Tag Archives: Television

January 17, 2014 – The Disney Channel Original Movie Cloud 9 Premieres

“Now this is what I call fashionably late.”

On January 17, 2014, the Disney Channel Original Movie Cloud 9 premiered. It was written by Justin Ware, Don D. Scott, and Katie Wech, and directed by Paul Hoen. It starred Dove Cameron as Kayla, Luke Benward as Will, Mike C. Manning as Nick Swift, and Kiersey Clemmons as Skye Sailor.

The movie begins with Kayla Morgan, a spoiled teenager, arriving home to find a present from her father before remembering that she’s late to arrive at her snowboarding competition. Kayla is a snowboarding champion, and although she manages to score well, her prima donna behavior frustrates her teammates and her coach. Meanwhile, Will Cloud is working in his family’s kennel, wishing to put his snowboarding past behind him. He runs into Kayla and her boyfriend Nick on the slopes, with Kayla revealing that Will was a legend in the making, but had to leave it all behind after an accident. Will’s friends try to convince him to snowboard again, but he still refuses. That night, Kayla and Nick arrive at a special party for the team, and Nick’s father, Coach Swift, thinks that Nick’s best isn’t good enough. But the excitement still rises when Coach Swift reveals that the upcoming Fire & Ice competition will be broadcast on national television, but Kayla soon finds Nick being berated by his father.

Kayla and Nick head out after the party, with Nick admitting he wants to try the dangerous move, the “Cloud 9”

Later that night, Kayla and Nick talk more about the competition, with Nick wanting to do the “Cloud 9” – the move that cost Will his snowboarding career. They find Will’s sled behind the sign for the resort and decide to take it for a ride, which ends with Kayla crashing through the sign and destroying Will’s sled. Nick and the rest of the team abandon Kayla, leaving Kayla to take the blame. To pay for Will’s sled, her parents decide that Kayla’s punishment is to work at Will’s family kennel every day after school. Will isn’t happy about the arrangement, and tells Kayla that she’s not good at anything except shopping; furthermore, she’s decent but lazy on the slopes, and only made the Swift team because her father owns the resort. The next day, Kayla heads into the kennel, but argues with Will from the beginning. Things get worse for Kayla when Coach Swift kicks her off the team for her antics, even though the boys on the team were also guilty, and Nick tells her that she’s only a champion because the competition was fixed so her father would keep financing the team. Kayla is crushed, as she feels she’s a fake.

Kayla continues to work at the kennel, but runs into trouble every which way, especially as one of the dogs manages to free the others and they all escape. Kayla chases them to the nearby hangout, and finds her boyfriend with his friends. At her low point, he decides to dump her, as he says he needs to focus on her training. She arrives back with all the dogs and starts to cry about her misfortune, and is even more crushed when she is not fired from the kennel job. She confides in her friends that she really liked Nick, but Pia reassures Kayla that this can only mean that something incredible could come out of all of this. Inspired, Kayla strikes up a deal with Will: she’ll help fix up the kennel if he’ll train her for Fire & Ice. Will refuses, however, as the injury the other year nearly cost him his life. Kayla continues to badger him, although he doesn’t think she’s serious enough to compete. Kayla is even more determined to win when she finds that she’s already been replaced on her old team. Will finally decides to help her, and she joins his old team.

Kayla’s world collides with Will’s after she joins his old team

Kayla’s friends are surprised to hear of Kayla’s plans, but Kayla is ready to take on her old team and their new teammate, Skye Sailor. Kayla and Skye have a confrontation at the resort lodge, with Kayla challenging her. Kayla decides, with Will’s lecturing, that she needs to show Skye what she’s made of on the slopes, and starts practicing. Kayla gets better and better, much to Will’s surprise. Kayla also renovates the kennel, with Will and his mother loving the change. Will’s mom thanks Kayla for making Will happy again, as it was thought that he’d never be the same after his accident. Later, Will and Kayla get ice cream, with Will admitting that Kayla looks like a real threat. Kayla tries to convince Will to try boarding again and competing in Fire & Ice, and he promises that he’ll think about it. The next morning, Kayla overhears her father saying that there’s no way that Kayla can win against Team Swift, but that only makes Kayla want to win more, and asks Will to teach her the Cloud 9. Will refuses, and tells her that she doesn’t believe in herself enough. She then decides to head up to the top of the tallest peak so she can snowboard down and prove that she has no fear.

Kayla is nervous when she reaches the top of the peak, but keeps telling herself that nothing’s impossible. The helicopter films her performance, sending the feed live back to the resort, with everyone watching as she makes her way down. She does well for the first part, until an avalanche basically follows her down the peak, and she wipes out. Will hurriedly makes his way up the resort to save her with one of the dogs from the kennel, and manages to pull her out unharmed. She once again tries to convince Will to teach her the Cloud 9, and he reluctantly agrees. Will also agrees to get back on the board, and heads out on a practice run. Kayla gets slightly distracted when she finds her old boyfriend Nick dating Skye, but realizes that she may have feelings for Will. Will begins teaching her the Cloud 9, which is a move with three rotations in the air. Kayla tries again and again to get the move, but continues to fall. She continues to practice into the night, with Skye and Coach Swift watching. Skye tells Coach Swift that Kayla isn’t the pampered princess he made her out to be, but can actually ride.

Will is afraid of Kayla getting hurt, and decides to stop teaching her the Cloud 9

Will decides not to let Kayla practice the Cloud 9 anymore, as he’s afraid that she’ll get injured the way he did. The two finally share a kiss, and Kayla reassures him that she’s all in, and needs him to believe in her. She runs into Coach Swift on her way home, and he apologizes to her for kicking her off the team and asks her for another chance, inviting her back on the team before Fire & Ice. Although it looks like Kayla is rejoining Team Swift, she decides to stay with Team Hotdoggers. The Fire & Ice competition begins, and the teams are doing really well. Finally, it’s time for Kayla’s competition, and Kayla has an incredible first run, beating Skye Sailor. For the second run, Skye takes the lead, with Kayla needed a near perfect score to beat her. Before Kayla heads up, her father finds her to apologize for not believing in her. Coach Swift berates the scene between Kayla and her father, and Nick loses it, as he’s tired of his dad not giving him any praise, and tells her the truth: on Coach Swift’s orders, Nick steered the sled into the sign so there was a reason to kick Kayla off the team. This news makes Kayla all the more determined to win the competition with the Cloud 9. She heads out on her run, and nails the Cloud 9, achieving the perfect score necessary to win not only the women’s division, but the overall competition for her team.

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 21^st 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.