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

Deepwater trilogy The ''Deepwater trilogy'' is a series of science fiction novels written by the author Ken Catran for teenagers or young adults. The three books are respectively titled ''Deepwater Black'' (1992), ''Deepwater Landing'' (1993) and ''Deepwater Ang ...

, by the

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 ...

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...

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'', ...

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

virus A virus is a submicroscopic infectious agent that replicates only inside the living cells of an organism. Viruses infect all life forms, from animals and plants to microorganisms, including bacteria and archaea. Since Dmitri Ivanovsky's 1 ...

ravages

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 ...

. 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 where the characters were much older.

Plot

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

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, ...

s residing on Earth doomed. However, in a desperate attempt before the end, all humanity's resources are dedicated to a crash program to produce a deep space

ark Ark or ARK may refer to: Biblical narratives and religion Hebrew word ''teva'' * Noah's Ark, a massive vessel said to have been built to save the world's animals from a flood * Ark of bulrushes, the boat of the infant Moses Hebrew ''aron'' * ...

, capable of seeding humanity on a new world. The ship is crewed by six clones;

teenage Adolescence () is a transitional stage of 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 the te ...

versions of people who achieved great works during the ark project and 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 rep ...

s. Prior to its arrival, 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 A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite television, satellite, or cable television, cable, excluding breaking news, television adverti ...

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of t ...

under the name ''Mission Genesis''. The series was a co-production between YTV Network,

USA Networks 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 territori ...

and was distributed by

Sunbow Entertainment Sunbow Entertainment (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 States. Griffin ...

. 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 is a Canadian actress. She is best known for starring in the cult film ''Cube'' as Joan Leaven, playing Ezri Dax on the final season of '' Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'' (1998–1999), and as Sarah Bannerman on the series '' The ...

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 ( ; 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 ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

, Canada. Music for the series 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 (band), A ...

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

*
Plot Guide
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 New Zealand children's books New Zealand science fiction novels Children's science fiction novels 1995 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 20th-century New Zealand novels {{sf-tv-stub