''Cyberchase'' is an

educational Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty. Vari ...

animated Animation is a method by which still figures are manipulated to appear as moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Today, most anim ...

sci-fi 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 universe ...

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 airs on PBS Kids. The series centers around three children from Earth: Jackie, Matt, and Inez, who are brought into Cyberspace, a digital universe, in order to protect the world from the villain Hacker (

Christopher Lloyd Christopher Allen Lloyd (born October 22, 1938) is an American actor. He has appeared in many theater productions, films, and on television since the 1960s. He is known for portraying Dr. Emmett "Doc" Brown in the ''Back to the Future'' tril ...

). They are able to prevent Hacker from taking over Cyberspace by means of problem-solving skills in conjunction with basic math, environmental science, and wellness. In Cyberspace, they meet Digit (

Gilbert Gottfried Gilbert Jeremy Gottfried (February 28, 1955 – April 12, 2022) was an American stand-up comedian and actor, known for his exaggerated shrill voice, strong New York accent, and his edgy, often controversial, sense of humor. His numerous ro ...

), a "cybird" who helps them on their missions. ''Cyberchase'' was created by WNET New York and premiered on

PBS Kids PBS Kids is the brand for most of the children's programming aired by the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) in the United States. Some public television children's programs are not produced by PBS member stations or transmitted by PBS. Instead, ...

on January 21, 2002. In 2010, after the season 8 finale, ''Cyberchase'' went on

hiatus Hiatus may refer to: *Hiatus (anatomy), a natural fissure in a structure *Hiatus (stratigraphy), a discontinuity in the age of strata in stratigraphy *''Hiatus'', a genus of picture-winged flies with sole member species ''Hiatus fulvipes'' *Globa ...

, but it returned in 2013 for a ninth season, followed by a tenth season in 2015. The eleventh season premiered on October 23, 2017, and the twelfth season premiered on April 19, 2019. A thirteenth season was announced on October 19, 2020, and premiered on February 25, 2022.

Plot

Motherboard A motherboard (also called mainboard, main circuit board, mb, mboard, backplane board, base board, system board, logic board (only in Apple computers) or mobo) is the main printed circuit board (PCB) in general-purpose computers and other expand ...

is the "brain of the giant computer system that oversees all of Cyberspace". Her technician computer scientist, Dr. Marbles, kept her functioning properly until his assistant, the Hacker, turned against them. Dr. Marbles drained Hacker's battery and banished him to the Northern Frontier, where he formulated a plan to launch 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 ...

that would attack Motherboard. When Jackie, Matt, and Inez interact with a

library A library is a collection of materials, books or media that are accessible for use and not just for display purposes. A library provides physical (hard copies) or digital access (soft copies) materials, and may be a physical location or a vir ...

map in the real world, they accidentally allow Hacker access to Motherboard, and she becomes infected with the virus. The kids are brought into Cyberspace and join forces with Digit, a creation of the Hacker who escaped his control. Together they protect the world from the Hacker and his clumsy, accident-prone assistants, Buzz and Delete, until they can recover the Encryptor Chip, a device stolen by Hacker that can nullify the virus and bring Motherboard back to full strength. Cyberspace consists of planet-like bodies called Cybersites, with each site having a theme such as Ancient Egypt, the

American Old West The American frontier, also known as the Old West or the Wild West, encompasses the geography, history, folklore, and culture associated with the forward wave of American expansion in mainland North America that began with European colonial ...

Greek mythology A major branch of classical mythology, Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the Ancient Greece, ancient Greeks, and a genre of Ancient Greek folklore. These stories concern the Cosmogony, origin and Cosmology#Metaphysical co ...

, and

amusement parks An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, as well as other events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central ...

. These sites represent the diversity of websites on the Internet, and reflect the many ecosystems and neighborhoods of the Earth. The Cybersquad travels to many of these locations in order to protect them from Hacker, and each inhabited Cybersite has a unique type of Cybercitizen they interact with.

Characters

Main

* Jackie (voiced by Novie Edwards) is an 11-year-old

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

girl who loves to keep things neat and organized in order to figure things out. She has light brown skin,

black hair Black hair is the darkest and most common of all human hair colors globally, due to larger populations with this dominant trait. It is a dominant genetic trait, and it is found in people of all backgrounds and ethnicities. Black hair contains a ...

worn in a bun and black eyes. She wears a yellow sweater with a sky blue denim skirt, red jewelry, and dull lavender hi-tops. Jackie's biggest pet peeve is slimy and icky stuff like bugs and many other "gross" things. Like Inez, she was very fond of Slider. In a running gag in Seasons 1–4, Jackie freaked out when in crisis, pacing while trying to figure out a solution, saying "Make room, I gotta pace!" * Matt (voiced by

Jacqueline Pillon Jacqueline Patricia Pillon (born December 27, 1977) is a Canadian actress. She is best known as the voice of Matt from ''Cyberchase'' and Cookie Falcone (MacDougall) in ''Fugget About It''. Life and career Early life Pillon was born in Winds ...

) is an 11-year-old boy who likes skateboards and collecting things. He is impulsive, impatient, tells jokes, and has a great interest in sports. He has

fair skin Light skin is a human skin color that has a base level of eumelanin pigmentation that has adapted to environments of low UV radiation. Light skin is most commonly found amongst the native populations of Europe and East Asia as measured through ...

and shaggy

orange hair Red hair (also known as orange hair and ginger hair) is a hair color found in one to two percent of the human population, appearing with greater frequency (two to six percent) among people of Northern or Northwestern European ancestry and l ...

. He usually wears a long-sleeved lime-green T-shirt, a red backpack, neon blue pants, and red hi-tops. He has a pig named Sherman on his family's farm. Matt's red backpack contains his many

yo-yo A yo-yo (also spelled yoyo) is a toy consisting of an axle connected to two disks, and a string looped around the axle, similar to a spool. It is an ancient toy with proof of existence since 500 BCE. The yo-yo was also called a bandalore in ...

s, which he is very good at using and often plays with one whenever he's thinking hard about something. He frequently calls Inez by the nickname "Nezzie", much to her annoyance. It is also shown he can be quite protective of her at times. * Inez (voiced by

Annick Obonsawin Annick Obonsawin (born October 12, 1983) is a First Nations Abenaki Canadian actress. Biography Obonsawin has played roles in many children's shows such as Inez in ''Cyberchase'' and Skunk in ''Franklin''. She also played Slappy the Dummy in '' ...

) is a 9-year-old

Latin-American Latin Americans ( es, Latinoamericanos; pt, Latino-americanos; ) are the citizenship, citizens of Latin American countries (or people with cultural, ancestral or national origins in Latin America). Latin American countries and their diasporas a ...

girl who has an excellent vocabulary (and who knows a large collection of quotes) for which the others often tease her. She has tan skin and shoulder-length

brown hair Brown hair, also referred to as brunet (male) or brunette (female), is the second most common human hair color, after black hair. It varies from light brown to a medium dark hair. It is characterized by higher levels of the dark pigment eumela ...

. She mostly wears a pink long-sleeved T-shirt with a yellow star on the front, teal shorts, a purple hooded vest, a pair of black square glasses, and high blue boots. Despite being the youngest human member of the gang, she is the smartest one. Whenever she's thinking up a solution, Inez has a habit of doing handstands to help her concentrate. * Digit (nicknamed Didge by various people and Didgey by Delete) (voiced by

) is a "cybird" (

portmanteau A portmanteau word, or portmanteau (, ) is a blend of wordscyborg 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.

" and bird), who works for Motherboard and is the kids' best friend. He and the kids protect Cyberspace and Motherboard from Hacker. Digit was created by Hacker and worked for him along with Buzz and Delete, but escaped after learning of Hacker's evil doings. He became one of Motherboard's helpers, serving as Dr. Marbles' assistant. Digit can fly by spinning his tail feathers in a helicopter-fashion or flapping his wings. However, he has a fear of heights and prefers to walk. He is a cook and wrote his two popular cookbooks ''The Cyber Chef'' and ''Cookin' with the Didge''. He carries many objects in his chest, including Widget. He can turn his beak into just about anything and bends it on occasion. He also can disguise his voice very well. * Hacker (also known as the Hacker) (voiced by

) is a

mad scientist The mad scientist (also mad doctor or mad professor) is a stock character of a scientist who is perceived as " mad, bad and dangerous to know" or "insane" owing to a combination of unusual or unsettling personality traits and the unabashedly amb ...

bent on taking over/creating ultimate chaos for Cyberspace, but he is almost always thwarted by the Cybersquad. He is characterized by a barrel chest with disproportionately small legs, green skin, a bicolored cape, a black wig, and a pointy chin of which he is vain. Hacker was originally created by Dr. Marbles to assist Motherboard, but he rebelled and was exiled to the Northern Frontier. Nevertheless, he does have the potential to become good again, as shown in two episodes where he became a peaceful artist (temporarily) and when he helped the Cybersquad protect the trees in the Northern Frontier. He has two cyborg lackeys, Buzz and Delete, whose reliability is quite variable; sometimes, he gets very peeved when he has to do things himself that Buzz and Delete cannot. * Buzz and Delete (nicknamed "Buzzy and DeeDee", Buzz voiced by:

Len Carlson Len Carlson (September 2, 1937 – January 26, 2006) was a Canadian voice actor who has voiced various characters on many animated television series from the 1960s onward, an occasional live-action TV actor, and a Kraft Canada TV pitchman dur ...

(seasons 1-4, A Clean Sweep, Designing Mr. Perfect, EcoHaven Ooze and The Flying Parallinis) and Philip Williams (The Halloween Howl, The Fairy Borg Father, Crystal Clear, Inside Hacker, On the Line, A Fraction of a Chance and seasons 6–present); Delete voiced by

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 ...

) are Hacker's pair of henchmen, Buzz is a small spherical cyborg with a large mouth and scrawny limbs and Delete is the skinnier and taller. Buzz seems to think he is a big tough guy; however, he can be kind at times and loves doughnuts. Delete is loyal to Hacker for the most part but has occasionally helped the Cybersquad. Unlike Buzz, who is rougher around the edges, Delete is softer and more vulnerable to trickery and deceit. He cares deeply for three things; Buzz, whom he has a brotherly friendship with, his desired pet bunny George (and pets and bunnies in general), and Zanko, his fairy borg father.

"Cyberchase For Real"

* Harry Wilson (played by Matthew A. Wilson) is a character in the "For Real" segment. He often dresses in a nerdish style and wears horn-rimmed glasses and Converse shoes. In many of the segments, he is easily determined and free spirited yet rather careless, which usually costs him his current job. He is also very creative and thought out when he encounters a problem. * Bianca DeGroat (played by Bianca DeGroat) is a character in the "For Real" segment of the series. She often uses the original plot (the animated main plot) to solve everyday real world problems. As a character, she is rather absent-minded, arrogant, and self-centered, and does not think before she acts. She is seen to get carried away very easily.

Recurring: Team Motherboard

* Motherboard (voiced by Kristina Nicoll) is the benevolent ruler of Cyberspace and mentor to Jackie, Matt, Inez, and Digit. Her former assistant was Hacker who put a virus in her, but because her firewall was not fully uploaded before the virus hit, she was only left weakened. The Cybersquad tries to recover the Encryptor Chip and keep Motherboard safe from Hacker. * Dr. Marbles (voiced by Richard Binsley) is a smart and brilliant

inventor An invention is a unique or novel device, method, composition, idea or process. An invention may be an improvement upon a machine, product, or process for increasing efficiency or lowering cost. It may also be an entirely new concept. If an ...

who serves Motherboard. He is responsible for creating Hacker to help and defend Motherboard, although Hacker would later rebel against Motherboard and try to destroy her. A guilty Marbles would then downgrade Hacker's power and banish him to the Northern Frontier for his wrongful actions, right after Hacker vowed to return to finish Motherboard and Marbles off before taking over Cyberspace. * Widget (voiced by

) is a small likeness of Digit, and can even be stored in his chest. His hat, tail feathers, and bow tie are not screwed on properly. He is younger than Digit and helps him when it is necessary. * TW "Teeny Weeny Parallini" is a small square girl. She is not scared of Hacker, and despite the fact that her mother would not let her help the Cybersquad, she does help them find Diamond Joe. * Fluff (voiced by Austin Dilulio) is a

penguin Penguins (order (biology), order List of Sphenisciformes by population, Sphenisciformes , family (biology), family Spheniscidae ) are a group of Water bird, aquatic flightless birds. They live almost exclusively in the Southern Hemisphere: on ...

that plays hockey, which is hard in Cyberia. He is logical and does not buy into advertisements. Fluff is determined to follow in his father's footsteps and to make his family proud. He helped the Cybersquad with the Hacker's challenge. * Creech (voiced by

Sugar Lyn Beard Stephanie Lyn Beard (born August 27, 1981), better known by her stage name Sugar Lyn Beard, is a Canadian actress and radio personality. Her radio host persona uses the name "Suga BayBee", and as co-host of YTV (TV channel), YTV's ''The Zone (YTV ...

) is the young ruler of the Cybersite Tikiville. She became the apparent Big Kahuna (the term for their rulers in Tikiville) after competing in a race with other Tikiville-inhabitants as well as Hacker. Creech is in some ways similar to Inez, helping the two to become friends easily. Both have a fairly similar outlook: optimistic until something goes completely wrong, and they both have a large vocabulary. She also is the person in charge of Tikiville's Egg of Benedicta. * Jules (voiced by

Miklos Perlus Miklos Perlus (born March 23, 1977) is a Canadian actor, writer, and story editor. Perlus has appeared on Canadian series ''Student Bodies'', ''Road to Avonlea'' and ''Sidekick''. He has written for '' Degrassi: The Next Generation'' and other ser ...

) was first seen as a cave guard in episode 507, and is a good friend of the Cybersquad, but is often timid. He appears again in episode 607, where Hacker tricks him into pressing the nose of the Jam Master, causing Matt, Jackie, Creech and himself to get sucked into the chamber of Jimaya. After that he appeared in 801 where he helped in Hacker's challenge. He is often trying to find a job, but Hacker continuously tries to ruin it for him. * Slider (voiced by Tim Hamaguchi) is a serious and

James Dean James Byron Dean (February 8, 1931September 30, 1955) was an American actor. He is remembered as a cultural icon of teenage disillusionment and social estrangement, as expressed in the title of his most celebrated film, ''Rebel Without a Cause' ...

-style 13-year-old

skateboarder Skateboarding is an action sport originating in the United States that involves riding and performing tricks using a skateboard, as well as a recreational activity, an art form, an entertainment industry job, and a method of transportation. S ...

in Radopolis who builds and repairs skateboards and bikes. Since season three, he has been a recurring character in the series. According to Slider, his father Coop had abandoned him when he was younger because Hacker had hunted Coop for many years. However, in the episode "Measure for Measure" he finds out that his father abandoned him to protect him, and to make sure Hacker does not get an interface card that would allow Hacker to transform into whatever he wishes. If such were to happen, Hacker could cause immense chaos and even rule cyberspace.

Minor and guest stars

''Cyberchase'' has had many guest stars over the years, including

Jasmine Guy Jasmine Guy (born March 10, 1962) is an American actress, director, singer and dancer. She is known for her role as Dina in the 1988 film ''School Daze'' and as Whitley Gilbert-Wayne on the NBC ''The Cosby Show'' spin-off ''A Different World'', ...

Tony Hawk Anthony Frank Hawk (born May 12, 1968), nicknamed Birdman, is an American professional skateboarder, entrepreneur, and the owner of the skateboard company Birdhouse. A pioneer of modern vertical skateboarding, Hawk completed the first documen ...

Al Roker Albert Lincoln Roker Jr. (born August 20, 1954) is an American weather presenter, journalist, television personality, and author. He is the current weather anchor on NBC's ''Today'', and occasionally co-hosts '' 3rd Hour Today''. He has an ina ...

, and

Geoffrey Holder Geoffrey Lamont Holder (August 1, 1930 – October 5, 2014) was a Trinidadian-American actor, dancer, musician, and artist. He was a principal dancer for the Metropolitan Opera Ballet before his film career began in 1957 with an appearance in ' ...

. These guest stars appear as citizens of Cybersites, villains, friends, or rulers of the site.

Episodes

Cyberchase For Real

Each ''Cyberchase'' episode is followed by "Cyberchase For Real", a live-action educational supplement linking concepts learned in the show to real life experiences. The actors Bianca DeGroat and Matthew A. Wilson (known as Harry Wilson on the show) are in their 30s, but amusingly act in a manner similar to the age of the target audience. "For Real" is produced by

WNET WNET (channel 13), branded on-air as "Thirteen" (stylized as "THIRTEEN"), is a primary PBS member television station licensed to Newark, New Jersey, United States, serving the New York City area. Owned by The WNET Group (formerly known as the ...

in and around

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

after production is completed on the animated segments. These "For Real" segments are broadcast exclusively on

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...

in 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 ...

where the program runs longer and fills the time gap where there might be breaks for "commercials". Some "For Real" segments can also be viewed online. In 2012, "Oh Noah", shorts that teach kids to speak Spanish, were used instead of re-running the "For Real" segments. The "For Real" segment returned in season 9.

Development

Conception

''Cyberchase'' was conceived in 1999 as an educational show that aims to show kids that math is everywhere and everyone can be good at it. The series encourages viewers to see, think, and do mathematics in their world. The show and supporting activities have been designed to support math education and reflect the curriculum standards of the

National Council of Teachers of Mathematics Founded in 1920, The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) is a professional organization for schoolteachers of mathematics in the United States. One of its goals is to improve the standards of mathematics in education. NCTM holds an ...

. The show's philosophy is to foster enthusiasm for math, to model mathematic reasoning, to help children improve their problem-solving skills and to inspire all children to approach math with confidence and a "can-do" attitude. Later seasons place less emphasis on math and more on environmentalism and wellness. For example, in season 11, the theme of episode 2 is

habitat fragmentation Habitat fragmentation describes the emergence of discontinuities (fragmentation) in an organism's preferred environment (habitat), causing population fragmentation and ecosystem decay. Causes of habitat fragmentation include geological processes ...

, episode 3 is about the effects of temperature on

marine ecology Marine ecosystems are the largest of Earth's aquatic ecosystems and exist in waters that have a high salt content. These systems contrast with freshwater ecosystems, which have a lower salt content. Marine waters cover more than 70% of the surf ...

, and episode 4 discusses using plants to improve

indoor air quality Indoor air quality (IAQ) is the air quality within and around buildings and structures. IAQ is known to affect the health, comfort, and well-being of building occupants. Poor indoor air quality has been linked to sick building syndrome, reduced ...

Production

Originally, Thirteen produced the show in partnership with Ontario-based Nelvana for PBS Kids. It aired on PBS Kids since 2002, and on V-me (dubbed in Spanish) from 2004 to 2013. Cyberchase has been animated by Pip Animation Services Inc. since season six; Right Path Pictures did post-production, and Curious Pictures did the original character design. Twelfth Root Music produces the sound track for Cyberchase. Thirteen/WNET New York and

Nelvana Nelvana Enterprises, Inc. (; previously known as Nelvana Limited, sometimes known as Nelvana Animation and simply Nelvana or Nelvana Communications) is a Canadian animation studio and entertainment company owned by Corus Entertainment. Founded ...

produced the first five seasons, while Thirteen, in association with Title Entertainment and WNET.ORG, produced seasons six and on. Seasons 1 to 5 used traditional animation, while the sixth season onward used Flash animation.

Broadcast syndication

The show was syndicated worldwide to countries like the United Kingdom until 2004.

Brand extension

There are two apps that ''Cyberchase'' has released to date: # Cyberchase 3D Builder # Cyberchase Shape Quest

Reception

Critical response

On the site ''

Common Sense Media Common Sense Media (CSM) is an organization that reviews and provides ratings for media and technology with the goal of providing information on their suitability for children.

'', the show was for ages 5 and up and rated four out of five stars. The reviewer, Joly Herman, commented that "the adventures aren't scary, violent, or sexually inappropriate" but "require fortitude and brain power". Proposed discussion points sprouting from the series include "Can your child take the skills learned in each episode and figure out how to apply it to everyday life?" Herman noted that the only downside was that the adventures did not take place in the "real world" but added that the "For Real" segments solved this problem. The show was given a rating of three out of five smiley faces under "The Good Stuff" section. Carey Bryson of ''

About.com Dotdash Meredith (formerly About.com) is an American digital media company based in New York City. The company publishes online articles and videos about various subjects across categories including health, home, food, finance, tech, beauty, l ...

'' gave the show a rating of four out of five stars. Bryson noted that the series' explanations of "simple mathematical idea are "usually explained well and woven throughout the story in a fun and interesting way". The review commended the series for its accessibility: "Children can easily learn from the example in the cartoon story" and praised the "Cyberchase For Real segment that follows each episode". Citing an example from the series using codes, Bryson explained how the show could be used to expand upon the curriculum: "Not only did er five-year-oldlearn about codes, but she also got in a ton of spelling practice". Bryson commended the series: "Educationally, ''Cyberchase'' delivers".

Awards

''Cyberchase'' has been nominated for five

Daytime Emmy The Daytime Emmy Awards, or Daytime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the New York–based National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (N ...

s and won in 2007 in the Outstanding Broadband Program category. ''Cyberchase'' also won a

CINE Golden Eagle Ciné film or cine film is the term commonly used in the UK and historically in the US to refer to the 8 mm, Super 8, 9.5 mm, and 16 mm motion picture film formats used for home movies. It is not normally used to refer t ...

in 2006. : Frances Nankin, Sandra Sheppard, Ellen Doherty, Jill Peters, Bob Morris, Suzanne Rose, Michelle Chen, Elizabeth Hummer, Arash Hoda, Anthony Chapman, David Hirmes, Bianca DeGroat, Matthew A. Wilson, George Arthur Bloom
: Sandra Sheppard, Frances Nankin, Ellen Doherty, Jill Peters, David Hirmes, Kelly Lafferty, Michelle Chen, Tanner Vea, Bob Morris, Matthew A. WilsonAwards for "Cyberchase"
''The Internet Movie Database''. Accessed September 24, 2012.
: Sandra Sheppard, Frances Nankin, Ellen Doherty, David Hirmes, Tanner Vea, Denyse Ouellette, Gilbert Gottfried, Phil Williams, Robert Tinkler
: Frances Nankin, Sandra Sheppard, Jill Peters, Marj Kleinman, Ellen Doherty, Kristin DiQuollo, Michelle Chen

Home media

References

External links