Ooze News: March 1996
Hi again-
I've had this old Nickelodeon Magazine article since before the show came out, and I decided to post the information contained within. I'd scan it, but I have no scanner. Sorry. :( What's here is pretty much what we already know, but it's kind of cool to read what was out at the time.
Ooze news: All about Nickelodeon March 1996
Space Cases Blasts Off
What would you do if you were trapped on a spaceship with your teacher and assistant principal for the next seven years?
Space Cases, Nickelodeon’s new science-fiction show, is the story of five kids who find out for themselves. Set in the year 2261, Space Cases follows five students (the “space cases”) who study-or rather, don’t study-at the Starcademy, a training school for intergalactic heroes.
Their troubles begin when they are sent to a special three-week summer-school program. One day, the students wander aboard a mysterious alien ship, which is empty-except for a robot. Their teacher and assistant principal follow them on board-and are about to tell the kids to return to school-when the ship suddenly blasts off through a freak hole in space. The ship ends up on the other side of the galaxy, and the shortest course back to the Starcademy will take seven years to complete. The space cases are trapped-and their adventures begin.
(Photo of the cast with Bill Mumy) Space Cases premieres on Saturday, March 2, at 9 PM. Subject to change. Check local listings for details.
THE CAST OF CASES
Your guide to who’s who in the crew. (There is a corresponding picture of each next to the description.)
CATALINA
Home: Titan (one of Saturn’s moons)
Special characteristics: Catalina has rainbow-striped hair. She also has an invisible friend named Suzee. No one but Catalina knows if Suzee really exists. Catalina says that it’s Suzee who comes up with all the bright ideas.
Played by: Jewel Staite, age 13
HARLAN
Home: Earth
Special characteristics: Harlan has natural leadership skills, but he often makes mistakes. After all, he’s only human.
Played by: Walter Jones
RADU
Home: Andromeda (a constellation)
Special characteristics: Radu has spiral-shaped ears, which give him super-hearing. He also has super-strength-10 times that of a human.
Played by: Kristian Ayre, age 18
BOVA
Home: Uranus
Special characteristics: Bova has a pair of antennae on his forehead. They can generate electricity.
Played by: Rahi Azizi, age 13
ROSIE
Home: Mercury
Special characteristics: Pink skin and a hairless body. When she gets angry, her face turns very red. If Rosie gets frustrated or upset, she also radiates heat. The temperature of the room increases and she sets off the sprinkler systems.
Played by: Paige Christina, age 13
And… (These feature no pictures, except one of Thelma and Elmira, which is titled: Thelma helps an alien ship.)
THELMA is an android. Her fingers can do almost everything, from screwing in screws to dispensing beverages.
COMMANDER SETH GODDARD is the kids’ teacher. He sometimes loses his temper trying to keep the space cases in line.
T. J. DAVENPORT is the assistant principal who expects perfection from others and from herself.
LOST IN SPACE…AGAIN
(Interview with Bill Mumy- the two photos here are 1.) of the FernaHerna, and 2.) a generic headshot of Bill. The caption reads: Bill Mumy (left) and Mark Hamill (of Star Wars fame) make guest appearances on Space Cases.)
Bill Mumy, the show’s co-creator (with Peter David), knows a lot about science fiction. From ages 10 to 14, he starred in the classic TV show Lost in Space. Currently, he stars on Babylon 5, another TV sci-fi adventure show. We asked him some spacey questions.
Nickelodeon Magazine: What would you do if you met an alien?
Bill Mumy: I guess it would depend on the alien. If he were friendly, I’d find out what kind of music he listens to. I would ask him if he’d like to make a guest appearance on Space Cases. He wouldn’t have to go to makeup.
NM: What makes Space Cases different from other TV shows?
BM: It’s a sci-fi show about kids. Another thing that makes it different is that there are no hand weapons. People aren’t going around blasting one another.
NM: if you could ride a rocket into space, would you?
BM: If I could go to the airport and get on a spacecraft, I’d do it in a minute.
NM: What’s your favorite planet?
BM: My favorite planet is earth, but it needs a lot of work.
NM: Would you want to live in space?
BM: I’d rather live in Hawaii. But California isn’t so bad.
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I like how they don't mention Walter's age... because he's so old. :)
I'm kind of disappointed that I learned about Radu's strength beforehand, because Who Goes Where would have had a bigger impact had I been in the dark.
I also don't remember Rosie setting off any sprinkler systems, do you? :)
Edit: I didn't want to create a new post for this, but I remember a million years ago, when I was still lurking, someone posted asking about a link to Kestrel's fanfic "Venom." I went in search of it recently for that purpose, and I found it through archive.org.
http://web.archive.org/web/20020406231419/http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Labyrinth/4371/archives/venom.html
This link should work. (I haven't reread it yet, but I remember her stories were pretty good.) If you're still interested, here it is.
I've had this old Nickelodeon Magazine article since before the show came out, and I decided to post the information contained within. I'd scan it, but I have no scanner. Sorry. :( What's here is pretty much what we already know, but it's kind of cool to read what was out at the time.
Ooze news: All about Nickelodeon March 1996
Space Cases Blasts Off
What would you do if you were trapped on a spaceship with your teacher and assistant principal for the next seven years?
Space Cases, Nickelodeon’s new science-fiction show, is the story of five kids who find out for themselves. Set in the year 2261, Space Cases follows five students (the “space cases”) who study-or rather, don’t study-at the Starcademy, a training school for intergalactic heroes.
Their troubles begin when they are sent to a special three-week summer-school program. One day, the students wander aboard a mysterious alien ship, which is empty-except for a robot. Their teacher and assistant principal follow them on board-and are about to tell the kids to return to school-when the ship suddenly blasts off through a freak hole in space. The ship ends up on the other side of the galaxy, and the shortest course back to the Starcademy will take seven years to complete. The space cases are trapped-and their adventures begin.
(Photo of the cast with Bill Mumy) Space Cases premieres on Saturday, March 2, at 9 PM. Subject to change. Check local listings for details.
THE CAST OF CASES
Your guide to who’s who in the crew. (There is a corresponding picture of each next to the description.)
CATALINA
Home: Titan (one of Saturn’s moons)
Special characteristics: Catalina has rainbow-striped hair. She also has an invisible friend named Suzee. No one but Catalina knows if Suzee really exists. Catalina says that it’s Suzee who comes up with all the bright ideas.
Played by: Jewel Staite, age 13
HARLAN
Home: Earth
Special characteristics: Harlan has natural leadership skills, but he often makes mistakes. After all, he’s only human.
Played by: Walter Jones
RADU
Home: Andromeda (a constellation)
Special characteristics: Radu has spiral-shaped ears, which give him super-hearing. He also has super-strength-10 times that of a human.
Played by: Kristian Ayre, age 18
BOVA
Home: Uranus
Special characteristics: Bova has a pair of antennae on his forehead. They can generate electricity.
Played by: Rahi Azizi, age 13
ROSIE
Home: Mercury
Special characteristics: Pink skin and a hairless body. When she gets angry, her face turns very red. If Rosie gets frustrated or upset, she also radiates heat. The temperature of the room increases and she sets off the sprinkler systems.
Played by: Paige Christina, age 13
And… (These feature no pictures, except one of Thelma and Elmira, which is titled: Thelma helps an alien ship.)
THELMA is an android. Her fingers can do almost everything, from screwing in screws to dispensing beverages.
COMMANDER SETH GODDARD is the kids’ teacher. He sometimes loses his temper trying to keep the space cases in line.
T. J. DAVENPORT is the assistant principal who expects perfection from others and from herself.
LOST IN SPACE…AGAIN
(Interview with Bill Mumy- the two photos here are 1.) of the FernaHerna, and 2.) a generic headshot of Bill. The caption reads: Bill Mumy (left) and Mark Hamill (of Star Wars fame) make guest appearances on Space Cases.)
Bill Mumy, the show’s co-creator (with Peter David), knows a lot about science fiction. From ages 10 to 14, he starred in the classic TV show Lost in Space. Currently, he stars on Babylon 5, another TV sci-fi adventure show. We asked him some spacey questions.
Nickelodeon Magazine: What would you do if you met an alien?
Bill Mumy: I guess it would depend on the alien. If he were friendly, I’d find out what kind of music he listens to. I would ask him if he’d like to make a guest appearance on Space Cases. He wouldn’t have to go to makeup.
NM: What makes Space Cases different from other TV shows?
BM: It’s a sci-fi show about kids. Another thing that makes it different is that there are no hand weapons. People aren’t going around blasting one another.
NM: if you could ride a rocket into space, would you?
BM: If I could go to the airport and get on a spacecraft, I’d do it in a minute.
NM: What’s your favorite planet?
BM: My favorite planet is earth, but it needs a lot of work.
NM: Would you want to live in space?
BM: I’d rather live in Hawaii. But California isn’t so bad.
--------
I like how they don't mention Walter's age... because he's so old. :)
I'm kind of disappointed that I learned about Radu's strength beforehand, because Who Goes Where would have had a bigger impact had I been in the dark.
I also don't remember Rosie setting off any sprinkler systems, do you? :)
Edit: I didn't want to create a new post for this, but I remember a million years ago, when I was still lurking, someone posted asking about a link to Kestrel's fanfic "Venom." I went in search of it recently for that purpose, and I found it through archive.org.
http://web.archive.org/web/20020406231419/http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Labyrinth/4371/archives/venom.html
This link should work. (I haven't reread it yet, but I remember her stories were pretty good.) If you're still interested, here it is.