaids will spin more tales on Gold Coast", GoldCoast.com.au, 2007-09-06. Retrieved on 2007-10-17.
- ^ "Making a Splash Around the World", ZDF Enterprises NewsFocus, 2008, p. 20. Retrieved on 2008-04-28.
External links
- H2O: Just Add Water - Official website
- H2O: Just Add Water - ZDF Enterprises promotional website
- H2O: Just Add Water - Official Channel TEN website
- H2O: Just Add Water - Australian Television Information Archive
- H2O: Just Add Water at the Internet Movie Database
- H2O: Just Add Water at TV.com
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