UBOS

UBOS (which stands for Ultimate Book of Spells) is a children's animated television series which began production in 2001.

The series aired on Toon Disney in the United States and on CBBC and Pop (TV channel) in the UK, but ran for only 26 episodes.

Overview/Storyline

Cassy, Vern & Gus are three gifted students who go to an enchanted school where they learn about magic and how to use it. One day they receive a strange talking book in the mail. The book says his name is UBOS (Ultimate Book of Spells) and together they must journey to the center of the Earth to stop Zarlak. Zarlak is a powerful wizard who is stealing all of Earth's magic so he can ultimately escape his prison, at the center of the earth, where he has been banished for many years. This begins a journey of a lifetime for the three students - one they will never forget. They have to juggle school life and fighting the forces of evil wiht only each other and UBOS for help. UBOS is actually Cathy's great-grandfather in disguise, as proven by several episodes, for example, after witnessing the ledgendary battle, UBOS says to Cathy, "Come, my child." just like her great-grandfather. In another episode, UBOS said that Cassandra the first helped "m(e) -- I mean, your great-grandfather" to Cathy and finally admitting it to Vern whilst not being himself.

Episodes

*01) Three Is a Charm
*02) Man or Mortie
*03) He Who Laughs Last
*04) Rootopia of All Evil
*05) Time and Again
*06) Fire with Fire
*07) The New Librarian
*08) Shadow Land
*09) Once in a Blue Moon
*10) The Bind That Ties
*11) Coat of Arms
*12) Out of Shape
*13) The Rift
*14) What a Cut-Up!
*15) Multiple Mayhem
*16) The Tear of Moolana
*17) Magical Logical
*18) Veil of Illusion
*19) Dark Image
*20) Sleeping Beauty School
*21) Eclipsed
*22) Big Girls Don't Cry
*23) Lucky Gus
*24) Magic Quest
*25) The Lure
*26) Solo Sorceress

UBOS and Harry Potter

Many similarities have been noted between UBOS and the successful Harry Potter series of books and movies.

*A young boy discovers he has magical powers and learns to use them at a school for wizards.

*The main characters (three friends - two male, one female), and their quest (to defeat a dark wizard - in the case of Harry Potter, Lord Voldemort, or in the case of UBOS, Zarlak)

*The three main characters feature a witch, a half-elf wizard and a mortie (mortal). In comparison to the Harry Potter universe, these characters have a very close relation to Harry, Ron and Hermione: Verne discovers his powers and learns to use them in a magical school like Harry Potter, but is born a mortie (mortal) like Hermione Granger is a muggle-born. Cassy is a witch like Hermione, but comes from a pure family line of witches like Ron Weasley comes from a pure line of wizards. And finally, Gus who is born half-wizard, half-elf, like how Harry is born half-wizard and half-muggle.

*The storyline details (the UBOS talking book, for example, can be compared to Tom Riddle's diary in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets).

*In this series, Ms Crystalgazer is the principal of the school who can transform into a cat, like the Gryffindor teacher, Professor McGonagall, could.

*One difference is that in Harry potter the creatures aren't all equal, Elves are citizens in UBOS but they are slaves in Harry Potter.

*Another difference is the wands, Gus and Cassy's wands are more the traditional style wands which magicians use, Verne's is a pull-out wand. While all wands used in Harry Potter are wood.

See also

*CBBC
*List of BBC children's television programmes
*BBC

External links

* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3NPd7JJdQQg UBOS Theme tune on YouTube]
* [http://www.tv.com/the-ultimate-book-of-spells/show/6971/summary.html Entry on TV.com]