Five hundred years in the future, she’ll enter a world where machines rule the earth. Mankind has been driven under ground, and Cleopatra is about to discover, there’s no place like home.
That is the voiceover from the opening credits of Cleopatra 2525, and it gives a good basic idea of the story. What it doesn’t capture is the wackiness. For those of you unfamiliar, a little more detail is probably in order. When Bob posted about Arrested Development he compared it to 30 Rock. Thinking along those lines, if I have to describe Cleopatra 2525 to the uninitiated, I would say… It’s like Terminator and The Middleman had a daughter, and twenty five years later, she’s really frickin’ hot.
The Terminator bit is easy. Machines that were originally meant to do good (in this case, environmental control units), have taken over, and now mankind is in a battle for the planet. It’s not as serious as all that though. Like our friends down at Jolly Fats Weehawken, Cleopatra 2525 never takes itself too seriously. There are plenty of gags, and thanks to Cleopatra’s unique history, a host of off the wall movie and television references sprinkled throughout the series.
That history comes in the form of a breast augmentation surgery gone awry. In our time, Cleopatra was an actress/stripper. Something went wrong during the procedure and Cleopatra (Jennifer Sky) was frozen for 500 years. She’s awoken again when Hel (Gina Torres) brings Sarge (Victoria Pratt) in for a kidney transplant. I know, it’s crazy. Have a look at their first meeting.
The Dirty Harry bit is just the first in what quickly became a running gag, with Cleopatra quoting, often quite badly, various things she remembers from TV and movies and claiming them as her own. Star Trek, Star Wars, Close Encounters, 2001, Battlestar, Scanners, Aquaman, The Three Musketeers, The X-Files… it’s a long list. In fact, the entire seventh episode, “Run Cleo Run”, is an homage to the German film, Run Lola Run.
Hel and Sarge, it turns out, are part of the resistance, fighting the machines, known as Baileys. They can’t bring themselves to abandon Cleopatra, so they make her part of the team. It doesn’t get off to the best start, with Cleopatra asking to be frozen again, but she eventually becomes a full fledged member of the team. Rounding out the cast of regulars are Mauser (Patrick Kake) and Voice (Elizabeth Hawthorne). Mauser is the friendly neighbourhood robot scientist that assists the team from the home base. And Voice is, well, a voice, inside of Hel’s head. We don’t actually get to meet the woman behind the voice until the end of the series, but that doesn’t stop her from being a big part of the story.
Surprisingly, that story is much more complex and involved than you might expect at first glance. The show does spend a lot of time with tongue firmly in cheek, but they also managed to create a pretty entertaining mythology over the course of two seasons, complete with some great recurring characters. Most notable among those is Creegen (Joel Tobeck). He recurs throughout the series, eventually playing a major part in the finale, where we finally get some answers about the origins of the Baileys. Here’s his first appearance, which was chosen both for his menacing gaze, and because it’s the one that features Victoria Pratt in her underthings.
At the end of the day, I realize it’s not for everyone. It’s campy as hell, often bordering on cheesy. And the idea behind the Baileys easily outpaces the manifestation of them on the screen. But if you like your sci-fi served up with a smirk, by a pretty girl in a short skirt, it’s well worth a look. The fine folks down at Hulu have 22 episodes loaded up and ready to go if you are curious. Unfortunately, that’s not the entire series, but should you be drawn in by the adventures of Cleo and her pals, the rest are available on the DVD set, available at the following, super handy, Amazon link.
Clacked by Brett Love 
on Feb 11, 2009 @ 10:00 EST5EDT
OMG I was just thinking about this show the other day. I think in my local area they ran it with Briscoe County Jr/Xena/Hercules on Sundays. They just don’t make good action/fantasy shows anymore… :/
*POST AUTHOR*
ricky, are you possibly thinking of Jack Of All Trades? In most markets, Cleopatra 2525 and Jack Of All Trades (the ‘Back 2 Back Action’ hour) replaced Hercules when it ended, and were paired with Xena. They are from the same production company.
Oh right right! I knew it was a Bruce Campbell show at least! :D
I loved that show. I loved the heyday of programs created strictly for syndication. Sigh.
Ditto, Cleopatra 2525 absolutely rocked. However, although Jennifer Sky was great on Xena, I never warmed up to her in the Cleopatra role. She seemed there primarily for reaction shots & her on-screen fighting skills were underutilized. However, re-looking at Victoria Pratt’s abs always makes me feel guilty for having that extra slice of pizza/cake/pie. I loved Gina Torres as Hel. I guess that’s the only role where having a voice in your head doesn’t designate you as crazy and wish they’d bring her back in another sci fi lead. In fact, I wouldn’t mind seeing these women back together again -
*POST AUTHOR*
It’s funny that you mention the reaction shots. I was rewatching the DVDs before doing the post and there are just a ton of them. I also agree with you about her fighting skills, and, ya know, Victoria Pratt’s abs.
Oh ya! I just watched the entire Xena series (I have a terrible memory and don’t remember much of this stuff since I was a teenager when it all started) and I never realized that Jennifer Sky was on Xena. I think she was much cuter as a red head though. :D
Raimi’s production company is now doing “Legend of the Seeker”. It’s in the same vein as Xena, Hercules but a little less campy. The Australian accents continue to leak through on Seeker (the same way they would on Xena and Hercules).
I’m a big time sucker for syndicated camp shows like this.