Empedocles Watches Wet Television Quiz

Answer: H2O: Just Add Water

In "H2O: Just Add Water" three ordinary teenage girls discover that they become mermaids when swimming in a pool. This Australian TV series for (teenaged) children had a spin-off ("Mako Mermaids", 2013-2016) with a similar plot but different characters played by other actors and actresses.
Cariba Heine was born in Johannesburg in 1987 and started as a dancer. "H2O: Just Add Water" was her first main role in acting. Phoebe Tonkin (born 1989) and Claire Holt (born 1988) both started their career in "H2O: Just Add Water".

Answer: Water Rats

"Water Rats" (1996-2001) was an Australian detective series set in and around the harbour of Sydney. Partridge (Senior Constable Gavin Sykes), Bensley (Chief Inspector Jeff Hawker) and Scanlan (Senior Sergeant Helen Blakemore) appeared in all the 177 episodes.
Partridge (born 1965) started his career in the soap series "Sons and Daughters" in 1985. Bensley (born 1954) starred in several Australian TV series, including "Home and Away" (1988-1990) and "Neighbours" (1986 and 2009). Scanlan (born 1956) also appeared on "MDA" (2002).

Answer: Blood and Water

In the Canadian TV series "Blood and Water" (2015-2018), detective Josephine Bradley (role by Steph Song) is assigned to investigate the murder of Charles Xie. The dialogues switch rapidly between English and Mandarin Chinese.
Song (born in Malaysia in 1984) grew up in Canada and Australia and started her career in Singapore. You may have seen her in the TV series "JPod" (2008) and the movie "Rogue Assassin" (2007).
Luk also appeared on "Smallville" in 2005 and "Stargate: Universe" in 2010.
Hsu played in "Kung Fu: The Legend Continues" between 1993 and 1996. He is best known for his movie roles in "eXistenZ" (1999) and "Blindness" (2008).

Answer: Les rivieres pourpres

"Les rivières pourpres" (2018-2019, "The Scarlet Rivers") is a detective series with a twist for the unexplained: ritual murders, medieval curses, deadly sects... Olivier Marchal stars as the senior detective Pierre Niemans, and Erika Sainte plays his assistant Camille Delaunay, who once was his best pupil.
This French series gained mixed reviews, mostly because the interaction between the French special police unit and the German local police (as some of the incidents happened in Germany) borders on the surreal. It is neither conform the procedural rules, neither a realistic portraying of the mishaps that often occur in transnational police inquiries.
Marchal (born 1958) was once a police officer, but turned to acting in 1988. He is best known for the TV series "Commissaire Moulin" (1993-2001). Sainte (born 1981) is better known for her movie work, including "Elle ne pleure pas, elle chante" (2011, "She Is Not Crying, She's Singing").

Answer: Snowy River: The McGregor Saga

This Australian TV-series ran from 1993 to 1996. "The McGregor Saga" is of course about the family McGregor: Matt, a widower (played by Andrew Clarke), his sons Colin (Brett Climo) and Rob (Guy Pearce), and his daughter Danni (Kristie Raymond). The family lives in a small mountainous town near Melbourne at the end of the Nineteenth Century.
Andrew Clarke (born 1954) acted in many Australian TV series, including "Sons and Daughters" (1983-1984) and "The Adventures of Skippy" (1992-1993).
Climo (born 1964) debuted in "Sons and Daughters" in 1983. He also played in "The Flying Doctors" (1987-1991) and "Blue Heelers" (1997-1998).
Pearce (born 1967) started his career in "Neighbours" (1986-1989) and "Home and Away" (1991-1992). He is better known for his movie work such as "Memento" (2000) and "L.A. Confidential" (1997).

Answer: Three Rivers

"Three Rivers" (2009-2010) is an American TV series named after the setting, a hospital specialized in various organ transplants. Alex O'Loughlin played the head of the transplant team, Dr. Andy Yablonsky. Dr. Miranda Foster (played by Katherine Moennig) was the successor to her father in the hospital staff, and Dr. David Lee (role by Daniel Henney) was always in for a flirt. O'Loughlin (born 1976) also starred in the 2010-2019 remake of "Hawaii Five-O". Moennig (born 1976) had an important role in "The L-Word" (2004-2009). Daniel Henney (born 1979) is best known for his movies such as "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" (2009) and "The Last Stand " (2013).

Answer: Sea Patrol

"Sea Patrol" (2007-2011) told the interventions of an Australian patrol boat, as the crew deals with smugglers, poachers and other threats.
Batchelor (born 1969) played Chief Petty Officer Andy Thorpe in "Sea Patrol". He also played a part in "Home and Away" in 2012-2013.
Holmes (born 1976) played Chief Petty Officer Chris Blake in "Sea Patrol". Later he played in episodes of "CSI" (2013), "Bones" (2015) and "NCIS" (2016).
Lisa McCune (born 1971) played Lieutenant Kate McGregor on "Sea Patrol". She also was one of the main actors in "Blue Heelers" (1994-2004).

Answer: Doctor at Sea

The British comedy series "Doctor at Sea" (1974) starred Robin Nedwell as Dr. Duncan Waring and Geoffrey Davies as Dr. Dick Stuart-Clarke. It is the fourth "Doctor" series with (mostly) the same actors and characters. After being an aspiring doctor in "Doctor in the House" (1969-70) and a starting surgeon in "Doctor at Large" (1971), the character Dick Stuart-Clark finally settled in St. Swithin's Hospital in "Doctor in Charge" (1972-1973).

But after a number of mishaps, Dick Stuart-Clark is fired.

He and his colleague Duncan Waring then apply for a job on a cruise ship. To their great surprise the ship's captain Norman Loftus (played by Ernest Clark) is none other than the twin brother of Professor Geoffrey Loftus, who in the previous TV series has made life quite miserable for Doctors Waring and Stuart-Clark. Needless to say that Ernest Clark also played Professor Geoffrey Loftus in the preceding series.

Answer: Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea

In the American TV series "Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea" (1964-1968), the main actors play the crew of the Seaview - the first private-owned nuclear submarine. In various episodes, they explore the oceans' bottoms and are confronted with all kinds of monsters.
In "Voyage", Basehart (1914-1984) played Admiral Harriman Nelson, the designer and owner of the Seaview. He would later also star in "Knight Rider" (1982-1986).
David Hedison (1927-2019) played Captain Lee B. Crane, the Seaview's captain in "Voyage". Hedison also played in two Bond movies.
Robert Dowdell (1932-2018) played Lieutenant Commander Chip Morton in "Voyage". He also appeared in the rodeo TV series "Stoney Burke" (1962-1963).

Answer: Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp

"Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp" was a comedy series about life at and around a summer camp. The plot, though, is not based on reality: the characters get into a number of quirky situations.
The Netflix series expanded on the movie "Wet Hot American Summer" (2001) and was followed by a sequel ("Wet Hot American Summer: Ten Years Later", 2017). Moreau (born 1977), Orth (born 1970), Rudd (born 1969) and Showalter (born 1970) all reprised their movie roles in both TV series.