Noah and Saskia
Two teenagers, two continents, one life-changing internet connection.
Noah and Saskia is a 13-episode television drama series produced by the Australian Children's Television Foundation (ACTF) and the BBC. The series follows an Australian teenage girl, Saskia, and a British teenage boy, Noah, who develop an internet-based relationship, projecting idealized versions of themselves in a virtual world. Created by Patricia Edgar, who stepped down after 20 years as Founding Director of the ACTF after this series, the show explores how digital communication can profoundly affect young people's lives across vast distances.
Quick Facts
- Genre
- Teen's
- Creator
- Patricia Edgar / Chris Anastassiades / Paul Nichola
- Director
- Pino Amenta
- Starring
- Jack Blumenau / Hannah Greenwood / Cameron Nugent / Hayden Rathbone / Adrian Fergus Fuller / Emily Wheaton / Alex Yates / Maria Papas
- Country
- Australia / United Kingdom
- Language
- English
- Num Seasons
- 1
- Num Episodes
- 13
- Executive Producer
- Patricia Edgar (ABC) / Elaine Sperber (BBC)
- Producer
- Patricia Edgar
- Runtime
- 24 minutes
- Network
- ABC / CBBC
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
The series was initiated, developed, and produced by Patricia Edgar for the ACTF and the BBC. It commenced production in May 2003 and premiered in Australia on the ABC and in the United Kingdom on the BBC in 2004. The idea came to Patricia Edgar at the turn of the 20th century, when digital media was still in its infancy. She wanted to integrate the Kahootz software, developed with Paul Nichola for the ACTF, into the series to explore the potential of digital production. The series straddles three worlds: England, Australia, and cyberspace, as well as the fantasy space inside the characters' minds where their alter egos live. Episodes alternate between Australia and the United Kingdom, providing contrasts between the characters' day-to-day lives. The two main characters never met before or during production; all Australian footage was filmed before Jack Blumenau was cast as Noah.
Reader's Guide
Noah and Saskia is significant for its early and thoughtful integration of internet culture into children's television drama. By setting much of the action in online chat spaces, the series addressed the emerging digital realities of young audiences. The show used the ACTF's Kahootz software to create the Webweave chat environment, blending live action, animation, and visual effects to depict the introspective side of teenage life. Patricia Edgar described it as not a formulaic soap-style series but something that spoke directly to adolescents about issues on their minds. The series asked profound questions about identity and relationships in the digital age, such as 'Who do you want to be?' and 'How much do you want others to know about you?' Its legacy lies in its pioneering use of digital tools to tell a story about the power of human connection across continents.
Did You Know?
- Seven episodes were filmed in Australia and six in the United Kingdom.
- The series was co-produced by the BBC and pre-sold to the ABC in Australia, with the Foundation distributed the series worldwide [excluding the United Kingdom].
More in British children's fantasy television series 1-24
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