By the Bel: Blasts from the Past — Part 5

I would like to introduce you to a series that was shot from 1995 and the second installment in 1997.

Spellbinder

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-7aDtfy6-o

had us jumping into parallel universes and doing double takes when we went bush walking. It was directed by Noel Price and writing credits go to Ron Saunders, Mark Shirrefs and John Thomson, and the same winning team joined, minus the genius of Ron Saunders for the 1997 sequel Spellbinder: Land of the dragon Lord. Series one was shot in New South Wales and Poland and season two was shot in New South Wales, Poland and China.

IMDB is a great place to find out stuff and here is their synopsis for Spellbinder… When a prank at a school camp goes drastically wrong, 15-year-old Paul Reynolds is blasted into an alternative reality and has to try to find a way home.

Here is their synopsis of the sequel, Spellbinder: Land of the Dragon Lord… When 14-year-old Australian teenager, Kathy Morgan, discovers a mysterious boat during a family vacation, she decides to investigate – little realising that the boat is actually a transdimensional craft which is able to transcend parallel worlds.

Casting for the first series included Zbych Trofimiuk from Sky Trackers and I have always had a love for the work of Heather Mitchell. In the second series she is the only character kept over from the first season and we see a young Ryan Kwanten before he was on Home and Away and True Blood.

I think this may have been Australia’s first taste of a very steampunk-esque style of show. Themes of learning to act responsibly have our lead actors pulling their hair out. Home being where your heart is, brought forth adventure and drama. It was science fiction with just enough fantasy to take the sharp edge off. I want me one of those power suits.

I’ll continue on with my nostalgia in future installments. Hope you don’t mind.