Cleopatra 2525

Lore & Background

The series is set five hundred years into the future, where machines rule the Earth and mankind has been driven underground. Cleo, a 20th-century exotic dancer, is put into suspended animation after complications during breast augmentation surgery. Her team leader, Hel, is commanded by a mysterious female entity called 'Voice', who relays orders via a communications implant under Hel's right ear. Voice controls many other teams and gives them their orders in a similar fashion, forming a resistance to the Baileys, with their ultimate goal to retake the Earth's surface. Their final team member is Sarge, whose sister belongs to a cult that regards the Baileys with reverence and willingly sacrifices themselves to them. Humanity has moved underground and built a complex of elaborate shafts and tunnels, created by the 'shaft builders' to survive the Bailey menace. Cleo wows the 26th-century denizens with her philosophical sayings, many of which come from 20th-century popular culture.

Reader's Guide

Don Houston of DVD Talk described the show as fun, with interesting elements and themes, and a kind of sly sense of camp so often missing in syndicated television shows. He said the DVD release gave good value for money, and that the show was, despite its limitations, 'a worthwhile bit of entertainment'.

Did You Know?

• The series aired as part of the Back2Back Action Hour, along with Jack of All Trades.
• The resistance fights against armed flying machines called the Baileys.

The Premise & World

The show's protagonist is Cleo, a twentieth-century exotic dancer who, after complications during a breast augmentation procedure, is placed into suspended animation and wakes in this hostile future. She quickly throws in her lot with a small resistance cell led by Hel, whose every move is dictated by a mysterious entity called the Voice, communicating through an implant beneath Hel's right ear. The Voice coordinates numerous such teams across the underground, all working toward the shared objective of reclaiming the surface. Rounding out the core trio is Sarge, whose own sister has joined a cult that worships the Baileys and willingly offers its members as sacrifices. Cleo's greatest weapon, however, turns out to be her twentieth-century pop-culture wisdom, which she deploys to baffle and charm her far-future allies.

The Ensemble Cast

The series assembled a large ensemble to bring its underground resistance to life. Jennifer Sky took on the lead role of Cleo, the displaced twentieth-century dancer whose anachronistic worldview becomes her greatest asset. Gina Torres played Helen, nicknamed Hel, the tactical team leader who receives her directives through the Voice implant. Victoria Pratt portrayed Rose, known as Sarge, the team member whose sister's devotion to the Bailey-worshipping cult creates a deeply personal conflict. Supporting the core trio were Patrick Kake as Mauser, Elizabeth Hawthorne lending her voice to the enigmatic Voice entity, and Danielle Cormack as Raina. The broader ensemble included Joel Tobeck as Creegan, Stacey Edgar as Lara, Stephen Lovatt as Schrager, Mark Ferguson as Confessor, Colin Moy as Quint, and Paolo Rotondo as Porter. Together, these performers populated the elaborate subterranean world and the various resistance cells that the Voice orchestrates in its long campaign to liberate the surface from Bailey domination.

Production, Distribution & the Signature Theme

Renaissance Pictures handled production, while Studios USA Television Distribution managed its placement on local stations. Many of the stations that picked it up aired it within a programming block called the Back2Back Action Hour, pairing it with the series Jack of All Trades to fill a shared action-oriented time slot.

Critical Reception & Home Video Legacy

Don Houston of DVD Talk offered a notably positive assessment, describing the series as genuinely fun and praising its interesting thematic elements. He highlighted what he called a sly sense of camp that he felt was all too often absent from syndicated television, suggesting the show possessed a self-aware charm that elevated it above the typical output of its distribution format. Houston also noted that the DVD release represented strong value for money and concluded that, despite its inherent limitations, the series remained a worthwhile bit of entertainment.