person or book cover
Screen cap from opening titles
form y separately published work icon H2O : Just Add Water series - publisher   film/TV   fantasy   children's   young adult  
Issue Details: First known date: 2006-2010... 2006-2010 H2O : Just Add Water
The material on this page is available to AustLit subscribers. If you are a subscriber or are from a subscribing organisation, please log in to gain full access. To explore options for subscribing to this unique teaching, research, and publishing resource for Australian culture and storytelling, please contact us or find out more.

AbstractHistoryArchive Description

Three young girls accidentally stumble on a tidepool on a secret island; when bathed in moonlight, the tidepool transforms them into mermaids, with great powers over water--but also a tendency to sprout a tail whenever they come into contact with water.

The original three mermaids--Emma, Cleo, and Rikki--separate at the end of season two, when the actress playing Emma left the show. In season three, another character, Bella, is added: Bella had become a mermaid in an unrelated incident some years earlier.

The mermaids also face various antagonists, ranging from rivals (e.g., the antagonist for season two, Charlotte, who manages to obtain similar powers from the moon pool) to those who wish to exploit the mermaids for their own profit.

As with Jonathan M. Shiff's other productions, the program is aimed largely at young teen audiences.

Adaptations

form y separately published work icon H2O Abenteuer Meerjungfrau H2O : Mermaid Adventures Delphine Dubos , Eric-Paul Marais , Franck Soullard , ( dir. Tianxiao Zhang ) Germany : Les Cartooneurs Associés , 2015 9367491 2015 series - publisher film/TV children's fantasy

A German animated adaptation of the live-action television series H2O: Just Add Water.

Although based on the Australian series, H2O Abenteuer Meerjungfrau has its own style and plotlines, including a much stronger focus on underwater life and humorous sea creatures.

Notes

  • The program relied on three types of mermaid tails: 'floppy' tails (for stationary shots), 'hard' tails (for stunts), and custom-built and custom-fitted tails in which the actresses could swim (for water-based stunts and shots). The custom-built tails were designed around body casts and fitted with handmade scales, as well as being carefully designed to minimise the on-screen visibility of the zippers. Each tail also included a foot pedal, which aided the actresses in swimming.

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

Works about this Work

Beyond Bluey : Why Adults Love Re-watching Australian Kids’ TV from Their Childhoods Djoymi Baker , Jessica Balanzategui , Joanna McIntyre , Liam Burke , 2021 single work column
— Appears in: The Conversation , 16 November 2021;

'Due to the COVID-19 extended lockdowns this year, as well as greater accessibility on streaming services, many adults have been returning to their childhoods via nostalgic kids’ TV viewing.' (Introduction)

Save Our Screens : 3 Things Government Must Do Now to Keep Australian Content Alive Anna Potter , Amanda Lotz , 2020 single work column
— Appears in: The Conversation , 5 March 2020;

'Last week, free-to-air broadcaster Seven, embracing the spirit of a petulant teen, stomped its foot and announced it would no longer follow the rules regarding its Australian children’s content obligations. Nine has suggested it will soon follow suit. With the Australian government poised to release a local content policy options paper any day now, Seven’s belligerence looks like a preemptive strike.' (Introduction)

Styles of National and Global Integration : Charting Media Transformations in Australian Cities Tom O'Regan , 2012 single work criticism
— Appears in: Studies in Australasian Cinema , March vol. 5 no. 3 2012; (p. 223-238)
'Australian film and television production is concentrated in two principal cities, Sydney and Melbourne, and dispersed among the metropolitan centres of Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth and the next rung of cities and regions including the Gold Coast, Canberra, Hobart and Darwin among others. National and international integration is reshaping the relations among, the television programming taking place within, and the production capabilities and infrastructures of these cities. This article considers the national distribution of screen production capabilities and how media design interests in their coordination, development and control of production activity interact with location interests seeking to sustain production work across these cities.' (Editor's abstract)
Defining a National Brand : Australian Television Drama and the Global Television Market Tom O'Regan , Susan Ward , 2011 single work criticism
— Appears in: Journal of Australian Studies , March vol. 35 no. 1 2011; (p. 33-47)

'One option for television drama producers confronted by rising production standards and increasing costs is to become more international in orientation, leading to speculation that national and cultural boundaries may become less important at the higher end of drama series production. Television drama would then become the ‘decontextualised space for universal modes of storytelling’, with lifestyle and reality television formats the more likely vehicles for expressing ‘cultural specificity’. But national and cultural boundaries do matter. The particularities of national television cultures – local policy configurations, historical and cultural influences, technology uptake, the size and wealth of national economies – all impact on the ability of television producers to engage with the global trade in television fiction. This article examines the way in which this global trade internalises and works with national particularities through the sense of a national brand that locates Australian content within a certain value hierarchy. The following discusses three successful examples of internationalised television programming – McLeod's Daughters (2001–2009), Sea Patrol (2007–), and the children's series H2O: Just Add Water (2006–) – that have worked within international perceptions that differentiate Australian content according to perceived cultural sensibilities and national image.'

Source: Abstract.

Styles of National and Global Integration : Charting Media Transformations in Australian Cities Tom O'Regan , 2012 single work criticism
— Appears in: Studies in Australasian Cinema , March vol. 5 no. 3 2012; (p. 223-238)
'Australian film and television production is concentrated in two principal cities, Sydney and Melbourne, and dispersed among the metropolitan centres of Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth and the next rung of cities and regions including the Gold Coast, Canberra, Hobart and Darwin among others. National and international integration is reshaping the relations among, the television programming taking place within, and the production capabilities and infrastructures of these cities. This article considers the national distribution of screen production capabilities and how media design interests in their coordination, development and control of production activity interact with location interests seeking to sustain production work across these cities.' (Editor's abstract)
Save Our Screens : 3 Things Government Must Do Now to Keep Australian Content Alive Anna Potter , Amanda Lotz , 2020 single work column
— Appears in: The Conversation , 5 March 2020;

'Last week, free-to-air broadcaster Seven, embracing the spirit of a petulant teen, stomped its foot and announced it would no longer follow the rules regarding its Australian children’s content obligations. Nine has suggested it will soon follow suit. With the Australian government poised to release a local content policy options paper any day now, Seven’s belligerence looks like a preemptive strike.' (Introduction)

Defining a National Brand : Australian Television Drama and the Global Television Market Tom O'Regan , Susan Ward , 2011 single work criticism
— Appears in: Journal of Australian Studies , March vol. 35 no. 1 2011; (p. 33-47)

'One option for television drama producers confronted by rising production standards and increasing costs is to become more international in orientation, leading to speculation that national and cultural boundaries may become less important at the higher end of drama series production. Television drama would then become the ‘decontextualised space for universal modes of storytelling’, with lifestyle and reality television formats the more likely vehicles for expressing ‘cultural specificity’. But national and cultural boundaries do matter. The particularities of national television cultures – local policy configurations, historical and cultural influences, technology uptake, the size and wealth of national economies – all impact on the ability of television producers to engage with the global trade in television fiction. This article examines the way in which this global trade internalises and works with national particularities through the sense of a national brand that locates Australian content within a certain value hierarchy. The following discusses three successful examples of internationalised television programming – McLeod's Daughters (2001–2009), Sea Patrol (2007–), and the children's series H2O: Just Add Water (2006–) – that have worked within international perceptions that differentiate Australian content according to perceived cultural sensibilities and national image.'

Source: Abstract.

Beyond Bluey : Why Adults Love Re-watching Australian Kids’ TV from Their Childhoods Djoymi Baker , Jessica Balanzategui , Joanna McIntyre , Liam Burke , 2021 single work column
— Appears in: The Conversation , 16 November 2021;

'Due to the COVID-19 extended lockdowns this year, as well as greater accessibility on streaming services, many adults have been returning to their childhoods via nostalgic kids’ TV viewing.' (Introduction)

Last amended 17 Mar 2012 21:38:52
X