Silversun (TV series)
Encyclopedia
Silversun is a science fiction
children's television series
made in Australia
by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation
(ABC).
The show features the adventures of the adolescent members of the crew of the Star Runner, an interstellar spaceship
carrying a cargo of 550 cryonically
suspended colonists to their new home, Silversun.
In the year 2052, the Star Runner and its crew are two years into their 90-year journey to a livable planet
45 light years from Earth
. The crew's goal is to get the "New Settlers" safely to the Silver Sun and begin a colony there. Because of the 90 year length of the journey, the crew are mostly teenagers who will take over command of the Star Runner as the adults get older.
The ABC began showing Silversun on October 11, 2004 at 5:00pm daily as part of its "ABC Kids" lineup. The final episode of the first season was broadcast on December 3. So far there has been one season of forty episodes, each at twenty-two minutes. The program was originally aired on the Seven Network
in two groups of twenty episodes, and then shown again without a mid-way break on the ABC
.
The series was then later re-run, commencing on April 3, 2005 at 8.35am to be shown every Sunday morning thereafter. The "cliff hanger" ending was shown on January 1, 2006. It was re-run again in 2009 each weekday at 5:00pm, finishing on September 17, 2009. The ABC
has no plans to create another series of the popular teen program.
, the infection of Commander Cyriax by an alien parasite, his subsequent cure through the use of a harvest clone of him discovered in suspension among the settler pods, and the clone's accidental awakening to full consciousness. The final episode was the culmination of a number of episodes comprising one of the most intricate and suspenseful plots so far encountered in the series, ending in a cliffhanger
presumably to be resolved in the next season.
Much of the programme revolves around the relationships and issues experienced by the young crew as part of the normal process of growing up. There are, however, some occasional interesting ideas of an ethical and/or science fictional nature presented in the show - such as the question of whether the commander's clone should be treated as human or not, the unique human problems encountered by a crew on a lifelong voyage to the stars, and an encounter with a pulsar
whose pulse cycle is in phase with the brainwaves of the crewmember Pancha, to her detriment.
Most of the technology seen on the show is a bit more Star Trek-Late 24th century and not mid 21st century tech.
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
children's television series
Children's television series
Children's television series, are commercial television programs designed for, and marketed to children, normally scheduled for broadcast during the morning and afternoon when children are awake. They can sometimes run in the early evening, for the children that go to school...
made in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly referred to as "the ABC" , is Australia's national public broadcaster...
(ABC).
The show features the adventures of the adolescent members of the crew of the Star Runner, an interstellar spaceship
Starship
A starship or interstellar spacecraft is a theoretical spacecraft designed for traveling between the stars, as opposed to a vehicle designed for orbital spaceflight or interplanetary travel....
carrying a cargo of 550 cryonically
Cryonics
Cryonics is the low-temperature preservation of humans and animals who can no longer be sustained by contemporary medicine, with the hope that healing and resuscitation may be possible in the future. Cryopreservation of people or large animals is not reversible with current technology...
suspended colonists to their new home, Silversun.
In the year 2052, the Star Runner and its crew are two years into their 90-year journey to a livable planet
Planet
A planet is a celestial body orbiting a star or stellar remnant that is massive enough to be rounded by its own gravity, is not massive enough to cause thermonuclear fusion, and has cleared its neighbouring region of planetesimals.The term planet is ancient, with ties to history, science,...
45 light years from Earth
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
. The crew's goal is to get the "New Settlers" safely to the Silver Sun and begin a colony there. Because of the 90 year length of the journey, the crew are mostly teenagers who will take over command of the Star Runner as the adults get older.
The ABC began showing Silversun on October 11, 2004 at 5:00pm daily as part of its "ABC Kids" lineup. The final episode of the first season was broadcast on December 3. So far there has been one season of forty episodes, each at twenty-two minutes. The program was originally aired on the Seven Network
Seven Network
The Seven Network is an Australian television network owned by Seven West Media Limited. It dates back to 4 November 1956, when the first stations on the VHF7 frequency were established in Melbourne and Sydney.It is currently the second largest network in the country in terms of population reach...
in two groups of twenty episodes, and then shown again without a mid-way break on the ABC
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly referred to as "the ABC" , is Australia's national public broadcaster...
.
The series was then later re-run, commencing on April 3, 2005 at 8.35am to be shown every Sunday morning thereafter. The "cliff hanger" ending was shown on January 1, 2006. It was re-run again in 2009 each weekday at 5:00pm, finishing on September 17, 2009. The ABC
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly referred to as "the ABC" , is Australia's national public broadcaster...
has no plans to create another series of the popular teen program.
Cast
- Thomas Blackburne - Tane Wilson
- Angus McLarenAngus McLarenAngus McLaren is an Australian actor who is best known for his roles in the television series, Packed To The Rafters as Nathan Rafter and H2O: Just Add Water as Lewis McCartney.-Personal life:...
- Degenhardt Bell - Cleopatra ColemanCleopatra ColemanCleopatra Coleman, born 29 October 1987 in Wentworth Falls, New South Wales, is an Australian actress living in Melbourne since 2003.-Career:...
- Zandie Brokow - Ryan CorrRyan Corr- Life and career :Corr was born in Melbourne. He started his acting career at the age of thirteen with the Film Opraholic. His first television performance was on The Sleepover Club with a supporting role as Matthew McDougal...
- Sheng Zammett - Karli Dinardo - Cinnamon Everson
- Cherise DonovanCherise DonovanCherise Donovan is an Australian actress born on the 22 April 1988 who currently lives in Melbourne, Victoria. She has had roles on the Australian soap opera Neighbours in 2005, playing Karen Chambers and played the character Leonella Reiss in a popular Australian television series produced by ABC,...
- Leonella Reiss - Eloise MignonEloise MignonEloise Mignon is an Australian actress born in Kuwait.-Career:Mignon was educated at Melbourne Girls College, Wesley College and St Michael's Grammar School her screen credits include a role in Legacy of the Silver Shadow and a main character Mara Lomax in children's sci-fi series Silversun. She...
- Mara Lomax - Michelle PettigroveMichelle PettigroveMichelle Pettigrove is an Australian actress, well known for her role as Kate Bryant in the long-running rural soap opera A Country Practice.She has also appeared in several other series, including Blue Heelers and Home and Away....
- Lillian Reiss(2nd in command) - Orpheus Pledger - Tycho Everson
- Teague RookTeague RookTeague Rook is an Australian television and film actor who is best known for his role as Steve Everson in the Australian children's television drama series Silversun....
- " Engineering Officer Steve Everson - Jesse Spence - Navigation Officer Karen Everson
- Jeremy Stanford - Commander Aaron Cyriax
- Sarah WalkerSarah Walker (Australian actress)Sarah Walker , is an Australian actress best known for appearing in the television series Silversun as Pancha.-Filmography:* Silversun – TV series ...Pancha* Stiff – TV movie ...Pizza Waitress...
- Pancha McCaskill
Episodes
Although some episodes in the first season were self-contained, a majority dealt with problems occurring on board the Star Runner based in plots that spanned a number of episodes. These included the illegal re-animation of the character Zandie by the rogue crewmember Degenhardt in the earlier episodes, the crew's encounter with a wormholeWormhole
In physics, a wormhole is a hypothetical topological feature of spacetime that would be, fundamentally, a "shortcut" through spacetime. For a simple visual explanation of a wormhole, consider spacetime visualized as a two-dimensional surface. If this surface is folded along a third dimension, it...
, the infection of Commander Cyriax by an alien parasite, his subsequent cure through the use of a harvest clone of him discovered in suspension among the settler pods, and the clone's accidental awakening to full consciousness. The final episode was the culmination of a number of episodes comprising one of the most intricate and suspenseful plots so far encountered in the series, ending in a cliffhanger
Cliffhanger
A cliffhanger or cliffhanger ending is a plot device in fiction which features a main character in a precarious or difficult dilemma, or confronted with a shocking revelation at the end of an episode of serialized fiction...
presumably to be resolved in the next season.
Much of the programme revolves around the relationships and issues experienced by the young crew as part of the normal process of growing up. There are, however, some occasional interesting ideas of an ethical and/or science fictional nature presented in the show - such as the question of whether the commander's clone should be treated as human or not, the unique human problems encountered by a crew on a lifelong voyage to the stars, and an encounter with a pulsar
Pulsar
A pulsar is a highly magnetized, rotating neutron star that emits a beam of electromagnetic radiation. The radiation can only be observed when the beam of emission is pointing towards the Earth. This is called the lighthouse effect and gives rise to the pulsed nature that gives pulsars their name...
whose pulse cycle is in phase with the brainwaves of the crewmember Pancha, to her detriment.
Most of the technology seen on the show is a bit more Star Trek-Late 24th century and not mid 21st century tech.