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Children of the Dog Star: episode guide

The Brass Daisy

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Episode 1
Written by Ken Catran
Directed by Chris Bailey

Twelve-year-old Gretchen comes to stay on her uncle's farm for the holidays, but shortly after her arrival strange things start to happen. Gretchen has a passion for science and a talent for all things mechanical, which is why the old brass weathervane fascinates her...

Cast: Sarah Dunn as Gretchen Kierney, Jason Wallace as Ronny Kepa, Hamish Bartle as Bevis Elliott, Roy Billing as Donald Kierney, Susan Wilson as Kathleen Kierney, Catherine Wilkin as Helen Elliott, Raymond Hawthorne as Herbert Mitchell, David McKenzie as Vic Mitchell, Zac Wallace as Mataui Kepa, Whatanui Skipwith as Hemi

Power Stop

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Episode 2
Written by Ken Catran
Directed by Chris Bailey

Gretchen is puzzled by the odd behaviour of the weather vane during the night but was it real or just a dream? Gretchen's adjustments to the daisy rod effect the power supply around the farm, stopping appliances and vehicles. Gretchen get the old motor bike going and finds old painting of the barn from 1895 with the daisy rod in it. Ronny tells Gretchen about the surveyors' interest in the swamp, which his people consider tapu, for its underground mineral springs and the pressure on the locals to sell their land. Ronny challenges Gretchen to a race but she loses control of her bike and crashes in the swamp. There they discover a brass artifact and take it back to the barn.©tzuk

Cast: Sarah Dunn as Gretchen Kierney, Jason Wallace as Ronny Kepa, Hamish Bartle as Bevis Elliott, Roy Billing as Donald Kierney, Susan Wilson as Kathleen Kierney, Catherine Wilkin as Helen Elliott, Raymond Hawthorne as Herbert Mitchell, David McKenzie as Vic Mitchell, Zac Wallace as Mataui Kepa, Whatanui Skipwith as Hemi, John Mellor as Constable [Ben] Willis, Jim Hickey as Surveyor

Swamp Light

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Episode 3
Written by Ken Catran
Directed by Chris Bailey

Power interuptions persist on the farm as the daisy rod continues to wake up. Herbert Mitchell is eager to sell his land and want Ronny's uncle to do the same. Gretchen tells Ronny about her experiences with the daisy rod and is intrigued by the traditional stories told by Ronny's uncle. Alone in the barn at night, Gretchen is frightened by the artifact calling her name and falls from the loft but is saved by force field generated by the artifact. Gretchen tells her aunt the legend of Sirius, traditional beliefs of an african tribe, the Dogan, who tell of space creatures coming to Earth from a star in orbit around Sirius. While sneaking out at night to record bird sounds in the swamp, Bevis overhears Herbert Mitchell scheming to blame the survey interuptions on Ronny. In the swamp, Bevis encounters the source of the mysterious lights and is knocked unconscious by a surge of electricity.©tzuk

Cast: Sarah Dunn as Gretchen Kierney, Jason Wallace as Ronny Kepa, Hamish Bartle as Bevis Elliott, Roy Billing as Donald Kierney, Susan Wilson as Kathleen Kierney, Catherine Wilkin as Helen Elliott, Raymond Hawthorne as Herbert Mitchell, David McKenzie as Vic Mitchell, Zac Wallace as Mataui Kepa, John Mellor as Constable Willis

Alien Summons

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Episode 4
Written by Ken Catran
Directed by Chris Bailey

The community organises a search of the swamp to find Bevis who is found unconscious by Ronny and Gretchen. Gretchen tells Ronny about the artifact saving her life when she fell and he confesses to having similar dreams to hers. The pair return to the swamp to investigate another brass object Ronny saw when he found Bevis. Gretchen borrows her uncle' horse to haul the large object out of the swamp and hide it in an old defense bunker. Gretchen tells Ronny and Bevis she believes the brass objects are pieces of a broken alien space probe that she thinks they should put back together. Like Ronny, Bevis has also had the strange dreams and wants in on the project although Ronny wants the pieces to remain in the swamp. Bevis tells his mother about Mr Mitchell's scheming to blame the survey damage on Ronny. Mataui and Hemi warn Ronny that whatever is in the swamp, it is not for them and should remain in the swamp. During the night, the daisy rod calls to Gretchen and commands her to take it to the bunker.©tzuk

Cast: Sarah Dunn as Gretchen Kierney, Jason Wallace as Ronny Kepa, Hamish Bartle as Bevis Elliott, Roy Billing as Donald Kierney, Susan Wilson as Kathleen Kierney, Catherine Wilkin as Helen Elliott, Raymond Hawthorne as Herbert Mitchell, David McKenzie as Vic Mitchell, Zac Wallace as Mataui Kepa, Whatanui Skipwith as Hemi, John Mellor as Constable Willis

Kolob

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Episode 5
Written by Ken Catran
Directed by Chris Bailey

Gretchen enters the bunker with the daisy rod as the artifact in the barn makes the journey on its own. The three pieces assemble and activate, showing Gretchen the scematics of the complete probe which reveals there are parts are still missing. Helen Elliot and Constable Willis catch the Mitchell brothers removing the survey markers. Gretchen brings Ronny and Bevis back to the bunker and introduces them to Kolob — a space probe from Sirius B. The probe (one of three sent to Earth) shows its path to Earth and how it crashed into the swamp after being damaged in a meteor storm. Gretchen tries to get Kolob to stop draining power from the surrounding area. When the kids emerge from the bunker, they discover everyone in town is frozen in time.©tzuk

Cast: Sarah Dunn as Gretchen Kierney, Jason Wallace as Ronny Kepa, Hamish Bartle as Bevis Elliott, Roy Billing as Donald Kierney, Susan Wilson as Kathleen Kierney, Catherine Wilkin as Helen Elliott, Raymond Hawthorne as Herbert Mitchell, David McKenzie as Vic Mitchell, Zac Wallace as Mataui Kepa, John Mellor as Constable Willis

Alien Contact

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Episode 6
Written by Ken Catran
Directed by Chris Bailey

Gretchen reluctantly agrees with Ronny to shut down Kolob to restore the town. While Bevis chats with Kolob, Gretchen and Ronny have some fun at Mitchells' expense while getting tools from the brothers' shop. Kolob is disconnected restoring the people in the town to normal but the kids' efforts to destroy Kolob brings a message from the aliens themselves. Chastising the kids for reactivating Kolob, the aliens reveal that while they can't destroy Kolob in its incomplete form, they can use an energy transmission to bury it in the bunker provided the kids first remove the daisy rod and make sure it is lost forever. As the bunker begins to collapse, the kids remove the daisy rod and flee the shelter and Gretchen throws the daisy rod back into the swamp where it was first found.©tzuk

Cast: Sarah Dunn as Gretchen Kierney, Jason Wallace as Ronny Kepa, Hamish Bartle as Bevis Elliott, Roy Billing as Donald Kierney, Susan Wilson as Kathleen Kierney, Catherine Wilkin as Helen Elliott, Raymond Hawthorne as Herbert Mitchell, David McKenzie as Vic Mitchell, Zac Wallace as Mataui Kepa, Whatanui Skipwith as Hemi, John Mellor as Constable Willis, Rodney Newman as Siriusian, Dennis Gubb as Siriusian