To my knowledge "Maddigan's Quest" has thus far only been shown in Australia, the UK and in its place of origin, New Zealand. However, the shows success means that it's been sold overseas and so should soon be heading your way.
First created as a novel by our most famous young-adult author Margaret Mahy (winner of the Carnegie Medal and more recently, the Hans Christian Anderson award), "Maddigan's Quest" is set in a post-apocalyptic world where the wilderness is dangerous and the roads still partially unmapped. Out of the ashes of what is known as "the Great Chaos", was built Solis, the shining city. It is here that the circus troop known as Maddigan's Fantasia spends the winter, before heading out each summer in order to explore new lands, collect lost knowledge, meet new people and spread some colour and joy.
But this year things are different. Solis is powered by the sun, and is in need of a new solar converter if the city is to remain the single bright beacon in a dark world. Missionaries have been sent out to retrieve one from the town of Newton, but none have returned. Thus the council turn to Maddigan's Fantasia - since the circus head out every year anyway they are certain to be overlooked by any political spies or traitors that plot the demise of Solis.
And yet it becomes even more complicated when the troop is joined by two young boys and their baby sister, claiming that they are from a future in which the Fantasia have failed in their mission and Solis has come under the control of the treacherous Nennog. As such, Timon and Eden have been sent back in time by their parents in order to ensure the success of the Fantasia, using their prior knowledge of events to help.
So who are the Fantasia? A group of clowns, acrobats, magicians, fortune tellers and jugglers who form together a warm, cheerful, squabbling, and utterly loyal extended family. In fact, the family dynamic of the circus is perhaps the highlight of the show, comparable to the crew of Joss Whedon's "Firefly" or the "X-Men" family franchise; a group of colourful characters who are all given unique and interesting relationships with each other, across generations, genders and family intrigues.
Out of the cast, it is the child-actors who provide the strongest performances. Rose McIver is our narrator, a fourteen year old acrobat who keeps track of their progress in her diary and is being groomed as the next ring-leader of the Fantasia. As the two boys from the future, Jordan Metcalfe and Zac Fox (Timon and Eden) come across as both capable and vulnerable, with Metcalfe in particular shining as a young teen given the huge burden of responsibility of protecting his younger siblings and seeing the mission is successful. A slow attraction between him and Garland is sure to appeal to romantics, made poignant by the fact that if they *are* successful in retrieving the solar converter, the two of them will be separated by almost one hundred years.
Rawiri Pene plays Garland's oldest friend Boomer, who is rather jealous of the sophisticated Timon and his growing bond with Garland, and Olivia Tennant provides the most laughs as the flighty, somewhat spoilt Lilth. Rounding out the adult cast is Garland's parents Ferdy and Maddie, feuding couple Goneril and Tane, and the untrustworthy Yves (Lilith's father), who has his eyes set on Garland's beautiful mother.
Each episode deals with a different location on the way to Newton and back again, as well as conflict within the group, danger from marauding gangs and agents from the future out to prevent the successful return of the Fantasia. The individual circus talents of the troop are instigated in ingenious ways, the post-apocalyptic world is both threatening but full of hope and potential for the future, and the stories are exactly what one would expect to emerge from the imagination of Mahy.
It's not all perfect; the material used is better suited for hour-long programming rather than a mere half-hour, and although the costumes, sets and props are vividly created, the special-effects often look rather fake. And don't even get me started on a discussion on the tampering done with the fundamental 'rules' of time travelling.
But for all this "Maddigan's Quest" is a great show that may be aimed predominantly at kids, but is certainly not exclusively for them. And all from the country that brought you "the Chronicles of Narnia" and "The Lord of the Rings", so look out for it!
