H2O: Just Add Water

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H₂O: Just Add Water is an Australian television programme for teenagers that is filmed on location at Sea World on the Gold Coast. It first screened on Network 10 in Australia and is currently screening on the Disney Channel and Nickelodeon UK. The show's premise revolves around three different teenage girls facing everyday teen problems with an added twist: they're mermaids with powers over water. The theme song "No Ordinary Girl" is performed by Ellie Henderson.

Template:Spoiler Emma, Cleo and Rikki are sixteen year old girls growing up on the sun-drenched beaches of the Gold Coast. Emma's confident and athletic, Cleo is slightly insecure and awkward while Rikki is the aloof and smart new girl.

Because of Rikki, the girls find themselves stranded at sea one day, floating towards the mysterious Mako Island. The three urban girls find themselves exploring the eerie jungle covered island before becoming trapped in an ancient cavern under a volcano. Discovering an underwater channel, they decide to swim to safety. As they enter the pool, the light from a full moon illuminates the water, creating a mysterious glow.

Emma, Cleo and Rikki get off the island as fast as they can and back to "normal" life. One by one, however, the girls discover life is never going to be normal again. Ten seconds after they touch water, they turn into mermaids. After further experimentation, they find they have additional powers over water: Emma can freeze water, Cleo can turn a drop of water into a bucketful and mould it into any shape, Rikki can boil water.

The girls enlist help in their friend Lewis who considers himself a scientist and he attempts to discover the secret behind their transformations.

Everyday situations turn tricky as the girls struggle to cope with these newfound power that have numerous advantages and disadvantages, all the while trying to keep them a secret from everyone else around them.

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Emma Gilbert (Claire Holt) is one of the show's main characters and possesses the ability to transform into a mermaid upon contact with water. She is a confident, competitive and driven individual, as evident in her dedication to regional swimming, from which, her powers later preclude her. Though she is often the most conscientous and considerate of the girls, at times she can be pedantic and controlling, once even suggesting that she considers chewing a prescibed number of times before swallowing is normal practice.

Cleo Sertori (Phoebe Tonkin) is a main characters and similarly gifted with the mermaid powers. She is initially afraid of swimming and her new powers, but, with the assistance of her friends, overcomes this hurdle and is able to embrace the changes she has undergone. In contrast to Emma, she is often awkward and insecure. However, though she does not always say things that are appropriate, she is well intentioned and empathetic.

Rikki Chadwick (Cariba Heine) is a main character and also possesses mermaid powers. She is a new girl in the neighbourhood and is considered 'different' and rebellious. She is often contemptuous of the social heirachy at the local high school she and the other girls attend, and frequently speaks her mind without euphemism. Rikki has a strong adventurous streak and is the first to fully embrace the possibilities of the girls' new powers.

Lewis McCartney (Angus McLaren) has been Cleo's friend since they were five. Being academically gifted, Lewis faces the average social difficulties of gifted children. He finds out the girls' secret after Cleo is thrown into the pool and he is the only one who can help her out. When Dr. Denman came to town, Lewis was tempted by her offer to work with her. When he found out she had lied to him, he declined her offer. When Cleo became a siren under the effect of the full moon, Lewis fell under her spell and the two even shared a kiss. It is obvious Lewis has feelings for Cleo, yet he does not reveal them to her until the end of series one. Eventully Cleo and him get together and stay together for the rest of the season.

Zane Bennett (Burgess Abernethy) is the local bad boy, and seems to think that he can get away with anything because his dad is rich. He appears to be arrogant, but has been seen to have a softer side. He desperatly wants to impress his father, who is just as arrogant. Zane is an excellent swimmer. He became trapped on a sinking boat, but was rescued by Emma. But, before passing out Zane saw Emma's tail and becomes determined to find the "sea monster". During the course of the series Zane and Rikki develop feelings towards each other and start a on and off relationship. They break up at the end of series one.

Miss Chatham (Christine Amor & Teri Haddy (young Miss Chatham)) is a mysterious old woman who Cleo meets while working at the Marine Park. She hints to Cleo that she knows the girls secret and warns them about the effects of the full moon. Later her boat is declared unseaworthy and Emma invites her to stay at her place. But Miss Chatham sneaks out at night and sails off with her boat. When she suffers a heart attack, Lewis takes her to the hospital. Before going to a resident, she reveals to the girls that she once was a mermaid too, but that "the burden became too great, so she had to give it up", hinting that there is a way to give up their powers.

Byron (Christopher Poree) is a swimmer and the love interest of Emma, although she often denies this, even against herself. While under the effects of the full moon, Emma tried to seduce Byron, which almost led to him finding out her secret.

Miriam (Annabelle Stevenson) is the girls rival. When she hosts her pool party Cleo does not want to miss it since if you miss one of Miriam's parties she will never invite you again. She is considered the local princess and is commonly found hanging out with Zane (though he denys that they were ever together).

Kim (Cleo Massey) is Cleo's little sister. She always finds her sister weird and when she finds Cleo's diary she tries to figure out whats going on. At one point she was certain the Emma, Cleo and Rikki were mermaids but they quickly came up with a plan to convice her Miriam is a mermaid instead. With the help of Elliot she always is keeping an eye on things.

Elliot (Trent Sullivan) is Emma's little brother. The two are very close and Emma makes many references to the fact that they have never had any secrets between them. At one point Elliot liked Rikki but after she rejected him he ran away. The trio soon found him and he was fine.

The majority of the series deals with the girls having to cope with their newfound abilities that more often that not complicate their regular teenaged-girl activities. A number of complications arise, most prominently as the girls have to hide their powers as the fear the consequences of being found out. Template:Spoiler

In Episode 5 Something Fishy, Cleo's sister, Kim, found Cleo's diary which contained all the details of her being a mermaid. This lead the suspicious Kim into believing that her sister was a monster of some sort. She plotted with Emma's brother Elliot into exposing Cleo on stage at Miss Sea Side Pageant that Cleo had entered. Eventually Kim's plan backfired and Cleo told her that the diary was an English assignment.

Although the girls try hard to keep their secret, there is the constant danger of being found out, especially as the girls transform if they touch the slightest drops of water. At one point when Zane is trapped on Miss Chatham's sinking boat, Emma is forced to slam her tail against the door to rescue him. Zane manages to see a tail through the open door, and from this point on he becomes obsessed with finding the "sea monster".

The full moon is revealed also has a strange effects on the girls, which is explored in various episodes. The effect only lasts as long as the full moon is in the sky.

Emma was the first to fall under the effects of the full moon, which turned her into a wild carefree mermaid, the exact opposite of her normally organized self. In this state, she freely told everyone exactly what she thought of them, regardless of whether it would offend them or not.

By the next full moon, the girls were better prepared but Cleo accidentally fell under the moon's effect. She did not turn into a mermaid, but instead attained a beautiful singing voice which caused all the young men who heard it to fall in love with her.

Rikki is the third to experience the full moon effect, which caused her powers to overload and heat up the air. They discover that her powers are the most volatile and need to be controlled. Template:Endspoiler

Currently in production. Filming began October 9, 2006.

When the three female stars of the show, Cariba Heine, Claire Holt, and Phoebe Tonkin are in their mermaid tails, they are difficult to lift and weigh from 12 to 15 kilograms extra. The costumes took six months to build, with the tails made from body casts and comprising individually hand-crafted scales. Once in costume, the girls are lifted into the water. On-screen, the zip on the mermaid suit is clearly visible from the back.

• Nick UK - H20
• H2O: Just Add Water - Official website
• TV.Com - TV.Com Summary
• ZDF Enterprises - H2O: Just Add Water - Promotional website
• Australian Television Information Archive
• H2O: Just Add Water at IMDb