Noah & Saskia

Australian Children's Television Foundation, 2004

Two teenagers find each other from opposite sides of the globe, and change each other’s lives. By projecting their ideal selves in a virtual world, they get a little closer to reaching their ideals in the real one.

Noah & Saskia is an entertaining comedy drama series that examines the experiences, problems and potential of the Internet for today’s youth. It also raises issues of identity and the pressure to conform to unrealistic media images.

At the heart of the story are Saskia, a 14-year-old budding musician living in Australia and Noah, a 14-year-old computer geek living in London. Once they meet online in Webweave – an Internet chat room – they change each other’s lives from half a world away. By projecting their ideal selves in a virtual world, they get a little closer to reaching their ideals in the real one.

A mixture of live action, animation and visual FX, Noah & Saskia is set in Melbourne (Australia), London (England) and Webweave (Cyberspace). It includes 13 episodes, trailer, extra scenes and ‘The Making of Noah & Saskia’

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Episodes

Episode 1 Tomorrow Never Knows

Saskia vows to get revenge, when one of her songs is stolen off the net by a faceless geek named 'Max Hammer'. But when she goes in search of him online, everybody warns her that Max will mop the floor with her. Not one to back down from a challenge, Saskia re-invents herself as 'Indy', and lures Max into a trap. But instead of a cyber storm-trooper, what she finds is a funny, charming guy. And to her further surprise, he offers her a partnership in his on-line comic. Could this be the beginning of a beautiful friendship?

Episode 2 The Very Real and Excellent Adventures of Max Hammer

For years, Noah has managed to avoid the school football team. That is, until now. His father, the football-mad Bryce, has been made coach, and Noah is forced into a try-out game against his obnoxious brother, Phil, the team's star player. Noah turns to the one person he can trust for advice and inspiration - his new friend, Indy.

Episode 3 Don't Blame it on Hormones Polka

Saskia has only one explanation for her flourishing friendship with Max Hammer. It's love. It has to be. The problem is, everybody else thinks she's being ridiculous. How can you be in love with somebody you've never even met? After being ear-bashed by her mum, Deb, her best friend, Renee, and a bunch of girls at school, even Saskia starts to wonder - could it really be love?

Episode 4 Walsh on Wimmin

At school, Noah is greeted by giggles and whispers. The rumour has spread that he has a cyber girlfriend. Humiliated, Noah decides to sort things out once and for all, if only for his own peace of mind. Online, he tells Indy they'll never be more than friends, almost managing to convince himself it's true. He's shocked to learn that it is. Indy is thousands of miles away - in Australia.

Episode 5 I Got Shades of Indy Blues

Saskia refuses to budge from her bedroom. Her excuse: it's casual day at school, and she doesn't feel like being judged by the fashion police. But Deb and Renee don't buy it. Saskia's never cared what anybody thought before. Renee concludes that it must be about Max, and sets about getting Saskia to build a bridge and get over it.

Episode 6 Eddie

Noah's world is turned upside down when his younger cousin, Eddie, comes to stay. A sickly child with endless needs, Eddie manages to exhaust Lena, drive Phil and Bryce out of the house, and jeopardise Noah's relationship with Indy. Noah sets out to expose Eddie as a manipulative fake. Then Noah learns that Eddie is just an unfortunate kid who gets tossed from family member to family member, and all he really wants is to belong, and be part of Noah's comic.

Episode 7 Piggy in the Middle

Saskia finds herself in a tight spot when she has to choose between going to the snow for Renee's birthday, and staying at home to write music for the 50th edition of the Max Hammer online comic. But as the pressure mounts for her to choose between her two best friends, Max mysteriously backs down. Saskia goes into a spin. Doesn't he like her music any more? Is there somebody else? Or is there another explanation?

Episode 8 You'll Never be a Man

Bryce acquires a tent so strong it could survive re-entry into the atmosphere, and decides a camping trip with the boys is in order. But disaster strikes when a dry creek bed becomes a raging river, washing the tent away. Cold and miserable, Noah realises he misses Indy. And he discovers that even the thought of her is enough to spur him into action, Max Hammer style.

Episode 9 Extra Spicy

Saskia finds her spunky co-worker, Ernesto, playing guitar, and seizes the opportunity to put a band together. She bribes her ten-year-old guitar teacher with chocolate, organises a jam for the next day and logs on to update Max. But her imagination takes over when she catches Ernesto with his arms around Renee. She calls the band off, instantly regretting it. But later, nobody is more surprised than Saskia when her first kiss comes out of nowhere?

Episode 10 Almost

Secretly, Noah is extremely jealous of Indy's new boyfriend, Ernesto. And now that the comic has become such a team effort, he finds he just doesn't have the motivation to do it without her. So when the Adder Comic Company makes an offer for the rights, he decides to take it. Is this the end of the Max Hammer comic strip? Or the end of what started as a beautiful friendship?

Episode 11 Don't Give Me No Love Song Blues

When Ernesto volunteers to play a duet with Saskia at a talent quest, she is initially over the moon. He plays her the soppy love song he has written for her and then coaches her on how to behave in front of his family. But when he hints she should wear a dress, she really starts to wonder. With Deb and Renee under Ernesto's spell, Saskia turns to Max. But even he tells her to 'go for it'. Has she got anybody she can rely on?

Episode 12 Would The Real Max Hammer Please Log On

Noah decides to take on Max Hammer's persona, and his life immediately gets better. However, the lives of Eddie, Clive and Phil instantly get worse. They each decide that Noah's rocky relationship with Indy is to blame, and decide to do something about it. One by one, they each go online and pose as Max Hammer, causing Indy such confusion that by the time Noah himself logs on, she is ready to call the friendship off.

Episode 13 Tonight Live With Noah and Saskia

Saskia is outraged when she discovers Max is still publishing his comic after their 'break up', even though he promised her there would be no Max without Indy. But when she goes in search of him, she finds reason to believe he's actually only nine years old. Her entire world starts spinning - has this whole thing been a big, fat lie? She decides she has to get to the bottom of it, and both she and Max agree to put their friendship to the ultimate test - discard their Internet identities and answer ten questions each - honestly.

Awards

US International Film & Video Festival
Winner

Banff Rockie Awards
Nominated

Asia Pacific Children & Youth Festival
Nominated

New York Festival
Silver Medal

Running Time
13 x 24 mins

Production Company
Australian Children's Television Foundation

Language
English

Genre
Comedy Drama Live Action

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