Mission: 2110

Mission 2110 is a UK sci-fi themed TV game show for children, starring Stuart Goldsmith and Lindsay Duncan. The first series aired on the CBBC Channel during summer 2010 with the second series beginning October 2010.

Background

Mission 2110 is a children's game show set 100 years in the future in the year 2110. The world has been taken over by the evil Roboidz who were built to aid humans. They have destroyed everything and Caleb is the only person left. He is part human and part machine and does not remember anything about before the robots took over, due to memory loss. Earth's last hope is to destroy and rid the world of the Roboidz. Children are brought into Future Gate where they undertake challenges in groups of four until only one is left under the watchful eye of Caleb. When four of the best recruits are assembled they tackle Future Gate in the final of the show. Each episode's opening titles are headed with a safety warning:

"Mission 2110 is set in the future and the adventures you are about to see are controlled by trained professionals. Please do not try any of the missions performed in the show at home."

At the end of every episode, apart from the last episode of each series, Neuros says that Caleb won't succeed.

Storyline

Caleb is the last human left and in order to save the planet and mankind he enlists the help of brave recruits from 100 years ago (2010). Caleb brings the recruits to Future Gate where they meet the roboidz and other similar creatures. They then undertake challenges while earning bio rods that fuel the roboidz. The recruits arrive in groups of four, two girls and two boys, and they are tested over three episodes. Four groups of recruits are tested until only the four elite recruits remain. During the series more of the background of Caleb and the Roboidz is revealed through Cybele. Caleb is keen to learn of his past but Cybele is reluctant to tell him. Caleb also gradually becomes used to being around children and starts to show that he is emotionally attached to them. Cybele regularly has to remind Caleb of his task and duty and to not let emotions get in the way.

Characters

• Caleb Lansing-Gant - Part human, part machine. He can remember nothing of his past before the Roboidz took over. He wants to know about his past, and that of the Roboidz.
• Cybele - Knows Caleb and about his past. Caleb's only ally apart from recruits. She was thought to be Neuros after hearing, at the end of series 2 episode 1, "My Unfortunate Hero". This theory however is debunked at the beginning of series 2 episode 3, when before signing off, she reveals she is Caleb's mother, but it is possible Neuros is his mother as she told Caleb that Cybele is the conscience and that Neuros is the brain of Laura Gant.
• Neuros - Main computer system controlling all the Roboidz (really a brain in a bio-rod-like container, hence her name), she was powered down in N-LAB, but was powered back up after the end of that series. She is seen in the credits at the end of each episode (except for the last episodes of series 1and 2 where she physically appeared as part of the final challenge "Neuros Web")
• Roboidz - The Roboidz are robots that were (as revealed in series 2, episode 4) originally created by Laura Gant (Cybele) to aid humanity. Now due to a revolt on Gamma FI4, they have destroyed the planet and got rid of any remaining humans. They were powered down in every place at the end of series 1, but reactivated by their leader, Arkon. They come in different classes, each a different colour and wielding different weaponry:
  Worker - Drone Class: They are yellow with black stripes and do all the menial jobs around Future Gate, armed with the strength of ten men and pincer claws which can destroy anything, particularly Caleb's recruits. Luckily for the recruits, they are the least intelligent of the Roboidz.
  Wardroid - Battle Class: They are red in colour and are the police force of Future Gate, armed with military training, a vector-beam rifle and boxing glove-like rip claws. Despite being the most dangerous of the Roboidz as Caleb describes them, they are pretty stupid.
  Guard - Commander Class: They are silver in colour and although they have no visual ability, they instead have the latest radar tech. They are also the most intelligent of the Roboidz and armed with multi-digit claws which are more powerful then steel and can be fatal to a recruit
  Arkon: Led all the Roboidz to earth after the Gamma FI4 revolt and seemingly died at the end of series 1, but was shown to be alive as he powered up all the Roboidz again (including himself and Neuros). Unlike the other Roboidz, he had blue eye lights, a blue colour scheme and the ability of speech.
  Shades - They used to be people before the Roboidz converted them into foul-smelling inhuman shades. They too were powered down everywhere.
• Recruits - Children who are brought onto Future Gate to battle the Roboidz. After each episode they are either transported home or vaporised somewhere the - remaining recruits don't know.

Caleb

Caleb (played by Stuart Goldsmith) is part man, part robot. He knows nothing about his past, but playing the game on the CBBC website reveals that he is the reanimated son of Laura Gant and Simion Lansing. He caught an unknown disease at the age of 17 and fell very ill. After his parents gave up on any hope of finding a cure, they cryogenically froze him. After waking up Caleb has no recollection of his previous life.

Cybele

She was Caleb's mother before 2110 and it was her fault for creating the Roboidz, thus ending mankind.

Day format

The episodes all have the same format. The same group of recruits are present for three episodes, duriong which they are gradually reduced to one. The same challenges are undertaken by all 16 recruits.

Day 1 - The four recruits are introduced. They then under take the challenge Shade Alley. Next they face Live Wire. Their third challenge is the Frozen Vault. The final challenge of day one is Overload which is the only challenge undertaken as pairs on day one.

Day 2 - The four recruits undertake harder challenges as they try to progress. In the last challenge of the day, The Vaporiser, one of the recruits is vaporised and therefore removed. The remaining three recruits continue to the next day.

Day 3 - The remaining three recruits now undertake even tougher challenges. Only one recruit can continue to the next stage of the quest. Numbers of bio rods are also re-set from the previous days totals to give everyone an equal chance of progressing to the next stage of the contest.

When the elite recruits have been found they undertake harder and different challenges in one day.

Future gate zones

Bridge- where Caleb lives.

Engine level 1- Shade alley-series 1. Cage area-series 2.

Engine level 2- Where live wire is played- series 1/2.

Engine level 3- The Shade converting frozen vaults- series 1. Heart of fuel storage- series 2.

Engine level 4- Futuregate recharging facility- series 1/2.

Engine level 5- Heart of fuel storage- series 1. Generator room- series 2.

Cargo hold 1- Where the refueller crystal- series 1. Roboid chemistry lab- series 2.

Cargo hold 2- Where face off is played- series 1. Where Shocker was invented- series 2.

Cargo hold 3- Where flame thrower is played- series 1/2.

Cargo hold 4- Location of combat training facility- series 1. Where Shade grid is played- series 2.

Cargo hold 5- Roboid chemistry lab- series 1. Location of combat training facility- series 2.

Cargo hold 6- Where Shocker was invented- series 1. Location of the Spike pit- series 2.

Upper deck sector 1- Caleb traps a Guard- series 1. Where malfunctioning Roboidz are caged- series 2.

Upper deck sector 2- Futuregate cloning facility- series 1/2.

V:LAB- Where the Vaporiser is played- series 1/2.

N:LAB- Another Vaporiser, where Neuros lives.

Challenges

Each challenge is classed as Logic (tests of tactics and brainpower), Stealth (Agility and Speed), Dexterity (Accuracy and Controlling) and Bravery (Courage and Confidence). The challenges are:

Engine level 1- series 1: Shade Alley (Bravery) 1st game series 1

Engine level 2- series 1/2: Live Wire (Dexterity and Bravery) 2nd game series 1 and 2

Engine level 3- series 1: Frozen Vaults (Stealth and Logic) 3rd game series 1

Engine level 4- series 1/2: Overload (Logic and Stealth) 4th game series 1 and 2

Engine level 5- series 1, Engine level 3- series 2: Crash Test (Dexterity) 5th game series 1, 3rd game series 2

Upper deck sector 1- series 1: Rebel Roboid (Bravery and Logic) 6th game series 1

Cargo hold 1- series 1: High Riser (Stealth) 7th game series 1

V LAB- series 1/2: The Vaporiser (Logic) 8th and 12th game series 1 and 2

Cargo hold 2- series 1: Face Off (Bravery) 9th game series 1

Cargo hold 3- series 1/2: Flame Thrower (Dexterity) 10th game series 1, 9th game series 2

Cargo hold 4- series 1, Cargo hold 5- series 2: Battlezone (Stealth) 11th game series 1 and 2

Cargo hold 5- series 1, Cargo hold 1- series 2: Scattergrab (Dexterity and Stealth) 1st game (Final 1), 6th game series 2

Cargo hold 6- series 1, Cargo hold 2- series 2: Shocker (Memory (Only game with an extra category, but can be Logic)) 2nd game (Final 1), 7th game series 2

Upper deck sector 2- series 1/2: Robo-vader (Dexterity) 3rd game (Final 1 and 2)

N LAB- series 1/2: Neuros web (Logic and Stealth) (Final 1 and 2)

Engine level 1- series 2: Chain Break (Logic) 1st game series 2

Engine level 5- series 2: Scavengers (Stealth and Bravery) 5th game series 2

Cargo hold 4- series 2: Shade Grid (Logic) 10th game series 2

Cargo hold 6- series 2: Spike Pit (Stealth and Bravery) 1st game (Final 2)

Upper deck sector 1- series 2 Rage Cage (Bravery and Logic) 1st game (Final 2)

Cast

Caleb - Stuart Goldsmith
Cybele/Neuros - Lindsay Duncan
Announcer (voice)/Arkon (voice)- Peter Dickson
Roboidz / Shades - Gareth Jones, Rich Garraghty and Noel Byrne

Recruits

Series 1

First group: Melanie, Max, Ayoife and Conor.

Eliminated: Max, Ayoife and Conor.

Second group: Hannah, Paice, Phoebe, Kelsey

Eliminated: Hannah(+), Phoebe, Kelsey and Michael(NR).

Third group: Kat, Dominique, Iolo, Prahbat.

Eliminated: Dominique, Iolo and Prahbat.

Fourth group: Lucy, Qais, Megan, Elliot.

Eliminated: Lucy, Megan and Elliot.

The four elite recruits were: Paice, Kat, Melanie and Qais.

Sent Back: Melanie and Qais.

Vaporised: Kat

Ultimate Recruit: Paice

In episode 6 Hannah sustained an injury during Face Off that day, She was replaced by Michael.

(+) - Injured (NR) - New Recruit

At the end of episode 13 Caleb faced Arkon and Caleb pushed him off the edge of the future gate ship he was standing on and he plummeted into water. However at the end of the credits, where we saw Neuros powered down, we saw a roboid's hand which linked to series 2

Series 2

First Group: Alistair, Charlie, Millie and Serena.

Vaporiser Round 1: Charlie, Millie and Alistair.

Vaporiser Round 2: Alistair, Millie and Serena.

Winner: Millie

Eliminated: Charlie, Alistair and Serena.

Second Group: Fern, Kieran, Callum and Lois

Vaporiser Round 1: Kieran, Callum and Lois.

Vaporiser Round 2: Fern, Callum and Kieran.

Eliminated: Lois, Fern and Kieran.

Winner: Callum

Third Group: Georgia Lavin, Isaac, Juliet and Theo.

Vaporiser Round 1: Georgia Lavin, Isaac and Theo.

Vaporiser Round 2: Georgia Lavin, Juliet and Theo.

Eliminated: Isaac, Georgia Lavin and Juliet.

Winner: Theo

Fourth Group: Poppy, Rhiann, Nick and Jodie.

Vaporiser Round 1: Poppy, Rhiann and Nick.

Vaporiser Round 2: Poppy, Rhiann and Jodie.

Eliminated: Nick, Poppy and Rhiann.

Winner: Jodie

Elite Recruit Group: Millie,Jodie, Callum and Theo.

Sent Back: Millie and Callum.

Vaporised: Theo

Ultimate Recruit: Jodie

In all episodes in Series 1 and Series 2 to date, Caleb has always drawn girls before the Vaporiser.

In Series 2 episode 5, for the first time, Kieran, Callum and Lois were all in the path of the roboidz while facing the Vaporiser, but with Lois having only three bio-rods compared with Kieran's 5 bio-rods and Callum's 6 Bio-rods she was vaporised.

At the end of Series 2 episode 13 Caleb faces Neuros for the first time, Neuros taunts Caleb and tells him he's a hybrid (human-machine). However Caleb retaliates by saying that's he's not listening thanks to his mother Cybele. Neuros however informs that she's the actual mother of Caleb since she's the brain of Laura Gant and Cybele is her consciousness. Then Caleb, refusing to believe this, takes Neuros off her stand and angrily smashes her on the floor of the powered down Vaporiser, presumably killing her once and for all. After the credits we then see the vaporiser powering up again which could mean that Neuros is still alive (as presumably is Cybele) and thus link to series 3.

Future

Series 3 was rumoured to be in production, but according to Stuart Goldsmith, "no more missions are planned at present".^[1]

Award nominations

In August 2010, the Mission 2110 camera crew (series 1&2) Pete Kelly, Allen McLaughlin, Hugh Creaney, plus Adrian Croome (Jib) and Adam Rogers (mini-cams) were nominated for a Royal Television Society award for multi-camera work. The winners were announced at a ceremony in London on November 24, 2010, but they had lost.

References

1. ^ "Twitter", [1]

• CBBC mission 2110 website - http://www.bbc.co.uk/cbbc/mission2110/
• A roboidz foldee is available from the CBBC website http://www.bbc.co.uk/cbbc/grab/foldeez/mission2110
• A blog informing you about the show http://blogs.coventrytelegraph.net/thegeekfiles/2010/04/doctor-who-team-launch-mission.html
• A review of the show - http://www.sfx.co.uk/2010/03/10/is-mission-2110-the-new-knightmare/