Space_Cases
Space Cases
Canadian television series (1996–1997)
Space Cases is a Canadian science fiction television series[1] that aired on Nickelodeon for two seasons. Created by Peter David and Bill Mumy, it premiered on March 2, 1996, and ended on January 27, 1997, with reruns until 1998.[2] Space Cases aired for a time on Nickelodeon's Saturday night block of shows known as SNICK, and on Nickelodeon UK, with reruns on Family and TVOntario in Canada.[3]
| Space Cases | |
|---|---|
| Created by | Peter David Bill Mumy |
| Starring | Walter Emanuel Jones Jewel Staite Rebecca Herbst Kristian Ayre Rahi Azizi Paige Christina Anik Matern Cary Lawrence Paul Boretski |
| Country of origin | Canada |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 26 |
| Production | |
| Executive producers | Micheline Charest Ronald A. Weinberg Ted Jessup |
| Running time | 22 minutes |
| Production companies | CINAR Films Nickelodeon Productions |
| Original release | |
| Network | Nickelodeon |
| Release | March 2, 1996 (1996-03-02) – January 27, 1997 (1997-01-27) |
A Space Cases episode aired on TeenNick in the US as part of its The '90s Are All That block on the night of October 14, 2011, for the block's U Pick with Stick line-up, and again on December 27, 2011, for Party Like It's the '90s. Space Cases returned once again on the night of January 1, 2016, on TeenNick during the new The Splat programming block but has not aired since; the first four episodes of Season One were aired.
The show's premise revolves around a group of misfit students and two adults who are stranded far from home aboard an alien ship. Their attempts at journeying back see many dangerous adventures and controversies, with some occasionally more mature themes.
The series was shot in Montreal, Quebec. Because of budget constraints, props from Are You Afraid of the Dark? and other Nickelodeon programs were used in the series. In other episodes, more mundane props were used, as in the episode "Homeward Bound", the character Suzee is sitting in a chair with compact discs pasted to either side. During the first season, electronic games such as Lights Out were used as control panels on walls.
Season One's original theme song was orchestra-based, with an announcer voiceover giving a preamble. A vocal song telling the story of the Space Cases was used as the closing. For Season Two, this song was moved to the front and re-recorded to accommodate the removal of Catalina, the addition of Suzee, and some re-arranging to how the characters were presented. At some point after the series ended, Nickelodeon had the song re-recorded once more, using the same character arrangement as Season Two, but removing Suzee and adding Catalina back in, and created a new opening for the Season One episodes with this song.
The series features a multitude of celebrity guest stars throughout its run, including George Takei, Mark Hamill, Bill Mumy, Katey Sagal, Michelle Trachtenberg, Danny Tamberelli and Robin Leach.
Main cast
- Harlan Band (Walter Emanuel Jones) is a human from Earth who is attending the academy to become a Stardog like his father, who was killed by an Andromedan during the Spung War (in which the Spung used enslaved Andromedans as soldiers). Because of this, he is prejudiced against Andromedans, inititally including Radu. Harlan is headstrong and overconfident and functions as the self-appointed leader of the students and the pilot on the bridge.
- Catalina (Jewel Staite) (season 1) is a girl from Titan, a moon of Saturn who has rainbow-colored hair. Saturnians possess evolved vocal patterns, giving Catalina the ability to release destructive sonic screams. Catalina is frequently seen speaking to her "invisible" friend Suzee, but her crewmates believe Suzee to be imaginary. In the first-season finale, Suzee is revealed to be real; it is explained that Suzee existed in another dimension, with Catalina being able to interact with her because their brainwaves are attuned. After this and for all of the second season, Catalina takes Suzee's place in her home and Suzee stays aboard the Christa.
- Radu (Kristian Ayre) is a boy from Andromeda (it is unclear if this refers to somewhere within the Andromeda Galaxy or something else). Due to being hatched from an egg, he has no real family. Radu has super-sensitive hearing and superhuman strength. Radu has a good sense of direction and so is made the ship's navigator, forcing him to work in conjunction with the pilot, rival Harlan Band.
- Bova (Rahi Azizi) is a boy from Uranus. Members of his race have a small, pronged antenna growing from their forehead which can generate powerful blasts of electricity. Bova has an incredible metabolism that supplements his energy production. Being from Uranus, and thereby "the butt of every joke," he is consistently pessimistic, a Uranian cultural trait. Bova is responsible for operating and monitoring the Christa's shields.
- Rosie Ianni (Paige Christina) is a girl from Mercury who has the ability to produce vast amounts of heat at will; Rosie wears protective clothing the hides all but her face, to avoid accidental burns. Because Mercury is so close to the Sun, Mercurians have a tendency to "look on the bright side" of things. As a result, Rosie is a mothering influence within the crew. She serves as a doctor/scientist as well as acting as the communications officer on the bridge.
- THELMA (Techno Human EmuLating MAchine) (Anik Matern), the mysterious ship's only native inhabitant, is an android who often malfunctions because her memory chip, a small gem in her forehead, is cracked. She believes anything is possible.
- Theresa James "T.J." Davenport (Cary Lawrence) is a human woman who is the cadets' vice principal and serves as their teacher aboard the Christa.
- Commander Seth Goddard (Paul Boretski) is a human man who is a former Stardog who fought in the Spung War. Forced to teach the cadets, Goddard's military background and rigidity sometimes entice them to provoke him and Davenport with practical jokes.
- Suzee (Rebecca Herbst) (season 2) is a girl from the planet Yensid who is Catalina's best friend. The others believe her to be imaginary, but at the end of the first season, Catalina and Suzee switch places, with Suzee taking Catalina's place in the crew. Suzee is not able to communicate with Catalina the same way Catalina communicated with her. She is very intelligent and has two sets of gills that allow her to breathe in any atmosphere. She is also a telepath who can read others' minds and project her consciousness in order to possess their bodies.
Recurring cast
- Warlord Shank (George Takei) is a Spung commander who is a deadly space pirate and adversary for the crew of the Christa, having elite Spung officers under his command. He first appears in his Killcruiser when he intercepts and threatens to destroy the Christa after discovering that his daughter Elmira, a Spung princess and love interest of Radu, could be on board. Shank develops into a major villain throughout the run of the series.
- Elmira (Katie Emme McIninch) is a frequent ally of the Christa crew. She is a Spung oracle and as such, the crew does not trust her at first (especially Radu). It is revealed in the first-season finale that she is Warlord Shank's daughter.
Additional cast
- Mark Hamill as Pel
- Bill Mumy as Jin
- Serge Houde as Neinstein
- Daisy Eagan as Sofiana Mrtz
- Mark Camacho as Warden Opus
- Jim Bradford as Dram
- Zachary Ouimet as Kirge
- Peter David as Benn
- Chip Chiupka as Reaver
- Alexander Chapman as Ubi
- Robin Leach as Utz
- David Schramm as Yee Haw Jones
- Marcel Jeannin as Jesse
- Ted Jessup as Gunter Ianni
In the first episode of the series, a small group of misfits are kept behind from a Space Academy field trip. Nearby, an odd bird-like alien ship appears, and Harlan Band decides to sneak onto it; the other students, all of whom are younger and much less troublesome, follow Harlan onto the ship. During their exploration of the ship's interior, the organic ship bonds to each student when each touches a bulkhead.
TJ Davenport, their teacher and principal, and Commander Seth Goddard go after them and, in a series of unfortunate events, become separated throughout the vessel. One of the students accidentally charges the engines, hurtling the ship off into a spatial rift. By the time everyone figures out that only the children who bonded to the ship can actually control it, the ship has stopped several light years away from the academy. They set off on a return trip which would take them at least seven years, four months, and twenty-two days at maximum speeds.
Pilot
| Title | Original air date | |
|---|---|---|
| "Breath of a Salesman" | Unaired | |
| An alien salesman, Yee Haw Jones, boards the ship. | ||
Season 1 (1996)
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | "We Gotta Get out of This Place" | John Bell | Peter David & Bill Mumy | March 2, 1996 (1996-03-02) | |
| After learning their field test is suspended because they are not ready, the Space Cases try to prove themselves by making contact with the Christa, an alien ship outside Star Academy. While Commander Goddard and Miss Davenport look for them on the ship, the Christa is pulled through a spatial rip sending them all on a journey they learn will take over seven years to return home. | ||||||
| 2 | 2 | "Who Goes Where?" | John Bell | Peter David & Bill Mumy | March 9, 1996 (1996-03-09) | |
| After retrieving a teddy bear from space for Rosie, Radu starts to see Spung hallucinations. Catalina realizes the teddy bear is responsible for the hallucinations and with Thelma's help, she is able to make an antidote. | ||||||
| 3 | 3 | "A Day in the Life" | Otta Hanus | Peter David & Bill Mumy | March 16, 1996 (1996-03-16) | |
|
The Christa becomes the target for a pair of territorial aliens. Guest Stars: Mark Hamill & Bill Mumy as Ferna Herna. | ||||||
| 4 | 4 | "Spung at Heart" | Otta Hanus | Peter David & Bill Mumy | March 23, 1996 (1996-03-23) | |
|
After receiving a distress call, Radu and Harlan rescue a young Spung - a race that both humans and Andromedans distrust. As a reward the Spung reads their future, and the crew becomes frightened when her predictions begin coming true. Guest Stars: Katie Emme as Elmira & George Takei as Warlord Shank. | ||||||
| 5 | 5 | "Forever Young" | John Bell | Story by : Kristian Ayre Teleplay by : Jerry Colker | March 30, 1996 (1996-03-30) | |
| Neinstein, an alien being, turns Miss Davenport and Commander Goddard into children. The kids celebrate not having any adults on board until Neinstein takes over the ship and their lives. The crew are forced to retake the ship or be on a trip to Neinstein's home world for the next 70 years. | ||||||
| 6 | 6 | "Nowhere Man" | Iain Paterson | Peter David & Bill Mumy | April 6, 1996 (1996-04-06) | |
| After complaining that he wants to be left alone, Harlan begins working in the engineering room where he finds a radiation leak and soon regrets it. | ||||||
| 7 | 7 | "Desperately Seeking Suzee" | John Bell | Peter David & Bill Mumy | April 13, 1996 (1996-04-13) | |
| Suzee leaves over an argument she has with Catalina. With Suzee gone, Catalina and Harlan send the Christa heading straight for a comet and Catalina hopes Suzee will come back in time to save them. | ||||||
| 8 | 8 | "It's My Birthday, Too (Yeah!)" | John Bell | Teleplay by : Peter David & Bill Mumy Story by : Myra David | April 20, 1996 (1996-04-20) | |
| When Radu finds out it is Bova's birthday, he says it is also his birthday, but things do not go the way he planned. | ||||||
| 9 | 9 | "Tie Me Kangaroo Down, Court" | Otta Hanus | Jerry Colker | April 27, 1996 (1996-04-27) | |
|
The crew gets sick of Harlan bossing people around; so they put him on trial for endangering them. Soon Radu looks carefully in the future video and discovers that everyone had a role in endangering the Christa after Harlan's departure. With the discovery made, can he convince Harlan and Catalina to cooperate with each other? Adding to the problems is that they have also entered a parallel universe where only Spung exist; which has unintended side effects. | ||||||
| 10 | 10 | "Prisoner of Luff" | Otta Hanus | Teleplay by : Magda Liolis Story by : Ted Jessup and Peter David & Bill Mumy | May 4, 1996 (1996-05-04) | |
| A prisoner takes over the Christa in order to save a race from war. Harlan suspects her for what happened to Catalina and refuses to help until the prisoner retrieves her out of the prison she put her in. | ||||||
| 11 | 11 | "The Impossible Dram" | Otta Hanus | Peter David & Bill Mumy | May 18, 1996 (1996-05-18) | |
| A knight boards the Christa searching for a monster that may exist only in his imagination. | ||||||
| 12 | 12 | "Break on Through to the Other Side" | John Bell | Peter David & Bill Mumy | May 25, 1996 (1996-05-25) | |
| Bova is the only witness to an accident that seems to implicate Thelma as a traitor. | ||||||
| 13 | 13 | "On the Road to Find Out" | John Bell | Peter David & Bill Mumy | June 1, 1996 (1996-06-01) | |
| The crew discovers another vessel similar to the Christa that has just been through a war. However, Catalina suspects that the ship is part of Warlord Shank's plans. This proves correct and only she is able to rescue the Christa and crew to safety at the apparent cost of her life. As the crew mourn losing Catalina, her seemingly-invisible friend, Suzee, is shown in front of the crew. | ||||||
Season 2 (1996–97)
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14 | 1 | "New Places, New Faces" | Jeff Blyth | Peter David & Bill Mumy | October 12, 1996 (1996-10-12) | |
| Three Spung killcruisers drop out of hyperspace to attack the Christa. This forces the crew to crash land on a jungle planet, with atmospheric friction turning the Christa silver; THELMA and the interior also turn silver due to symbiosis. The Christa engines are now damaged, stranding the group until they can scavenge resources to rebuild and modify the ship. | ||||||
| 15 | 2 | "The Sporting Kind" | Vincenzo Natali | Evan Carlos Somers | October 19, 1996 (1996-10-19) | |
| Rosie finds a new pet, but Spung are hunting for it and are not happy about losing their prey. | ||||||
| 16 | 3 | "Long Distance Calls" | Stephen Williams | Peter David & Bill Mumy | October 26, 1996 (1996-10-26) | |
|
The crew uses a powerful communications satellite to contact friends and relatives back home, but they are overheard by Reaver, a pirate who wants the satellite, and his old nemesis, Commander Goddard. Note Suzie is able to call Catalina back in her home dimension, where she has been taken in by Suzie's parents. | ||||||
| 17 | 4 | "King of the Hil" | David Straiton | Peter David & Bill Mumy | November 2, 1996 (1996-11-02) | |
| Harlan is captured by a tribal people known as The Hil, who believe prophecy is being fulfilled. | ||||||
| 18 | 5 | "Truth Hurts" | Stephen Williams (director) | Magda Liolis | November 9, 1996 (1996-11-09) | |
| Rosie cannot keep secrets and, as a result, places her trust with the crew in jeopardy. | ||||||
| 19 | 6 | "Homeward Bound" | Adam Weissman | Valri Bromfield | November 16, 1996 (1996-11-16) | |
| Radu receives a vision that Spung attack cruisers are coming to destroy the Christa, but he cannot convince anyone that what he knows was not just a dream. | ||||||
| 20 | 7 | "All You Can Eaty" | Jeff Blyth | Kevin Kopelow and Heath Seifert | November 23, 1996 (1996-11-23) | |
|
The crew discovers a new pet, but do not realize the dangers of having it aboard the Christa. However, Suzie and Rosie sense something is off. Guest Stars: Danny Tamberelli as Male Prankster/Stuart, Michelle Trachtenberg as Female Prankster. | ||||||
| 21 | 8 | "Both Sides Now" | John Fawcett | Peter David & Bill Mumy | November 30, 1996 (1996-11-30) | |
| The crew wish they could exchange bodies with one another. Suzee wants to be an android, Radu wants to be human, and Harlan wants to be Andromedan. When the crew get their wish the Christa does not respond to the crew. | ||||||
| 22 | 9 | "Mother Knows Best" | David Straiton | Mindy Schneider | December 7, 1996 (1996-12-07) | |
|
A strange energy force, known as Ma, gives the kids as well as the adults whatever they want. However, Radu is not fooled and suspects that Ma is after them. Meanwhile, the Christa's power is being drained while the other kids are being spoiled by Ma, and Thelma cannot convince them that they are in danger. It is up to Radu to convince the others they are in danger and that they must break Ma's spell over them in order to save the Christa. Guest Stars: Sheena Larkin as Ma, Katey Sagal as voice of Ma. Note: Major focus on Thelma during the first half of the show. | ||||||
| 23 | 10 | "A Star is Boring" | David Straiton | Patricia Marx | January 19, 1997 (1997-01-19) | |
| Bova is feeling left out of the crew, so he sends out a signal to space. He claims to have an immortality potion, and that he is living proof. When an interested alien buyer contacts him it is discovered he does not have a potion to sell. The alien kidnaps him and puts him on display as the "oldest living creature". | ||||||
| 24 | 11 | "Runaway" | Adam Weissman | Peter David & Bill Mumy | January 5, 1997 (1997-01-05) | |
|
Radu and Bova are returning with fuel for the Christa. Suzee has made modifications to the Christa's engines, Harlan tries them out, and the Christa becomes a runaway ship on a collision course with Radu and Bova in the shuttle. Note End of the Stranded Arc | ||||||
| 25 | 12 | "Trouble with Doubles" | Jeff Blyth | Joshua Levin, Benjamin Zackheim | January 12, 1997 (1997-01-12) | |
| The crew fly by an old satellite where a Doppleganger, a creature of energy that creates evil twins of people, gets on board the ship. The evil twins begin to take over the ship. | ||||||
| 26 | 13 | "A Friend in Need" | Adam Weissman | Peter David & Bill Mumy | January 27, 1997 (1997-01-27) | |
|
The Space Cases check out a space station that was recently attacked by Spung. Note Final episode, leaving the show unresolved; the crew hasn't gotten back to the school nor has Suzie switched back with Catalina. | ||||||
- Star Trek: Prodigy - an animated series set in the Star Trek universe which uses a similar premise.
- "Before Prodigy, Nickelodeon Already Created Its Own Star Trek". Screen Rant. 8 February 2022. Retrieved 8 May 2023.
- "6 Classic Sci-Fi TV Shows Netflix Should Remake After Lost In Space". CinemaBlend. 27 February 2020. Retrieved 8 May 2023.
- "Space Cases: Remember This Show?". Entertainment Weekly. 14 September 2011. Retrieved 8 May 2023.
