''The Amazing Extraordinary Friends'' is a New Zealand

superhero A superhero or superheroine is a stock character that typically possesses ''superpowers'', abilities beyond those of ordinary people, and fits the role of the hero, typically using his or her powers to help the world become a better place, ...

television series featuring the adventures of a modern-day superhero teenage boy and his friends. The

protagonist A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a st ...

is a teenage boy called Ben Wilson who finds out about a superhero insignia which gives him powers. He has difficulty with them, especially

flight Flight or flying is the process by which an object moves through a space without contacting any planetary surface, either within an atmosphere (i.e. air flight or aviation) or through the vacuum of outer space (i.e. spaceflight). This can be a ...

and using eye lasers at first, but soon learns to control them fairly well. His grandfather is also a superhero, and this is how he comes to acquire the insignia. His mother hates all the superhero business going on for the sake of safety, but his father and stepfather both encourage him, his father being the previous superhero in Ben's position, Captain Xtraordinary or simply Captain X, and his stepfather being the son of a

supervillain A supervillain or supercriminal is a variant of the villainous stock character that is commonly found in American comic books, usually possessing superhuman abilities. A supervillain is the antithesis of a superhero. Supervillains are oft ...

, The Comedian. The position, it is found out in the show, has been held by many heroes in the past. The

villain A villain (also known as a "black hat" or "bad guy"; the feminine form is villainess) is a stock character, whether based on a historical narrative or one of literary fiction. ''Random House Unabridged Dictionary'' defines such a character a ...

s in the series are Nemesis, a group led by an old villain and a recently converted hero, Ice, who used to be Blaze in her former era working alongside the former Captain X. The Nemesis group operate in a

skyscraper A skyscraper is a tall continuously habitable building having multiple floors. Modern sources currently define skyscrapers as being at least or in height, though there is no universally accepted definition. Skyscrapers are very tall high-ris ...

office block known as Nemesis Headquarters and use computers, suggesting they have updated since the old times. A loose idea of a "new age of superheroes" is suggested throughout the series. They use stormtroopers with skull-like masks and breathing apparatus. The Nemesis group have many villains under their wing and it is run by Renfield, the main villain in the series whom Ice assists in his constant plan to get the insignia. Ben Wilson and his friends attend City Central College, run by Principal Locum. At school Ben and his friends are bullied. Often the plot will involve the school or an event at it. The plot generally involves the insignia, the main target for possession by Nemesis. It is discovered in the series that the power giving insignia, which merges with a person's chest and, in the case of Captain Xtraordinary, creates a costume as well, is made of Unobtainium, a highly unstable element created by an exiled university scientist. Unobtainium can also, it is discovered, power a ready-made suit. The insignia was created using the Unobtainium, which only existed naturally during a short period after the creation of the

universe The universe is all of space and time and their contents, including planets, stars, galaxies, and all other forms of matter and energy. The Big Bang theory is the prevailing cosmological description of the development of the universe. Acc ...

. Aliens claim to have made it and these resemble humans, even using English as their language of choice. The show uses several minor devices from the classic superhero/supervillain

genre Genre () is any form or type of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially-agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other for ...

, including tags like ''Nemesis Headquarters'' or ''Ben Wilson's House'' in the same manner as in changing a location in a comic book. Also background music and sound accompaniment is often done in the style of animated superhero series. The series is set in a fictional city called City Central, filmed in

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

. It is currently being shown on

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television in Australia on weekdays at 5:50 pm. In America, the show airs on

Universal Kids Universal Kids is an American children's television Specialty channel, channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming unit of Comcast's NBCUniversal. The channel launched on September 26, 2005, as PBS Kids Sprout, a preschool-oriented ...

. Season 3 was shot in 2008 but was not shown until 2010. ''The Wired Chronicles'', an online miniseries based on the show, is currently available to view on

TVNZ , type = Crown entity , industry = Broadcast television , num_locations = New Zealand , location = Auckland, New Zealand , area_served = Nationally (New Zealand) and some Pacific Island nations such as the Cook Islands, Fiji, and the So ...

on demand. Another online miniseries, ''Origins'', is also planned.

Characters

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Amazing Extraordinary Friends 2000s New Zealand television series 2010s New Zealand television series 2006 New Zealand television series debuts 2010 New Zealand television series endings New Zealand children's television series New Zealand science fiction television series Television shows funded by NZ on Air TVNZ 2 original programming New Zealand fantasy television series Television series by Greenstone TV Television series about teenagers