"Spellbinder" (1995) TV series

Seasons:

1

Release Date:

5 February 1996 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Family | Sci-Fi

Plot:

When a prank at a school camp goes drastically wrong, 15-year-old Paul Reynolds is blasted into an alternative...

Plot Keywords:

School | Alternative History | Teen | Parallel Worlds

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Zbych Trofimiuk	...	Paul Reynolds (26 episodes, 1995)
Gosia Piotrowska	...	Riana (26 episodes, 1995)
Brian Rooney	...	Alex Katsonis (26 episodes, 1995)
Michela Noonan	...	Katrina Muggleton (26 episodes, 1995)
Heather Mitchell	...	Ashka (24 episodes, 1995)
Rafal Zwierz	...	Gryvon (22 episodes, 1995)
Andrew McFarlane	...	Brian Reynolds (18 episodes, 1995)
Krzysztof Kumor	...	Correon (17 episodes, 1995)
Andrzej Grabarczyk	...	Bron (17 episodes, 1995)
Slawa Michalewska	...	Maran (14 episodes, 1995)
Georgina Fisher	...	Christine Reynolds (13 episodes, 1995)
Stanislaw Brejdygant	...	The Summoner (13 episodes, 1995)
Julia Biczysko	...	Arla (13 episodes, 1995)
Erlan Buchan	...	Jal (12 episodes, 1995)

Runtime:

24 min (26 episodes)

Country:

Australia | Poland

Color:

Color

Certification:

Australia:G

Filming Locations:

Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Company:

Film Australia

Movie Connections:

Followed by "Spellbinder: Land of the Dragon Lord" (1997)

Totally awesome

Spellbinder is probably, if not the greatest television series ever made and certainly the greatest children's show ever and really makes itself big for the older audiences as well.

I used to watch this as a 7 year old on CITV and recently it came to my mind, the possibility of owning the series myself and watching them for as much as i wished. I never really understood the show back then, but something made me love it and it was a thing i would wait for after school to see. I guess it was that it was kind of original or something and the cast were brilliant.

I love the suspense and the action; the kind of effort they used to put into kids shows back then which sadly doesn't seem to show up much these days. That theme music was superb and the cliffhangers just kept you wanting more.

Unlike absolute time travel which has been done before, people have to cope with the loss of suburban Paul, his friends Alex and Katrina and ultimately his family who try to get him back after realising what they think really has happened. That being the fact that Paul has somehow wound up in a parallel dimension. Electricity, power surges combined caused a time portal or something of that sort to open up, pulling Paul into what he hoped was all a dream.

This world Paul has accidentally found is a world in the same place at the same time, just totally different. The industrial revolution never took place and Spellbinders rule; they devise laws and if they are broken, they, namely Ashka will punish offenders accordingly. Often, the sentence is banishment.

Whilst there are the Spellbinders and the people that try to live under their regime, there is also another group called the Murodor's or something like that who go against the Spellbinders and there's this thing about them causing darkness or something.

Paul tries to persuade people to believe he's from another 'world' using his cassette player, his camera and of course, his superior knowledge. With the help of knew found friend, Rhiana (a very beautiful, well cast actress), and some other folk along the way, Paul begins the long and difficult task of reopening a portal to get back home.

Spellbinder is undoubtedly a great show and maybe great is not the word to describe it. Really a superior achievement and it deserves more DVD releases and TV time.

Finally, all credit to Australian kids TV for investing over the years and really coming up with the goods, some of the best kids TV series ever made, other memorable shows include Round The Twist and Eugene Sandler, PI and there's many more I've seen, but i cant remember all their names. Plus i would love to see Zbych Trofimiuk (a name i still cannot pronounce) and co. back in action again sometime.

MAGNIGIFICENT, A STUNNING ACHIEVEMENT