James Napier, Tom Hern, Antonia Prebble, Beth Allen, Dwayne Cameron & Ari Boyland on "The Tribe" (2002)

Monday, March 7, 2011

James Napier, Tom Hern, Antonia Prebble, Beth Allen, Dwayne Cameron & Ari Boyland on "The Tribe" (2002)

The first episode of "The Tribe's" fourth series/season marked a new era on the series. Half of the Mallrats tribe goes missing in the wake of arriving airplanes, which turn out to not be carrying adults after all. Instead, a new powerful force known as The Technos are behind the invasion of the city. James Napier (Conner, Dino Thunder) makes his debut on the series as a Techno named Jay, who is leading the invasion force, which takes many of the city's teens captive. Jay is a technical expert and uses his skills to whip the city into submission, along with his younger brother, Ved. They work on the orders of the Technos' leader,

Ram, played by Napier's

future Dino Thunder co-star, Tom Hern (Devin, Dino Thunder). Ram is a wheelchair-bound computer genius whose only weakness appears to be a hatred of germs. He sits safely in his headquarters outside the city, watching the invasion and taking time to enjoy a virtual reality program that allows him to enjoy life's pleasures without his handicap. Antonia Prebble (Clare, Mystic Force) continues in her role as Mallrat tribe member, Trudy, who sees the distraction of the arriving planes as the perfect opportunity to sneak out of the city and find her friends Bray & Amber, who were

banished by city leader Ebony. She enlists the help of

her tribe members, Lex & Pride but when they hear the sound of explosions back in the city, the boys go back to check on their girlfriends, leaving Trudy to search on her own. She reaches the countryside where she finds Amber in labor and alone. Beth Allen (Vella, Overdrive) appears in several scenes, as Amber awakens in a barn to find Bray missing as her labor pains intensify. She is startled when one of the masked Technos walks in, but the boy leaves her alone when he sees she is pregnant. Dwayne Cameron (Tyzonn, Overdrive) appears in one brief scene at the beginning of the episode, as Bray hears the airplanes flying overhead. Ari Boyland (Flynn, RPM) also appears in just one scene as the Mallrats first hear the airplanes flying overhead. It's mentioned later in the episode that his character, KC, went to meet the adults. Given that the adults turned out to be the villainous Technos, it is presumed that he was taken hostage off-screen, along with many of the other Mallrats. The scenes showing Cameron & Boyland were re-used footage from the last episode of Series 3.

James Napier