Cleopatra 2525

Cleopatra 2525
Cleopatra 2525 intertitle
Genre	Science fiction
Created by	R.J. Stewart Robert G. Tapert
Starring	Gina Torres Victoria Pratt Jennifer Sky
Opening theme	"In the Year 2525" performed by Gina Torres
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	2
No. of episodes	28 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers	Sam Raimi R.J. Stewart Robert G. Tapert
Production locations	Auckland, New Zealand
Camera setup	Single-camera
Running time	22–24 minutes (2000) 45–48 minutes (2001)
Production company	Renaissance Pictures
Original release
Network	Syndication
Release	January 17, 2000 (2000-01-17) – March 5, 2001 (2001-03-05)

Cleopatra 2525 is an American science fiction television series that aired in syndication for two seasons, from January 2000 to March 2001. It appeared as the first part of the Back2Back Action Hour, followed by Jack of All Trades.

Synopsis

When complications arise during her breast augmentation surgery, 20th-century exotic dancer Cleo (Jennifer Sky) is put into suspended animation. Waking 525 years in the future, Cleo joins two women in their fight against the Baileys, armed flying machines who now control Earth's surface. Her team leader, Hel (Gina Torres), is commanded by a mysterious female entity called "Voice", who relays orders via a communications implant under Hel's right ear. Voice controls many other teams and gives them their orders in a similar fashion, in effect forming a resistance to the Baileys, with their ultimate goal to retake the Earth's surface. Their final team member is Sarge (Victoria Pratt), whose sister belongs to a cult that regards the Baileys with reverence and willingly sacrifices themselves to them.

Humanity has moved underground and built a complex of elaborate shafts and tunnels created by the "shaft builders" to survive the Bailey menace. Cleo (pictured above on the right) wows the 26th century denizens with her philosophical sayings (many of which come from the 20th century popular culture).

Cast

• Jennifer Sky as Cleo, Cleopatra
• Gina Torres as Hel, Helen
• Victoria Pratt as Sarge, Rose
• Patrick Kake as Mauser
• Elizabeth Hawthorne as The Voice
• Danielle Cormack as Raina
• Joel Tobeck as Creegan
• Stacey Edgar as Lara
• Stephen Lovatt as Schrager
• Mark Ferguson as Confessor
• Colin Moy as Quint
• Paolo Rotondo as Porter

Main antagonists

Creegan: A brilliant, dangerous and psychotic scientist, he lacks any scruples and has a vendetta against Voice, whom he claims to know. His methods are massively destructive and he is the team's most frequent enemy. Hel has a personal stake in bringing him to justice, as he's responsible for her family's death. His unusual taste in clothing – dressing like an evil-looking circus clown, complete with white face – shows a dangerous psychosis. He is actually Dr. George Bailey, the creator of the Baileys, and the former lover of Voice. He's still in love with Voice but his psyche has completely snapped. He didn't program the Baileys to betray humanity, but agrees with his creation's logic.

Raina: A dangerous psychic and former Voice team member. Though she only appears in three episodes she is considered one of the more memorable villains. Her favorite trick was to make people see friends as enemies and vice versa. The girls disarmed her powers the first time around, but this drove her to come after them again in an effort to regain her powers by having an implant chip embedded in her brain.

Baileys: The Bailey units are enormous, heavily weaponized flying robots. They have taken over the surface, forcing humans underground. They will usually attack humans on sight. Their name comes from Dr. George Bailey, their creator. Baileys were created as an environmental clean up system, before they determined that humanity was the cause of the Earth's problems. Cleopatra once developed a psychic connection with a Bailey and tried to use it to the team's advantage.

Betrayers: Betrayers are dangerous robotic enforcers who kidnap people, assimilate their every detail, and then kill them, becoming a perfect clone. They are devoid of emotions and are unrelenting, taking massive damage. Guns are built into their arms, their eyes fire optical blasts, they can regenerate, and have highly sensitive scanners. They also possess their human counterparts' memories.

Mauser is a Betrayer who has been pacified so as not to be a threat to the team, and does not use his abilities very often.

Episodes

Main article: List of Cleopatra 2525 episodes

Production notes

Cast member Gina Torres performed the show's theme song, which is based on Zager and Evans' 1969 hit "In the Year 2525 (Exordium and Terminus)", albeit with altered lyrics.

DVD release

The series was released on Region 1 DVD in the United States on July 19, 2005.

External links

• Cleopatra 2525 at IMDb