Strange Days at Blake Holsey High
Strange Days at Blake Holsey High, also known as
Black Hole High, is a
Canadian science fiction television program which first aired in
North America in October 2002 on
NBC. It is set at the fictional
boarding school of the title, where a Science Club (five students and their teacher) investigates mysterious phenomena, most of which is centred around a
wormhole located on the school grounds. Spanning four seasons, the series developed into a success, and has been sold to various networks around the globe.
Created by
Jim Rapsas, the series intertwines elements of
mystery,
drama,
romance, and
comedy. The writing of the show is structured around various scientific principles; with emotional and academic struggles walking hand-in-hand with unfolding mysteries of a
preternatural nature, the series echoes earlier shows including
Buffy the Vampire Slayer and
Star Trek: The Next Generation, as well as feature films such as
Donnie Darko. In addition to its consistent popularity among children, it has been recognised by adults as strong family entertainment. Forty-two episodes of the series, each roughly twenty-five minutes in length, have been produced, the final three of which aired for the first time on
January 28,
2006. Those three final episodes that aired were combined into a movie called
Strange Days: Conclusions.
The show revolves around a group of five friends and their favorite teacher. Together they form the Science Club at Blake Holsey High, a boarding school located in southern Ontario. Blake Holsey High, however, is not your average boarding school. There really are some strange things going on, and the Science Club is out to discover just what is going on. What do a
wormhole, a floating Qi Gong ball, and Pearadyne Industries - a lab that was destroyed years ago right next to the school - all have to do with the mystery? Nobody knows, but they're out to find out!
Main
*
Emma Taylor-Isherwood as
Josie Trent. Josie is the show's main protagonist, and her voice is heard over the opening credits. She transfers to Blake Holsey High at the beginning of the series, and is the one who discovered the wormhole first. She's curious and headstrong, and is the one who most wants to know what is going on. In Corrine's words, she has "the hots for Vaughn," but the relationship is a rocky one due to trust issues.
*
Shadia Simmons as
Corrine Baxter. Josie's best friend and roommate, Corrine is the so-called "brains" (with a self-claimed IQ of 172) in the Science Club. Comparable to
Hermione Granger in
Harry Potter, she's the one with the school-smarts but often has problems with street-smarts. Corrine is as compulsively neat and well-behaved as Josie is messy and rebellious. Has "a thing" for Marshall.
*
Michael Seater as
Lucas Randall. Lucas is a conspiracy theorist, convinced that aliens do exist. He comes up with unorthodox theories that often end up saving the day. He has a romantic interest in Josie, largely unrequited; and an interest in Josie's clone as of "Conclusions."
*
Noah Reid as
Marshall Wheeler. Lucas and Marshall are best friends and roommates. Marshall is more social and funloving than Lucas, and helps to keep him down to earth in this way. Marshall performs in a band (Magnet 360) with other Blake Holsey students.
*
Robert Clark as
Vaughn Pearson. Vaughn is the fifth student in the science club. His father is Victor Pearson, the owner and founder of Pearadyne Industries. Vaughn lives at home with his father for a time, as their house is practically next door to the school. When he does live at Blake Holsey High, he lives alone. Has a thing for Josie--they are an on again/off again couple.
*
Jeff Douglas as
Professor Noel Zachary. Zachary, or "Z", is the presiding teacher of the Science Club. Like Josie, he is very curious to find out what is going on at Blake Holsey High. He was able to go to school to become a teacher thanks to a scholarship from Pearadyne Industries, and is the only adult that the Science Club fully trusts.
*
Valerie Boyle as Principal Amanda Durst. The disagreeable Prinicipal Durst is a looming presence over the Science Club, and differs with Professor Zachary's easygoing ways. A former science teacher, she is a reluctant conspirator in Victor Pearson's plans.
*
Lawrence Bayne as
Victor Pearson. Victor Pearson is a benefactor of the school and a constant antagonist to the Science Club's investigations. Secretive and somewhat ruthless, Victor is deeply distrusted by Josie and Lucas, which puts Victor's son Vaughn in a perpetually awkward position. Although Victor Pearson frequently serves as the villain of the show, he is eventually revealed to be "the good guy" in his long struggle to restore Pearadyne and rescue his time-lost wife. The destiny of Victor, as explained in "Conclusions," is that he was to create time travel technology in a way that will eventually benefit humanity.
*
Tony Munch as
The Janitor. The Janitor is an enigmatic character who seems to understand the mysteries at Blake Holsey High, but reveals little. In "Conclusions" he is finally identified as an observer of other time travelers. The clone Josie states that the Janitor is from so far into the future that it is almost unimaginable.
Recurring
*
Jenny Levine as
Sarah Lynch Pearson. Sarah Lynch Pearson was an "observer" time traveler who was sent back in time to observe Victor, only to fall in love with him. She is Vaughn's mother, and supposedly died many years ago from a Pearadyne Industries accident. Victor believes that she is somehow still alive and trapped in another dimension. In the finale of the series, Sarah is reunited with her husband and son.
*
Emma Taylor-Isherwood as
Josie's Clone. She is a clone accidentally created from Josie's DNA in a piece of chewing gum, using energy from the wormhole. The clone has average human intelligence with an enlightened personality. Unlike the original Josie, she likes to keep things neat. The Janitor sends her through a wormhole in the basement to be to the future, where she trains to be a time traveling "observer." A year later, when Josie steals the Qi Ball away from Victor Pearson, the Clone intervenes and returns it to Victor. She knows how the past and the future are supposed to happen, and, like the Janitor, she hangs around to make sure nothing disrupts the future. The Clone reminds Victor that he has the Qi Ball for a reason. Josie's clone also returns after Tyler Jessop went through the wormhole, and when Vaughn found out about Sarah and Victor. The Clone and The Janitor are able to exist outside of time, for when reality changes, they retain their memories of the event; however, they might not be able to return to the future from which they came. At the end of "Conclusions," the clone Josie is trapped in a parallel timeline, having traded places with the original Josie so that the original Josie could fulfill her destiny. However, it is implied that some hope remains for rescuing the clone Josie.
*
Steve Jackson as Professor Middleton. Middleton was a previous science teacher at Blake Holsey, but disappeared into the black hole, which was located in his office, in the first episode. He seems to know much more of what is to happen around Blake Holsey, and tries to warn future Lucas about the Pearsons and the agents of the future.
*
Christopher Tai as Tyler Jessop. Tyler is a bully at Blake Holsey High. However, rather than using physical force like Stew, Tyler uses his influence among the seniors and presence to get his own way. Tyler gains the ability of camouflage, learns about the wormhole, and goes through it himself. After this, Tyler has more information about certain time periods than he is letting on. He goes out into the forest, and speaks to voices in the sky. Tyler eventually leaves Blake Holsey to accept an internship at the Avenir Institute, but knows that he will be back. He seems to be an enemy of the Science Club, the Janitor and Josie's Clone.
*
Lori Hallier as Kelly Trent. Kelly is Josie's mother, whose motives are as ambiguous as Victor Pearson's. She is a physicist and engineer who at various times works both for and against Victor, thus making it difficult to discern whether she is friend or enemy.
*
Talia Schlanger as Madison. Madison is a stuck-up cheerleader and student at Blake Holsey High. She has been known to be very mean and snobby toward Josie.
*
Dru Viergever as Stew Kubiak. A star athlete, usually referred to simply as "Kubiak". Not so smart, but will sometimes surprise the science class with unexpected knowledge. On one such occasion, he revealed an understanding of why chameleons change colors, explaining that, "I had a pet chameleon once. His name was Rainbow."
*
Liam Titcomb as Will. Plays in Magnet 360, Marshall Wheeler's band.
*
Marc Devlin as Jarrod. Plays in Magnet 360.
*
Aaron Poole as Grant Wheeler. The most popular brother of Marshall Wheeler and student at Blake Holsey High. Grant had later works for Victor Pearson at Pearadyne II.
*
Rothaford Gray as Coach Kennedy.
*
John Ralston as Mr. Avenir. Mr. Andreas Jack Avenir is the school's mysterious benefactor, in two very different eras in Blake Holsey High history. Avenir commissions the building of the school, based on his own "explicit" design. He is aware of the wormhole and Josie's identity when she arrives from the future, and later manipulates the architect's son, student Blake Holsey, into becoming headmaster of the school. A century later, Tyler Jessop is sent as an intern to the Avenir Institute, presumably to aid Avenir in his plans. By the Science Club's senior year, Avenir has assumed Victor's former role on Blake Holsey's board of governors, and announces the school's closure. It is revealed in
Conclusions that Andreas Avenir is Josie's biological father.
* Qigong Ball/Chi Ball/Floating Ball: Once a normal ball used to handle stress and concentration, but became a source of unlimited potential. Josie had used these balls for concentration during Science Club, but one was taken from her by Professor Zachary. The other one was affected by the energy of the wormhole in a trip to the 1970's, which made gravity-less. It defied the laws of physics, which was why Victor (Vic) Pearson stole it from her years ago when he was in Blake Holsey High. Presenting it to Sarah Lynch, they started their plan to create Pearadyne which later caused an explosion at Pearadyne Industries, form a wormhole in Blake Holsey and strange occurrences. Victor used this ball to power their the lab, but it later caused its destruction, along with Sarah's disappearance. Josie found the ball and assumed that Vaughn and Victor had plotted to use it. She stole it from them, but was later stolen back by Josie's Clone from the future. Returned to Victor, he plans to keep it in safe keeping this time.
* Wormhole: A powerful vortex that can lead to either the future or the past that can be found in the office of the Science Teacher (Zachary or Middleton). Many agents have used this to cover the knowledge of the wormhole a secret from everyone, however energy from the wormhole has released and affected the students and the school due to their emotions and conditions.
* Pearadyne Industries/Labs: A laboratory created by Victor Pearson and Sarah Lynch. It was used to create inventions and master quantum physics. Pearadyne was destroyed in an explosion that covered the disappearance of many workers, especially Sarah Lynch (Vaughn's mother).
Strange Days at Blake Holsey High began airing in Canada on
Global and on NBC, as well as
VRAK.TV in
Quebec. In the
United States, meanwhile, it aired on
Discovery Kids and
NBC. In late March 2003, almost six months after its North American debut, the series was sold to several international markets at the annual
MipTV, which was held at
Cannes,
France. The
United Kingdom broadcasting network
ITV acquired the
terrestrial television right to the series, while the
pay television rights were sold to
Fox Kids (which became
Jetix in 2005) in Europe and Latin America, who showed the series in countries including the UK,
Mexico,
Brazil,
Venezuela,
Chile,
Panama and
Argentina. Fox Kids Europe has a partnership deal with the
Disney Channel, which enabled the show to be broadcast in
Australia,
New Zealand, and
France. In
Russia (
Tomsk), the series airs on
CTC. In
Denmark, it airs on
TV2 Denmark. It also airs in other European countries such as
Norway (and other
Scandinavian nations), the
Netherlands,
Portugal,
Israel,
Poland (it airs on Jetix),
Turkey and
Italy, as well as
Colombia in South America. [
1] [
2] [
3]
|
Cover art for the unreleased Season 1 DVD. |
As of June 2006, no episode or season of
Strange Days at Blake Holsey High has been legally released to
DVD in any country. In 2004, it was announced that a DVD box set of Season 1 was to be released in the United Kingdom on
July 26,
2004, and websites such as
Amazon.com put up the DVD for pre-order. The release was later pulled without explanation.
Strange Days at Blake Holsey High has been nominated for several awards, but won none. Writers
Jeff King,
Jeff Schechter and
Thérèse Beaupré were nominated for episodes broadcast in the year 2003 at the
31st Daytime Emmy Awards in 2004, in the category Outstanding Writing in a Children's Series. Emma Taylor-Isherwood, Shadia Simmons and Robert Clark were each given
Young Artist Award nominations in early 2003, although Isherwood was placed in the supporting category, Simmons was elevated to lead, and Clark was considered a "guest actor". Simmons received a second nomination the following year, alongside Talia Schlanger (Madison). The
Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television nominated creative team
Tony Thatcher,
Adam Haight,
Jeff King and
Kevin May for Best Children's or Youth Fiction Program or Series at the annual
Gemini Awards in late 2004, and the
Directors Guild of Canada also recognised the show in areas such as
sound editing, team achievement, and the product as a whole in 2003 and 2004. [
4]
This year (2006) Strange Days was nominated for 2 Emmys (for outstanding children's series and outstanding writing), but once again lost out and went unawarded.
Fireworks Entertainment, the company behind
Strange Days at Blake Holsey High, closed down after the production of Season 3. There are, however, three additional episodes of the series, which aired as a finale movie event on January 28, 2006 on the Discovery Kids channel, as "Strange Days Conclusions." It has been hoped that the show will be continued, but that is highly improbable, as the kids have finished school, and all its stars are comfortably working on something else (
Michael Seater and
Shadia Simmons are both main characters of
Life With Derek).
*
List of Strange Days at Blake Holsey High episodesThe Zack Files#
Black Hole High - Series 1 - Vol. 1 (DVD).
Choices Direct. Retrieved August 4, 2005.
* Stewart, Lianne.
BlackHole High still strong!.
WatchFireworks.com. April 3, 2003. Retrieved August 4, 2005.
*
Strange Days at Blake Holsey High. Family Screen Scene. Retrieved August 4, 2005.
* Tillson, Tamsen.
Fireworks founder Firestone exits.
Variety. May 5, 2003 (in print May 6, 2003). Retrieved August 8, 2005.
*
Fox Kids Europe acquires Black Hole High in multi-territory deal.
Jetix Europe. March 24, 2003. Retrieved August 8, 2005, using the
Wayback Machine.
*
Discovery Kids.
Discovery Communications Inc. Retrieved August 8, 2005.
*
Discovery Kids on NBC Returns This Fall With a Compelling New Comedy, Rousing Reality Shows, Animated Adventures and a Gripping Mystery Series. PR Newswire (press release from
Discovery Kids). July 22, 2004. Retrieved August 8, 2005.
* Ford Sullivan, Brian.
'Mutant X' to End as Fireworks' Future Dims. The Futon Critic. April 26, 2004. Retrieved August 8, 2005.
* Edwards, Ian.
CanWest puts Fireworks on the block. Playback. April 26, 2004. Retrieved August 8, 2005.
* Lees, Nancy and Edwards, Ian.
Cool international market puts Fireworks on the block.
Kid Screen magazine, pp. 11. May 1, 2004. Retrieved August 8, 2005.
*
Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.
The National Television Academy announces 32nd Annual Daytime Emmy Award Nominations. The Futon Critic (press release). March 2, 2005. Retrieved August 8, 2005.
* Moore, Frazier (
Associated Press).
NBC unwraps Saturday morning package of kids' adventure programs.
The Anniston Star. October 5, 2002. Retrieved August 8, 2005.
*
Mutant X Producers: Adam Haight, Executive Producer.
MutantX.net. Retrieved August 8, 2005.
*
Strange Days at Blake Holsey High. Canada.com. Retrieved August 8, 2005.
* Wener, Kevin.
Auchmar estate gets top billing with television productions.
Dundas Star News. August 5, 2005. Retrieved August 8, 2005.
* L. Thompson, Susan.
Strange Days at Blake Holsey High. Common Sense Media. Retrieved August 8, 2005.
*
Fireworks Entertainment - official site*
Discovery Kids - official site*
Fansite - fansite.
*
BlackHoleHighUK.com - UK based fansite*
GeoCities Fansite (Spanish)*
AngelFire.com Picture Gallery*
StrangeDays - Discussion Forum*
MrBunnyPants - Discussion Forum*
MSN Group
