Deepwater Black


Deepwater Black is a 1995 novel, first in the Deepwater trilogy, by the New Zealand science fiction writer Ken Catran, where a cast of young characters are supposedly stranded in space while a virus ravages Earth. The book series itself is quite different from the television series later developed. The approach of the novels focused on the characters as younger children, around 13-14 rather than the television approach where the characters were much older.

Plot

The main plot involved a virus that breaks out and leaves the humans residing on Earth doomed. However, in a desperate attempt before the end, all humanity's resources are dedicated to a crash program to produce a deep space ark, capable of seeding humanity on a new world. The ship is crewed by six clones; teenage versions of people who achieved great works during the ark project and equipped with the memories of their donors. Prior to its arrival, however, the crew is awoken prematurely to face a threat to the ship, before their memories are complete. They must come to terms with the workings of the ship, the dangers faced by their ship, the realization that they are clones, and their ultimate destiny to save their race.

TV series

The trilogy was adapted as the Sci Fi Channel's first original scripted television series in 1997 under the name Mission Genesis. In the United Kingdom and in Canada, where the show was co-produced by the YTV Network, the series retained the original title, Deepwater Black. Only one season of 13 episodes was made, and involved a relatively small cast and heavy use of CGI. Soon after production ended, lead actress Nicole de Boer joined the cast of and lead actor Gordon Michael Woolvett joined the cast of Andromeda.
The series was filmed in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Cast

The show only had 13 episodes before it was canceled. They were:
#TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal Airdate
1."Awakening"George MendelukBill TaubJuly 21, 1997
2."Lullaby"Don McCutcheonJeff Copeland
Barry Pearson		July 28, 1997
3."Legacy"Don McCutcheonJeff CopelandAugust 4, 1997
4."Reflections"George MendelukJeff Copeland
Barry Pearson		August 11, 1997
5."Plague"Don McCutcheonDoug MolitorAugust 18, 1997
6."Cycles"Don McCutcheonJeremy HoleAugust 25, 1997
7."Refugee"George MendelukJeff Copeland
Barry Pearson		September 8, 1997
8."Hunt"Don McCutcheonRaymond StoreySeptember 15, 1997
9."Fugue"George MendelukDennis FoonNovember 10, 1997
10."Siege"George MendelukDoug MolitorNovember 24, 1997
11."Prime"George MendelukDennis FoonDecember 1, 1997
12."Infestation"Don McCutcheonBarry PearsonDecember 15, 1997
13."Aurora"George MendelukDennis FoonDecember 22, 1997