''Deepwater Black'' is a 1992 novel, first in the

Deepwater trilogy The ''Deepwater trilogy'' is a series of science fiction novels written by New Zealand author Ken Catran. The three books are titled ''Deepwater Black'' (1992), ''Deepwater Landing'' (1993) and ''Deepwater Angels'' (1994). The series addresses a ...

, by the

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

writer

Ken Catran Ken Catran (born 16 May 1944) is a children's novelist and television screenwriter from New Zealand. Career Catran is the author of many teen novels, including ''Taken at the Flood'', ''Voyage with Jason'', ''Doomfire on Venus'', ''Space Wolf'', ...

, with a cast of young characters who are supposedly stranded in space while a

virus A virus is a submicroscopic infectious agent that replicates only inside the living Cell (biology), cells of an organism. Viruses infect all life forms, from animals and plants to microorganisms, including bacteria and archaea. Viruses are ...

ravages

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 ...

. The book series itself is quite different from the television series later developed. The approach of the novels focused on the characters as younger children, around 13–14, rather than the television approach, in which the characters were much older.

Plot

The main plot involves a virus that breaks out and leaves the

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 ...

s residing on Earth doomed. In a desperate attempt before the end, all humanity's resources are dedicated to a crash program to produce a deep space ark, capable of seeding humanity on a new world. The ship is crewed by six clones,

teenage Adolescence () is a transitional stage of human physical and psychological development that generally occurs during the period from puberty to adulthood (typically corresponding to the age of majority). Adolescence is usually associated with ...

versions of people who achieved great works during the ark project, equipped with the memories of their

donor A donor in general is a person, organization or government which donates something voluntarily. The term is usually used to represent a form of pure altruism, but is sometimes used when the payment for a service is recognized by all parties as re ...

s. Before reaching their destination, however, the crew is awoken prematurely to face a threat to the ship, before their memories are complete. They must come to terms with the workings of the ship, the dangers faced by their ship, the realization that they are clones, and their ultimate destiny to save their race.

TV series

The trilogy was adapted as the Sci Fi Channel's first original scripted television series in 1997 under the name ''Mission Genesis''. The series was a co-production between YTV Network and

USA Networks IAC Inc. is an American holding company that owns brands across 100 countries, mostly in media and Internet. The company originated in 1996 as HSN Inc. as the holding company of Home Shopping Network and USA Network before changing its name to ...

, and was distributed by

Sunbow Entertainment Sunbow Entertainment (formerly known as Sunbow Productions until 1995) was an American animation studio and distributor, founded on June 23, 1980, and owned until May 4, 1998, by Griffin-Bacal Advertising in New York City and in the United State ...

. In Canada and the United Kingdom, the series retained the original title, ''Deepwater Black''. Only one season of 13 episodes was made, and involved a relatively small cast and heavy use of CGI. Soon after production ended, lead actress

Nicole de Boer Nicole de Boer (born 20 December 1970) is a Canadian actress. She is best known for starring in the cult film ''Cube (1997 film), Cube'' as Joan Leaven, playing Ezri Dax on the final season of ''Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'' (1998–1999), and as ...

joined the cast of '' Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'' and lead actor

Gordon Michael Woolvett Gordon Michael Woolvett (born 1970) is a Canadian actor from Hamilton, Ontario. Career Woolvett's most enduring role was as Seamus Zelazny Harper on the television series '' Andromeda'' (2000–2005). Prior to ''Andromeda'' he starred in anoth ...

joined the cast of '' Andromeda''. The series was filmed in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

, Canada.O'Hare, Kate. "Sci-Fi ventures into 'Mission Genesis.'" Santa Ana Orange County Register Sunday, TV Register, page 7. 20 Jul 1997. Music for the series was composed and performed by

Fred Mollin Fred Mollin is an American and Canadian record producer, musician, film and TV composer, music director, music supervisor, and songwriter. He has produced records for Jimmy Webb, Johnny Mathis, Billy Ray Cyrus, Lamont Dozier and America, and has ...

Cast

– Reb (captain and engineer) *

– Yuna (pilot and navigator) *

Jason Cadieux Jason Cadieux is a Canadian film, television and stage actor. He is best known for his performance in the 1996 film '' Lilies'', for which he was nominated for the Genie Award for Best Actor at the 17th Genie Awards.

– Bren (defense and weapons expert) *

Julie Khaner Julie Khaner (born December 5, 1957) is a Canadian television and film actress, best known for her roles in as Alana Newman Robinovitch in '' Street Legal'', Emily Henchpaw in the 1995 version of ''Jake and the Kid'', Sidney Dernhoff in '' The Ne ...

– Gen (onboard computer) *

Craig Kirkwood Craig Kirkwood (born August 10, 1974) is an American lawyer and former actor. He is best known for his role as Jerry "Rev" Harris in the 2000 film ''Remember the Titans''. Career Kirkwood was born in Los Angeles, California. He made his acting ...

– Zak (computer and cybernetics technician) * Sara Sahr – Lise (doctor) * Kelli Taylor – Gret (geneticist and communications expert)

Episodes

The show only had 13 episodes before it was canceled. They were:

References

External links

* * for ''Deepwater Black'' (note: currently no actual plot synopsis are on the site.)
YTV webpage for ''Deepwater Black'' (ARCHIVED
1995 novels 1995 children's books 1995 science fiction novels 20th-century New Zealand novels New Zealand children's books New Zealand science fiction novels Novels about viral outbreaks Children's science fiction novels Post-apocalyptic novels Syfy original programming YTV (Canadian TV channel) original programming Post-apocalyptic television series Television series by Sony Pictures Television Television series by Sunbow Entertainment Television shows filmed in Toronto 1997 American television series debuts 1997 American television series endings 1990s American science fiction television series {{sf-tv-stub