The Tribe
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| The Tribe | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Teen drama / Science fiction |
| Creator(s) | Raymond Thompson Harry Duffin |
| Starring | Caleb Ross as Lex Beth Allen as Amber Meryl Cassie as Ebony Michael Wesley-Smith as Jack Antonia Prebble as Trudy Dwayne Cameron as Bray Michelle Ang as Tai-San Daniel James as Zoot/Martin Victoria Spence as Salene Tom Hern as Ram Nick Miller as Pride Laura Wilson as May Jennyfer Jewell as Ellie Ryan Runciman as Ryan James Napier as Jay Vanessa Stacey as Alice Tom Hern as Ram |
| Country of origin | New Zealand, UK |
| No. of episodes | 260 |
| Production | |
| Running time | 25 minutes |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | Five Encore (U.S.) |
| Original run | April 24, 1999 – September 6, 2003 |
| Chronology | |
| Followed by | The New Tomorrow |
| Links | |
| Official website | |
| IMDb profile | |
| TV.com summary | |
The Tribe is a science fiction television programme, created by Raymond Thompson and Harry Duffin, and produced by Cloud 9. It is set in a hypothetical near-future in which all adults have died, leaving the children of the world to fend for themselves. The show's focus is on an unnamed city inhabited by tribes of children and teenagers.
It is primarily aimed at the eleven to seventeen age group, though it has fans of all ages. Five series of The Tribe have been created, with 52 episodes per series, amounting to 260 episodes in the entire run.
The series also inspired a spin-off called The New Tomorrow. This spin-off is set at an undisclosed period of time after the events of The Tribe series 5. Unlike The Tribe, The New Tomorrow is aimed at a younger audience and its cast is made up of pre-teens.
The Tribe has been shown in over 40 countries around the world and has a built up a large fan base. Countries that have shown some or all series of The Tribe include New Zealand, Australia, Ireland, the United Kingdom, Germany, Israel, France, Romania, The Netherlands, Norway, Canada, Finland, the U.S., Spain, Serbia, Montenegro, Croatia, Ukraine, Denmark, Sweden and Estonia. In the U.S. The Tribe is aired on the digital cable TV channel WAM!, as well as Encore MoviePlex, and most recently syndicated to a variety of broadcast stations throughout the U.S. In the UK it has been shown on the terrestrial channel five.
Contents |
[edit] The Series
The Tribe began with a core cast of around 16 young actors from all across New Zealand. Many were joining the show as a main cast member for the first time, a lot of them having generally just had guest spots on shows such as Xena Warrior Princess, Hercules: the Legendary Journeys and native soap Shortland Street prior to The Tribe.
With its premise of all adults having died because of a virus, The Tribe was classified as a science-fiction program. However particularly in the earlier seasons, the show focused heavily on more dramatic storylines, with sci-fi elements used primarily as a backdrop to further the plot. The focus was on how the kids and teenagers would survive without adults, without laws, without safety, without regular meals, but with most of the same problems that had been present before: drug and alcohol addiction, teen pregnancy, rape, violence, troubled relationships and responsibility.
With the complete fall of civilization as they knew it, the kids banded together in tribes. Tribes all have their own separate names, dress codes, beliefs and attitudes. Some tribes are power-hungry and malevolent, others are simply trying to get by.
The Mallrats are the main tribe focused on in the series. Their struggles and triumphs are shown on the mundane scale (chores, in-fighting, back-stabbing, marriages, friendships) and on the epic scale (finding the antidote to the virus, bringing peace to the city, defeating power-hungry tribes trying to establish dictatorships such as the Chosen and the Technos).
[edit] The Making of The Tribe
The Tribe has been said to have had one of the highest budgets for a teenage show at the time. The set of The Phoenix Mall was the largest in the southern hemisphere as the time of its construction. It was built just as it appeared on screen - with all rooms, corridors and levels joined as a real mall would be. Set decoration was meticulous, not only within the different areas of the Mall, but also on location.
Much of New Zealand's expansive, untouched landscape was made use of in the filming of scenes out in the country, for example in the town of Liberty, on Alice's farm, during the Tribal Gathering on the beach and on the Mallrat's trek through the mountains to the Eagle Mountain Observatory. To achieve the abandoned, lonely feeling that has overtaken the city, many Wellington streets were closed off and filmed in the early hours of the morning, with the streets being covered in burnt out cars, graffiti, burning barrels and trash cans.
The Tribe's costume design and make-up are wholly unique to the show, and indeed, the show is often identified by its ambitious costumes and hairstyles. While the costumes of series 1 were generally muted and low-key, series 2 had frequent costume changes and bright colours. This trend would continue for the remainder of the show.
[edit] Plot Overview
[edit] Series 1 (1999)
At the beginning of series 1, we were introduced to the strong-willed, responsible leader Amber and her younger friend, aspiring doctor/mechanic Dal. They find a little girl called Cloe wandering the dangerous streets, then meet cute boys, twins Patsy and Paul who are being looked after by Salene. A peace-loving loner, Bray, is taking care of the heavily pregnant Trudy and looking for a place for her to give birth. Arrogant street fighter Lex, his sweet if slow friend Ryan, Lex’s material girl Zandra and confrontational Glen are trying to join the top tribe in the City, the Locusts (or Locos). In one way or another, all ended up in the Phoenix Mall (bar Glen who got caught by the Locos) and met Jack, the boy scientist who lived there alone. Soon, Asian spiritualist Tai-San and slippery young thief KC also joined the tribe.
A multitude of serious subjects were tackled in series 1. There was a power struggle from the start in the Mall between Lex, and Amber and Bray, and on the outside, between the Locos and Demon Dogs for the city. Lex killed Zoot, the leader of the Locos, who turned out to be the father of Trudy's baby and Bray’s kid brother (his real name is Martin, a play on words for 'martyr'). Lex tried to rape Zandra, but she ended up marrying him later anyway. Salene suffered from bulimia, only beating it with Ryan's help.
Jealousy was rife in the Mall - Lex of Zandra and Ryan’s friendship, Zandra of Lex’s trysts with Tai-San and Ebony, Trudy of Bray and Salene, and later Bray and Amber. The virus began to affect kids later in the series and Lex was infected with it just when his new wife Zandra told him she was pregnant. Bray and Amber finally found love with each other after an iffy start. The tribe went on a quest for the antidote at the end of the series, and the finale showed them finding pivotal information at the Eagle Mountain Observatory.
[edit] Series 2 (2000)
Series 2 showed a much more overarching plot. The focus was less on the inner struggles of the tribe, and more on their struggles as part of the many tribes that make up the city. The series began with the Mall Rats dealing with the loss of Amber and Zandra who were killed in an explosion on Eagle Mt. Bray was distraught, but soldiered on. Lex took the opposite route, spiralling into alcoholism, and even attempting to rape Salene. This resulted in his being kicked out of the tribe until Ryan went to look for him.
With the addition of Bray's soon-to-be Amber replacement, the mysterious Danni, the Mall Rats struggled to bring a peaceful balance to the city, cleaning it up and trying to introduce a Bill of Rights, while also distributing the antidote to the masses free of charge. It was Tai-San who discovered the antidote recipe, memorised it, then burnt it to keep the other Mallrats from taking advantage of the other tribes with the knowledge, like Ebony wanted to do. When she shared the secret with Bray, Ebony plotted with the Zoot-worshipping tribe the Chosen to help them take Trudy and Brady from the city. Bray gave her the recipe in defeat, and Ebony later tried to poison Tai-San, killing Patsy and Cloe's dog Bob in the process.
In this series, the pasts of many characters were revealed. We found out in flashback how Bray’s shy brother Martin spiralled into insanity and became Zoot. It was also shown how both Ebony and Trudy fell for Bray, and also when Trudy and Martin conceived Brady. When Ebony was tortured by her ex-militia leader, Spike, after setting him up for Tai-San's attempted murder, we find out why she is so manipulative and power-hungry. Lex and Ryan's meeting in boot camp was revealed, as was Lex's affair with a vicious, much older female sergeant at the camp. Danni's shocking secret, that it was her father who accidentally engineered the killer virus while trying to make the Elixer of Youth, was also revealed by Jack and Ellie.
A double marriage took place as the season drew to a close, that of Ryan and Salene, and Tai-San and Lex. This season ended in a climactic face off between the Chosen and the leaders of the city tribes. Many of them, including Danni, were murdered or disappeared following this.
Bray and Lex escape the Chosen's wrath, but the series ends with them both falling victim to a car crash, their fates left hanging in the balance.
[edit] Series 3 (2001)
Series three starts with some of the Mall Rats being held prisoner in the mall as the Chosen make it their head-quarters. However, the Mall Rats who were not captured (Lex, Bray and Ebony) leave the city. They come across a group called the Gaians, or Eco Tribe, whose leader is Amber (now called Eagle), previously believed to have been killed at Eagle Mountain with Zandra. It is revealed that Ebony met the injured Amber after the explosion and convinced her she had no future with Bray, as they (Ebony and Bray) had already had a child before the virus. Amber had agreed to let Ebony make the Mallrats think she had died. A resistance is set up by some members of the Mallrats and both the Supreme Mother (Trudy) and the Divine Child (Brady) escape the city. Eventually the rebels overcome the Chosen and win back the city with the help of non-city tribes. A city wide election is held, and Ebony craftily manages to elected herself as the City Leader. She expels several Mall Rats from the city, including Bray and Amber, and makes herself a virtual dictator.
This series heralds an almost mass exodus of many of the familiar and long-running cast members from series 1, including Patsy and Ryan (who are taken away by the Chosen) and Dal (who fell to his death). A trend of introducing expendable, short-term characters, such as Andy, Tally and Ned, is started.
Series 3 also shows two strong couples together for much of the season: Tai-San and Lex, and Amber and Bray. Tai-San and Lex struggle to maintain their marriage, despite Lex's blinding jealousy of Tai-San's bond with the Guardian and her problems with Lex's corruption as city sheriff. Amber and Bray mainly find solid ground and conceive a child together. They balance their private life with their public ones as leaders. Salene and Ryan also conceive a child but it is lost when Salene falls down the Mall stairs. Ryan is taken away by the Chosen after attacking the Guardian, because he was told he would not be allowed to see his baby under the religious rules.
The series ends on a cliffhanger, with Amber being left to deliver her baby alone in a barn and with the sight of aeroplanes flying over the city: a sight not seen since before the virus hit. Can it be the adults?
[edit] Series 4 (2002)
The planes and parachutes belong to an advanced tribe called the Technos. They are led by a germ-phobic paraplegic called Ram. He has two wives, Java and Siva – Ebony’s sisters. They have vehicles, planes, futuristic weapons and computers. They bring electricity, water and food to the City, but have an ulterior motive. They set up Virtual Reality (VR) and get many city kids hooked on it, almost like a drug, in return for working for the Technos.
The Technos also take Bray, Tai-San, KC and Alice among others from the City. It is presumed that the missing Mallrats have been used in certain horrifying experiments to test VR. Trudy finds Amber and helps her give birth to a baby called Bray Jr. Lex is frantic over Tai-San’s disappearance, as is Amber over Bray’s. Pride and Salene find love together, much to May’s and even Cloe's jealousy. Ram makes Ebony his third wife, but she loves his commander Jay. They eventually run away together but return to take down the Technos. Siva falls for Lex and leaves Ram and the Technos for him. Tai-San returns briefly, having been reprogrammed by the Technos. Mega – a Techno deletes her, but it remains uncertain as to if deletion means death.
The Mall Rats fight to bring the Technos down, and succeed by the end of the series. Ram is left to fend for himself on the outskirts of the City, alone and abandoned. The finale ends with the shock reveal of Zoot, apparently alive and well.
[edit] Series 5 (2003)
The fifth series sees the series split between several locations, both in and out of the city. In the city, the remaining Technos assure the Mall Rats that they are willing to cooperate. A new tribe, the Zootists forms and tries to take advantage of the weakened situation in the city. Meanwhile, a small Western-style village called Liberty turns into a hot spot as several new and old characters (including Ram, the deposed Techno leader) find accommodation in its saloon.
Pride is killed by Technos early on in the series, leaving a devastated Salene & May behind. Many long-running characters leave the city frequently, such as Trudy and Amber, and much of the action takes place with new ones like Slade and Ruby. When Java attempts to kill Ebony, she kills Siva instead. Ebony kills Java in revenge. Lex, once again faced with the loss of another loved one, finds himself the object of the much younger Gel's attraction.
As the series develops we discover that the Zootists are a ploy by the new Techno leader to regain control of the city. He plays a vicious game by publicly demonizing this tribe and advocating the need for a safe zone, fenced-off with secure exit and entrance points. He gradually extends the safe zone to gain a stronger control of the city.
In Liberty, a resistance with the goal of taking the tyrannic city leader down is set up. The overthrow is successful; however, even though the Mall Rats are back in control, there are things happening beyond their reach.
Ram had secretly developed an Artificial Intelligence (AI), which he lets loose on the Techno hardware. The AI develops too quickly and comes to the conclusion that human beings are a threat to the environment. During its roaming of the Techno networks, it comes across Mega's most secret project: a new, very lethal virus.
The AI's attempt to eliminiate humankind is prevented, but not before a generator next to the virus-container goes critical. The Mall Rats inform the rest of the city in the hopes that people will evacuate themselves before the generator blows up, thereby releasing the virus.
The entire series ends on a triumphant but sorrowful note. The Mall Rats manage to escape the city by sea, but are sad to be leaving the home they've known for so long behind. The ending shots show the longest-running characters (except Jack, who was in every season), Amber, Ebony, Lex, Ellie, May , Trudy and Salene, standing at the back of the boat, casting their final glances at the city as they leave it behind for an unknown future.
[edit] Series 6? (2007)
Series 6 was scheduled to start filming in 2003. However, the UK broadcasters "Five" declined a sixth series stating The Tribe had become too adult for its viewers. Cloud 9 then made "The New Tomorrow" to appeal to a younger audience. The spin-off had none of the original Tribe characters but there were mentions of The Mall, Bray and Zoot. So far "The New Tomorrow" has only spanned one season. The scripts for the first 2 episodes in the planned sixth series of "The Tribe" were available on "The Tribe" Series 5 DVD boxset. The episodes followed the story of the Mallrats as they arrived on an island the other side of the boat trip. The official Tribeworld website has informed fans that a "Tribe revival" is set for 2007. Many speculate that this indicates that Tribe Six will finally be filmed and aired, though rumours have been denied by cloud 9.
The scripts for episodes 601 & 602 were released on the Season 5 DVD box set.
[edit] Main Characters
The Tribe features many characters, many who are not in more than one season.
[edit] Trivia
- Damon Andrews, as well as playing the Guardian, also directed several episodes of the show.
- Caleb Ross (Lex) went on to become a foley artist for The Tribe's spin-off, A New Tomorrow.
- Daniel James (Martin/Zoot) became assistant art director for The Tribe, as well as guest starring occasionally as Zoot. He also worked behind the scenes on Revelations, another Cloud 9 series.
- Unlike many other teen shows, every member of the series 1 cast of The Tribe was exactly or approximately the same age as the character he or she played.
- Meryl Cassie (Ebony) sang the opening theme song "The Dream Must Stay Alive" for series 2 - 5. She and her sisters Megan and Monique (Java and Siva) sang the song "Tribe Spirit" which played over the end credits of seasons 4 and 5.
- The cast recorded an album of songs included in and inspired by The Tribe, with Meryl Cassie, Caleb Ross, Michelle Ang and Dwayne Cameron performing most of the lead vocals. One of the most popular songs on the album, "Abe Messiah" played over the end credits for series 2 and 3.
- Lex, played by Caleb Ross, has starred in the most episodes, 259 out of 260. The episode he is absent from is the flashback episode in series 2 which detailed Bray, Trudy, Ebony and Zoot's past together before the virus.
- Executive producer and co-creator of The Tribe, Raymond Thompson, had the idea for the show as far back as 1980, but it only became a reality in 1997 when he and co-creator Harry Duffin began to flesh out characters and storylines.
- Matt Robinson (Slade) moved to New Zealand from Britain when he was cast in series 5.
- The Horton Bailey Hotel, the Loco base for quite some time, was simply the front of the Cloud 9 Studios, redressed. Also, the pool at the back of the hotel is also the pool at the studios.
- On screen sisters Java, Siva and Ebony are played by real life sisters Megan Alantini, Monique Cassie and Meryl Cassie respectively.
- Antonia Prebble (Trudy) and Michelle Ang (Tai-San) now star as Loretta West and Tracey Wong respectively in the black comedy Outrageous Fortune.
- Dan Hennah was production designer on The Tribe and his wife Chris was art/design manager. They held similar positions on The Lord of the Rings trilogy, which began filming, also in New Zealand, a year after The Tribe did. Many cast members of The Tribe also had parts in The Lord of the Rings, including Jacob Tomuri (Luke) who was a stunt performer.
- Tom Hern, who played Ram, went on to play Jess, the main character on another of Cloud 9's shows, a drama called Revelations.
- Michael Wesley-Smith (Jack) was also cast as the lead, Giles, on yet another of Cloud 9's shows, a teen comedy, Atlantis High. Victoria Spence (Salene) also played Antonia/Anthony in the show.
- James Napier (Jay) went on to play Conner McKnight, the Red Ranger, in Power Rangers: Dino Thunder and Power Rangers: S.P.D.. Beth Allen (Amber), Tom Hern (Ram), Antonia Prebble (Trudy) and Dwayne Cameron (Bray) have also guest starred in these, or other Power Rangers shows.
- Many first time viewers noticed that the series resembles an episode of the 1960s TV series Star Trek titled "Miri". Where an enhance virus kills all adults leaving the children behind. Kids forming tibal gangs, etc. Some science fiction viewers wonder if Star Trek was a basis of the series.
- The Tribe may have been influenced by the cult Australian film trilogy: Mad Max, Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior and Mad Max 3: Beyond Thunderdome, all three starring Mel Gibson as the title hero. The films are set during and after all world society breaks down having exhausting all oil and gas sources.
- A show which bears an overwhelming similarity to The Tribe is the short-lived American drama Jeremiah (TV series) starring Luke Perry and Sean Astin. It was set fifteen or so years after a virus had hit. Rather than killing people over 18 as in The Tribe, it killed all those who had hit puberty.
[edit] The Tribe series DVD boxsets.
The Tribe, after many years, has finally found a distributor for the series. With series 1, 2, 3 ,4 and 5 released, the full series is out now. Series 1 was released in 2003 by Sanctuary entertainment. Two years later and Revelation films brought the rights to the show, and releasing series 2-5 and re-releasing series 1.
| Cover | Season | UK | EUROPE | # of Discs | # of Episodes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
One | February 27, 2006 | March 31, 2006 | 7 | 52 |
 |
Two | February 27, 2006 | - | 7 | 52 |
 |
Three | May 22, 2006 | - | 7 | 52 |
 |
Four | August 21, 2006 | - | 7 | 52 |
 |
Five | November 20, 2006 | - | 7 | 52 |
[edit] The Tribe Game?
The official Tribe website told Tribe fans about plans to release a sims-style game of "The Tribe". However, this idea has not yet been put in place and was mentioned quite a few years ago. Recently, Tribemaster told fans that they will like what's coming soon if they enjoy games and technology. It has been speculated that a Tribe game will be apart of the 2007 Tribal Revival. Nothing has been confirmed.
[edit] External links
- Official sites
- Unofficial sites
