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Hypernauts (1996)
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Pow
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PostPosted: Wed Nov 06, 2019 2:26 pm    Post subject: Hypernauts (1996) Reply with quote

"Hypernauts" was an ABC Saturday morning sci~fi TV series that ran for 13-episodes back in 1996.

Synopsis } 3 cadets, Max, Ace, Sharkey, from the Academy for Galactic Exploration are placed on a punishment detail for various infractions they've done.

They are ordered to collect space junk and leave in the Flapjack spaceship to collect a deactivated satellite. When they arrive to secure it they find that it is not dead as it begins to power up in the process of overloading.

The cadets send the Flapjack into hyperspace in order to escape the explosion of the sat. Trouble being they had no time to plot an exact course and now find themselves lost in outer space.

As they explore an unknown planet they encounter a friendly alien Kulai. Kulai explans that she is part of a race battling the draconian empire known as the Triiad and led by Paiyin, a member of her race who has turned traitor.

The Triiad uses their enormous space machines/industrial plant called Makers in order to create a vast drone army.
Once a planet is found the Triiad annihilates it utilizing the planet's raw materials to continue to create more Makers which in turn construct more drones.

Kulai and the cadets discover a long lost and abandoned Earth ship known as the Star Ranger. The vessel provides a life supporting environment for them as well as a hiding place as they attempt to wage a war on their powerful enemy.

Ron Thornton & Douglas Netter created & produced this show. Both had worked previously on the classic sci~fi series "Babylon 5."

Ron was one of the creators of Foundation Imaging which proved to the creator & producers of "B5" that CGI could be utilized to provide the needed visual effects for the show.

This was groundbreaking at the time. Up until then science-fiction television series had to rely upon models for their shows involving space ships. Ron changed all that forever.

"Hypernauts" was a darn impressive series visually due to Ron's expertise with FX. The show is still dazzling to view all these years later.

I can't say the series was the equal of that other Saturday morning sci~fi show "Captain Power & The Soldiers Of The Future'' in regards to the seriousness of the scripting.

"Hypernauts'' had its silly & comedic moments, especially with the perpetually bickering cadets, insufferable A.I., Horton, on board the Star Ranger, and the alien pet they adopted called the Gloose.

The show was aimed to the youngsters watching, that's for sure.

Still, the cast was fine & in the mix of the less sophisticated elements of the show there were some thrilling action adventure moments to see. As well as more poignant moments and the ongoing threat of the Triiad.

The series was entertaining and deserved more seasons than ABC ever gave it.


Last edited by Pow on Tue Jul 19, 2022 9:52 am; edited 1 time in total
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Krel
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PostPosted: Wed Nov 06, 2019 4:43 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

The show got good ratings, but had the misfortune to be on ABC when Disney bought the network. The mouse decided that they only wanted Disney shows on ABC on Saturday mornings.

Ron Thornton had hopes of selling the series to a new network, and kept the sets in storage at Foundation Imaging for years.

David.
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PostPosted: Wed Nov 06, 2019 5:13 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks for that information, Krel.

The show really had an epic scope to it and so much potential that it certainly should have run for many more seasons.

I just re-watched the first 2 episodes now on Youtube and remain impressed at the quality that Ron & Doug & their team brought to the show.

The sets were splendid and the cgi for the ships, planets and so on were wonderful.

They also did the surface of the various alien worlds via Virtual Sets which really provided a grand scale to the look of the show.

The designs for all the ships,drones, etc were fantastic.

A real pity this marvelous show was not properly supported by Disney/ABC.
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Gord Green
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PostPosted: Wed Nov 06, 2019 7:07 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote



From WIKI :

Hypernauts is a proof of concept show produced by Foundation Imaging and Netter Digital Entertainment. To further prove that the computer-generated imagery and visual effects created in Babylon 5 were easily applied to other venues, the Hypernauts were born.



ABC purchased thirteen episodes of the show from DIC Productions L.P., eight of which ran on Saturday mornings for a single season in 1996 at 10:00 AM. ABC decided not to pick up the series for a second season, and did not air the five remaining episodes.



Due to its lineage, Hypernauts featured relatively detailed designs of its technology and its aliens, as well as a fairly intricate plot; especially for a Saturday morning children's series.



The premise of the series was that three cadets from the Academy of Galactic Exploration become lost in a Hyper Bubble (hyperspace) mid-jump and must band together with an alien named Kulai in order to survive in an unfamiliar part of the galaxy. Kulai (unbeknownst to the cadets) is a Chalim priestess from a planet called Pyria, a planet that was strip-mined by a warlike race called the Triiad, led by the Pyran traitor, Paiyin.

The sole purpose of the Triiad is to wipe out intelligent races, and in the process acquire raw materials from their destroyed planets to continually create new war machines using automated self-replicating factory ships called "Makers."



The Hypernauts, as they are called in the academy, cannot match the Triiad's firepower with their own so they must rely on stealth, wits and (occasionally) their modified 'mech suits' in order to escape the Triiad.



They are based in an ancient abandoned exploration ship called the Star Ranger which is hidden in an asteroid field, the Star Ranger's obsolete AI is named Horten. For long range missions they use a four-person "jump" ship called the Flapjack which is Hyper Bubble capable but has a short range unlike a full-fledged exploration ship.

They use the "StarRanger" as a mother ship (with fusion engines) and with its vast database of explored nearby planets, they continue exploring (as they are trained to).

After learning of the Hypernauts (from their first encounter with Paiyin), the Triiad have activated and englobed the central region of the Milky Way Galaxy in a sensor net called "The Sphere of Interception," which can identify any end-to-end destination point for any hyperspace jump passing in and out of it (which includes any form of communication) so returning/calling home would lead the Triiad directly to Earth.

The Hypernauts must keep the location of Earth a secret and somehow try to warn Earth of the Triiad's existence.



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Krel
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PostPosted: Wed Nov 06, 2019 10:52 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I was at a convention back in the 90's, where one of the effects guys from Foundation Imaging talked about the show, and what happened to it. At the time they were still looking for a new network. Ron Thornton wanted to do more than just effects work.

The alien woman was played by Carrie Dobro who, because of this series, went on to play the alien thief in "Crusade".

There was a set of full-size mech legs made for the actors to walk around. The mechs were modular with cockpits that fit on different chaises, such as a space sled. The cockpits were decorated with individual paint jobs. There was only one cockpit made, and it had a different paint job on the left and right sides to represent different mechs. I don't know what they did to represent the paint job for the third mech's cockpit.

The show would also do model work when required, like when they needed water. They made a model vehicle to shovel snow into the Flapjack's hold.

David.
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PostPosted: Wed Nov 06, 2019 11:04 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

More terrific info, thanks again David.

The Mech-Suits were one of my favorite concepts from the show. Awesome design and very practical for exploration in hostile environments as well as defensive/offensive war machines.

Never realized that they constructed full-sized legs for those Mech-Suits. Figured it was cgi.

I envy that you were able to meet some of the show's cast and crew.
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Gord Green
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PostPosted: Wed Nov 06, 2019 11:50 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

All episodes, including the five non-broadcast ones, are available on YouTube here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0iJj9NKuznE&list=PLA0441119C6D6507F

Most are from the Japaneese video company.

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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Thu Nov 07, 2019 11:13 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

________________________________

Good lord, you guys are awesome! Cool

Pow's initial post, which he made less than 24 hours ago, has exploded into an amazing thread with great comments from three of All Sci-Fi's most valued and prolific contributors!

I think I'll start calling you guys The Three Postketeers!

(On second thought, maybe you'd rather I not do that . . . Embarassed)

I've never even seen Hypernauts, so this thread — which is packed with great info — is a fabulous addition to All Sci-Fi.

And that's extremely gratifying for me, because just yesterday the web hosting service I use, Dreamhost informed me that the only way I could preserve the website exactly the way it's looked for twelve years was to put it on a dedicated server so that the older software it needs would never have to endure an unwanted "update" that would drastically change the board's appearance and the way it operates.

The bottom line, gentlemen, is that this great thread proved to me that I did the right thing by making sure All Sci-Fi would endured unchanged, and without ever loosing any of its priceless contributions by folks like you.

And just to get the thread back on topic, here's the slam-bang opening of Hypernauts!


_________ Hypernauts (1996) - Intro (Opening)

__________

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PostPosted: Sat Nov 12, 2022 1:32 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

__________________________________________________

Here's the fist episode of Hypernauts[/i]. It seems to a fairly well-done series for young viewers, with interesting special effects.


______________ Hypernauts 01 "First Contact"


___________

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PostPosted: Sat Nov 12, 2022 4:34 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

"First Contact" was a terrific way to set-up the premise for Hypernauts and introduce us to the characters.

Max, Ace, and Sharkey are sent out (as a punishment) to retrieve an obsolete spy satellite, which then suddenly activates, forcing the trio to escape in their spaceship and be catapulted to an uncharted region of space.

This plot point avoided the mistake made by the 1977 SF TV show Space Academy. In that series, the premise had the cadets of the SA engaging in all sorts of dangerous missions, usually with little-or-no adult supervision.

Noted SF writer David Gerrold found that to be a very flawed concept. No responsible institution would ever allow its cadets to do such a thing.

Hypernauts dealt with it in a much more realistic manner. The duty assignment is considered routine, and the satellite is located near the cadet's space station.

However, someone has made a mistake, because the totally inactive spy satellite isn't inactive after all. Once the trio figures that the satellite is about to explode, they must make the life or death decision to put their ship into hyperdrive in order to escape the explosion of the satellite.

When they arrive at an unknown area of space, they must figure out how to survive without the help of any adults, or their home space station. This works as a much more believable idea than Space Academy.
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PostPosted: Sun Nov 13, 2022 2:13 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Some more Hypernauts Fun Facts.

The series was originally going to be about 5 cadets attending the Academy of Galactic Exploration that orbited earth. ABC requested that number be reduced to 3 cadets for the series.

Note: Here we have the rare, very rare, case of a network making a smart suggestion for a series. The show had a half-hour format and limited budget. Having five cadets would have been more expensive and awkward because you simply cannot give them all decent screen time to fully develop their respective characters on the show. Add to that, the fact that you have to feature guest-stars, the plot, and the awesome visual effects; five characters just aren't going to be well serviced.

Hypernauts was known as Voyager in Japan.

Hypernauts was one of the very early SF TV series to have a great number of their sets rendered via CGI.

Typical episodes had upwards to 100 FX shots.

Mechsuits: These were operated by one individual and were utilized to gather heavy materials, work in harmful environments to humans, and do maintenance on the space station and space ships of the Academy of Galactic Exploration.

On the underside of a Mechsuit are high-powered cutting lasers. The Mechsuit has two different modules that could be attached to it when required. Legs could be connected to the underside of the suit in order to enable it to walk around in most environments.
The Jump Sled Pack could be attached to the Mechsuit's backside. This allowed the suit to travel short distances in space and in a planets atmosphere.

Note: I thought those Mechsuits were a very sharp looking design and a vital part of the equipment on the show.

The alien Gloose creature took up a significant part of the show's budget. CGI provided movement of the creature, while animatronics were used for the close-ups. It was designed by a special effects artist who had created the dinosaur heads for the classic movie Jurassic Park. In order to work within the budget, the mechanism was designed to have only one operator work the radio controlled prop consisting of 20 different servo-motors. Many animatronics require six, or more, operators.

Sadly, the demise of The Hypernauts after only 13 fantastic episodes was due to the purchase of the ABC Television Network by the Walt Disney Company. Disney would purge all content off the network that was not created by Disney.

Thanks Disney! So much for When You Wish Upon a Star.
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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Fri Dec 16, 2022 5:57 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Pow wrote:
Sadly, the demise of The Hypernauts after only 13 fantastic episodes was due to the purchase of the ABC Television Network by the Walt Disney Company. Disney would purge all content off the network that was not created by Disney.

I'm puzzled. Why does Disney want to gobble up everything and then wipe out certain parts of it?

My God . . . Disney is starting to resemble the Borg! Shocked




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PostPosted: Fri Dec 16, 2022 7:22 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Sadly, Bud, it isn't just Disney that purchases networks and then purges the original programming in order to create their own series.

Nexstar bought the CW network and immediately cancelled Stargirl. Next could be Superman & Lois. The Flash isn't in jeopardy because their upcoming season is their last and was planned before Nexstar came onto the scene.

SG was a fun and entertaining show. Their ratings were not out-of-sight, but they were decent enough to have warranted renewal.

Networks have had this ongoing philosophy since they first originated. When one network regime is swept out and another one enters onto the scene, the new regime almost always wants to eradicate the former regime's TV series.

Even if those shows are ratings winners & critical darlings, it makes no difference to the new boys & girls in town. They do it out of jealousy and hubris. Maybe they even think that their idea for a new series is a better one than what's already on the network. They want to make their mark.

Unfortunately, its the audience that always pays in the end by losing a show they are fans of and enjoy.

Sometimes it isn't even a case of a new regime coming in. You can have the current regime firmly established at a network, but there can be divisiveness within their own ranks.

The Time Tunnel itself was subject to that situation at ABC. The network wanted to renew the show but with a smaller budget for its second season. Irwin Allen couldn't see how he could maintain the show's production values on a lesser budget. So the Time Tunnel became history (groan).

Working against the Time Tunnel was an ABC executive who was pushing for his brand new western series, Custer. He was speaking against Time Tunnel so that the network would cancel it and put his Custer series on the 1967 fall schedule. And that's just what happened. Custer was cancelled by December after 16 episodes.
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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Sat Dec 17, 2022 10:54 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Pow wrote:
Sadly, Bud, it isn't just Disney that purchases networks and then purges the original programming in order to create their own series.

The Borg are talking over Hollywood! Shocked
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PostPosted: Thu Jan 26, 2023 9:01 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Cinefantastique.

Ron Thornton, Special Effects Maestro/Co-founder of the visual effects company Foundation Imaging, Executive Producer. "The reason I went for the concept of Hypernauts was that I had looked at Saturday morning television at the time, it had gotten really bland. Nothing had heart to it, like the shows I grew up with in England like Fireball X-L5, or Thunderbirds. I wanted the sense of wonder you get like people were from the Star Wars films."

Ron went on to say, "You don't want to talk down to kids with a show. They're sharper than you give them credit for. I also looked at the show with the thought of what kind of cool stuff would I like to see?"

Ron was the man who convinced the Babylon 5 producers to try CGI with the series instead of the traditional miniature model work which had been the special effect technique used on all science fiction TV shows up until that time. He learned a great deal from trial and error in his experiences on Babylon 5. This would aid him immensely on producing the visuals for Hypernauts which were as impressive as Babylon 5, and on a smaller budget than Babylon 5 had.
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