Halfway Across the Galaxy and Turn Left
Novel and TV series about an alien family on Earth.
Halfway Across the Galaxy and Turn Left is a 1985 novel by Australian children's author Robin Klein. The story, which focuses on an alien family seeking refuge on Earth in the small town of Bellwood, was later adapted into a popular children's television series. The novel also has a sequel titled Turn Right at Zyrgon.
Quick Facts
- Author
- Robin Klein
- Cover artist
- Melissa Webb
- Country
- Australia
- Language
- English
- Genre
- Science fiction novel
- Publisher
- Viking Kestrel
- Released
- 1985
- Format
- Print (Hardback & Paperback)
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
The television series, made in 1992 but not broadcast until 1994–1995, was very popular in Australia and aired on CITV and TCC in the UK, as well as in other parts of Europe. It had 26 episodes split into two story arcs. The first arc stayed close to the novel; the second had new stories, some incorporated into the sequel novel. The series was filmed in Melbourne: Zyrgon and the family home interior were shot on the Crawford Productions sound-stage; the town of Bellwood was shot in Williamstown; the family home exterior is in Surrey Hills. The props were eventually dismantled and destroyed. The series was repeated in the UK between 2007 and 2008 on CITV. A 70-minute compilation movie of the first three episodes aired on WIN Television on Christmas Day. The series has been released in Germany on DVD as Quer Durch die Galaxie und dann Links, with only German language options.
Reader's Guide
Halfway Across the Galaxy and Turn Left is significant as a work of Australian children's literature that successfully crossed into television, reflecting themes of childhood stress and premature responsibility. The novel's protagonist, X, cannot handle the stress of her family's situation and becomes very ill, but is cured when she finds her place on Earth. This theme resonated with audiences and contributed to the series' popularity in Australia and the UK. The television adaptation expanded the story with new episodes, some of which influenced the sequel novel. The series' production details—filmed in Melbourne, using specific locations like Williamstown and Surrey Hills—highlight its Australian roots. Its limited home video release (VHS in the UK in the early 1990s, German DVD only) and eventual dismantling of props underscore its ephemeral nature, yet it remains a remembered piece of 1990s children's television.
The Story and Its World
Robin Klein's 1985 novel introduces readers to Zyrgon, an ultra-modern yet dystopian planetoid where its inhabitants possess extraordinary abilities including levitation, kinetic manipulation, and the creation of simulations. Gambling is woven into the culture, and the planet is policed by a force known as The Law-Enforcers. When Mortimer cheats the government lottery for the twenty-seventh consecutive time, his entire family is forced to flee to Earth, settling in the quiet town of Bellwood. The household is led not by a parent but by twelve-year-old X, the youngest daughter, who shoulders the impossible task of rescuing her father from a detention centre. Her mother prefers to design clothing and delegate all practical worries to X. The oldest sibling, Dovis, is a cosmic flier and poet who can levitate, while the youngest, Qwrk, is a boy genius already holding a professorship at age eight. X must navigate the bewildering customs of Earth—school, social norms—while simultaneously managing a family of beings whose very biology defies human logic.
Growing Up Too Fast: The Central Theme
At its heart, the novel is a story about children who are thrust into responsibilities far beyond their years. X, at just twelve, is expected to run a household, navigate an alien father's legal troubles, and adapt to an entirely foreign planet—all while attending school and dealing with the mundane pressures of childhood. Her mother, rather than sharing the burden, retreats into her fashion designs and hands the weight of the family's survival to her daughter. The stress eventually overwhelms X; she falls seriously ill, a direct consequence of carrying too much for too long. Her recovery comes only when she finally locates her own place within the new world, suggesting that healing requires not just endurance but a sense of belonging. Klein uses the fantastical setting of Zyrgon and its extraordinary family to explore a very human truth: that premature adulthood can be genuinely dangerous, and that a child's need to simply be a child is not a luxury but a necessity. The sci-fi framing makes the emotional core more accessible to young readers who might otherwise find the subject heavy.
The Television Adaptation
Klein's novel was adapted into a 28-episode television series, produced in 1992 but not broadcast until 1994–1995. The entire production was filmed in Melbourne, with the alien world of Zyrgon and the family's interior home constructed on the Crawford Productions sound-stage. The small town of Bellwood was captured on location in Williamstown, while the exterior of the family house was filmed in Surrey Hills. The series was split into two story arcs: the first tracked closely to the novel's plot, while the second introduced entirely new narratives, some of which were later woven into the sequel novel Turn Right for Zyrgon. The show found strong audiences in Australia and was also broadcast across Europe, including on CITV and The Children's Channel in the UK. Despite its popularity, the series has never been released on DVD in most territories, though a handful of episodes appeared on VHS in the UK during the early 1990s. The physical props—including the space raft and various set pieces—were stored at the Crawford Productions lot for a couple of years after filming before being dismantled and destroyed.
Legacy, Cast, and Availability
The television series featured a notable Australian cast, including Bruce Spence as The Chief, Diane Cilento as Principa/Authoritax, and Kerry Armstrong as Officer Jady, alongside Lauren Hewett in the lead role of X. The show's afterlife has been somewhat fragmented. In the UK, CITV repeated the series on its digital channel between 2007 and 2008, and a 70-minute compilation of the first three episodes was aired on WIN Television as part of Christmas Day programming. In Germany, the series received a DVD release under the title Quer Durch die Galaxie und dann Links, though the only audio track available is German. Back in Australia, the series remains largely unavailable on home video, making it a somewhat elusive property for new generations of viewers. The novel itself spawned a sequel, Turn Right for Zyrgon, which incorporated storylines first developed in the show's second arc. Together, the book and its screen adaptation form a compact but memorable piece of 1980s–90s Australian children's media, one that continues to find audiences through repeat broadcasts and word of mouth.
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