''Cybergirl'' is an Australian-French

children's television series Children's television series (or children's television shows) are television programs designed for children, normally scheduled for broadcast during the morning and afternoon when children are awake. They can sometimes run during the early evenin ...

that first screened on

Network Ten Network 10 (commonly known as Ten Network, Channel 10 or simply 10) is an Australian commercial television network owned by Ten Network Holdings, a division of the Paramount Networks UK & Australia subsidiary of Paramount Global. One of five ...

in Australia. The 26-episode series was created by Jonathan M. Shiff, whose previous series include the BAFTA-award-winning ''

Ocean Girl ''Ocean Girl'' (titled ''Ocean Odyssey'' in the UK) is an Australian science fiction TV series aimed for family audiences and starring Marzena Godecki as the lead character. The show is set in the near future, and focuses on an unusual girl na ...

''.

Plot

Cybergirl is a Blue

superheroine 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, ...

Human Prototype 6000 living under the

secret identity A secret identity is a person's alter ego which is not known to the general populace, most often used in fiction. Brought into popular culture by the Scarlet Pimpernel in 1903, the concept was widespread in pulp heroes and is particularly prevalent ...

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 Cyber may refer to: Computing and the Internet * ''Cyber-'', from cybernetics, a transdisciplinary approach for exploring regulatory and purposive systems Crime and security * Cyber crime, crime that involves computers and networks ** Conventi ...

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 intel ...

Human Humans (''Homo sapiens'') are the most abundant and widespread species of primate, characterized by bipedalism and exceptional cognitive skills due to a large and complex brain. This has enabled the development of advanced tools, culture, ...

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 prototyp ...

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'') are the most abundant and widespread species of primate, characterized by bipedalism and exceptional cognitive skills due to a large and complex brain. This has enabled the development of advanced tools, culture, ...

. Two other Evil Red

Replicants 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 intel ...

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 harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surfa ...

in the

fictional city A fictional city refers to a town, city or village that is invented for fictional stories and does not exist in real life, or which people believe to exist without definitive proof, such as Plato's account of Atlantis. Cultures have always had l ...

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

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

. 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 TwinLast Editorial Review: 19 June 2000 Twins can be either ''monozygotic'' ('identical'), meaning that they develop from one zygote, which splits and forms two em ...

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''. Bi ...

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 He was best known for his role as school teacher Peter Manning in A Country Practice in 1986–1987, appearing for 88 epi ...

as Hugh Campbell *Jennifer Congram as Xanda *Ric Anderson as Isaac *Septimus Caton as Rhyss *Winston Cooper as Giorgio *

Peter Mochrie Peter Mochrie (born 23 March 1959), is an Australian actor whose career spans over forty years in the industry, primarily featuring in television soap opera's, he has also worked in New Zealand, where he spent six years as Dr. Callum McKay in ...

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 gu ...

as Mayor Burdette Buxton *David Vallon as Romirez *Michelle Atkinson as Anthea *

Jessica Origliasso Jessica Origliasso (born 25 December 1984) is an Australian singer-songwriter and producer. She and her twin sister formed the pop band The Veronicas. Biography 1984–2003: Early life and career beginnings Jessica Louise Origliasso was born ...

as Emerald Buxton *

Lisa Origliasso Lisa Marie Huffman (née Origliasso; born 25 December 1984) is an Australian singer-songwriter. Born and raised in Albany Creek, Queensland, Lisa and her identical twin sister, Jessica Origliasso, performed in show business at a young age. Ori ...

as Sapphire Buxton *

Tony Hawkins Tony may refer to: People and fictional characters * Tony (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Gregory Tony (born 1978), American law enforcement officer * Motu Tony (born 1981), New Zealand international rugby leagu ...

as McMurtrie

Guest

* John Dommett as Mr. Southerly *

Jason Klarwein Jason Klarwein (born 1976) is an Australian actor, director, producer and artistic director, known for his involvement with Grin & Tonic theatre troupe. Early life Klarwein born was born around 1976. Career In 1996 Klarwein began his profession ...

as Sales Assistant *

Daniel Amalm Daniel Amalm (born 16 February 1979) is an Australian actor and musician. Early life Amalm's mother is Maltese and his father is Swedish. Amalm's father introduced him to guitar from an early age. Amalm's first performances were as a busker ...

as Marco *

Julie Eckersley Julie Eckersley is an Australian actress, comedian and writer and producer. She has appeared in comedy shows including ''Let Loose Live'', '' The Wedge'' and ''Newstopia,'' and in the drama ''City Homicide'', and the children's television series ...

as Julia *

Damien Garvey Damien Garvey is an Australian actor and former musician known for his film and television roles. Early life Garvey graduated from Padua College in 1982. Career Garvey had guest roles in several drama series in his early part of his act ...

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''. Biog ...

as Zak Furnace

Episodes

DVD release

''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 kin ...

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-Video, DVD release, including its content, release date, and price, all acc ...

. The release includes making of/behind-the-scenes featurettes created from a period

Electronic Press Kit A press kit, often referred to as a media kit in business environments, is a pre-packaged set of promotional materials that provide information about a person, company, organization or cause and which is distributed to members of the media for pr ...

and the packaging makes frequent references to the fact that the series features "before they were famous" appearances by

The Veronicas The Veronicas is an Australian pop duo from Brisbane. The group was formed in 2004 by identical twin sisters Lisa and Jessica Origliasso. In 2005, the Veronicas released their debut studio album, titled '' The Secret Life of...'', which peak ...

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 *
Cybergirl at the National Film and Sound Archive
{dead link, date=August 2017 , bot=InternetArchiveBot , fix-attempted=yes Network 10 original programming 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 Malware in fiction Child superheroes Television series about television Cyberpunk television series Television series about teenagers Television shows filmed in Australia Teen superhero television series