Maddigan's Quest
Maddigan's Quest is a New Zealand fantasy-based television series set in a post-apocalyptic future. It was based on an original concept by Margaret Mahy and was developed for television by Gavin Strawhan and Rachel Lang. The show originally screened on TV3 in New Zealand, and was also aired on CBBC in the UK, Family Room HD from Voom Networks HD in the US and the Nine Network in Australia in early 2006.
| Maddigan's Quest | |
|---|---|
| Created by | Margaret Mahy Gavin Strawhan Rachel Lang |
| Starring | Rose McIver Jordan Metcalfe Zac Fox Peter Daube Michael Hurst Danielle Cormack Timothy Balme Rawiri Pene Rachel House Olivia Tennet Hori Ahipene |
| Country of origin | New Zealand Australia United Kingdom |
| No. of episodes | 13 (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Producer | Simon Bennett |
| Running time | 30 minutes |
| Production companies | South Pacific Pictures Burberry Productions |
| Release | |
| Original network | TV3 Nine Network CBBC |
| Original release | 26 January – 16 February 2006 |
| External links | |
| Website | |
Storyline
Early in the 22nd century, the world underwent a vast and rapid change. The tectonic plates of the Earth began to shift and rapidly changed the face of the planet. Since then, the events of this time have grown to be known as the time of the Great Shift or the Great Chaos- and have become myth and legend. As a result of these events, the population of Earth severely dropped and little remained of the old ways. While some forms of old technology exist, the ways of man have receded. Slavery is not uncommon, bandits roam the highways.
Maddigan’s Quest follows the circus troupe ‘Maddigan’s Fantasia’, who come from the city of Solis, a beacon of freedom and peace for the desolate world. Each year, the Fantasia leave Solis to perform and earn a living, but this year is different: they have been set the task of obtaining a new Solar Converter to replace the existing converter–the only power source in Solis–which is failing. At the centre of this quest is 14-year-old Garland, the last member of the Maddigan family line.
Near the beginning of the Fantasia's journey, just after Ferdy Maddigan, the group's leader and Garland's father, is killed, two boys and their baby sister appear from the future. But while the younger brother, Eden, seems to be a blessing to the performers with his illusionary skills, his older brother Timon is hiding a dark secret which threatens the Fantasia, their mission, and the future of Solis itself.
Cast
- Rose McIver as Garland
- Jordan Metcalfe as Timon
- Zac Fox as Eden
- Olivia Tennet as Lilith
- Rawiri Pene as Boomer
- Danielle Cormack as Maddie
- Timothy Balme as Yves
- Rachel House as Goneril
- Hori Ahipene as Tane
- Mark Nua as Bannister
- Ben Cooper as Nye
- Bronwyn Baker as Byrna
- Fleur Saville as Silver Girl
- Peter Daube as Ozul
- Michael Hurst as Maska
- Jack Campbell as Ferdy
- Grace Brannigan as Jewel
Episodes
| No. | Title | Guest(s) | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Road Rats" | Tara Okan, Lee Tuson | 26 January 2006 |
| 2 | "Hillfolk" | Shane Cortese, Tandi Wright & Geraldine Brophy | 30 January 2006 |
| 3 | "Gramth" | Florence Hartigan & Patrick Wilson | 31 January 2006 |
| 4 | "Witch-Finder" | Alison Bruce & Catherine Waller | 1 February 2006 |
| 5 | "Greentown" | Paul Barrett, Andrea Kelland, Kate Louise Elliott & Lucy Schmidt | 2 February 2006 |
| 6 | "Plague" | N/A | 6 February 2006 |
| 7 | "Newton" | Milo Cawthorne, Roy Ward & Michaela Rooney | 7 February 2006 |
| 8 | "Tunnellers" | Kelly Johnson & Sara Wiseman | 8 February 2006 |
| 9 | "Off the Map" | Charlie Haskell, Elliot Lawless & Ilona Rodgers | 9 February 2006 |
| 10 | "Birdboys" | Tom Hern | 13 February 2006 |
| 11 | "Pilgrim's Vantage" | N/A | 14 February 2006 |
| 12 | "Laketown" | N/A | 15 February 2006 |
| 13 | "Solis" | Owen Black | 16 February 2006 |
Home releases
| Season | Ep # | Release Date | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Region 1 | Region 2 | Region 3 | Region 4 | ||||
| 1 | 13 | NA | 7 August 2006 | NA | 7 December 2006 | ||
Awards
At the Air New Zealand Screen Awards on 1 August 2007, Maddigan's Quest won four awards:
- Best Children's Programme
- Contribution to design (Tracey Collins — Costume Designer)
- Original Music (Victoria Kelly)
- Contribution to Sound Design (Carl Smith, Rodney Larsen and Steve Finnegan)
It also won the Best Dramatic Presentation — Long Form Award at the 2007 Sir Julius Vogel Awards for New Zealand science fiction and fantasy.
Book
Maddigan's Fantasia, re-released under the title Maddigan's Quest, is a novel written by Margaret Mahy as a tie-in for the BBC show Maddigan's Quest (based on her concept).[1]
The circus troupe Maddigan's Fantasia are on a mission to get a new solar converter from Newton for their hometown Solis. But on the way there, the Fantasia meet two strange boys, Timon and Eden. They are from the future and have come to help the Fantasia change history: in their timeline, when the Fantasia did not get back to Solis in time, the council gave up on them and took a new path, a radiation path. Timon and Eden's parents were killed because an evil monster called the Nennog rules Solis in the future and their parents tried to work out a way to change the past. They created a time slider, but they were killed for it, so Timon and Eden did the job for them and then they saved the Fantasia and Solis was saved.
References
- "HarperCollins New Zealand". Harpercollins.co.nz. 20 January 2006. Retrieved 29 July 2010.
