H2O: Just Add Water


H2O: Just Add Water, also known as H2O, is an Australian dramatic fantasy television series for children and teenagers created by Jonathan M. Shiff. It first screened on Australia's Network Ten and runs in syndication on channels in over 120 countries and has a worldwide audience of more than 250 million. It was filmed on location at Sea World and other locations on the Gold Coast. The show revolves around three teenage girls facing everyday teen problems with an added twist: they're mermaids with powers over water.
Only two series with a total of 52 episodes were originally planned, but due to popular demand, a third series was filmed. Series one premiered in July 2006, followed by series two in September 2007. Series three first aired in the United Kingdom in October 2009, with the Australian premiere occurring in May 2010.

Plot

Rikki Chadwick, Emma Gilbert, and Cleo Sertori are three teenage Australian girls who find themselves stranded on the mysterious Mako Island, where they end up in a pool under a dormant volcano just as a full moon passes above them, bathing the pool in light. The girls are rescued and brought back to shore, where they return to their normal lives, until discovering their lives have become anything but normal. The girls find out that ten seconds after coming into contact with water they transform into mermaids. After further experimentation, the girls also discover they have supernatural powers over water. The trio enlist the help of Cleo's friend Lewis McCartney to help them keep their secret.
Everyday situations, such as bathing and dealing with rainy weather, become tricky as the girls struggle with their newfound abilities, which come with many advantages and disadvantages, while also trying to keep them a secret from everyone else, including their families. They soon adapt to their new abilities and lifestyles.
Series two introduces Charlotte Watsford, a rival to Cleo, for dating Lewis shortly after Cleo had broken up with him. She gains mermaid powers and becomes the main antagonist of series two. She has all three of the mermaids' powers. In the end, Charlotte loses both her powers and Lewis.
Series three sees the departure of Emma, who has left to travel the world with her parents. A new character, Bella Hartley, is introduced and it is discovered that she has been a mermaid since the age of nine. Rikki and Cleo become friends with Bella, but are soon beset by a mysterious tentacle of water with a connection to Mako Island. A new boy, Will Benjamin, also arrives and becomes friends with the trio when he discovers that they are mermaids. The girls learn that Earth is in the path of a comet that could destroy the planet. Using their powers, they manage to stop the comet from colliding with Earth.

Cast

Main

Development and production

There are three different types of mermaid tails used on the show: custom-fitted tails that the girls swim in, a "floppy tail" used for stationary shots, and a "hard tail" for stunts. The custom costumes took six months to build, with the tails and tops made from body casts and comprising individually hand-crafted scales. The finished product weighs between. Inside the tail are leg straps where the girls are strapped up and then zipped up. Once in costume, the girls have to be lifted into the water. Attempts were made to minimise the on-screen visibility of the zips on the tails, such as adding extra scales and crafting a ridge of material around the length of the zip. The tail fin itself was designed with a foot pedal to assist the actresses with swimming. This, along with the fin, adds some to the length of the costume.

Multimedia

Home media

All series have been released on DVD in Region 4 PAL format. Series one comprises six individual DVD sets released between September 2007 and November 2008, and a complete series set released in June 2009. Series two comprises three individual sets released between February and September 2009, and a complete series set released in November 2009. Series three comprises two individual sets released in July and September 2012, with a complete series released in December 2012.
A three-disc set, H2O: Season 1, Volume 1, containing the first 13 episodes of series 1 for Region 1 NTSC format was released on 16 June 2009 by Nickelodeon as a manufacture-on-demand DVD-R release via Amazon.com through their CreateSpace service. No follow-up DVD volume releases were made from this initial set, which was later discontinued. A complete series DVD boxed set was released in Region 1 NTSC format on 6 November 2012 from New Video, and all three series were made available for purchase individually beginning on 5 March 2013.
TitleRelease dateEpisodes
H2O: Just Add Water:
Series One: Volume 1
12 September 20071."Metamorphosis", 2."Pool Party", 3."Catch of the Day", 4."Party Girls"
  • Special features: series one trailer, profiles of main characters
H2O: Just Add Water:Series One: Volume 212 September 20075."Something Fishy", 6."Young Love", 7."Moon Spell", 8."The Denman Affair"
  • Special features: photo gallery of series one
H2O: Just Add Water:Series One: Volume 35 March 20089."Dangerous Waters", 10."Sink or Swim", 11."The Camera Never Lies", 12."The Siren Effect"
  • Special features: character profiles of Emma, Cleo, Rikki, Lewis and Zane
H2O: Just Add Water:Series One: Volume 47 May 200813."Shipwrecked", 14."Surprise!", 15."The Big Chill", 16."Lovesick"
  • Special features: H2O quiz game
H2O: Just Add Water:Series One: Volume 59 July 200817."Under the Weather", 18."Bad Moon Rising", 19."Hurricane Angela", 20."Hook, Line and Sinker", 21."Red Herring"
H2O: Just Add Water:
Series One: Volume 6
5 November 200822."Fish Out of Water", 23."In Too Deep", 24."Love Potion #9", 25."Dr Danger", 26."A Twist in the Tail"
H2O: Just Add Water:
Complete Series One
2 June 2009All episodes of series one
  • Special features: H2O quiz game, character profiles of Emma, Cleo, Rikki, Lewis and Zane, photo gallery of series one, series one trailer, profiles of main characters
H2O: Just Add Water:Series 2: Volume 127 January 20091."Stormy Weather", 2."Control", 3."The One That Got Away", 4."Fire and Ice", 5."Hocus Pocus", 6."Pressure Cooker", 7."In Hot Water", 8."Wrong Side of the Tracks"
  • Special features: series one telemovie, series two trailer
H2O: Just Add Water:Series 2: Volume 22 June 20099."Riding For a Fall", 10."Missed the Boat", 11."In Over Our Heads", 12."Fish Fever", 13."Moonwalker", 14."Get Off My Tail", 15."Irresistible", 16."Double Trouble", 17."Moonstruck"
  • Special features: photo gallery of series two
H2O: Just Add Water:Series 2: Volume 32 September 200918."The Heat is On", 19."The Gracie Code ", 20."The Gracie Code ", 21."And Then There Were Four", 22."Bubble, Bubble, Toil and Trouble", 23."Reckless", 24."Three's Company", 25."Sea Change", 26."Unfathomable"
H2O: Just Add Water:Complete Series Two4 November 2009All episodes of series two
  • Special features: series one telemovie, series two trailer, photo gallery of series two, behind-the-scenes special
H2O: Just Add Water:Series 3: Volume 127 June 20121."The Awakening", 2."Jungle Hunt", 3."Keep Your Enemies Close", 4."Valentine's Day", 5."Big Ideas", 6."Secrets & Lies", 7."Happy Families", 8."Kidnapped", 9."The Sorcerer's Apprentice", 10."Revealed", 11."Just a Girl At Heart", 12."Crime & Punishment", 13."To Have & To Hold Back", 14."Mermaid Magic"
H2O: Just Add Water:
Series 3: Volume 2
5 September 201215."Power Play", 16."The Dark Side", 17."A Magnetic Attraction", 18."Into The Light", 19."Breakaway", 20."Queen For A Day", 21."The Jewel Thief", 22."Mako Masters", 23."Beach Party", 24."Too Close For Comfort", 25."A Date With Destiny", 26."Graduation"
  • Special features: behind the scenes special
H2O: Just Add Water:Complete Series Three3 December 2012All episodes of series three
  • Special features: behind the scenes special
H2O: Just Add Water:Complete Series3 December 2012All three series in one box
  • Special features: bonus features known from previous releases

Soundtracks

An official soundtrack for series two of the show, titled ' and recorded by singer Kate Alexa, was first released on 10 September 2007 in Australia on Liberation Records and has since been made available worldwide. Its lead track, "No Ordinary Girl", is the theme song for the show. "No Ordinary Girl" is performed by Ellie Henderson in series one, by Kate Alexa in series two and by Indiana Evans in series three.
A second soundtrack, featuring music from series three, was first released on iTunes on 17 February 2011 and later worldwide in March 2011. It is also titled
' and was recorded by actress Indiana Evans.

Books

Several children's books have been released by Nickelodeon UK:
  1. No Ordinary Girl – 2 February 2009
  2. Living with Secrets – 2 February 2009
  3. Fishy Business – 5 May 2009
  4. A Sleepover Tail – 6 July 2009
  5. Sequins for Sea Queens – 7 January 2010
  6. First Crush – 29 April 2010
  7. Moonspell – 5 August 2010
  8. Testing Times – 6 January 2011
  9. Hot Stuff – 9 June 2011
  10. In Too Deep – 4 August 2011
  11. Mermaid Emotions – 27 October 2011
  12. Siren Status – 2 February 2012

    Awards and nominations

Spin-offs

In July 2011, the production of a 26-episode spin-off was announced. The new series, ', follows the adventures of 15-year-old Zac and mermaids Sirena, Nixie, and Lyla. In the final series of the show, Cariba Heine makes a guest appearance as Rikki.
In May 2015, an animated spin-off targeted to children premiered on Netflix, titled
'.