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

superhero A superhero or superheroine is a fictional character who typically possesses ''superpowers'' or abilities beyond those of ordinary people, is frequently costumed concealing their identity, and fits the role of the hero, typically using their ...

television series featuring the adventures of a modern-day superhero teenage boy and his friends. The protagonist 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 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, supervillainess or supercriminal is a major antagonist and variant of the villainous stock character who possesses Superpower (ability), superpowers. The character type is sometimes found in comic books and is often the primary ...

, The Comedian. The position, it is found out in the show, has been held by many heroes in the past. The villains 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. Most modern sources define skyscrapers as being at least or in height, though there is no universally accepted definition, other than being very tall high-rise bui ...

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 Stormtrooper or storm trooper may refer to: Military *Stormtroopers (Imperial Germany), specialist soldier of the German Army in World War I *''Sturmabteilung'' (SA) or Storm Detachment, a paramilitary organization of the German Nazi Party * 8th I ...

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. 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, 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 ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

. It is currently being shown on

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

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

Universal Kids Universal Kids was an American children's cable channel owned by the NBCUniversal Media Group division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. The channel launched on September 26, 2005, as PBS Kids Sprout, a preschool-oriented offshoot of ...

. 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 Television New Zealand (, "Te Reo Tātaki" meaning "The Leading Voice"), more commonly referred to as TVNZ, is a New Zealand state-owned media company and Crown entity. The company operates a television network, streaming service, and news se ...

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

Characters

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Amazing Extraordinary Friends 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