australian television information archive

The Dream Team

A coded message on the 'net becomes an irresistible puzzle for five kids—Mike, Pi, Bec, Marcello and Ram. Following the clues leads them all to a meeting with Alexandra Davis, head of software company Catalyst, and jobs testing video games after school! The job of their dreams brings unexpected surprises including the discovery of Virgil, a strange artificial intelligence loose on the 'net.

Identity Crisis

Testing Alex's new game "Trillin", the kids encounter Virgil, who is having an identity crisis. Surprised at their discovery, Alex is worried that Virgil might be a spy for rival company Sunijim. An offended Virgil gets the kids to help him prove that he is not a spy—but Virgil can't remember who he really is! The kids discover Virgil has actually grown from a program created by Alex!

Undercover

Alex's valuable necklace goes missing at Catalyst and everyone is a suspect. Pi particularly feels that she needs to prove her innocence although Virgil's idea of helping by downloading detective stories from the 'net is making things more difficult. When Marcello's little sister Sam is lost on the streets, the kids have two demanding cases on their hands.

Big Business

Marcello tries to make money selling Ram's new invention. Ram, realising Marcello is ripping him off, dissolves the partnership and then sells one of his amazing new game converters to a strange girl, Louise. Unfortunately Louise's TV blows up and she blames Ram. Will the other kids be able to save Ram before he becomes a meal for Louise's huge dog "Predator"?

It's Only Words

A computer virus invades Catalyst and it's a fight against the clock to save Alex's game "Trillin" and indeed, the whole of Catalyst. The kids are not at their best as there is friction between Mike and Bec. Bec believes he should have stood up for her when his friends made racist comments to her. No matter how much Mike apologises, the team is edgy.

Secrets and Lies

Bec is intrigued and delighted by a "'net romance" she is pursuing. The boys are skeptical and their worst fears are realised when they find out it's really Virgil writing love letters to Bec. Pi tries to think of a way to save Bec from the humiliation of finding out she is romancing an artificial intelligence! How can she do this when her own lies are getting her deeper in trouble herself?

Truth Hurts

Pi and Bec are asked by Alex to design a game to appeal to girls. The game, "Boyfriends" is about the trials and tribulations of teenage romance. The trouble is Bec and Pi have very different ideas about what it means to be a girl. The game is a mess and when Mike tries to use it to bring his separated parents closer, everyone realises they have got a lot to learn about emotions and life.

No News is Good News

The kids are alone at Catalyst and having a great time when Kimberley arrives. She is a news reporter, there to do a story on the testers. Mike is flattered but the other kids begin to suspect she's a spy. Pi finally succeeds in getting rid of Kimberley only to find her own mother has tracked her to Catalyst. Pi is unmasked. Now everybody knows she's really a rich kid with a famous father and not a street kid at all!

Birthday

Marcello's unemployed father is acting strangely and Marcello becomes convinced his father is going to kill himself. Meanwhile Bec has created her own game about gnomes. The kids, confused by Pi's depression, Bec's game and Marcello's weirdness, are unsure exactly who is really cracking up.

Leap of Faith

Leo Moore arrives at Catalyst with a game he has invented and Alex is very keen to put money into it. Mike smells a rat, and not just because Leo seems to be attracted to Pi. When Mike realises Leo's stolen the game, he combines with Pi to save Alex from embarrassment. This brings Mike and Pi closer together which surprises them both.

Heroes

Marcello feels rejected when Alex dismisses his idea for a video game based on Virgil. Mike too is deflated when he finds that his hero, Stig MacAllister, creator of his favourite comic, is rude and aggressive. Tempted by an offer from Sunijim representative Brad Kane, Marcello eventually realises Brad is an even bigger scammer than himself.

The Shadow

Marcello throws Catalyst into uproar when he hacks into Alex's system. Alex brings in legendary hacker-tracker J.D. Moon to find the security breach. Marcello is too scared to own up to his foolishness and as J.D. Moon gets closer to the truth, the kids have to choose whether to help Marcello or not. When Alex discovers the truth, she fires Marcello!

The Outsider

When Virgil goes missing after confiding in Ram, it's obvious to the kids that Sunijim have somehow captured him. Marcello sees this as a way to redeem himself in Alex's eyes and, with his friends' help, infiltrates Sunijim in an attempt to rescue Virgil from Brad Kane. When Marcello gets into difficulties, the team use all their computer skills to save Marcello and Virgil, reuniting the Crash Zone team.