Tower Prep


Tower Prep is a Canadian/American live-action television series created by Paul Dini for Cartoon Network. It aired from October 12 to December 28, 2010. Prior to Tower Prep, Dini was a former producer and writer of ', ' and other DC animated universe series.

Premise

Tower Prep is an exclusive school for people with special abilities. None of the students know where they are or how they had arrived there, and there's no escape. One moment Ian Archer was at home playing a video game; the next, he found himself waking up at Tower Prep with no memory of how he got there. Panicking, he tries to escape, and in the course of his failed attempt he meets three other students: Gabe, Suki and CJ. Throughout the series, the four friends make it their mission to uncover the mysteries behind Tower Prep and find a way to return to their normal lives.
It is determined that they are on Earth in a small peninsula inherited by the founder of Tower Prep. Tower Prep is a school that houses students that have unique powers. The peninsula is also home to many rare specimens of plants and animals from around the world, such as poison ivy and a venomous fly only found in mid-continental Africa.

Characters

Main

The teachers of the school do not use their actual names. They are instead called by the subjects they teach. For example, if a teacher teaches math, they are simply called Math. The headmaster of the school is simply called Headmaster. If a teacher teaches two subjects, they are called by both. For example, if a teacher teaches both history and physical education, they are called Coach History.

Development

wrote the first episode of Tower Prep, and Cartoon Network picked up the series as part of their initiative to develop live action programming for a family audience. The pilot was shot in 2009, and full production of the first season began in 2010 in British Columbia.
Former X-Files writer Glen Morgan was hired as executive producer and showrunner, joined by a writing team including Dini, Glen's brother Darin Morgan, Riley Stearns, Aury Wallington, Jeff Eckerle and Marilyn Osborn. Discussing his influences in creating the show, Dini states, "I thought about incidents when I was a kid. I went to a prep school, and I leaned back on my feelings of what it was like at the time – the strangeness and the alienation." From the start, the writers' goals were to create a story that did not talk down to kids, and to write natural dialogue, avoiding unrealistic slang and catch phrases. Many of the characters shift between being perceived as heroes or villains, because, Dini explains, ", your allegiances are switched and relationships change.... To a degree, Tower Prep is a real high school. It's just that the elements are blown out of proportion and into caricature."
The promotion for the series began with a fictional storyline, in which Cartoon Network published vlogs from the four main characters. Prior to the series premiere, a sneak peek of the show was released for free download on the iTunes Store featuring half of the first episode. To promote the premiere, the network announced a giveaway of 1,000 iPod Touch devices that would take place during the show. The iPod Touch strongly resembled the PDA devices from the series. The song "Unstoppable" by Foxy Shazam was used in network promos and in the episode "Trust".
The last two episodes of the first season aired on December 28, 2010. In October 2011, Cartoon network removed all Tower Prep content from its website. In December 2011, Paul Dini announced that the series would not return for a second season.
In January 2013, Paul Dini revealed that Cartoon Network never gave him an answer for the cancellation of the series, though he speculated on Kevin Smith's Fatman on Batman podcast that an increased young female viewership over the network's young male target was a principal cause. He also added that him and Cartoon Network intended for the series to run for 'five seasons' and had plans for season two to air in February, 2011. Dini expressed interest in writing season three where he had planned for Ian to be the leader of the gnomes.

Episodes

Cancellation

On March 23, 2011, Cartoon Network announced their new and returning programs for the remainder of 2011 and Tower Prep was not mentioned as one of the returning series.
In December 2011, over a year after the series premiered, Dini announced on his Twitter account that the series would not be returning for a second season, ending the series on a cliffhanger. When asked if he will reveal the ending to the series, Dini replied that he is "sworn to secrecy." On May 2012, Dini also revealed that there were talks of foreign financing for a second season, but the deal fell through because Cartoon Network decided not to air the show regardless.

Reception

Tower Prep received critical acclaim from critics and audiences alike. Brian Lowry of Variety said the show's mysteries might appeal to children... and adults, calling it "a series that points the way toward a best-case scenario" for Cartoon Network's live-action programming. Robert Lloyd in his Los Angeles Times review praised the show's energy, casting, and writing in spite of its modest production values. Both reviewers noted the series shares elements with The Prisoner and other works such as Harry Potter, Lost and The X-Files. Emily VanDerWerff of The A.V. Club stated that while the pilot episode suffered from low production values and murky fight scenes, it benefited from a strong primary cast, Dini's use of superpowers, and potentially intriguing moments. Further, she specifically pointed to the involvement of creator Paul Dini and producers Glen Morgan and Darin Morgan as reasons she believed the show would grow into a compelling series. In the 2011 Leo Awards, Brenton Spencer was nominated for Best Direction in a Youth or Children's Program or Series for the episode "Dreams".