What is this?

[Prowler-Pilot]

I've never heard of this before. Can anyone enlighten me?

TaTa

[MythingLink]

Not too much. I only caught a couple of the episodes. It was made for, I think, a girl who played in Hercules (and now I can't remember her name or the name of her character).

I never really did figure out if it was supposed to be in the future or what.

Cheers,

[Small Mel]

I can answer this! Kinda!

Okay the story is based in the year 2525, humans now live underground in this world that is really bizarre. Some alien things took over the outside world.

Cleopatra is a stripper who went in for a routine boob job, something went wrong and she was frozen until a cure was found, she is woken up in 2525 by two girls.

She joins up with them and the show Cleopatra is formed, fighting evil to conquer the outside world again.

:rolly2: Mel

[kelsi]

In the nicest possible way... isn't that kinda ... conrny?

[august]

The notion of a stripper fighting evil is perhaps corny, but the plot didn't really revolve around how the character got to the future. Here's the bigger picture:

After Hercules was cancelled, Renaissance Pictures wanted to replace it with another action-oriented hour, since they had much success with the 2-hour package of Hercules and Xena. A pilot had been shot several years before Called "Amazon High," directed by Michael "Iolaus" Hurst and starring Selma Blair ("Cruel Intentions") as a "valley girl" transported back in time to Amazon pre-history, where she became a great leader. The same idea as Twain's "Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court," by way of Bill and Ted. Danielle (Ephiny) Cormack and Claudia "Farscape" Black played the tow tough Amazons who ultimately became her friends and allies.

But the pilot languished for years, along with a perpetually-in-development idea for a "pirate show" starring Bruce Campbell, especially when "Young Herc" was cancelled. When a replacement was needed for Hercules, Campbell balked at committing to a weekly series which would mean relocating to NZ. So a deal was struck - the "pirate show" would be a half-hour only, and "Amazon High" would be the other component of a "Back 2 Back Action" hour. He would only have to commit to a few months at a time, and his family could stay with him. At the last minute, TPTB decided to revamp "Amazon High" into a futuristic sci-fi show, using the basic modern-girl/fish out of water concept, morphed with influences from the future seen in "The Terminator" movies (evil hovering robots and disguised robotic killers attack the underground remnants of humanity) and in the old sci-fi novella "Tumithak of the Corridors." Plus, the Hong-Kong-style action seen in Xena and Hercules would adapt well to a Matrix-like future. So the valley girl remained the same (she became a community college drama student who moonlighted as an exotic dancer) and the Amazons became futuristic fredom fighters. The botched boob job was essentially a one-time plot device in the first episode to get Cleo to the year 2525, but not have her recovering from a disease or anything.

While Cleo managed to outlast its partner "Jack of All Trades" (the pirate show that developed into a slapstick comedy featuring an American spy donning a Zorro-like mask to fight Napoleon's forces in the South Seas) it was cancelled 2/3 of the way through its second season. In my opinion, it re-invented many traditional sci-fi themes and motifs by adding the same elements we saw in Xena and Hercules - wildly chaotic action sequences and hip comedy.

Following their long standing tradition of casting performers they've worked with before, the valley girl/stripper (who developed into an adorable, plucky, wisecracking ditz) role was given by TPTB to Jennifer Sky, who had played the Amazon Amarise on Xena, as well as guest roles on General Hospital and Buffy. The pragmatic team lerder was played by NY/Cuban actress Gina Torres, who had played the pirate queen Nebula on Hercules, and the tough rebel was played by Canadian fitness star Vicky Pratt, seen as the Amazon Queen Cyane on Xena.

It's not too late! 2 more weeks of Cleopatra 2525 reruns are still airing! (probably at 2 AM in your area!)

[bummer]

Wow!! Doncha think they may have been a bit toooo much info? LOL! That's for the "Angie" song earlier! :upto:

Glad you made it over here!

[Wilford]

Hi, I used to be on the old SUSA message board for Cleopatra 2525 until they decided to close it down.:angryfire Those of you who haven't watched it find out when and where its playing and see for ya self. If you have to tape and then watch Cleopatra 2525 and don't watch just one you may have to watch a few episodes to get a hand hold of what its premise is. But it's good, after I watch two or three episodes. Then it got better and then they cancel. *sighs* wish they'd bring it back into production. oh well, i can still write letters to them.

Well, take it easy.

Wilford