Halfway Across the Galaxy and Turn Left

Infobox Book |
name = Halfway Across the Galaxy and Turn Left
title_orig =
translator =


image_caption =
author = Robin Klein
illustrator =
cover_artist =
country = AUS
language = English
series =
genre = Science fiction novel
publisher = Viking Kestrel
release_date = 1985
media_type = Print (Hardback & Paperback)
pages = 144 pp (first edition, hardback)
isbn = ISBN 0-670-80636-6 (first edition, hardback)
preceded_by =
followed_by = Turn Right For Zyrgon

"Halfway Across the Galaxy and Turn Left" is a 1985 novel by Australian children's author Robin Klein. Its story focuses on an alien family who seek refuge on Earth, in the small town of Bellwood.

Klein also wrote a sequel novel called "Turn Right for Zyrgon".

Plot summary

The novel tells the tale of the planet Zyrgon, ruled by the galactic police called The Law-Enforcers. They are after Mortimer, who has rigged the government lottery for the 27th time in a row. His family is governed by the youngest daughter, 12-year old X, who wants to save her father from the detention centre.

The family also includes Mother, who would rather design clothing and leave all worries to her daughter X. The oldest sister Dovis is a cosmic flier who writes poetry and levitates. The youngest is a boy genius, Qwrk who is a professor at age 5.

X is the lead character: a stressed girl who has to balance between strange Earth customs such as school and her duty to take care of her family.

Zyrgonians have special powers such as levitations and kinetics. They love gambling and live on an ultra-modern and dystopian planetoid.

Major themes

The novel's theme is children who are forced to grow up too soon and to take responsibilities that are too much for their age. In the novel, X can't handle the stress and gets very ill. But she is cured in the end when she finally finds her place on the new planet.

The series

infobox television
show_name = Halfway Across the Galaxy and Turn Left


format = Sci-fi/Aliens
runtime = 24 minutes
creator = Robin Klein
starring = Lauren Hewett
Jeffrey Walker
Jan Friedl
Bruce Myles
Silvia Seidel
country = AUS
network = Seven Network
first_aired = 1992
last_aired = 1992
num_episodes = 28
imdb_id = 0108792
tv_com_id = 3371
The story was made into a television series in 1991-1992. It was very popular in Australia and aired on CITV in The UK and also in other parts of Europe and there are many fansites. The series is currently (September 2008) not available on DVD, though in the early 1990s several episodes were released on VHS in the UK. These can often be found for sale on eBay.

The TV-show had 28 episodes, split into 2 story arcs. The first story arc stayed close to the novel, the second arc had new stories written, some of which would end up incorporated into the sequel novel, "Turn Right for Zyrgon".

The entire series was filmed in Melbourne, Australia. 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 located in Surrey Hills. The props for the space raft and other sets were kept in the Crawford Productions lot for a couple of years following production, however, they were eventually dismantled and destroyed.

Cast

*Lauren Hewett (", Ocean Girl, The Miraculous Mellops season 2, Echo of Thunder") as X
*Kellie Smythe as Jenny
*Che Broadbent ("The Flying Doctors") as Colin
*Bruce Myles ("Peter Pan, A Cry in the Dark") as Father
*Jan Friedl ("Amy, Round the Twist season 2, Worst Best Friends") as Mother
*Silvia Seidel ("Anna, The Neverending Story") as Dovis
*Jeffrey Walker ("Ocean Girl, Round the Twist season 2, The Wayne Manifesto, Mirror Mirror, Thunderstone, Blue Heelers") as Qwrk
*Bruce Spence ("Star Wars Episode III, Stork, The Matrix Revolutions, The Lord of the Rings, Dark City, Ace Ventura 2, and Mad Max 3 - Beyond Thunderdome, Farscape, Aquamarine, Peter Pan") as The Chief
*Kerry Armstrong ("Lantana, SeaChange, One Perfect Day") as Officer Jady
*Paul Kelman ("The Flying Doctors") as Lox
*Diane Cilento ("Dial M for Murder, The Wicker Man") as Principa/Authoritax

External links

* [http://www.crawfords.com.au/libary/childrens/halfway.shtml Crawfords' Official Page]