Ace Lightning

HOME

TheInfoList

Click Here for Items Related To - Ace Lightning

OR:

Ace Lightning on: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Amazon]

''Ace Lightning'' is a children's television series co-produced by the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

...

and

Alliance Atlantis Alliance Atlantis Communications Inc. (commonly known as Alliance Atlantis and commonly shortened to simply Alliance or Atlantis and formerly traded as TSX:AAC) was a Canadian media company that operated primarily as a specialty service operato ...

. The series was originally broadcast in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

but was also aired in other countries, including the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

and

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

. The show was filmed in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, but the program was set in the United States. It ran for two seasons and spawned a number of merchandising products. The series premiered on 4 September 2002 and ended on 18 May 2005. The programme featured live actors interacting with computer animated characters from a fictional

video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...

. The series is significant in that until its creation, live action and CGI had not been attempted to such a huge and constant degree within a weekly television series.

Series overview

The series follows the life of British teenager Mark Hollander, who moved to the American town Conestoga Hills with his parents. One stormy night, Mark plays his favourite video game, the fictional ''Ace Lightning and the Carnival of Doom''–a

superhero A superhero or superheroine is a stock character that typically possesses ''superpowers'', abilities beyond those of ordinary people, and fits the role of the hero, typically using his or her powers to help the world become a better place, ...

-based adventure game where hero Ace Lightning traverses the Carnival of Doom to find the pieces of the magical Amulet of Zoar, whilst battling his nemesis Lord Fear. Mark stumbles across a mysterious seventh

level Level or levels may refer to: Engineering *Level (instrument), a device used to measure true horizontal or relative heights *Spirit level, an instrument designed to indicate whether a surface is horizontal or vertical *Canal pound or level *Regr ...

, which is not meant to exist. A lightning bolt strikes the antenna on his roof, and through an electrical surge, the characters of the game come to life. Ace hires Mark as his

sidekick A sidekick is a slang expression for a close companion or colleague (not necessarily in fiction) who is, or is generally regarded as, subordinate to the one they accompany. Some well-known fictional sidekicks are Don Quixote's Sancho Panza, ...

to fulfil the game's objectives in the real world. Mark's life is turned upside down, and his duty as a Lightning Knight affects his school grades and social life, often forcing him to make excuses for his family and friends. Meanwhile, Lord Fear's group of villains occupy the town's rundown Kent Bros. Carnival. Most episodes balanced Mark's social issues and dealing with the game characters, and the animated characters fighting over the collected amulet pieces. The world and rules of the game played out in Conestoga Hill; for example, when two pieces of the Amulet were connected, a new character or weapon would be summoned. Four human characters learned of Mark's double life, including his best friend Chuck Mugel, girlfriend Kat Adams, school teacher Mr. Cheseborough who comes to the belief that the characters are aliens, and Mark's cousin Ashley. Another character who is aware of the goings on is Duff Kent, the owner of the carnival who is shanghaied into being a minion for Lord Fear. An ongoing story was the

love triangle A love triangle or eternal triangle is a scenario or circumstance, usually depicted as a rivalry, in which two people are pursuing or involved in a romantic relationship with one person, or in which one person in a romantic relationship with so ...

between Ace and villain Lady Illusion, who was Lord Fear's mistress throughout the first season but betrays him in the finale. The first season ended with Mark winning the game, with all the antagonists save Lady Illusion returning to the game world. In the second season, Chuck becomes Ace's secondary sidekick, and all the villains return under the leadership of a new antagonist named Kilobyte. Kilobyte was created by Rick Hummel, a computer repairman and former games developer who took on the alias of the "Master Programmer". Rick developed the program that brought the game to life, but was ridiculed and fired as a result. He desired to prove his worth by bringing the characters to life and ultimately conquering the world. A blackout in his shop allows Kilobyte to become independent, determined to rule the world. In the series finale, Ace and Lord Fear join forces and banish Kilobyte to the game world. However, Lord Fear turns on Ace and mortally wounds him, only to reveal that Lady Illusion took his place, and she dies in Ace's arms.

Characters

Main characters

Michael Riley Michael Riley (born February 4, 1962) is a Canadian actor. From 1998 to 2000, he portrayed Brett Parker in ''Power Play''. He has acted in over 40 films and television series, including '' This Is Wonderland'', for which he received a Gemini Awa ...

as Ace Lightning: The titular character, the playable character from the fictional game Ace Lightning and the Carnival of Doom. A superhero and Lightning Knight from the Sixth Dimension, Ace recruits Mark as his sidekick to defeat Lord Fear. * Thomas Wansey as Mark Hollander: The main protagonist, a 13-year-old British boy who moves to Conestoga Hills with his parents at the beginning of the series. Drawn into the battle of good and evil between Ace Lightning and Lord Fear, Mark reluctantly becomes Ace’s sidekick to win the game. * Marc Minardi as Chuck Mugel: Mark’s best friend, a bullied but intelligent boy who is a fan of the game. He becomes aware of the game characters in the second season, becoming Ace’s secondary sidekick, mistakenly named “Chuckdude” by Ace. *

Shadia Simmons Shadia Simmons (born June 28, 1986) is a Canadian actress, teacher, and director. She is best known for her role as Corrine Baxter in the television series ''Strange Days at Blake Holsey High'', her recurring role as Emily on ''Life with Derek'' ...

as Samantha Thompson: The most popular girl in school, Mark’s next-door neighbour, and girlfriend in the first season. In the second season, Samantha attends boarding school, appearing as a special guest. *

Ashley Leggat Ashley Leggat (born September 26, 1986) is a Canadian actress. She is known for her roles as Casey McDonald in the Canadian family comedy series ''Life with Derek'' and as Tiffany in the MTV television film ''Made... The Movie''. Early life L ...

as Kat Adams: A new addition in the second season, Kat is a brash and inquisitive new girl who becomes Mark’s girlfriend. *

Juan Chioran Juan Chioran (born June 18, 1963) is an Argentine-born Canadian actor primarily associated with stage roles at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival in Canada. He is based in Stratford, Ontario. Chioran is also known for his voice acting roles, suc ...

as Lord Fear: Ace’s arch nemesis and antagonist of the series. A 352-year-old

lich In fantasy fiction, a lich (; from the Old English , meaning "corpse") is a type of undead creature. Various works of fantasy fiction, such as Clark Ashton Smith's "The Empire of the Necromancers" (1932), had used ''lich'' as a general term fo ...

, Lord Fear, seeks revenge on Ace for crippling him and then imprisoning him in the Sixth Dimension. He rules over the Carnival of Doom, collecting the pieces of the Amulet of Zoar to use to rule the world. *

Tamara Bernier Evans Tamara Bernier Evans (born Tamara Michele Bernier; June 6, 1974) is a Canadian actress, musician, producer and director. Early life She was raised in North Bay, Ontario, by actress Joanne Scott and physicist Raymond Bernier. Her sister, Trista ...

as Lady Illusion: A

shapeshifting In mythology, folklore and speculative fiction, shape-shifting is the ability to physically transform oneself through an inherently superhuman ability, divine intervention, demonic manipulation, Magic (paranormal), sorcery, Incantation, ...

villain, Lady Illusion is introduced as Lord Fear’s partner in love and crime. She develops a turbulent romance with Ace, testing her loyalties throughout the series. *

Deborah Odell Deborah Lee O'Dell (born October 5, 1973) is a Canadian actress and singer. She has appeared in various films and TV series. Early life Deborah O'Dell was born in St. John's, Newfoundland on October 5, 1973. Career Deborah made her acting deb ...

as Sparx: A young, impetuous and daring Lightning Knight. *

Cal Dodd Cathal J. Dodd (born 23 May 1956) is an Irish-Canadian voice actor and singer. He is best known for his portrayal of the Marvel Comics character Wolverine in '' X-Men: The Animated Series'' and the '' Marvel vs. Capcom'' series of video games. Ca ...

as Random Virus: A

cyborg A cyborg ()—a portmanteau of ''cybernetic'' and ''organism''—is a being with both organic and biomechatronic body parts. The term was coined in 1960 by Manfred Clynes and Nathan S. Kline.

Lightning Knight and Ace’s friend, Random suffers from two clashing programs, one good and one evil. He is often sought out by Ace and Lord Fear to join their causes; as such, he hides in Conestoga Hills’ junkyard. * Ted Atherton as Kilobyte: The main antagonist of the second season. Known as the Cyber Stalker, Kilobyte was created by the Master Programmer to conquer the world on his behalf. He has the cold, calculating mind of a hunter, possessing unlimited powers.

Recurring cast

* Michael Lamport as Staff Head: The figurehead who perches on the end of Lord Fear’s staff. * Adrian Truss as Dirty Rat: A winged rat clown who serves as Lord Fear’s cowardly spy. * Howard Jerome as Anvil: A dim-witted

rhinoceros A rhinoceros (; ; ), commonly abbreviated to rhino, is a member of any of the five extant species (or numerous extinct species) of odd-toed ungulates in the family Rhinocerotidae. (It can also refer to a member of any of the extinct species o ...

who acts as the muscle for Lord Fear’s gang. * Keith Knight as Pigface: A grotesque, childish

warthog ''Phacochoerus'' is a genus in the family Suidae, commonly known as warthogs (pronounced ''wart-hog''). They are pigs who live in open and semi-open habitats, even in quite arid regions, in sub-Saharan Africa. The two species were formerly cons ...

minion. * Richard Binsley as Googler: A maniacal

jester A jester, court jester, fool or joker was a member of the household of a nobleman or a monarch employed to entertain guests during the medieval and Renaissance eras. Jesters were also itinerant performers who entertained common folk at fairs and ...

summoned by Lord Fear early on the series, who has a grudge against Ace for trapping him in another dimension. *

Matt Ficner Matt Ficner (born 1973) is a Canadian actor, puppeteer, and entrepreneur. For over two decades, Matt has been involved in television, film and theatre projects. As president of Matt Ficner Productions Inc., he received a Top Forty Under 40 award ...

as Zip and Snip: Googler’s animated

sock puppet A sock puppet or sockpuppet is a puppet made from a sock or a similar garment. The puppeteer wears the sock on a hand and lower arm as if it were a glove, with the puppet's mouth being formed by the region between the sock's heel and toe, and ...

s. *

Robert Tinkler Robert Tinkler is a Canadian voice actor who provides voices for a number of cartoons and anime shows. He voiced Max in '' The Adventures of Sam & Max: Freelance Police'', Delete in the children's animated series ''Cyberchase'', Pelswick Eggert ...

as Rotgut: An undead cowboy introduced in the second season, Rotgut is an overemotional zombie whose limbs fall off and prefer to be called the “walking dead”. * Philip Williams as Duff Kent: The owner of the Kent Bros. Carnival, which becomes the Carnival of Doom. He also drives an

ice cream truck An ice cream van ( British) or ice cream truck (North American) is a commercial vehicle that serves as a mobile retail outlet for ice cream, usually during the spring and summer. Ice cream vans are often seen parked at public events, or ne ...

, which the villains use as a mode of transport. * R.D. Reid as Horace Cheseborough: Mark’s apathetic science teacher in junior high, and homeroom teacher in high school. He repeatedly encounters the game characters, becoming convinced they are extra-terrestrials. *

Devon Anderson Devon Carlo Anderson (born 25 August 1987) is an English actor. Anderson's roles include Billie Jackson in ''EastEnders'' and Sonny Valentine in ''Hollyoaks''. Early life Anderson was born on 25 August 1987 in London. Acting career Anderson ...

as Pete Burgess: Mark’s friend in London, who he communicates with via webcam at the start of each episode. * Jordan Hughes as Wayne Fisgus: A school bully who targets Mark and Chuck, and Jessica’s cousin. He is often frightened by Lord Fear, who he refers to as the “bone man”. *

Megan Park Megan Park (born July 24, 1986) is a Canadian actress and director. She is known for her portrayal of Grace Bowman in the television series ''The Secret Life of the American Teenager''. In 2021, Park made her feature directorial debut with '' Th ...

as Jessica Fisgus: Chuck's girlfriend and Wayne's cousin. * Brandon Carrera as Brett Ramirez: Samantha’s boyfriend in the first season, a popular skateboarder and soccer player. * Petra Wildgoose as Heather Hoffs: Samantha’s gossipy best friend and Mark’s girlfriend during the second half of the first season. * Ned Vukovic as Simon Hollander: Mark’s father, an accountant who enthusiastically embraces American culture. * Susan Danford as Fiona Hollander: Mark’s mother, a fussy real estate agent. * Kayla Perlmutter as Ashley Hollander: Mark’s younger cousin. * Diane Douglass as Nettie Kutcher: A matronly

dinner lady Lunch lady, in Canada and the US, is a term for a woman who cooks and serves food in a school cafeteria. The equivalent term in the United Kingdom is dinner lady. The role is also sometimes known as cafeteria lady. Sometimes, a lunch lady also p ...

at Conestoga Hills Elementary School. * David Huband as Coach: The coach of the elementary school’s soccer team, and secret Ace Lightning fan. * Brett Heard as Rick Hummel: A computer repairman, who is in actuality, the secret designer of the video game. He is an antagonist in the second season, operating as the Master Programmer, using Kilobyte in his own plans for world domination.

Episodes

Season 1 (2002–2003)

The season aired between September 2002 and March 2003. When broadcast in America, the episodes were shown out of order, which sometimes resulted in severe continuity errors. For instance, "Tunnel of Love" was shown before "Once Upon a Hero." Random Virus would show up as an established character of the day before he would be established. The runtime of each episode was 24:59.

Season 2 (2004 (Canada) 2005 (UK))

The second series was broadcast in most countries in 2004, but it aired in the United Kingdom during the summer of 2005 for unknown reasons. This season was not aired in the United States due to the poor reception of the first season. The graphics were greatly improved, and several of the characters, including Staff Head and Pigface, were changed to look more like the animals they resembled. Kilobyte, Rotgut, Kat Adams and Rick the Master Programmer made their debut in this season. Chuck also met the Lightning Knights, and Mark got his own weapon, allowing him to battle the villains. There were only 13 episodes with one overall storyline. The runtime of each episode was also 24:59.

Production

The show was developed by BBC and Alliance Atlantis, with Rick Siggelkow as executive producer and creator of the show, and Jim Corston as head writer. Originally, the program's plot was to feature a

from a

comic book A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...

coming to life, but it was changed due to children playing videos games more than a pastime than reading comics. Mark was inspired by

Spider-Man Spider-Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appeared in the anthology comic book '' Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August 1962) in the ...

's alter ego, Peter Parker. The series was in pre-production for two years and took a year and a half to complete the first season.

designed the computer-generated characters for the series and also provided the voices of Zip and Snip in the first season. The series was shot in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

in 2001 between 23 June and 22 November of that year.

Reception

According to the 2003–2004 annual review of BBC Worldwide's children's products, the series was a success and translated into different languages and forty countries, gaining high ratings in the United States on

DIC Kids Network The Cookie Jar Kids Network (formerly DiC Kids Network) was a syndicated children's programming block that airs selected Cookie Jar Group shows on local Fox, The CW, MyNetworkTV, and independent stations to provide them with a source of E/I p ...

. The series received 1.2 million viewers on average during the first season's airing in the United Kingdom. However, a social argument occurred in 2004 regarding the series' content in relation to the

Children's Television Act The broadcast of educational children's programming by terrestrial television stations in the United States is mandated by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), under regulations colloquially referred to as the Children's Television Act (C ...

. Children's television analyst Dale Kunkel, a communication professor at the

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it was the first university in the Arizona Territory. T ...

, described the series and ''

Stargate Infinity ''Stargate Infinity'' (often abbreviated as ''SGI'' or just ''Infinity'') ( French: ''Stargate: Le Dessin Animé'') is a 2002-2003 animated science fiction television series co-produced by Les Studios Tex S.A.R.L. and DIC Entertainment Corporation ...

'' as "anti-social". The opinions were shared by the activist groups of the

United Church of Christ The United Church of Christ (UCC) is a mainline Protestant Christian denomination based in the United States, with historical and confessional roots in the Congregational, Calvinist, Lutheran, and Anabaptist traditions, and with approximately 4 ...

and Center of Digital Democracy, viewing both programmes as violent. Former CEO of

DIC Entertainment DIC Entertainment Corporation (; also known as DIC Audiovisuel, DIC Enterprises, DIC Animation City, DIC Entertainment, L.P., and DIC Productions), branded as The Incredible World of DIC, was an international film and television production comp ...

Andy Heyward Andrew B. Heyward (born February 19, 1949) is the former Chairman and CEO of DIC Entertainment, an animation production company. He is currently CEO of Genius Brands, Genius Brands International. Early life Heyward was born in New York City, ...

, defended ''Ace Lightning'', taking the educational requirement very seriously for each episode. Heyward also had the support of

Donald F. Roberts Donald F. Roberts (born March 30, 1939) is the Thomas More Storke Professor Emeritus in Communication at Stanford University. Roberts studied at Columbia University, where he received his B.A. in 1961, at the University of California, Berkeley, wh ...

, who believed the descriptions given by the activists "mischaracterizes" the series they were attacking.

Video game adaptation

A video game adaptation titled ''Ace Lightning'' was released on

PlayStation 2 The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October 2000, in Europe on 24 November 2000, and in Australia on 3 ...

Microsoft Windows Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for serv ...

, and

Game Boy Advance The (GBA) is a 32-bit handheld game console developed, manufactured and marketed by Nintendo as the successor to the Game Boy Color. It was released in Japan on March 21, 2001, in North America on June 11, 2001, in the PAL region on June 22, 2 ...

on 25 October 2002. The game was developed by Absolute Studios and

Tiertex Design Studios Tiertex Design Studios Limited was a British software development company and former video game developer based in Macclesfield, England; it was founded in 1986, focusing on porting games to home computers and handheld platforms. As a video game ...

, and published by BBC Worldwide's game division,

Gamezlab BBC Multimedia was a division of the BBC which dealt with the publishing of computer-game versions of well-known BBC television programmes. History The Multimedia division was founded in 1995 and mostly focused on CD-ROM software for Microsoft ...

. It was only released in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

References

External links

* * * * {{moby game, id=/ace-lightning_, name=''Ace Lightning'' (PS2) 2002 British television series debuts 2004 British television series endings 2000s British children's television series BBC children's television shows British children's action television series British television series with live action and animation English-language television shows 2002 video games Action video games Europe-exclusive video games Game Boy Advance games PlayStation 2 games Windows games Superhero television series Television series by Alliance Atlantis Television series by BBC Studios Television shows set in the United States Television shows filmed in Toronto