January 12, 2001 – The Disney Channel Original Movie Zenon: The Zequel Premieres
“However, Zenon is also 15-years-old, and everything in her stellanarious life is about to change forever…”
On January 12, 2001, the Disney Channel Original Movie Zenon: The Zequel premiered. It was a sequel to the highly successful Disney Channel Original Movie Zenon: Girl of the 21st Century, both of which were based on the book by Marilyn Sadler and Roger Bollen. This film was written by Stu Kreiger and directed by Manny Coto. It starred Kristen Storms as Zenon Kar, Shadia Simmons as Nebula, Lauren Maltby as Margie, Philip Rhys as Proto Zoa, and Stuart Pankin as Commander Plank.
Zenon is walking along the corridor of the space station with her friend Nebula, still able to cash in on her status as a hero and enter restricted zones. Zenon thinks she’s discovered a new game, but doesn’t realize that she’s actually managed to destroy the office of Commander Plank by opening and closing the emergency airlock doors, sending everything out into space. Plank manages to see the remnants of his office float past the space station doors, landing Zenon in a world of trouble. Things get worse when Zenon’s boyfriend Greg dumps her, and she believes that her old enemy Margie had something to do with it. Zenon is called to Plank’s new office, and punishes her by making her work in the Alien Patrol Lab. Lab Worker Orion has been working there for five years, and had no signals from aliens the entire time. Zenon doesn’t want to work with Orion, as she finds the task pointless, but Plank gives her no other option.
Zenon is startled her first night in the lab, thinking an alarm clock noise was contact from aliens
Zenon begins her first night in the lab, bored out of her mind, when the alarms go off. She panics, thinking she’s found an alien signal, only to find that the sound was an alarm clock to wake her up. She heads home and vents to her mom about the downturn in her life, which gets worse when her favorite singer Proto Zoa hasn’t been since the concert at the space station. The entire space station is soon called to an emergency meeting, with everyone finding out that the US Military will now take over the station. Everyone panics, as they think this means the end of the space station. Zenon is soon called to meet General Hammond, who is leading the space station project, and is tasked to take care of his daughter: Zenon’s enemy, Margie. Margie threatens Zenon that, should Zenon not bend to every whim of Margie’s, she’ll ask her father to throw Zenon and her family off the station and back to Earth. Zenon plays along at first, but then decides to get even after she’s had enough.
Zenon continues her work in the lab, when one night she observes some signals spiking the meter. She calls Commander Plank, but everyone thinks that she has just heard a satellite from another country. Zenon gets more dejected when she finds her friends hanging out with Margie while Zenon has to work in the lab. Back in the lab, she sees another spike, bigger than the one before. She calls Commander Plank again, and General Hammond shows up with him. Not only does Hammond not believe Zenon, but he thinks that the lab should be considered for deactivation. Zenon’s world seems to be crashing around her, with everyone mocking her and losing her best friend to Margie. Later, she gets a message on her phone about the spikes, and realizes that the sound she’s been hearing is reminiscent of the famous Proto Zoa song “Supernova Girl.” After talking it over with Orion, both realize that the aliens want to meet the missing rocker. While trying to solve this mystery, Zenon finds out that Nebula and her family are about to be sent back to Earth. Zenon ups her plan to save the station so she can save her best friend. As the two set up their plan, Margie is seen spying on them.
Nebula and her family say their goodbyes, although Zenon is suspiciously nowhere in sight
The next morning, Nebula and her family are saying their goodbyes, while Zenon is off setting their plan into action: stowing away and heading to Earth. Zenon breaks out of her crate, only to find Margie there waiting for her. Zenon is furious that Margie followed her, but nevertheless they continue to Zenon’s aunt’s house. While there, they come up with a game plan to find Proto Zoa and bring him back to the space station, after using his lyrics to track down his location. Proto Zoa has been in recluse mode since the space station concert, as he believes that he’s reached the peak of his career and can’t go any further. Back at the space station, Margie has left a message for her father saying that Zenon kidnapped her, and the General is furious enough to go confront Zenon’s parents. Zenon’s aunt calls, revealing the truth. Margie and Zenon finally find Proto Zoa’s house, and they explain to him what they’d heard. He doesn’t want to go as he thinks that there’s no challenge in heading back to space, but is convinced when she tells him he will be the first singer to perform before aliens. Zenon checks the message she received from the aliens again, and finds that they had sent her a map as well, which she quickly sends to Orion. Things hit a snag when Zenon finds that Margie set her up to look like a kidnapper, but Zenon convinces Margie to call her father, tell him the truth, and send a shuttle to take all three back to the space station. When Margie calls, however, she ends up watching her father in a meeting, relaying the true intention of the military’s presence on the shuttle: destroy the entire space station and scrap the entire mission.
Aunt Judy relays all of the news back to Commander Plank, and finally convinces him to believe in Zenon’s story. Orion is able to decipher the map, and Plank convinces Hammond to let him pilot the shuttle that will be used to pick up the trio. Zenon and Margie finally have it out with each other, with Margie admitting that after moving around so much due to her father’s job, she doesn’t know how to fit in. Zenon chastises Margie, telling her to consider that other people have problems as well. Margie, Zenon, and Proto Zoa head to the rendezvous point at Carlson Beach, although they are warned to stay out of sight, as Hammond’s men are looking for them. Unfortunately, as Plank prepares to go, Hammond overhears his plans, and places him under full military arrest. Zenon is undeterred by this setback, and asks the only other person who can fly a shuttle to help: her mother, who ironically has a great fear of flying. After much deliberation, she agrees to fly, picking up Judy, Zenon, Nebula, Margie, and Proto Zoa, and heading to the spot on the map to meet the aliens.
The group waits at the rendezvous point, with Zenon confident that the aliens will show
The group arrives at the rendezvous point, but there are no aliens around. Zenon is a little worried, but has a strong feeling that they will find them. Unfortunately, they completely run out of fuel, as Orion forgot to fill the auxiliary tanks, leaving them floating around in space to get pulled in by the moon’s gravitational field to crash. As they speed towards the moon’s surface, Zenon spots something in the sky, and the aliens pull the ship out of danger to bring them back to the space station in exchange for their navigational information. One of the aliens materializes into the ship and greets Zenon. Zenon is able to understand them for some reason, and they thank her for her help in getting them home. Everyone on the space station is stunned by the view of the aliens, although Hammond is still bent on dismantling the space station. Fortunately for the space station residents, the aliens put the space station back together again and move it back into orbit, disrupting Hammond’s plans and reasons for tearing the station apart. The story ends with Proto Zoa giving another concert in space and dedicating his new song to her, Commander Plank marries Aunt Judy, and Zenon has a new best friend in Margie.
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