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{{Short description|Television series}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2016}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2016}}
{{Use Australian English|date=October 2016}}
{{Use Australian English|date=October 2016}}
{{infobox television
{{Infobox television
| name = Sky Trackers
| image = SkyTrackers-VHS.JPG
| image = SkyTrackers-VHS.JPG
| image_size = 200
| image_size = 200px
| caption = '''''Sky Trackers''''' (VHS cover)
| caption = '''''Sky Trackers''''' (VHS cover)
| runtime = 25 minutes
| runtime = 25 minutes
| creator = Jeff Peck<br>[[Tony Morphett]]
| creator = Jeff Peck<br>[[Tony Morphett]]
| director = {{Plainlist|
* [[Mario Andreacchio]]
| starring = [[Petra Yared]]<br>[[Zbych Trofimiuk]]<br>Emily-Jane Romig<br>[[Steve Jacobs]]<br>[[Anna-Maria Monticelli]]
* Julian McSwiney
| country = Australia
* [[Steve Jodrell]]
| network = [[Seven Network]]
| first_aired = {{start date|1994}}
| last_aired =
| num_episodes = 26
}}
}}
| starring = [[Petra Yared]]<br>[[Zbych Trofimiuk]]<br>Emily-Jane Romig<br>[[Steve Jacobs]]<br>[[Anna-Maria Monticelli]]
'''''Sky Trackers''''' is an 26-part science-based<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|last=Edgar, Patricia, 1937-|title=Bloodbath : a memoir of Australian television|date=2006|publisher=Melbourne University Publishing|isbn=0522852815|location=Carlton, Vic.|oclc=224730166}}</ref> Australian [[children's television]] adventure series, and a stand-alone children's [[television movie]] of the same name, which feature the adventures of children who live at space-tracking stations in Australia. Both series and telemovie were created by Jeff Peck and [[Tony Morphett]], and executive-produced by [[Patricia Edgar]] on behalf of the [[Australian Children's Television Foundation|Australian Children's Television Foundation (ACTF)]].
| composer = [[Cezary Skubiszewski]]
| country = Australia
| executive_producer = [[Patricia Edgar]]
| producer = Margot McDonald<br>Patricia Edgar
| cinematography = David Foreman<br>Nino Martinetti
| company = [[Australian Children's Television Foundation|ACTF Productions]]
| network = [[Seven Network]]
| first_aired = {{Start date|1995|03|19|df=yes}}
| last_aired = {{End date|1995|09|10|df=yes}}
| num_episodes = 26
}}
'''''Sky Trackers''''' is a 26-part science-based<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|last=Edgar, Patricia, 1937-|title=Bloodbath : a memoir of Australian television|date=2006|publisher=Melbourne University Publishing|isbn=0522852815|location=Carlton, Vic.|oclc=224730166}}</ref> Australian [[children's television]] adventure series, and a stand-alone children's [[television movie]] of the same name, which feature the adventures of children who live at [[Tracking station|space-tracking stations]] in Australia. Both series and telemovie were created by Jeff Peck and [[Tony Morphett]], and executive-produced by [[Patricia Edgar]] on behalf of the [[Australian Children's Television Foundation|Australian Children's Television Foundation (ACTF)]].


The 1990 telemovie was shot at the [[Canberra Deep Space Communication Complex]], at [[Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve|Tidbinbilla]] in the [[Australian Capital Territory]]. The subsequent TV series, which had an entirely new cast fronted by [[Petra Yared]] and [[Zbych Trofimiuk]], was shot at the [[Australia Telescope Compact Array]]<ref name=":7">{{Cite web|date=February 2013|title=The Australia Telescope Compact Array – Fast Facts|url=https://www.narrabri.atnf.csiro.au/public/open_day/2013/ATCA_FastFacts_2013.pdf|url-status=live|website=CSIRO}}</ref> in the [[New South Wales]] [[outback]] near [[Narrabri]]. The series aired in Australia in 1995, on the [[Seven Network]]. Although the series and movie have characters in common, they do not share continuity.
The 1990 telemovie was shot at the [[Canberra Deep Space Communication Complex]], at [[Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve|Tidbinbilla]] in the [[Australian Capital Territory]]. The subsequent TV series, which had an entirely new cast fronted by [[Petra Yared]] and [[Zbych Trofimiuk]], was shot at the [[Australia Telescope Compact Array]]<ref name=":7">{{Cite web|date=February 2013|title=The Australia Telescope Compact Array – Fast Facts|url=https://www.narrabri.atnf.csiro.au/public/open_day/2013/ATCA_FastFacts_2013.pdf|website=CSIRO}}</ref> in the [[New South Wales]] [[outback]] near [[Narrabri]]. The series aired in Australia in 1995, on the [[Seven Network]]. Although the series and movie have characters in common, they do not share continuity.


''Sky Trackers'' the series grew from a request by Australia's federal science agency (the [[CSIRO]]) to Patricia Edgar, the then director of the ACTF, to create a program that would help attract girls towards careers in science.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":6" /> The resultant series aimed to popularise science for children through drama and to excite them about the opportunities science has to offer;<ref name=":1">Australian Children's Television Foundation, (1995). Care for kids: Television News, ''The newsletter of the Australian Children's Television Foundation'', Issue No. 48, p. 1-4. {{ISSN|0813-3727}}.</ref> whilst demystifying the work and working conditions of scientists, and highlighting the potential of the science world for future career choices.<ref name=":2">Australian Children's Television Foundation, (1995). Care for kids: Television News, ''The newsletter of the Australian Children's Television Foundation'', Issue No. 50, p. 1-4. {{ISSN|0813-3727}}.</ref>
''Sky Trackers'' the series grew from a request by Australia's federal science agency (the [[CSIRO]]) to Patricia Edgar, the then director of the ACTF, to create a program that would help attract girls towards careers in science.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":6" /> The resultant series aimed to popularise science for children through drama, and to excite them about its opportunities and its potential for future career choices,<ref name=":1">Australian Children's Television Foundation, (1995). Care for kids: Television News, ''The newsletter of the Australian Children's Television Foundation'', Issue No. 48, p. 1-4. {{ISSN|0813-3727}}.</ref> and at the same time demystify the work and working conditions of scientists.<ref name=":2">Australian Children's Television Foundation, (1995). Care for kids: Television News, ''The newsletter of the Australian Children's Television Foundation'', Issue No. 50, p. 1-4. {{ISSN|0813-3727}}.</ref>


''Sky Trackers'' the series won the [[Australian Film Institute|Australia Film Institute]]'s [[AACTA Award for Best Children's Television Series|Award for Best Children's Drama Series]] (1994), and Zbych Trofimiuk picked up its award for [[AACTA Award for Best Young Actor|Young Actor]]. ''Sky Trackers'' also won at the ''Cairo International Film Festival for Children'' (1994) and the [[Australian Teachers of Media|Australian Teachers of Media (ATOM)]] Awards (1995).<ref name=":0" />
''Sky Trackers'' the series won the [[Australian Film Institute|Australia Film Institute]]'s [[AACTA Award for Best Children's Television Series|Award for Best Children's Drama Series]] (1994), and Zbych Trofimiuk picked up its award for [[AACTA Award for Best Young Actor|Young Actor]]. ''Sky Trackers'' also won at the ''Cairo International Film Festival for Children'' (1994) and the [[Australian Teachers of Media|Australian Teachers of Media (ATOM)]] Awards (1995).<ref name=":0" />


==Plot==
==Series synopsis==
Combining adventure, teenage romance, and scientific endeavour, ''Sky Trackers'' the series centres around three kids who live beneath the gleaming white dishes of a space tracking station in the [[Outback|Australian outback]] – where their scientist parents work.<ref name=":3">Australian Children's Television Foundation, (1994). Care for kids: Television News, ''The newsletter of the Australian Children's Television Foundation'', Issue No. 47, p. 1-4. {{ISSN|0813-3727}}</ref>


Nikki is 13 and passionately loves science. Her dream is to be an astronaut and the first person on Mars. She is an avid fan of Mike's famous astrophysicist father.<ref name=":12" />
=== Series ===
The ''Sky Trackers'' series is set in a space tracking station in the [[Australian outback]]. Combining adventure, teenage romance, and the cutting edge of science, the series centres around two single parent families with three kids who live and work beneath the gleaming white dishes of a space tracking station in the Australian outback.<ref name=":3">Australian Children's Television Foundation, (1994). Care for kids: Television News, ''The newsletter of the Australian Children's Television Foundation'', Issue No. 47, p. 1-4. {{ISSN|0813-3727}}</ref>


Mike is 14 and loves playing electric guitar, horse-riding,<ref>{{Cite web|title=Sky Trackers|url=https://actf.com.au/education-programs/id/188|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200326173549/https://actf.com.au/education-programs/id/188/|archive-date=2020-03-26|access-date=2021-02-24|website=[[Australian Children's Television Foundation]]|language=en}}</ref> and rollerblading; but he has a poor relationship with his workaholic father.<ref name=":12" /> [[Jimi Hendrix]] is his hero.<ref name=":1" /> And although Mike thinks "science sucks" when he arrives at the station with his father, he quickly becomes friends with Nikki, and her younger sister Maggie.
Nikki is 13 and into science. Her dream is to be the first person on Mars. She is an avid fan of Mike's father and has read all of his research.<ref name=":1" />


Together they share adventures where they use the station's high-tech facilities to solve problems and save lives.<ref name=":22">Encore Media Group's Position - Presentation on Public Service Obligations - 15 August 1997</ref> And as they experience the excitement of adventures such as tracking meteorites, searching for a [[Bushranger|bush ranger]]'s treasure, listening to signals from outer space, seeing auroras, finding hidden caves, and hunting for UFOs, they learn a lot about the world, themselves, and each other<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":12" /><ref name="Cinema Papers 94" /> – as they live, love, fight and laugh together.<ref name=":9" />
Mike is 14 and thinks 'science sucks'. [[Jimi Hendrix]] is his hero.<ref name=":1" />


==Series cast==
Nine-year-old Maggie watches as Mike and Nikki fall in love and with the best intentions, just seems to get in everybody's way.<ref name=":1" />


===Main===
Over 26 adventurous episodes, the children experience a world of the past, present and future: searching for the bush rangers' treasure; tracking meteorites; listening to signals from outer space; exploring hidden caves; and they discover themselves.<ref name=":1" />

==Cast==

=== Series ===

==== Lead cast ====
*[[Petra Yared]] as Nikki Colbert ''(credited as Petra Jared)''<ref>{{Cite web|last=Yared|first=Petra|date=2001|title=Interview with the Petra Yared Website|url=http://www.petrayared.com/interview.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040712150120/http://www.petrayared.com/interview.html|archive-date=12 July 2004|access-date=2021-02-18|website=The Petra Yared Website}}</ref>
*[[Petra Yared]] as Nikki Colbert ''(credited as Petra Jared)''<ref>{{Cite web|last=Yared|first=Petra|date=2001|title=Interview with the Petra Yared Website|url=http://www.petrayared.com/interview.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040712150120/http://www.petrayared.com/interview.html|archive-date=12 July 2004|access-date=2021-02-18|website=The Petra Yared Website}}</ref>
* [[Zbych Trofimiuk]] as Mike Masters
* [[Zbych Trofimiuk]] as Mike Masters
Line 47: Line 51:
* [[Anna-Maria Monticelli]] as Marie Colbert
* [[Anna-Maria Monticelli]] as Marie Colbert


==== Recurring adult cast ====
===Recurring===
* [[Gareth Yuen]] as Joe

* [[Paul Sonkkila]] as Frank Giles
* [[Paul Sonkkila]] as Frank Giles
* Marco Chiappi as Christian
* Marco Chiappi as Christian
* [[Roz Hammond|Rosalind Hammond]] as Elfie
* [[Roz Hammond|Rosalind Hammond]] as Elfie
* [[Max Phipps]]

===Guests===
* [[Luke Carroll]] as Simon Tjapiljari (1 episode)
* [[Nicholas Bell]] as Dan (1 episode)


== History ==
== History ==
=== TV movie ===
=== TV movie ===
[[File:CSIRO_ScienceImage_11042_Aerial_view_of_the_Canberra_Deep_Space_Communication_Complex.jpg|thumb|250px|[[Tidbinbilla Tracking Station]] (now called ''Canberra Deep Space Communication Complex''), the setting for ''Sky Trackers'' movie|right]]The 1990 ''Sky Trackers'' telemovie was produced by the [[Australian Children's Television Foundation|Australian Children's Television Foundation (ACTF)]] in association with [[Disney Channel|The Disney Channel]], and was written by [[Tony Morphett]] from a concept by Jeff Peck, and executive-produced by [[Patricia Edgar]] and produced by [[Anthony Buckley]],<ref name="scott">Ed. Scott Murray, ''Australia on the Small Screen 1970-1995'', Oxford Uni Press, 1996 p143</ref> and directed by [[John Power (director)|John Power]].<ref name=":4" /> It starred [[Pamela Sue Martin]] (as Dr Spencer Jenkins), [[Maia Brewton]] (as Ali Barnes), and [[Justin Rosniak|Justin Rosinak]] (as Mike Masters). The story was located and shot at [[NASA]]'s [[Tidbinbilla Tracking Station]], (now called the ''Canberra Deep Space Communication Complex'').
[[File:CSIRO_ScienceImage_11042_Aerial_view_of_the_Canberra_Deep_Space_Communication_Complex.jpg|thumb|250px|[[Tidbinbilla Tracking Station]] - now called ''Canberra Deep Space Communication Complex'' - the setting for ''Sky Trackers'' movie|right]]The ''Sky Trackers'' telemovie was produced by the [[Australian Children's Television Foundation|Australian Children's Television Foundation (ACTF)]] in association with [[Disney Channel|The Disney Channel]], and was written by [[Tony Morphett]] from a concept by Jeff Peck. Executive-produced by [[Patricia Edgar]], it was directed by [[John Power (director)|John Power]], and produced by [[Anthony Buckley]].<ref name=":11">{{Cite book|last=Murray|first=Scott|url=https://archive.org/details/australiaonsmall00murr/page/142/|title=Australian on the small screen 1970-1995: The complete guide to tele-features and mini-series|publisher=Oxford University Press Australia|year=1996|isbn=0-19-553949-4|location=Melbourne|pages=143}}</ref> The story was located and shot at [[NASA]]'s [[Tidbinbilla Tracking Station]],<ref name=":11" /><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Hansard|title=12 December 1990|url=http://www.hansard.act.gov.au/hansard/1990/pdfs/19901212.pdf|journal=Debates of the Legislative Assembly for the Australian Capital Territory|pages=5137|postscript=. (PDF page 99)}}</ref> (now called the ''Canberra Deep Space Communication Complex''). It starred American actress and ''[[Dynasty (1981 TV series)|Dynasty]]'' star [[Pamela Sue Martin]]<ref>{{Cite web|title=Career {{!}} Pamela Sue Martin|url=http://pamelasuemartin.com/career--psm.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201125053757/http://pamelasuemartin.com/career--psm.html|archive-date=2020-11-25|access-date=2021-03-13|website=pamelasuemartin.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Biography {{!}} Pamela Sue Martin|url=http://pamelasuemartin.com/biography--psm.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210117151141/http://pamelasuemartin.com/biography--psm.html|archive-date=2021-01-17|access-date=2021-03-13|website=pamelasuemartin.com}}</ref> (as Dr Spencer Jenkins), with [[Maia Brewton]] and Courtney Kieler (as her daughters Ali and Fiona); and Australian actor Paul Williams<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Date|first=Margot|date=13 September 1990|title=Williams revisits the Menagerie|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/121569335/|journal=Sydney Morning Herald|pages=11|via=newspapers.com}}</ref> (as Dr Tony Masters) with [[Justin Rosniak]] (as his son, Mike).<ref name=":11" /> In the story, the scientists' kids uncover that a [[satellite]] will be crashing to earth nearby, and the children race to be the first ones to find it.<ref name=":03">{{Cite web|title=MIFF Archive|url=https://miff.com.au/festival-archive/films/id/21121|access-date=2021-02-16|website=Melbourne International Film Festival|language=en}}</ref>

Filming was done April–May 1990, with post-production completed in September.<ref name="Cinema Papers 80">{{Cite journal|date=August 1990|title=Production Survey|url=https://issuu.com/libuow/docs/cinemapaper1992octno090|journal=Cinema Papers|publisher=MTV Publishing Ltd|issue=80|pages=75}}</ref> The movie was first telecast in the USA on the Disney Channel on 27 May 1991.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Erikson|first=Hal|title=Sky Trackers (1991)|url=https://www.allmovie.com/movie/sky-trackers-v129030|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200321122048/https://www.allmovie.com/movie/sky-trackers-v129030|archive-date=2020-03-21|access-date=13 March 2021|website=AllMovie}}</ref> In Australia, the movie screened at the [[Melbourne International Film Festival]], in June 1991.<ref name=":03" /><ref>{{Cite web|title=MIFF 1991|url=https://miff.com.au/festival-archive/id/46/1991|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201022230709/https://miff.com.au/festival-archive/id/46/1991|archive-date=2020-10-22|access-date=2021-03-13|website=MIFF|language=en}}</ref> ACTF went ahead in producing a ''Sky Trackers'' series, without Disney's involvement, before the movie was broadcast in Australia.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Frances|first=Ellen|date=12 August 1993|title=Tracking science of a quality series|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/120744560/|journal=The Age|location=Melbourne, Victoria, Australia|via=newspapers.com}}</ref>


The movie was re-screened in advance of the series on The Seven Network at noon on 11 March 1995.<ref name=":4" />
On 11 March 1995, the weekend before ''Sky Trackers'' the series premiered,<ref name=":6" /> the movie was telecast in Australia on [[Seven Network|The Seven Network]].<ref name=":4" />


=== TV series ===
=== TV series ===
''Sky Trackers'' the series grew from an idea by Australia's federal science agency – the [[CSIRO|Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO)]] – to ask Patricia Edgar of the ACTF, if it could develop a series that would help attract girls to seek a career in science.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":6">{{Cite journal|last=Cockington|first=James|date=13 March 1995|title=Young love to lure girls into science|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/120354509/|journal=The Sydney Morning Herald|issue=|pages=51}}</ref>
''Sky Trackers'' the series grew from a request by the [[CSIRO|Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation]] (the CSIRO, Australia's federal science agency) to the director of the Australian Children's Television Foundation, Patricia Edgar, to create a children's television series that would help attract girls to seek a career in science.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":6">{{Cite journal|last=Cockington|first=James|date=13 March 1995|title=Young love to lure girls into science|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/120354509/|journal=The Sydney Morning Herald|issue=|pages=51}}</ref> Created for the series was the character of Nikki Colbert, a 13-year old science fan who wants to be the first woman on Mars.<ref name=":6" /> Great care was taken with the scripts to have the science as accurate as possible.<ref name=":12" /> CSIRO staff had "a constant and vital role in the creation of ''Sky Trackers''", making themselves "available as consultants throughout the development of the scripts, as did [[NASA]]";<ref name=":9" /> and Dr [[Karl Kruszelnicki]] was also employed as a science advisor for the series.<ref name=":12" />


[[File:ATCA_Radio_Telescope_Narrabri_2005_12_21.jpg|thumb|250px|One of the telescope dishes of the [[Australia Telescope Compact Array]], seen in orientation used for ''Sky Trackers'' episode "Skating the Dish"|right]]Funding from the [[Australian Film Finance Corporation]] was secured on 29 July 1992,<ref name="Cinema Papers 90">{{Cite journal|date=October 1992|title=Australian Film Finance Corporate Decisions|url=https://issuu.com/libuow/docs/cinemapaper1992octno090|journal=Cinema Papers|publisher=MTV Publishing Ltd|issue=90|pages=65}}</ref> and pre-production began on 15 February 1993.<ref name="Cinema Papers 94">{{Cite journal|date=August 1993|title=Production Survey|url=https://issuu.com/libuow/docs/cinemapaper1992octno090|journal=Cinema Papers|publisher=MTV Publishing Ltd|issue=94|pages=69}}</ref> Filming was set to take place at NASA's Tidbinbilla Tracking Station again, however Tidbinbilla station baulked at the episode 1 scene of [[roller-blading]] on a tracking dish, and so the entire shoot was relocated to the [[Australia Telescope Compact Array]]<ref name=":7" /> at the CSIRO's [[Australia Telescope National Facility]] outside [[Narrabri]], in [[New South Wales]], where the rollerblading scene was felt to be OK.<ref>{{Cite web|last=O'Brien|first=Annemaree|title=Sky Trackers on ASO - Australia's audio and visual heritage online|url=https://aso.gov.au/titles/series/sky-trackers/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110403184242/https://aso.gov.au/titles/series/sky-trackers/|archive-date=3 April 2011|access-date=2021-02-16|website=Australian Screen Online - An NFSA website}}</ref>
[[File:ATCA_Radio_Telescope_Narrabri_2005_12_21.jpg|thumb|250px|One of the telescope dishes of the [[Australia Telescope Compact Array]], seen in orientation used for ''Sky Trackers'' episode "Skating the Dish"|right]]Funding from the [[Australian Film Finance Corporation]] was secured on 29 July 1992,<ref name="Cinema Papers 90">{{Cite journal|date=October 1992|title=Australian Film Finance Corporate Decisions|url=https://issuu.com/libuow/docs/cinemapaper1992octno090|journal=Cinema Papers|publisher=MTV Publishing Ltd|issue=90|pages=65}}</ref> and pre-production began on 15 February 1993.<ref name="Cinema Papers 94">{{Cite journal|date=August 1993|title=Production Survey|url=https://issuu.com/libuow/docs/cinemapaper1993augno094|journal=Cinema Papers|publisher=MTV Publishing Ltd|issue=94|pages=69}}</ref> Filming was set to take place at NASA's Tidbinbilla Tracking Station again, however Tidbinbilla station baulked at the episode 1 scene of [[roller-blading]] on a tracking dish, and so the entire shoot was relocated to the [[Australia Telescope Compact Array]]<ref name=":7" /> at the CSIRO's [[Australia Telescope National Facility]] outside [[Narrabri]], in [[New South Wales]], where the rollerblading scene was felt to be OK.<ref name=":12">{{Cite web|last=O'Brien|first=Annemaree|title=Sky Trackers on ASO - Australia's audio and visual heritage online|url=https://aso.gov.au/titles/series/sky-trackers/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110403184242/https://aso.gov.au/titles/series/sky-trackers/|archive-date=3 April 2011|access-date=2021-02-16|website=Australian Screen Online - An NFSA website}}</ref>


The series was shot over 28 weeks, initially on location at the Australia Telescope Compact Array, Narrabri – in the drama portrayed as the "Kaputar Tracking Station"<ref name=":9" /> – and then in studio in [[Melbourne|Melbourne, Australia]], with further exterior shoots all around the state of [[Victoria (Australia)|Victoria]].<ref name=":3" /><ref name=":8">{{Cite web|last=remotetalker|date=2018-10-28|title=An interview with Petra Yared (''Sky Trackers, Mirror, Mirror'')|url=https://remotetalk.wordpress.com/2018/10/28/an-interview-with-petra-yared-sky-trackers-mirror-mirror/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200911150224/https://remotetalk.wordpress.com/2018/10/28/an-interview-with-petra-yared-sky-trackers-mirror-mirror/|archive-date=11 September 2020|access-date=2021-02-16|website=Remote Talk|language=en}}</ref> CSIRO reported filming commencing in June 1993,<ref name=":9">{{Cite journal|last=Wallace|first=Alex|date=August 1993|title=CSIRO - sky tracking across the universe and our television screens|url=https://csiropedia.csiro.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/coresearch_1993.pdf|journal=CoResearch - CSIRO's staff newsletter|issue=354|pages=8}}</ref> and Petra Yared recalls the whole shoot taking "9 months".<ref name=":8" /> Production was completed in 1994.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Sky Trackers (1994) - The Screen Guide - Screen Australia|url=https://www.screenaustralia.gov.au/the-screen-guide/t/sky-trackers-1994/3155/|access-date=2021-02-16|website=www.screenaustralia.gov.au}}</ref> ACTF entered the first episode "Skating the Dish" into the [[1994 Australian Film Institute Awards]] (winners announced 4 November),<ref>{{cite news|date=5 November 1994|title=Muriel, Bubby scoop AFI pool|volume=70|page=1|newspaper=[[The Canberra Times]]|issue=21,751|location=Australian Capital Territory, Australia|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article130535538|accessdate=25 August 2016|via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> and ''Sky Trackers'' won [[AACTA Award for Best Children's Television Series|Best Children's Television Drama]], and Zbych Trofimiuk received the [[AACTA Award for Best Young Actor|Young Actor]] award.<ref name=":02">{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=|title=Past Winners 1990-1999|url=http://www.aacta.org/winners-nominees/1990-1999/1994.aspx|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120515114441/http://www.aacta.org/winners-nominees/1990-1999/1994.aspx|archive-date=2012-05-15|access-date=|website=Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA)}}</ref>
The series was shot over 28 weeks,<ref name=":3" /> initially on location at the Australia Telescope Compact Array, Narrabri – in the drama portrayed as the "Kaputar Tracking Station"<ref name=":9" /> – and then in studio in [[Melbourne|Melbourne, Australia]], with further exterior shoots all around the state of [[Victoria (Australia)|Victoria]].<ref name=":3" /><ref name=":8">{{Cite web|last=remotetalker|date=2018-10-28|title=An interview with Petra Yared (''Sky Trackers, Mirror, Mirror'')|url=https://remotetalk.wordpress.com/2018/10/28/an-interview-with-petra-yared-sky-trackers-mirror-mirror/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200911150224/https://remotetalk.wordpress.com/2018/10/28/an-interview-with-petra-yared-sky-trackers-mirror-mirror/|archive-date=11 September 2020|access-date=2021-02-16|website=Remote Talk|language=en}}</ref> CSIRO reported filming commencing in June 1993,<ref name=":9">{{Cite journal|last=Wallace|first=Alex|date=August 1993|title=CSIRO - sky tracking across the universe and our television screens|url=https://csiropedia.csiro.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/coresearch_1993.pdf|journal=CoResearch - CSIRO's Staff Newsletter|issue=354|pages=8}}</ref> and Petra Yared recalls the whole shoot taking "9 months".<ref name=":8" /> Production was completed in 1994.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Sky Trackers (1994) - The Screen Guide - Screen Australia|url=https://www.screenaustralia.gov.au/the-screen-guide/t/sky-trackers-1994/3155/|access-date=2021-02-16|website=www.screenaustralia.gov.au}}</ref> ACTF entered the first episode "Skating the Dish" into the [[1994 Australian Film Institute Awards]] (winners announced 4 November),<ref>{{cite news|date=5 November 1994|title=Muriel, Bubby scoop AFI pool|volume=70|page=1|newspaper=[[The Canberra Times]]|issue=21,751|location=Australian Capital Territory, Australia|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article130535538|accessdate=25 August 2016|via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> and ''Sky Trackers'' won [[AACTA Award for Best Children's Television Series|Best Children's Television Drama]], and Zbych Trofimiuk received the [[AACTA Award for Best Young Actor|Young Actor]] award.<ref name=":02">{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=|title=Past Winners 1990-1999|url=http://www.aacta.org/winners-nominees/1990-1999/1994.aspx|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120515114441/http://www.aacta.org/winners-nominees/1990-1999/1994.aspx|archive-date=2012-05-15|access-date=|website=Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA)}}</ref>


The program was launched by [[Michael Lee (Australian politician)|The Hon Michael Lee, MP]], Minister for Communications and the Arts, at the Planetarium, [[Museum of Victoria]], on 20 February 1995.<ref name=":4">Australian Children's Television Foundation, (1995). ''Australian Children's Television Foundation Annual Report 1994-1995''. A.C.T.F. Productions Limited. {{ISBN|0-86421-121-X}}</ref> Also in attendance were Bob Campbell, Chief Executive of The Seven Network, representatives of [[NASA]] and CSIRO, Sky Trackers cast and crew members, Staff and Board Members of The Seven Network and the ACTF, and representatives of the media.<ref name=":4" />
The program was launched in Australia by [[Michael Lee (Australian politician)|The Hon Michael Lee, MP]], Minister for Communications and the Arts, at the Planetarium, [[Museum of Victoria]], on 20 February 1995.<ref name=":4">Australian Children's Television Foundation, (1995). ''Australian Children's Television Foundation Annual Report 1994-1995''. A.C.T.F. Productions Limited. {{ISBN|0-86421-121-X}}</ref> Also in attendance were Bob Campbell, Chief Executive of The Seven Network, representatives of NASA and CSIRO, ''Sky Trackers'' cast and crew members, Staff and Board Members of The Seven Network and the ACTF, and representatives of the media.<ref name=":4" /> The series began screening nationally on The Seven Network and its affiliate, [[Prime Television]], each week across Australia from 19 March 1995.<ref name=":6" />


[[Tamara E. Jernigan|Dr Tamara Jernigan]], a NASA astronaut who has spent more than 800 hours in space and orbited the Earth more than 400 times, visited Australia at the invitation of the ACTF in June 1995 and made a four day tour of schools in Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide and Brisbane.<ref name=":4" /> Travelling with her was Petra Yared, the 15-year-old star of ''Sky Trackers''.<ref name=":4" />
The series began screening nationally on [[The Seven Network]] and its affiliate, [[Prime Television]], each week across Australia from 18 March 1995.


The series was digitally re-mastered on the 25th anniversary of its initial release.<ref name=":10">{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=|title=Sky Trackers|url=https://www.chiptaylor.com/sky_trackers.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200815021523/https://www.chiptaylor.com/sky_trackers.html|archive-date=15 August 2020|access-date=2021-02-04|website=Chip Taylor Communications, LLC}}</ref>
[[Tamara E. Jernigan|Dr Tamara Jernigan]], a NASA astronaut who has spent more than 800 hours in space and orbited the Earth more than 400 times, visited Australia at the invitation of the ACTF in June 1995 and made a four day tour of schools in Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide and Brisbane.<ref name=":4" /> Travelling with her was Petra Yared, the 15-year-old star of Sky Trackers.<ref name=":4" />

== Reception ==
Australia's [[TV Week]] listings magazine welcomed the series with enthusiasm: "A massive satellite dish on which to go in-line skating, right there in the backyard? What more could a teenager want? A space tracking station where teens and even pre-teens have free rein to log in to the computer systems and such? Even better … just about approaching perfection, in fact. Welcome to the world of ''Sky Trackers'', the latest effort from the trail-blazing Australian Children’s Television Foundation [...] The cast is excellent particularly the teenagers Petra Jared as science-crazy Nikki Colbert and Zbych Trofimiuk as Mike Masters, whose scientific interests range about as far as a Jimi Hendrix [[Lick (music)|lick]]."<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Masterson|first=Lawrie|date=March 1995|title=The View From Here|url=https://televisionau.com/2015/03/1995-march-11-17.html|journal=TV Week|issue=1995: March 11–17}}</ref>


== Other media ==
== Other media ==


=== Educational resources ===
=== Educational resources ===
The Australian Children's Television Foundation produced three ''Sky Trackers'' teaching packages for use in schools in the form of three Curriculum Packs:<ref name=":4" />
The Australian Children's Television Foundation produced three ''Sky Trackers'' the series teaching packages for use in schools in the form of three Curriculum Packs:<ref name=":4" /><ref name=":13">{{Cite web|title=Teachers Online: Sky Trackers|url=http://www.actf.com.au/tol/sts_teacher_resources.html|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19980713135711/http://www.actf.com.au/tol/sts_teacher_resources.html|archive-date=1998-07-13|website=[[Australian Children's Television Foundation]]}}</ref>


* <u>Sky Trackers: The Environment</u> by Annemaree O'Brien and Noel Gough<ref name=":4" />
* <u>Sky Trackers: The Environment</u> by Annemaree O'Brien and Noel Gough
** covered environmental activists, waterways. human intervention and protecting your planet<ref name=":3" />
** covers environmental activists, waterways, human intervention and protecting your planet<ref>{{Cite web|title=Sky trackers. The environment|url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/work/14732508/version/45141835|access-date=2021-02-23|website=Trove {{!}} National Library of Australia}}</ref>
* <u>Sky Trackers: Space</u> by Annemaree O'Brien and Noel Gough<ref name=":4" />
* <u>Sky Trackers: Space</u> by Annemaree O'Brien and Noel Gough
** covered rockets, space phenomena, radio telescopes and microwaves, SETI, science and culture, ethics and values.<ref name=":3" />
** covers rockets, space phenomena, radio telescopes and microwaves, [[Search for extraterrestrial intelligence|SETI]], science and culture, ethics and values.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Sky trackers. Space|url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/work/14732508/version/26267180|access-date=2021-02-23|website=Trove {{!}} National Library of Australia}}</ref>
* <u>Sky Trackers: Family and Self</u> by [[Don Edgar]] and Annemaree O'Brien<ref name=":4" />
* <u>Sky Trackers: Family and Self</u> by [[Don Edgar]] and Annemaree O'Brien
** covered family relationships, grief, domestic violence, family breakups and adoption.<ref name=":3" />
** covers family relationships, grief, domestic violence, family breakups and adoption.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Sky trackers. Family and self|url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/work/14732508/version/45061047|access-date=2021-02-23|website=Trove {{!}} National Library of Australia}}</ref>


These packs contained three ''Sky Trackers'' episodes on videotape, with background notes on the topic and suggested questions and activities for students. They were designed for use by teachers of upper primary and junior secondary school (years 5-8).<ref name=":1" /> These Sky Trackers stories are a dramatic blend of stories about science, deep space, the environment and family life.<ref name=":1" /> They explore a fascinating range of issues, encouraging viewers to ponder, debate, discuss, question and investigate further.<ref name=":1" /> On 30 June 1995, 329 packs had been sold.<ref name=":4" />
Each pack contained three ''Sky Trackers'' episodes on videotape, introduced by the young actors, with teacher's background notes on the topic and suggested questions and student activities aimed at upper primary and junior secondary school (years 5-8) classrooms. The featured episodes are a dramatic blend of stories about science, deep space, the environment and family life, which provide launch points to explore a range of issues, encouraging kids to ponder, debate, discuss, question and investigate further.<ref name=":13" />

Today, the educational resources for the series are provided in a downloadable [[PDF|pdf]] from ACTF's website.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Sky Trackers: Education Resources|url=https://actf.com.au/teaching_resources/res/10411|access-date=2021-02-22|website=The Australian Children's Television Foundation|language=en}}</ref>

''Sky Trackers'' episode-clips also feature in ACTF's publication ''What's Fair'', by Val Catchpoole – an educational multi-media resource for teaching ethical inquiry in schools.<ref>{{Cite web|title=What's Fair Teaching Resource - Digital Download|url=https://actf.com.au/catalogue/id/581/whats-fair-teaching-resource-digital-download|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200316044144/https://actf.com.au/catalogue/id/581/whats-fair-teaching-resource-digital-download|archive-date=2020-03-16|access-date=2021-02-25|website=[[Australian Children's Television Foundation]]|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Catchpoole|first=Val|url=https://dev.actf.com.au/assets/What%27s%20Fair%20-%20Teacher%27s%20Guide.pdf|title=What's Fair|publisher=[[Australian Children's Television Foundation]]|year=1998|isbn=0-86421-289-5|location=Melbourne}}</ref>


=== Novel ===
=== Novel ===
[[Penguin Books]] Australia published a tie-in novel based on the series, also titled ''Sky Trackers'', written by Amanda Midlam.<ref name=":2" />
[[Penguin Books]] Australia published a tie-in novel based on the series, also titled ''Sky Trackers'', written by Amanda Midlam.<ref name=":2" />


=== Video sales ===
=== Videotape ===
[[Village Roadshow]] distributed the video of the telemovie and by 30 June 1995 758 videos had been sold.<ref name=":4" />
''Sky Trackers'' the movie was released on video by [[Village Roadshow]].<ref name=":4" />

''Sky Trackers'' the series was released on video by Reel Entertainment in nine volumes,<ref>{{Cite web|title=Sky trackers. Volume 9 [videorecording]|url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/work/14732508/version/27648525|access-date=2021-02-22|website=Trove {{!}} National Library of Australia|postscript=. ''Note - contains the last two episodes of the series: "Precious Days" and "Do or Die"''}}</ref> with the first collection of episodes available to the public in June 1995.<ref name=":4" /><ref>{{Cite web|title=Sky trackers. [Volume 1] [videorecording]|url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/work/14732508/version/17370021|access-date=2021-02-22|website=Trove, National Library of Australia}}</ref>


=== Digital release ===
REEL Entertainment began selling ''Sky Trackers'' series videotapes to the general public in June 1995, and to 30 June 1995 reported sales of 1,640 videotapes.<ref name=":4" />
The series was released on DVD in 2007;<ref>{{Cite web|title=Sky Trackers Complete Series [DVD]|url=https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sky-Trackers-Complete-Petra-Yared/dp/B001AZ4PMS|website=Amazon.co.uk}}</ref> and the series is available for download from the ACTF in [[720p]] ([[Fullscreen (aspect ratio)|4:3]]) upconverted HD.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Sky Trackers - Digital Download|url=https://actf.com.au/catalogue/id/529/sky-trackers-digital-download|access-date=2021-02-19|website=The Australian Children's Television Foundation|language=en}}</ref><ref name=":10" />


== International release ==
== International broadcast ==
''Sky Trackers'' the movie was sold to [[Showcase (Canadian TV channel)|Showcase Television]] in Canada and EuroArts International Gmbh in Germany in 1996.<ref name=":5">Australian Children's Television Foundation, (1996). Australian Children's Television Foundation Annual Report 1995-1996. A.C.T.F. Productions Limited. {{ISBN|0864212739}}</ref>
''Sky Trackers'' the movie was sold to [[Showcase (Canadian TV channel)|Showcase Television]] in Canada and EuroArts International Gmbh in Germany in 1996.<ref name=":5">Australian Children's Television Foundation, (1996). Australian Children's Television Foundation Annual Report 1995-1996. A.C.T.F. Productions Limited. {{ISBN|0864212739}}</ref>


''Sky Trackers'' the series performed particularly well in Europe where it was sold to ARD Germany, Danmarks Radio, NRK Norway, the Finnish Broadcasting Company, Slovak TV, RTSR Switzerland, AVRO in the Netherlands, and RTE Ireland who aired it from 28 August 1995.<ref name=":4" /><ref name=":5" /> A contract with France 2 was also negotiated in 1995.<ref name=":4" /> In 1996, Telepiu, a pay television channel in Italy, acquired a one year window of the series, and Canal Plus Poland acquired a two year window.<ref name=":5" />
''Sky Trackers'' the series has been sold to 105 countries.<ref>{{Cite web|date=4 September 2003|title=Profile - Cezary Skubiszewski|url=http://www.urbancinefile.com.au/home/view.asp?a=7833|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210223172255/http://www.urbancinefile.com.au/home/view.asp?a=7833|archive-date=23 February 2021|access-date=2021-02-23|website=urban cinefile|postscript=. ''(Interview with series composer, [[Cezary Skubiszewski]]).''}}</ref> It performed particularly well in Europe where it was sold to ARD Germany, Danmarks Radio, NRK Norway, the Finnish Broadcasting Company, Slovak TV, RTSR Switzerland, AVRO in the Netherlands, and RTE Ireland who aired it from 28 August 1995.<ref name=":4" /><ref name=":5" /> A contract with France 2 was also negotiated in 1995.<ref name=":4" /> In 1996, Telepiu, a pay television channel in Italy, acquired a one year window of the series, and Canal Plus Poland acquired a two year window.<ref name=":5" />


The series has also been sold to the Philippines, Nigeria, Turkey, Slovak Republic, Israel, Iceland, Cyprus, Arabic-speaking territories, Honk Kong, Mexico, Indonesia, Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan and Sri Lanka;<ref name=":3" /> and to the Encore Media Corporation, for its WAM! teenage channel in the United States.<ref name=":5" />
The series has also been sold to the Philippines, Nigeria, Turkey, Slovak Republic, Israel, Iceland, Cyprus, Arabic-speaking territories, Hong Kong, Mexico, Indonesia, Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan and Sri Lanka;<ref name=":3" /> and to the Encore Media Corporation, for its WAM! teenage channel in the United States.<ref name=":5" />


== Awards and nominations ==
== Awards and nominations ==
{| class="wikitable"
{| class="wikitable"
|+Awards and Nominations
!Year
!Year
!Nominated Work
!Nominated Work
Line 111: Line 131:
!Reference
!Reference
|-
|-
|1994
| rowspan="4" | 1994
|''<nowiki/>'Skating the dish''' Sky Trackers episode
|<nowiki/>'Skating the dish'<br>episode of ''Sky Trackers''

|Australian Film Institute (AFI) Awards, Melbourne, Australia
| rowspan="2" | [[1994 Australian Film Institute Awards|Australian Film Institute (AFI) Awards]], Melbourne, Australia
|Best Children's Drama series
|[[AACTA Award for Best Children's Television Series|Best Children's Television Drama]]
|{{win}}
|{{win}}
|<ref name=":4" />
| style="text-align:center;" |<ref name=":4" />
|-
|-
|Zbych Trofimiuk <br>for the role of Mike Masters
|1994
|[[AACTA Award for Best Young Actor|Young Actor Award]]
|''Zbych Trofimiuk'' playing the role of Mike Masters
|Australian Film Institute (AFI) Awards, Melbourne, Australia
|Young Actor's Award
|{{win}}
|{{win}}
|<ref name=":0" />
| style="text-align:center;" |<ref name=":0" />
|-
|<nowiki/>'Skating the dish'<br>episode of ''Sky Trackers''
|[[Banff Television Festival]], Canada
|Banff Rockie Award for Best Children's Program
|{{nom}}
| style="text-align:center;" |<ref name=":0" />
|-
|-
| rowspan="4" |''Sky Trackers'' series
|1994
|''Sky Trackers'' series
|Cairo International Film Festival for Children in Egypt
|Cairo International Film Festival for Children in Egypt
|Golden Cairo for TV Programmes
|Golden Cairo for TV Programmes
|{{win}}
|{{win}}
|<ref name=":0" />
| style="text-align:center;" |<ref name=":0" />
|-
|-
|1995
| rowspan="2" |1995
|[[ATOM Award|Australian Teachers of Media (ATOM) Awards]], Melbourne, Australia
|''Sky Trackers'' series
|Australian Teachers of Media (ATOM) Awards, Melbourne, Australia
|Best Children's Television Series
|Best Children's Television Series
|{{win}}
|{{win}}
|<ref name=":0" />
| style="text-align:center;" |<ref name=":0" />
|-
|-
|1995
|''Sky Trackers'' series
|Bavarian State Ministry for Education, Culture, Science and Art in Munich
|Bavarian State Ministry for Education, Culture, Science and Art in Munich
|International Competition of the MediaNet Awards
|International Competition of the MediaNet Awards
|Selected
|{{center|Selected}}
|<ref name=":0" />
| style="text-align:center;" |<ref name=":0" />
|-
|1994
|''<nowiki/>'Skating the dish''' Sky Trackers episode
|Banff Television Festival, Canada
|Banff Rockie Award for Best Children's Program
|{{nom}}
|<ref name=":0" />
|-
|-
|1996
|1996
|''Sky Trackers'' series
|Prix Jeunesse, Munich
|Prix Jeunesse, Munich
|Children's program, Age 7-12
|Children's program, Age 7-12
|Finalist
|{{center|Finalist}}
|<ref name=":0" />
| style="text-align:center;" |<ref name=":0" />
|}
|}


Line 166: Line 179:


==External links==
==External links==
* {{IMDb title|0108929|title=Sky Trackers}}
*[https://actf.com.au/education-programs/id/188/ ''Sky Trackers''] at [[Australian Children's Television Foundation]]
*[https://actf.com.au/education-programs/id/188/ ''Sky Trackers''] at [[Australian Children's Television Foundation]]
*[https://aso.gov.au/titles/series/sky-trackers/ ''Sky Trackers''] at [[Australian Screen Online]] ([[National Film and Sound Archive]])
*[https://aso.gov.au/titles/series/sky-trackers/ ''Sky Trackers''] at [[Australian Screen Online]] ([[National Film and Sound Archive]])
*''[http://www.australiantelevision.net/sky-trackers/index.html Sky Trackers]'' at Australian Television Information Archive
*{{IMDb title|0108929|title=Sky Trackers}}


[[Category:1994 Australian television series endings]]
[[Category:1994 Australian television series endings]]
[[Category:1994 Australian television series debuts]]
[[Category:1994 Australian television series debuts]]
[[Category:Australian adventure television series]]
[[Category:Seven Network original programming]]
[[Category:Seven Network original programming]]
[[Category:Australian children's television series]]
[[Category:Australian children's television series]]
[[Category:Australian television series about teenagers]]
[[Category:Television shows set in New South Wales]]

Revision as of 03:28, 8 August 2024

Sky Trackers
Sky Trackers (VHS cover)
Created byJeff Peck
Tony Morphett
Directed by
StarringPetra Yared
Zbych Trofimiuk
Emily-Jane Romig
Steve Jacobs
Anna-Maria Monticelli
ComposerCezary Skubiszewski
Country of originAustralia
No. of episodes26
Production
Executive producerPatricia Edgar
ProducersMargot McDonald
Patricia Edgar
CinematographyDavid Foreman
Nino Martinetti
Running time25 minutes
Production companyACTF Productions
Original release
NetworkSeven Network
Release19 March (1995-03-19) –
10 September 1995 (1995-09-10)

Sky Trackers is a 26-part science-based[1] Australian children's television adventure series, and a stand-alone children's television movie of the same name, which feature the adventures of children who live at space-tracking stations in Australia. Both series and telemovie were created by Jeff Peck and Tony Morphett, and executive-produced by Patricia Edgar on behalf of the Australian Children's Television Foundation (ACTF).

The 1990 telemovie was shot at the Canberra Deep Space Communication Complex, at Tidbinbilla in the Australian Capital Territory. The subsequent TV series, which had an entirely new cast fronted by Petra Yared and Zbych Trofimiuk, was shot at the Australia Telescope Compact Array[2] in the New South Wales outback near Narrabri. The series aired in Australia in 1995, on the Seven Network. Although the series and movie have characters in common, they do not share continuity.

Sky Trackers the series grew from a request by Australia's federal science agency (the CSIRO) to Patricia Edgar, the then director of the ACTF, to create a program that would help attract girls towards careers in science.[3][4] The resultant series aimed to popularise science for children through drama, and to excite them about its opportunities and its potential for future career choices,[5] and at the same time demystify the work and working conditions of scientists.[3]

Sky Trackers the series won the Australia Film Institute's Award for Best Children's Drama Series (1994), and Zbych Trofimiuk picked up its award for Young Actor. Sky Trackers also won at the Cairo International Film Festival for Children (1994) and the Australian Teachers of Media (ATOM) Awards (1995).[1]

Series synopsis

Combining adventure, teenage romance, and scientific endeavour, Sky Trackers the series centres around three kids who live beneath the gleaming white dishes of a space tracking station in the Australian outback – where their scientist parents work.[6]

Nikki is 13 and passionately loves science. Her dream is to be an astronaut and the first person on Mars. She is an avid fan of Mike's famous astrophysicist father.[7]

Mike is 14 and loves playing electric guitar, horse-riding,[8] and rollerblading; but he has a poor relationship with his workaholic father.[7] Jimi Hendrix is his hero.[5] And although Mike thinks "science sucks" when he arrives at the station with his father, he quickly becomes friends with Nikki, and her younger sister Maggie.

Together they share adventures where they use the station's high-tech facilities to solve problems and save lives.[9] And as they experience the excitement of adventures such as tracking meteorites, searching for a bush ranger's treasure, listening to signals from outer space, seeing auroras, finding hidden caves, and hunting for UFOs, they learn a lot about the world, themselves, and each other[5][7][10] – as they live, love, fight and laugh together.[11]

Series cast

Main

Recurring

Guests

History

TV movie

Tidbinbilla Tracking Station - now called Canberra Deep Space Communication Complex - the setting for Sky Trackers movie

The Sky Trackers telemovie was produced by the Australian Children's Television Foundation (ACTF) in association with The Disney Channel, and was written by Tony Morphett from a concept by Jeff Peck. Executive-produced by Patricia Edgar, it was directed by John Power, and produced by Anthony Buckley.[13] The story was located and shot at NASA's Tidbinbilla Tracking Station,[13][14] (now called the Canberra Deep Space Communication Complex). It starred American actress and Dynasty star Pamela Sue Martin[15][16] (as Dr Spencer Jenkins), with Maia Brewton and Courtney Kieler (as her daughters Ali and Fiona); and Australian actor Paul Williams[17] (as Dr Tony Masters) with Justin Rosniak (as his son, Mike).[13] In the story, the scientists' kids uncover that a satellite will be crashing to earth nearby, and the children race to be the first ones to find it.[18]

Filming was done April–May 1990, with post-production completed in September.[19] The movie was first telecast in the USA on the Disney Channel on 27 May 1991.[20] In Australia, the movie screened at the Melbourne International Film Festival, in June 1991.[18][21] ACTF went ahead in producing a Sky Trackers series, without Disney's involvement, before the movie was broadcast in Australia.[22]

On 11 March 1995, the weekend before Sky Trackers the series premiered,[4] the movie was telecast in Australia on The Seven Network.[23]

TV series

Sky Trackers the series grew from a request by the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (the CSIRO, Australia's federal science agency) to the director of the Australian Children's Television Foundation, Patricia Edgar, to create a children's television series that would help attract girls to seek a career in science.[3][4] Created for the series was the character of Nikki Colbert, a 13-year old science fan who wants to be the first woman on Mars.[4] Great care was taken with the scripts to have the science as accurate as possible.[7] CSIRO staff had "a constant and vital role in the creation of Sky Trackers", making themselves "available as consultants throughout the development of the scripts, as did NASA";[11] and Dr Karl Kruszelnicki was also employed as a science advisor for the series.[7]

One of the telescope dishes of the Australia Telescope Compact Array, seen in orientation used for Sky Trackers episode "Skating the Dish"

Funding from the Australian Film Finance Corporation was secured on 29 July 1992,[24] and pre-production began on 15 February 1993.[10] Filming was set to take place at NASA's Tidbinbilla Tracking Station again, however Tidbinbilla station baulked at the episode 1 scene of roller-blading on a tracking dish, and so the entire shoot was relocated to the Australia Telescope Compact Array[2] at the CSIRO's Australia Telescope National Facility outside Narrabri, in New South Wales, where the rollerblading scene was felt to be OK.[7]

The series was shot over 28 weeks,[6] initially on location at the Australia Telescope Compact Array, Narrabri – in the drama portrayed as the "Kaputar Tracking Station"[11] – and then in studio in Melbourne, Australia, with further exterior shoots all around the state of Victoria.[6][25] CSIRO reported filming commencing in June 1993,[11] and Petra Yared recalls the whole shoot taking "9 months".[25] Production was completed in 1994.[26] ACTF entered the first episode "Skating the Dish" into the 1994 Australian Film Institute Awards (winners announced 4 November),[27] and Sky Trackers won Best Children's Television Drama, and Zbych Trofimiuk received the Young Actor award.[28]

The program was launched in Australia by The Hon Michael Lee, MP, Minister for Communications and the Arts, at the Planetarium, Museum of Victoria, on 20 February 1995.[23] Also in attendance were Bob Campbell, Chief Executive of The Seven Network, representatives of NASA and CSIRO, Sky Trackers cast and crew members, Staff and Board Members of The Seven Network and the ACTF, and representatives of the media.[23] The series began screening nationally on The Seven Network and its affiliate, Prime Television, each week across Australia from 19 March 1995.[4]

Dr Tamara Jernigan, a NASA astronaut who has spent more than 800 hours in space and orbited the Earth more than 400 times, visited Australia at the invitation of the ACTF in June 1995 and made a four day tour of schools in Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide and Brisbane.[23] Travelling with her was Petra Yared, the 15-year-old star of Sky Trackers.[23]

The series was digitally re-mastered on the 25th anniversary of its initial release.[29]

Reception

Australia's TV Week listings magazine welcomed the series with enthusiasm: "A massive satellite dish on which to go in-line skating, right there in the backyard? What more could a teenager want? A space tracking station where teens and even pre-teens have free rein to log in to the computer systems and such? Even better … just about approaching perfection, in fact. Welcome to the world of Sky Trackers, the latest effort from the trail-blazing Australian Children’s Television Foundation [...] The cast is excellent particularly the teenagers Petra Jared as science-crazy Nikki Colbert and Zbych Trofimiuk as Mike Masters, whose scientific interests range about as far as a Jimi Hendrix lick."[30]

Other media

Educational resources

The Australian Children's Television Foundation produced three Sky Trackers the series teaching packages for use in schools in the form of three Curriculum Packs:[23][31]

  • Sky Trackers: The Environment by Annemaree O'Brien and Noel Gough
    • covers environmental activists, waterways, human intervention and protecting your planet[32]
  • Sky Trackers: Space by Annemaree O'Brien and Noel Gough
    • covers rockets, space phenomena, radio telescopes and microwaves, SETI, science and culture, ethics and values.[33]
  • Sky Trackers: Family and Self by Don Edgar and Annemaree O'Brien
    • covers family relationships, grief, domestic violence, family breakups and adoption.[34]

Each pack contained three Sky Trackers episodes on videotape, introduced by the young actors, with teacher's background notes on the topic and suggested questions and student activities aimed at upper primary and junior secondary school (years 5-8) classrooms. The featured episodes are a dramatic blend of stories about science, deep space, the environment and family life, which provide launch points to explore a range of issues, encouraging kids to ponder, debate, discuss, question and investigate further.[31]

Today, the educational resources for the series are provided in a downloadable pdf from ACTF's website.[35]

Sky Trackers episode-clips also feature in ACTF's publication What's Fair, by Val Catchpoole – an educational multi-media resource for teaching ethical inquiry in schools.[36][37]

Novel

Penguin Books Australia published a tie-in novel based on the series, also titled Sky Trackers, written by Amanda Midlam.[3]

Videotape

Sky Trackers the movie was released on video by Village Roadshow.[23]

Sky Trackers the series was released on video by Reel Entertainment in nine volumes,[38] with the first collection of episodes available to the public in June 1995.[23][39]

Digital release

The series was released on DVD in 2007;[40] and the series is available for download from the ACTF in 720p (4:3) upconverted HD.[41][29]

International broadcast

Sky Trackers the movie was sold to Showcase Television in Canada and EuroArts International Gmbh in Germany in 1996.[42]

Sky Trackers the series has been sold to 105 countries.[43] It performed particularly well in Europe where it was sold to ARD Germany, Danmarks Radio, NRK Norway, the Finnish Broadcasting Company, Slovak TV, RTSR Switzerland, AVRO in the Netherlands, and RTE Ireland who aired it from 28 August 1995.[23][42] A contract with France 2 was also negotiated in 1995.[23] In 1996, Telepiu, a pay television channel in Italy, acquired a one year window of the series, and Canal Plus Poland acquired a two year window.[42]

The series has also been sold to the Philippines, Nigeria, Turkey, Slovak Republic, Israel, Iceland, Cyprus, Arabic-speaking territories, Hong Kong, Mexico, Indonesia, Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan and Sri Lanka;[6] and to the Encore Media Corporation, for its WAM! teenage channel in the United States.[42]

Awards and nominations

Year Nominated Work Award Event Category Result Reference
1994 'Skating the dish'
episode of Sky Trackers 		Australian Film Institute (AFI) Awards, Melbourne, Australia Best Children's Television Drama Won [23]
Zbych Trofimiuk
for the role of Mike Masters 		Young Actor Award Won [1]
'Skating the dish'
episode of Sky Trackers 		Banff Television Festival, Canada Banff Rockie Award for Best Children's Program Nominated [1]
Sky Trackers series Cairo International Film Festival for Children in Egypt Golden Cairo for TV Programmes Won [1]
1995 Australian Teachers of Media (ATOM) Awards, Melbourne, Australia Best Children's Television Series Won [1]
Bavarian State Ministry for Education, Culture, Science and Art in Munich International Competition of the MediaNet Awards
Selected
 [1]
1996 Prix Jeunesse, Munich Children's program, Age 7-12
Finalist
 [1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Edgar, Patricia, 1937- (2006). Bloodbath : a memoir of Australian television. Carlton, Vic.: Melbourne University Publishing. ISBN 0522852815. OCLC 224730166.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  2. ^ a b "The Australia Telescope Compact Array – Fast Facts" (PDF). CSIRO. February 2013.
  3. ^ a b c d Australian Children's Television Foundation, (1995). Care for kids: Television News, The newsletter of the Australian Children's Television Foundation, Issue No. 50, p. 1-4. ISSN 0813-3727.
  4. ^ a b c d e Cockington, James (13 March 1995). "Young love to lure girls into science". The Sydney Morning Herald: 51.
  5. ^ a b c Australian Children's Television Foundation, (1995). Care for kids: Television News, The newsletter of the Australian Children's Television Foundation, Issue No. 48, p. 1-4. ISSN 0813-3727.
  6. ^ a b c d Australian Children's Television Foundation, (1994). Care for kids: Television News, The newsletter of the Australian Children's Television Foundation, Issue No. 47, p. 1-4. ISSN 0813-3727
  7. ^ a b c d e f O'Brien, Annemaree. "Sky Trackers on ASO - Australia's audio and visual heritage online". Australian Screen Online - An NFSA website. Archived from the original on 3 April 2011. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
  8. ^ "Sky Trackers". Australian Children's Television Foundation. Archived from the original on 26 March 2020. Retrieved 24 February 2021.
  9. ^ Encore Media Group's Position - Presentation on Public Service Obligations - 15 August 1997
  10. ^ a b "Production Survey". Cinema Papers (94). MTV Publishing Ltd: 69. August 1993.
  11. ^ a b c d Wallace, Alex (August 1993). "CSIRO - sky tracking across the universe and our television screens" (PDF). CoResearch - CSIRO's Staff Newsletter (354): 8.
  12. ^ Yared, Petra (2001). "Interview with the Petra Yared Website". The Petra Yared Website. Archived from the original on 12 July 2004. Retrieved 18 February 2021.
  13. ^ a b c Murray, Scott (1996). Australian on the small screen 1970-1995: The complete guide to tele-features and mini-series. Melbourne: Oxford University Press Australia. p. 143. ISBN 0-19-553949-4.
  14. ^ Hansard. "12 December 1990" (PDF). Debates of the Legislative Assembly for the Australian Capital Territory: 5137. (PDF page 99){{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link)
  15. ^ "Career | Pamela Sue Martin". pamelasuemartin.com. Archived from the original on 25 November 2020. Retrieved 13 March 2021.
  16. ^ "Biography | Pamela Sue Martin". pamelasuemartin.com. Archived from the original on 17 January 2021. Retrieved 13 March 2021.
  17. ^ Date, Margot (13 September 1990). "Williams revisits the Menagerie". Sydney Morning Herald: 11 – via newspapers.com.
  18. ^ a b "MIFF Archive". Melbourne International Film Festival. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
  19. ^ "Production Survey". Cinema Papers (80). MTV Publishing Ltd: 75. August 1990.
  20. ^ Erikson, Hal. "Sky Trackers (1991)". AllMovie. Archived from the original on 21 March 2020. Retrieved 13 March 2021.
  21. ^ "MIFF 1991". MIFF. Archived from the original on 22 October 2020. Retrieved 13 March 2021.
  22. ^ Frances, Ellen (12 August 1993). "Tracking science of a quality series". The Age. Melbourne, Victoria, Australia – via newspapers.com.
  23. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Australian Children's Television Foundation, (1995). Australian Children's Television Foundation Annual Report 1994-1995. A.C.T.F. Productions Limited. ISBN 0-86421-121-X
  24. ^ "Australian Film Finance Corporate Decisions". Cinema Papers (90). MTV Publishing Ltd: 65. October 1992.
  25. ^ a b remotetalker (28 October 2018). "An interview with Petra Yared (Sky Trackers, Mirror, Mirror)". Remote Talk. Archived from the original on 11 September 2020. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
  26. ^ "Sky Trackers (1994) - The Screen Guide - Screen Australia". www.screenaustralia.gov.au. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
  27. ^ "Muriel, Bubby scoop AFI pool". The Canberra Times. Vol. 70, no. 21, 751. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 5 November 1994. p. 1. Retrieved 25 August 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
  28. ^ "Past Winners 1990-1999". Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA). Archived from the original on 15 May 2012.
  29. ^ a b "Sky Trackers". Chip Taylor Communications, LLC. Archived from the original on 15 August 2020. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
  30. ^ Masterson, Lawrie (March 1995). "The View From Here". TV Week (1995: March 11–17).
  31. ^ a b "Teachers Online: Sky Trackers". Australian Children's Television Foundation. Archived from the original on 13 July 1998.
  32. ^ "Sky trackers. The environment". Trove | National Library of Australia. Retrieved 23 February 2021.
  33. ^ "Sky trackers. Space". Trove | National Library of Australia. Retrieved 23 February 2021.
  34. ^ "Sky trackers. Family and self". Trove | National Library of Australia. Retrieved 23 February 2021.
  35. ^ "Sky Trackers: Education Resources". The Australian Children's Television Foundation. Retrieved 22 February 2021.
  36. ^ "What's Fair Teaching Resource - Digital Download". Australian Children's Television Foundation. Archived from the original on 16 March 2020. Retrieved 25 February 2021.
  37. ^ Catchpoole, Val (1998). What's Fair (PDF). Melbourne: Australian Children's Television Foundation. ISBN 0-86421-289-5.
  38. ^ "Sky trackers. Volume 9 [videorecording]". Trove | National Library of Australia. Retrieved 22 February 2021. Note - contains the last two episodes of the series: "Precious Days" and "Do or Die"{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link)
  39. ^ "Sky trackers. [Volume 1] [videorecording]". Trove, National Library of Australia. Retrieved 22 February 2021.
  40. ^ "Sky Trackers Complete Series [DVD]". Amazon.co.uk.
  41. ^ "Sky Trackers - Digital Download". The Australian Children's Television Foundation. Retrieved 19 February 2021.
  42. ^ a b c d Australian Children's Television Foundation, (1996). Australian Children's Television Foundation Annual Report 1995-1996. A.C.T.F. Productions Limited. ISBN 0864212739
  43. ^ "Profile - Cezary Skubiszewski". urban cinefile. 4 September 2003. Archived from the original on 23 February 2021. Retrieved 23 February 2021. (Interview with series composer, Cezary Skubiszewski).{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link)
  • "The Australian Film and Television Companion" — compiled by Tony Harrison — Simon & Schuster Australia, 1994
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