''Cybergirl'' is an Australian-French

children's television series Children's television series (or children's television shows) are Television show, television programs designed specifically for Child, children. They are typically characterised by easy-going content devoid of sensitive or adult themes and are ...

that was first broadcast on

Network Ten Network 10 (commonly known as the 10 Network, Channel 10 or simply 10) is an Australian commercial television network. It is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Paramount Global's Paramount Networks UK & Australia, UK & Australia division and is o ...

in Australia. The 26-episode series was created by Jonathan M. Shiff, whose previous series include '' Ocean Girl''. It stars Ania Stepien in the title role.

Plot

Cybergirl is a Blue

superheroine A superhero or superheroine is a fictional character who typically possesses Superpower (ability), ''superpowers'' or abilities beyond those of ordinary people, is frequently costumed concealing their identity, and fits the role of the hero, t ...

Human Prototype 6000 living under the

secret identity A secret identity is a person's code name, cryptonym, disguise, incognito, Cover (intelligence gathering), cover and/or alter ego which is not known to the general populace, most often used in fiction. Brought into popular culture by the Scarlet Pi ...

of ordinary teenage girl Ashley Campbell. In reality, she is a "Human Prototype 6000" from a distant planet. Her powers include super-human strength, super-human speed, and the ability to interface directly with electronic devices and computers; she is also able to physically change her appearance between that of the blue-haired, ethereal-looking Cybergirl and the less conspicuous, mousy-haired Ashley, and can alter her clothing at will. She was originally known as the Cyber

Replicant A replicant is a fictional bioengineered humanoid featured in the 1982 film ''Blade Runner'' and the 2017 sequel ''Blade Runner 2049'' which is physically indistinguishable from an adult human and often possesses superhuman strength and intellig ...

Human Humans (''Homo sapiens'') or modern humans are the most common and widespread species of primate, and the last surviving species of the genus ''Homo''. They are Hominidae, great apes characterized by their Prehistory of nakedness and clothing ...

Prototype A prototype is an early sample, model, or release of a product built to test a concept or process. It is a term used in a variety of contexts, including semantics, design, electronics, and Software prototyping, software programming. A prototype ...

6000, the only one of her model to be built. Not only are her powers far and above that of earlier models, she has a much wider emotional scope than her predecessors. She ran away from her planet of origin in order to explore the beings she was modeled after, namely

humans Humans (''Homo sapiens'') or modern humans are the most common and widespread species of primate, and the last surviving species of the genus ''Homo''. They are Hominidae, great apes characterized by their Prehistory of nakedness and clothing ...

. Two other Evil Red Replicants called Isaac and Xanda are sent after her and their sole mission is to destroy her. She lands on

Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to Planetary habitability, harbor life. This is enabled by Earth being an ocean world, the only one in the Solar System sustaining liquid surface water. Almost all ...

in the

fictional city This is a list of fictional settlements, including fictional towns, villages, and cities, organized by each city's medium. This list should include only well-referenced, notable examples of fictional towns, cities, settlements and villages that a ...

of River City, Australia which is modeled on and filmed in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

; nevertheless, "''River City''" is another popular nickname for Brisbane. She meets Jackson and Hugh Campbell, who take her in, and she adopts the name Cybergirl as her superheroine identity. Jackson calls her "Cy" and she later uses her powers to make herself look more human; this identity is called Ashley, in which she poses as Jackson's cousin and Hugh's niece. The only other person besides Hugh and Jackson to know her identity is Kat, her friend and neighbour. She is pursued not only by Xanda and Isaac but also by a powerful software mogul named Rhyss. She is well loved by the populace of River City, however, and she enjoys the approval of Mayor Buxton, whose

twin Twins are two offspring produced by the same pregnancy.MedicineNet > Definition of Twin Last Editorial Review: 19 June 2000 Twins can be either ''monozygotic'' ('identical'), meaning that they develop from one zygote, which splits and forms two ...

daughters Emerald and Sapphire are big fans of the superheroine. Ironically they snub her, as Ashley, at school.

Cast

Main

*Ania Stepien as Ashley Campbell / Cybergirl *

Craig Horner Craig Horner (born 24 January 1983) is an Australian actor and musician who first appeared in the Australian television program '' Cybergirl''. He is best known for his role as Richard Cypher in the television series ''Legend of the Seeker''. E ...

as Jackson Campbell *

Mark Owen-Taylor Mark Owen-Taylor (born 27 January 1962) is an Australian actor, who has also worked variously as a narrator and voice-over artist. Early life Owen-Taylor initially wanted to be a teacher and attended Melbourne State College for four years. Up ...

as Hugh Campbell *Jennifer Congram as Xanda *Ric Anderson as Isaac *Septimus Caton as Rhyss *Winston Cooper as Giorgio * Peter Mochrie as Rick Fontaine *Jovita Shaw as Kat Fontaine

Recurring

Christine Amor Christine Debra Amor (born 1952) is an Australian actress of stage, television and film. Career Amor was born in Brisbane, Queensland. She graduated from the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA). She has acted extensively in television ...

as Mayor Burdette Buxton *David Vallon as Romirez *Michelle Atkinson as Anthea * Jessica Origliasso as Emerald Buxton * Lisa Origliasso as Sapphire Buxton * Tony Hawkins as McMurtrie

Guest

* John Dommett as Mr. Southerly * Jason Klarwein as Sales Assistant * Daniel Amalm as Marco * Julie Eckersley as Julia *

Damien Garvey Damien Garvey is an Australian actor and former musician known for his film and television roles. Early life and education Damien Garvey graduated from Padua College, a Catholic boys' school in Brisbane, Queensland, in 1982. Career Garvey ...

as Paramedic *

Remi Broadway Remi Broadway (born 30 April 1978) is an Australian actor best known as Rupert Pringle from '' The Wayne Manifesto,'' and Piffy the bell ringer from '' The Late Show'', which parodied his earlier appearance on the talent show ''Pot Luck''. Bio ...

as Zak Furnace

Episodes

Home media

''Cybergirl'' was released on

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for digital video disc or digital versatile disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any ki ...

on 4 December 2006 as ''CyberGirl: The Superhero for a New Generation – The Complete Series''. The set includes all 26 episodes on 4 DVDs and is

Region 0 DVD region codes are a digital rights management technique introduced in 1997. It is designed to allow rights holders to control the international distribution of a DVD release, including its content, release date, and price, all according to t ...

. The release includes making of/behind-the-scenes featurettes created from a period Electronic Press Kit and the packaging makes frequent references to the fact that the series features "before they were famous" appearances by

The Veronicas The Veronicas are an Australian pop music, pop duo from Brisbane. The group was formed in 2004 by identical twin sisters Lisa Origliasso, Lisa and Jessica Origliasso. In 2005, the Veronicas released their debut studio album, titled ''The Secr ...

Reception

The first episode won the

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

AFI Award for Best Children's Television Series and was nominated for the 2002

Logie Award for Most Outstanding Children's Program The Silver Logie for Most Outstanding Children's Program is an award presented annually at the Australian TV Week Logie Awards. It was first awarded at the Logie Awards of 2000, 42nd Annual TV Week Logie Awards in 2000, and is given to honour an ...

. In a negative review, Vicki Englund of ''

The Courier-Mail ''The Courier-Mail'' is an Australian newspaper published in Brisbane. Owned by News Corp Australia, it is published daily from Monday to Saturday in tabloid format. Its editorial offices are located at Bowen Hills, in Brisbane's inner norther ...

'' wrote, "After a disappointingly slow debut episode, this Brisbane-based children's series seems to be gathering momentum, although some quickening of the pace would still be advisable to keep the young'uns from channel-surfing." ''The Courier-Mail''s Amelia Oberhardt praised the show, stating, "Cybergirl is, surprisingly, an entertaining way to spend 30 minutes. ... We can only assume Cybergirl is a spoof and is therefore more than a bit of fun. Ania Stephen, who plays Cybergirl, is either one of the most wooden actors of all time or a genius at playing spoofs." Leanne Younes of the Canberra Times gave it a rating of "Fast action, great make-up and cool music."

References

External links

''Cybergirl''
at the Australian Television Information Archive
Jonathan M. Shiff Productions
- the official website for Jonathan M. Shiff productions, has a Cybergirl section * {{IMDb title, id=0279556, title=Cybergirl
Cybergirl at the National Film and Sound Archive
Network 10 original programming Australian English-language television shows Fictional computers Australian adventure television series Australian children's television series Australian science fiction television series French adventure television series French children's television series French science fiction television series Television shows set in Queensland 2001 Australian television series debuts 2002 Australian television series endings 2001 French television series debuts 2002 French television series endings Cyborgs in television Fiction about malware Child superheroes Television series about television Cyberpunk television series Australian television series about teenagers Television shows filmed in Australia Teen superhero television series