Parallax (TV series)

Lore & Background

The series centers on Ben Johnson, played by Joshua Marshall-Clarke, who finds a portal to multiple parallel universes. He explores these worlds with his friends Francis Short, Melinda Bruce, Una, Due, Tiffany, and Mundi, as well as his newfound sister Katherine Raddic, played by Gillian Alexy. The cast also includes Caroline Brazier as Veronica Johnson/Betti, David Richardson as Francis Short/Francis Zapmeister, and Francoise Sas as Melinda Bruce.

The series features a variety of worlds, including Ben's World (the red, 'normal' world), Katherine's World (the blue, formal world), Francis' Hippie World (the yellow world), Una's Techno World (the silver world), and Mundi's Forest World (the green world). Other worlds include Desert World, Garden World, Bush World, and Swamp World. Significant objects include the Stave, a defensive/utility baton used by Guardians that can stun or repel; the Orb, a sphere that serves as a key to the Reading Room; and the Golden Stave, which can control the Wheel of Knowledge.

Reader's Guide

Parallax is significant as an Australian children's television series that explores the concept of parallel universes through a young protagonist. The series was funded by the Film Finance Corporation Australia and supported by Lotterywest, reflecting government support for Australian children's content. Its filming in Perth and surrounding areas showcases Western Australian locations.

The series introduced a complex multiverse with distinct worlds, each with its own rules and portals. The lore includes objects like the Stave, Orb, and Golden Stave, as well as concepts like Purple Water, which blandishes those who do not fit a personality average. The Francis Cam serves as a communication system across worlds.

A condensed movie version, 'Parallax: The Portal Opens', was released, compiling clips from the first eight episodes. The series remains notable for its imaginative world-building and its contribution to Australian children's television.

Did You Know?

• The series was filmed in various locations around Perth, including Kings Park, East Perth, and beach and South West forest locations.
• The Stave, a baton used by Guardians, is a defensive/utility tool that stuns or repels, and does not kill Welkin or Krellicks.
• Purple Water reacts with people who do not fit the 17.65% personality average of a world, turning them into water vapor.
• The Francis Cam is a communication link between four worlds: Techno, Forest, Ben's, and Hippie World.

Production & Filming

Parallax is an Australian children's television series that aired on the Nine Network. The show consists of 26 episodes and received funding from the Film Finance Corporation Australia, with additional support from Lotterywest. Production took place across a range of Perth-area locations, giving the series a distinctly West Australian visual identity. Filming locations included Kings Park, the East Perth urban landscape, numerous beach settings, and the forests of the South West region of Western Australia. This geographic spread allowed the production team to capture the diverse natural beauty of the state while grounding the fantastical multiverse premise in recognizable, real-world Australian scenery. The involvement of both a national film finance body and a state lottery corporation highlights the collaborative funding model that supported the series' development and production.

Story & Characters

At its core, Parallax follows a young boy named Ben Johnson who stumbles upon a portal that opens the door to multiple parallel universes. Rather than navigating these other worlds alone, Ben is accompanied by a close-knit group of friends, including Francis Short, Melinda Bruce, Una, Due, Tiffany, and Mundi. A significant narrative thread involves Ben discovering Katherine Raddic, a sister he had never known existed, who becomes part of the group's adventures. The cast brings these characters to life with Joshua Marshall-Clarke in the lead role of Ben, Gillian Alexy as Katherine, and a supporting ensemble that includes Caroline Brazier, David Richardson, Francoise Sas, Kazimir Sas, Rebecca McCarthy, Genevieve McCarthy, Lauren Williams, Luke Hewitt, Paris Abbott, Igor Sas, and David Ngoombujarra. Guest appearances add further depth, with Faith Clayton and Kristian Barron contributing to the broader cast.

The Parallel Worlds

One of Parallax's most distinctive features is its richly detailed multiverse, where each parallel world is given its own color, culture, and set of rules. Ben's World, the red world where the story begins, functions as the series' normal baseline. Katherine's World is a blue, highly formal and law-governed society where Ben discovers his biological father and his unknown sister. Francis' Hippie World, rendered in yellow, is a laid-back community of literal hippies, with its only known portal hidden inside an old Volkswagen Type 2 Kombi van. Una's Techno World, the silver world, is a hyper-advanced society whose town motto reads Tomorrow's technology, at yesterday's prices. Mundi's Forest World, the green world, is an eco-conscious society whose settlement is built on towers above the forest floor to minimize environmental impact, though it is plagued by creatures called Krellicks. Additional worlds include the lifeless orange Desert World, the eerily perfect pink Garden World, and the brown Bush World. Travel between these realms is governed by specific portals and combinations pressed onto the Parallax symbol.

Lore & Key Objects

The internal mythology of Parallax is built around several crucial artifacts and locations. The Stave, a baton-like device carried by most Guardians, serves multiple purposes: it functions as an inter-world communication tool, a radio, a device for manipulating electronics, and, most critically, a weapon capable of firing lasers that kill the antagonistic creatures known as Welkin and Krellicks. The Orb, a smooth white sphere, exists in every world and acts as both a key to the Reading Room and a defensive shield against those creatures. The Reading Room itself is the central repository of all knowledge within the Parallax, holding records of every world's history and serving as the hub for inter-world transportation, though it cannot alter events such as weather or elections. When a standard Stave is brought to the Reading Room, it transforms into a Golden Stave, gaining the power to control the Wheel of Knowledge and manipulate certain times and events. Other notable elements include Purple Water, a substance used by the antagonist Betti to blandish individuals who fall outside a world's personality average, and the Francis Cam, a cross-world communication network linking four realms.

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