Cyberchase

Cyberchase
From left to right: Matt, Jackie and Inez
Created by	Sandra Sheppard
Developed by	Joseph Kwong George Arthur Bloom Kristin Laskas Martin
Directed by	Larry Jacobs Jason Groh
Voices of	Christopher Lloyd Gilbert Gottfried Jacqueline Pillon Novie Edwards Annick Obonsawin Len Carlson Phil Williams Robert Tinkler Matthew A. Wilson Bianca M. DeGroat
Theme music composer	George Guerrette Julian Harris [1]
Opening theme	"Cyberchase Theme" performed by Karen LeBlanc
Ending theme	"Cyberchase Theme" (instrumental)
Composers	Peter Lurye (The Poddleville Case) David W. Shaw (2002–2009, 2018–2020) Edmund Eagan (also music supervisor) (2010–2020) Steve Pecile (season 1 only) Craig Marshall (2006–2009) Julian Harris (several "For Real" segments)
Country of origin	United States Canada [2]
Original language	English
No. of seasons	12
No. of episodes	126 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers	Sandra Sheppard Kristin Laskas Martin Michael Hirsh (Seasons 1–2) Patrick Loubert (Season 1) Clive A. Smith (Season 1) Scott Dyer (Seasons 2–5) Doug Murphy (Seasons 2–5) Paul Robertson (Season 3) Toper Taylor (Seasons 1–2)
Running time	23 1/2 minutes (episodes, excluding 'For Real' Segments) 2-3 1/4 of a minute ('For Real' Segments)
Production companies	Curious Pictures (pilot only) Nelvana (2002–2007) (Seasons 1–5) Studio B Productions (pilot only) PiP Animation Services (Season 6–12) Title Entertainment (Season 6–12) WNET Flying Minds Entertainment (2005) (Season 4)
Distributor	PBS Nelvana/Portfolio Entertainment (non-U.S.) (2002–2007) (seasons 1–5)[3]
Release
Original network	PBS Kids (2002–2004; 2013–2020) PBS Kids Go! (2004–2013) PBS
Original release	January 21, 2002 (2002-01-21) – May 8, 2020 (2020-05-08)
External links
Website

Cyberchase is an animated children's television series on PBS Kids. The series focuses around three children from Earth: Jackie, Matt, and Inez. They were brought into Cyberspace, a digital universe, in order to protect the world from the villain Hacker.^[4] These kids are able to prevent Hacker from taking over Cyberspace by means of problem-solving skills in conjunction with basic math, environmental science, and wellness. In Cyberspace, they meet Digit, a "cybird" who helps them on their missions.^[5]

Cyberchase was created by Thirteen and debuted on January 21, 2002. In 2010, after the season eight finale, Cyberchase went on hiatus, but it returned in 2013 for a ninth season,^[6] followed by a tenth season in 2015.^[7] The eleventh season premiered on October 23, 2017,^[8] and the twelfth and final season premiered on April 19, 2019.

Plot[]

When three ordinary kids, Jackie, Matt, and Inez, accidentally allow the Hacker access to Motherboard, the supreme ruler of Cyberspace, she becomes severely weakened by a virus from Hacker. The kids are brought into Cyberspace and join forces with Digit, in an effort to protect the world from the Hacker and his clumsy, semi-intelligent assistants, Buzz and Delete, until they can recover the Encryptor Chip, a device stolen by Hacker that can nullify the virus and bring Motherboard back to full strength.^[9]

Motherboard is the "brain of the giant computer system that oversees all of Cyberspace".^[10] Her technician computer scientist, Dr. Marbles, kept her functioning properly. Dr. Marbles created Hacker as an assistant, but Hacker turned against Motherboard. Digit was Hacker's assistant and witnessed him stealing the Encryptor Chip. After Dr. Marbles drained Hacker's battery and banished him to the Northern Frontier, Digit was able to escape from Hacker's grasp. Eventually, Hacker was able to find a way to recharge himself, build Buzz and Delete, and formulate a plan to launch a virus that would attack Motherboard. When Jackie, Matt, and Inez interacted with a library map, this opened a door for Hacker to infect Motherboard with the virus.

Cyberspace consists of planet-like bodies called Cybersites which are based on themes such as Ancient Egypt, the American Old West, Greek mythology, and amusement parks. The Cybersquad travels to many of these locations in order to protect Cyberspace from Hacker. Each inhabited Cybersite has their own type of Cybercitizen. They are meant to represent the diversity of websites on the Internet, and reflect the many ecosystems and neighborhoods of today's world.

Characters[]

Main[]

• Matthew "Matt" (voiced by Jacqueline Pillon) is an 11-year-old Irish-American boy who likes skateboards and collecting things. He is impulsive, impatient, tells jokes, and has a great interest in sports. He has shaggy orange hair and usually wears a long-sleeved lime-green T-shirt, a red backpack, neon blue jeans, and red hi-tops. He has a pig named Sherman on his family's farm. Matt's red backpack contains his many yo-yos, which he is very good at using and often plays with one whenever he's thinking hard about something. He frequently calls Inez by the nickname "Nezzie", much to her annoyance. It is also shown he can be quite protective of her at times.
• Jackie (voiced by Novie Edwards) is an 11-year-old African-American girl who loves to keep things neat and organized in order to figure things out. She has black hair worn in a bun, and she wears a yellow sweater with a sky blue denim skirt, red jewelry, and dull lavender hi-tops. Jackie's biggest pet peeve is slimy and icky stuff like bugs and many other "gross" things. Like Inez, she was very fond of Slider. In a running gag in Seasons 1–4, Jackie freaked out when in crisis, pacing while trying to figure out a solution, saying "Make room, I gotta pace!"
• Inez (voiced by Annick Obonsawin) is a 9-year-old Hispanic-American girl who has an excellent vocabulary (and who knows a large collection of quotes) for which the others often tease her. She has shoulder-length brown hair and mostly wears a pink long-sleeved T-shirt with a yellow star on the front, teal shorts, a purple hooded vest, a pair of square glasses, and high blue boots. Despite being the youngest human member of the gang, she is the smartest one. Whenever she's thinking up a solution, Inez has a habit of doing handstands to help her concentrate. Inez's biggest pet peeve is when anyone calls her "Nezzie", though she is fine with Slider calling her that. When asked why by Matt, she replies, "he's different", implying that she likes Slider.
• Digit LeBoid (nicknamed Didge by various people and Didgey by Delete, voiced by Gilbert Gottfried) is a "cybird" (portmanteau of "cyborg" and bird), who works for Motherboard and is the kids' best friend. He and the kids protect Cyberspace and Motherboard from Hacker. Digit was created by Hacker and worked for him along with Buzz and Delete, but escaped after learning of Hacker's evil doings. He became one of Motherboard's helpers, serving as Dr. Marbles' assistant. Digit can fly by spinning his tail feathers in a helicopter-fashion or flapping his wings. However, he has a fear of heights and prefers to walk. He is a cook and wrote his two popular cookbooks The Cyber Chef and Cookin' with the Didge. He carries many objects in his chest, including Widget. He can turn his beak into just about anything and bends it on occasion. He also can disguise his voice very well.

Villains[]

• Hacker (voiced by Christopher Lloyd), also known as The Hacker, is the main antagonist of the series and a mad scientist bent on taking over/creating ultimate chaos for Cyberspace, but he is almost always thwarted by the Cybersquad. He is characterized by a barrel chest with disproportionately small legs, green skin, a bicolored cape, a black wig, and a pointy chin of which he is vain. Hacker was originally created by Dr. Marbles to assist Motherboard, but he rebelled and was exiled to the Northern Frontier. Nevertheless, he does have the potential to become good again, as shown in two episodes where he became a peaceful artist (temporarily) and when he helped the Cybersquad protect the trees in the Northern Frontier. He has two cyborg lackeys, Buzz and Delete, whose reliability is quite variable; sometimes, he gets very peeved when he has to do things himself that Buzz and Delete cannot.
• Buzz (nicknamed "Buzzy", voiced by: Len Carlson (2002–2006) and Phillp Williams (2006–2020) is one of Hacker's henchmen, a small spherical cyborg with a large mouth and scrawny limbs, but he seems to think he is a big tough guy; however, he can be kind at times and loves doughnuts.
• Delete (nicknamed "DeeDee", voiced by Robert Tinkler) is the skinnier and taller one of Hacker's henchmen. He is loyal to Hacker for the most part but has occasionally helped the Cybersquad. Unlike Buzz, who is rougher around the edges, Delete is softer and more vulnerable to trickery and deceit. He cares deeply for three things; Buzz, whom he has a brotherly friendship with, his desired pet bunny George (and pets and bunnies in general), and Zanko, his fairy borg father.

"Cyberchase For Real"[]

• Harry Wilson (played by Matthew A. Wilson) is one of the main protagonists in the "For Real" segment. He often dresses in a nerdish style and wears horn-rimmed glasses and Converse shoes. In many of the segments, he is rather careless, which usually costs him his current job. He is also very creative and thought out when he encounters a problem.
• Bianca DeGroat (playing herself) is one of the main protagonists in the "For Real" segment of the series. She often uses the original plot (the animated main plot) to solve everyday real world problems. As a character, she is rather absent-minded, arrogant, and self-centered, and does not think before she acts. She is seen to get carried away very easily.

Recurring: Team Motherboard[]

• Motherboard (voiced by Kristina Nicoll) is the benevolent ruler of Cyberspace and mentor to Jackie, Matt, Inez, and Digit. Her former assistant was Hacker who put a virus in her, but because her firewall was not fully uploaded before the virus hit, she was only left weakened. The Cybersquad tries to recover the Encryptor Chip and keep Motherboard safe from Hacker.
• Dr. Marbles (voiced by Richard Binsley) is a smart and brilliant inventor who serves Motherboard. He is responsible for creating Hacker to help and defend Motherboard, although Hacker would later rebel against Motherboard and try to destroy her. A guilty Marbles would then downgrade Hacker's power and banish him to the Northern Frontier for his wrongful actions, right after Hacker vowed to return to finish Motherboard and Marbles off before taking over Cyberspace.
• Widget (voiced by Gilbert Gottfried) is a small likeness of Digit. His hat, tail feathers, and bowtie are not screwed on properly. He is younger than Digit and helps Digit when it is necessary.
• TW "Teeny Weeny Parallini" is a small square girl. She is not scared of Hacker, and despite the fact that her mother would not let her help the Cybersquad, she does help them find Diamond Joe.
• Fluff (voiced by Austin Di Iulio) is a penguin that plays hockey, which is hard in Cyberia. He is logical and does not buy into advertisements. Fluff is determined to follow in his father's footsteps and to make his family proud. He helped the Cybersquad with the Hacker's challenge.
• Creech (voiced by Sugar Lyn Beard) is the young ruler of the Cybersite Tikiville. She became the apparent Big Kahuna (the term for their rulers in Tikiville) after competing in a race with other Tikiville-inhabitants as well as Hacker. Creech is in some ways similar to Inez, helping the two to become friends easily. Both have a fairly similar outlook: optimistic until something goes completely wrong, and they both have a large vocabulary. She also is the person in charge of Tikiville's Egg of Benedicta.
• Jules (voiced by Scott McCord) was first seen as a cave guard in episode 507, and is a good friend of the Cybersquad, but is often timid. He appears again in episode 607, where Hacker tricks him into pressing the nose of the Jam Master, causing Matt, Jackie, Creech and himself to get sucked into the chamber of Jimaya. After that he appeared in 801 where he helped in Hacker's challenge. He is often trying to find a job, but Hacker continuously tries to ruin it for him.
• Slider (voiced by Tim Hamaguchi) is a serious and James Dean-style 13-year-old skateboarder in Radopolis who builds and repairs skateboards and bikes. Since season three, he has been a recurring character in the series. According to Slider, his father Coop had abandoned him when he was younger because Hacker had hunted Coop for many years. However, in the episode "Measure for Measure" he finds out that his father abandoned him to protect him, and to make sure Hacker does not get an interface card that would allow Hacker to transform into whatever he wishes. If such were to happen, Hacker could cause immense chaos and even rule cyberspace.

Minor and guest stars[]

Cyberchase has had many guest stars over the years, including Jasmine Guy, Tony Hawk, Al Roker, and even Lilly Bartlam. These guest stars appear as citizens of Cybersites, villains, friends, or even rulers of the site.

Episodes[]

Cyberchase For Real[]

Each Cyberchase episode is followed by Cyberchase For Real, a live-action educational supplement linking concepts learned in the show to real life experiences. The actors Bianca DeGroat and Matthew A. Wilson (known as Harry Wilson on the show) are in their thirties, but amusingly act in a manner similar to the age of the target audience. For Real is produced by WNET in and around New York City after production is completed on the animated segments. These For Real segments are broadcast exclusively on PBS in the United States where the program runs longer and fills the time gap where there might be breaks for commercials. Some For Real segments can also be viewed online.^[12] In 2012, "Oh Noah", shorts that teach kids to speak Spanish, were used instead of re-running the "For Real" segments.^[13] The "For Real" segment returned in season nine.

Development[]

Conception[]

Cyberchase was conceived in 1999 as an educational show that aims to show kids that math is everywhere and everyone can be good at it. The series encourages viewers to see, think, and do mathematics in their world. The show and supporting activities have been designed to support math education and reflect the curriculum standards of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics.^[14] The show's philosophy is to foster enthusiasm for math, to model mathematic reasoning, to help children improve their problem-solving skills and to inspire all children to approach math with confidence and a "can-do" attitude.^[15] Later seasons place less emphasis on math and more on environmentalism and wellness. For example, in season 11, the theme of episode 2 is habitat fragmentation, episode 3 is about the effects of temperature on marine ecology, and episode 4 discusses using plants to improve indoor air quality.

Production[]

Originally, Thirteen produced the show in partnership with Nelvana for PBS Kids. It aired on PBS Kids since 2002, and on V-me from 2004 to 2013. Cyberchase has been animated by Pip Animation Services Inc. since season five; Right Path Pictures did post-production, and Curious Pictures did the original character design. Twelfth Root Music produces the sound track for Cyberchase. Thirteen/WNET New York and Nelvana produced the first five seasons, while Thirteen, in association with Title Entertainment, Inc. and WNET.ORG, produced seasons six through twelve.^[16][17]

Broadcast syndication[]

The show was syndicated worldwide to countries like the U.K. until 2004.^{[citation needed]}

Brand extension[]

There are two apps that Cyberchase has released to date:

1. Cyberchase 3D Builder^[18]
2. Cyberchase Shape Quest^[19]

Reception[]

Critical response[]

On the site Common Sense Media, the show was for ages 5 and up and rated four out of five stars. The reviewer, Joly Herman, commented that "the adventures aren't scary, violent, or sexually inappropriate" but "require fortitude and brain power". Proposed discussion points sprouting from the series include "Can your child take the skills learned in each episode and figure out how to apply it to everyday life?" Herman noted that the only downside was that the adventures did not take place in the "real world" but added that the "For Real" segments solved this problem. The show was given a rating of three out of five smiley faces under "The Good Stuff" section.^[20]

Carey Bryson of About.com gave the show a rating of four out of five stars. Bryson noted that the series' explanations of "simple mathematical idea[s]" are "usually explained well and woven throughout the story in a fun and interesting way". The review commended the series for its accessibility: "Children can easily learn from the example in the cartoon story" and praised the "Cyberchase For Real segment that follows each episode". Citing an example from the series using codes, Bryson explained how the show could be used to expand upon the curriculum: "Not only did [her five-year-old] learn about codes, but she also got in a ton of spelling practice". Bryson commended the series: "Educationally, Cyberchase delivers".^[21]

Awards[]

Cyberchase has been nominated for five Daytime Emmys and won in 2007 in the Outstanding Broadband Program category.^[22] Cyberchase also won a CINE Golden Eagle in 2006.^[23]

^2007 Outstanding Broadband Program nominees : Frances Nankin, Sandra Sheppard, Ellen Doherty, Jill Peters, Bob Morris, Suzanne Rose, Michelle Chen, Elizabeth Hummer, Arash Hoda, Anthony Chapman, David Hirmes, Bianca DeGroat, Matthew A. Wilson, George Arthur Bloom^[22]
^2008 Outstanding New Approaches nominees : Sandra Sheppard, Frances Nankin, Ellen Doherty, Jill Peters, David Hirmes, Kelly Lafferty, Michelle Chen, Tanner Vea, Bob Morris, Matthew A. Wilson^[34]
^2009 Outstanding New Approaches nominees : Sandra Sheppard, Frances Nankin, Ellen Doherty, David Hirmes, Tanner Vea, Denyse Ouellette, Gilbert Gottfried, Phil Williams, Robert Tinkler^[35]
^2012 Outstanding New Approaches nominees : Frances Nankin, Sandra Sheppard, Jill Peters, Marj Kleinman, Ellen Doherty, Kristin DiQuollo, Michelle Chen^[36]

Home media[]

References[]

External links[]

• Cyberchase at IMDb
• PBS Kids: Cyberchase Official Site
• Cyberchase Parents and Teacher Website—lessons, video, and tools to teach math.