Cybergirl

I recently watched this cool a sci-fi/ adventure series on DVD and I loved it. Cybergirl is a blue haired and blue suit wearing female cyborg from another planet. She is the "Cyber Replicant Human Prototype 6000", the only one of her model to be built. Not only are her powers above that of the earlier cyborgs, she has a much wider emotional capacity than her predecessors. Her emotional capacity was considered a flaw and she was going to be decommissioned. So she fled her home planet to explore the race she was modeled on, humans.

Cybergirl is pursued by two Cyber Replicant bounty hunters who are 3000 models named Xanda and Isaac and their mission is to destroy her. Cybergirl lands on Earth near the fictional city of River City, which was modeled on and filmed in Brisbane. Cybergirl's powers include super-human strength and super-human speed. She also has a power called "technopathy" (although this term wasn't mentioned in the show) the ability to interface directly with electronic devices and computers and control them with her mind. She is also able to shape-shift i.e. physically change her appearance from that of the blue-haired, blue suit wearing Cybergirl into the less conspicuous, blonde-haired Ashley, and can alter her clothing at will.

Just outside of River City, Cybergirl meets teenage Jackson Campbell and his father Hugh, who take her in. She adopts the name Cybergirl as her superheroine identity. Jackson calls her "Cy". She later uses her shapshifting powers to change herself into the blonde haired Ashley, in which she poses as Jackson's cousin and Hugh's niece. The only other person besides Hugh and Jackson to know her secret is Kat, Jackson's friend and neighbour.

Cybergirl becomes the superhero of River City. She is pursued not only by Xanda and Isaac but also by a powerful and corrupt software entrepreneur named Rhyss. She is well loved by the populace of River City and is approved by Mayor Buxton, whose twin daughters Emerald and Sapphire are big fans of the superheroine.

If you like seeing action and humor in show for family audiences then I certainly recommend this show.

You can see that Craig Horner was a very good actor in his first television role. Additionally, Jovita Shaw did a great job as the friend and sidekick. I recommend watching the episodes for the friendship and family story lines and these excellent young actors. The villains were over the top and played exclusively for laughs.

There was one particularly good episode about bullies, that still resonates today.

I did not find the lead actress or lead character interesting. I can't tell if it was the actress or the writing. As I already stated, the science fiction story lines were done very high camp and played for laughs.

When I first saw this show, my initial reaction was not a good one. It seemed a little cheap and childish.

It took me a few episodes before I realized that this is the point.

Cybergirl is not a top notch sci fi with state of the art effects, and its not trying to be. It is simply a drama series about an Alien girl trying to become human in a strange world.

Many science fiction stories today seem to devote themselves to effects and not story, but Cybergirl does not. Because of this there are some nice story lines and fast paced action sequences, all backed up by a wicked heavy beat soundtrack.

Cybergirl is not the best sci fi, but it is certainly the best show to come out of FoxKids in a long time, and younger teens should like it (though saying that, I'm seventeen).

7 out of 10