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Jem (TV series)
Encyclopedia
Jem, also known as Jem and the Holograms, is an American
animated television series that ran from 1985 to 1988 in U.S. first-run syndication
. The show is about music company owner Jerrica Benton, her singer alter-ego Jem, her band the Holograms, and their adventures.
The series was a joint collaboration by Hasbro
, Marvel Productions
and Sunbow Productions
, the same team responsible for G.I. Joe and Transformers
. The creator of the series, Christy Marx
, had also been a staff writer for the aforementioned programs. The animation was provided by the Japan
ese animation studio Toei Doga (now Toei Animation
). As of October of 2011, Jem was being transmitted on The Hub in the United States
and on Teletoon Retro
in Canada
.
hired advertising agency Griffin-Bacal Advertising
, the founders of Sunbow Productions
, to create the 65-episode animation series. Griffin-Bacal (Sunbow), as well as Marvel Productions
, had previously created the successful G.I. Joe series for Hasbro
. G.I. Joe writer Christy Marx
was hired to create the series based on the line of dolls and the original concept, which consisted of the two girl bands, Synergy, the boyfriend Rio, and the Rockin' Roadster. Marx created the full character biographies and relationships, including the love triangle aspect between Rio and Jerrica Benton/Jem, Starlight Music and Starlight House, the Starlight Girls, the villain Eric Raymond and various secondary characters. Later, Marx was asked to develop new characters as they were introduced. Marx wrote 23 of the 65 episodes. Other writers for the series included Cary Bates
, Greg Weisman
, Paul Dini
, Buzz Dixon
, Ellen Guon
, Steve Mitchell, Michael Reaves
, David Wise
, Marv Wolfman
, Mary Skrenes
, Beth Bornstein, Roger Slifer
, Richard Merwin, Sandy Fries, Cheri Wilkerson, Misty Stewart-Taggart, George Arthur Bloom
, Jina Bacarr, Barbara Petty, Chris Pelzer, Michael Charles Hill, Eric Early, Clare Noto, Carla Conway, and Evelyn A. R. Gabai.
The Executive Producers were Joe Bacal, Jay Bacal, Tom Griffin, and Margaret Loesch
. The story editor was Roger Slifer
and Christy Marx
third season, and the voice director was industry veteran Wally Burr
. The show's directors and supervising animators included many veterans of the DePatie-Freleng
cartoon studio including Gerry Chiniquy
, John Gibbs, Norm McCabe
, Warren Batchelder
and Tom Ray
.
was chosen to provide the speaking voice of Jem, but despite having toured as a child singer in Africa
, she was rejected for Jem's singing voice. Instead, Britta Phillips
, who had never before worked professionally as a singer, was cast as the singing voice of Jem after obtaining an audition through her father who worked on jingles
in New York. The initial take from the audition was used as the first opening theme song, "Truly Outrageous."The remaining Holograms speaking voices were provided by Cathianne Blore (Kimber Benton/Aja Leith), Cindy McGee (Shana Elmsford), and Linda Dangcil
(Carmen 'Raya' Alonso).
The Misfits's speaking voices were provided by Patricia Alice Albrecht (Phyllis 'Pizzazz' Gabor), Samantha Paris (Roxanne 'Roxy' Pellegrini), Susan Blu
(Mary 'Stormer' Phillips), and Louise Dorsey (Sheila 'Jetta' Burns), the daughter of Engelbert Humperdinck
. Ellen Bernfield provided the singing voice of Pizzazz.
The Stingers's speaking voices were provided by Townsend Coleman
(Rory 'Riot' Llewelyn), Ellen Gerstell
(Phoebe 'Rapture' Ashe), and Kath Soucie
(Ingrid 'Minx' Kurger). Gordon Grody, a vocal coach who later worked with Stefanie "Lady GaGa" Germanotta
, provided the singing voice for Riot.
Other notable cast members included Charlie Adler, who had already had a lengthy voice-over career, as the central villain Eric Raymond, the late Vicki Sue Robinson
, famous for the 1970's discothèque-oriented hit "Turn the Beat Around
", who provided the singing voices of both Rapture and Minx, and Ari Gold, pop singer and songwriter, who provided the singing voice for Ba Nee.
with the help of a holographic
computer, known as Synergy, which was built by Jerrica's father to be "the ultimate audio-visual entertainment synthesizer" and is bequeathed to her after his passing. Jerrica is able to command Synergy to project "the Jem hologram" over herself by means of the remote micro-projectors in her earrings, thus disguising her features and clothing enabling her to assume the Jem persona. While disguised as Jem, Jerrica is able to move freely without restrictions and on several occasions other people have been in direct physical contact with her without disrupting the holographic projection. Jem, through the use of her earrings, is also able to project holograms around her and uses this ability throughout the series to avoid danger and provide special effects for the performances of her group.
Jem's group consists of Kimber Benton, Jerrica's younger sister, keyboard
ist, and main songwriter
for the band; Aja Leith, guitar
ist; and Shana Elmsford, who plays the synth drum
s. Aja and Shana are also childhood friends and adopted foster
sisters of Jerrica and Kimber, having lived with Benton family since they were young. Shana briefly leaves the group to pursue a career in fashion, at which point a new character, Carmen "Raya" Alonso, is introduced as her replacement. The Holograms are aware of Jem's secret identity and the existence of Synergy when the series begins while Raya is made aware unintentionally shortly before joining the group.
The Holograms have two rival bands, "The Misfits" and "The Stingers." The Misfits are composed of petulant rich girl Pizzazz (real name Phyllis Gabor) and her cohorts: no-nonsense Roxanne "Roxy" Pelligrini and kind-hearted, sensitive keytar
player Stormer (Mary Phillips). They are joined later by the manipulative British
saxophone
player Jetta (Sheila Burns). The Stingers appear at the start of the third season when they hit town and shake things up for both groups becoming co-owners of "Stingers Sound" with Eric Raymond. The Stingers are composed of egotistical lead singer Riot (Rory Llewelyn), guitarist/con artist Rapture (Phoebe Ashe), and keyboardist Minx (Ingrid Kruger).
Episodes of the series frequently revolve around Jerrica's efforts to keep her two identities separate, protect Synergy from those who might exploit the holographic technology, and support the twelve foster children known as the "Starlight Girls" who live with her and the Holograms. The Misfits frequently attempt to upstage Jem and the Holograms's endeavors, often nearly resulting in physical harm or death to members of the group. This rivalry is encouraged and manipulated by their manager and central villain in the series, Eric Raymond, former half-owner of Starlight Music who runs Misfits Music (later Stingers Sound). During the series Eric Raymond plots constantly to become owner of Starlight Music and get revenge on Jem and the Holograms for losing control of the company. Jerrica also deals with a complex and emotionally draining faux love triangle
involving her alter identity, Jem, and Rio Pacheco, longtime boyfriend of Jerrica. Rio romantically pursues both women not knowing they are one in the same. Later in the series, Jem is also romantically sought after by Riot, the lead singer of the The Stingers, who becomes infatuated with her, adding further complications to her relationships.
In the final episode of the series, the Misfits and Jem declare a truce when Ba Nee, one of the most troubled foster girls in Starlight House, was claimed by her long-lost father found by Jem and the Holograms with the help of Riot's father whose relationship with Riot is mended with the help of Jem.
was a result of the success and popularity of MTV
at the time which began airing four years prior. The placement of the songs throughout each episode was done to complement the story and the use of music videos in the show was considered "radical" for the time.
The show's format called for three fully produced songs for the featured music videos in each episode. Lyrics for the show's featured songs were written by Barry Harman. The theme song JEM - Truly, Truly, Truly Outrageous was the opening and closing theme for the show until late 1987, when Bryant's second theme, JEM GIRLS became the show's opening theme for the majority of episodes and JEM - Truly, Truly, Truly Outrageous was kept as the show's permanent closing theme. Music videos either featured an "in-your-face" style that was directed at the viewer or the more traditional style. The music videos paralled the style of rock videos found on MTV at the time featuring fast editing, a quick pace, and special effects.
Ellen Bernfeld, performing as Pizzazz, Britta Phillips
, performing as Jem, and Gordon Grody, performing as Riot, the lead singer of the Stingers, along with Diva Gray, Florence Warner and Angela Capelli were the voices of the pop, funk and punk electronica productions, supported by Britta Phillips
's father, pianist Peter Phillips, and by guitarist Steve Bill, bassist Tom Barney and set drummer and electronic drum programmer Tom Oldakowski. Anne Bryant, who chose the singers and musicians, created a pure young pop sound for Jem and the Holograms supported by acoustic instruments. The sound for The Misfits was crafted as strictly electronic other than the addition of guitars and an occasional sax solo. This was done to create an identifiable punk electronica style in stark contrast to their rival singing groups. In season three, Bryant introduced the slower, smooth, sexy/funky groove for the third group that entered the show, the Stingers.
No official Jem "Soundtrack" was ever released; however, many of the songs from the first season were released on cassette with dolls or play-sets.
rated syndicated cartoon show in November 1986 and in 1987 it was the 3rd most watched children's program in syndication with 2.5 million viewers weekly. Jem has aired in multiple countries including Australia
, Canada
, United Kingdom
, Germany
, Netherlands
, United States
, and France
. The show was nominated for the Young Artist Award
twice, once in 1986 for "EXCEPTIONAL YOUNG ACTRESSES IN ANIMATION: SERIES, SPECIALS, or FILM FEATURES" for Samantha Newark's
performance, then in 1988 for "BEST ANIMATION SERIES". The long-standing popularity of Mattel's
Barbie
franchise led to a competition between Hasbro
's toy line and Barbie and the Rockers
, a similar line by Mattel, which resulted in reduced sales for both products. Hasbro discontinued the Jem toy line at the end of 1987 after it failed to meet sales expectations, but despite this, the show continued production and aired until 1988. Jem was released partially on DVD in multiple countries, with a complete set available for the first time in 2011. In 2011 Jem began airing on The Hub in the U.S., causing a significant increase in ratings for the channel. It also aired on Teletoon Retro
in Canada
.
Forbes.com reported that Hasbro had recently re-acquired distribution rights to the Sunbow library of Hasbro Classics, which includes Jem. This in turn led to speculation that Jem might be re-released on DVD in the future.
Given the recent success of G.I. Joe
and Transformers
, Hasbro
was rumored to be considering a live-action movie with Universal Studios
, with which Hasbro had signed a six-movie contract in 2010, or a new incarnation of the animated series.
In 2011, Shout! Factory announced that it was releasing the entire series on DVD.
After 20 years, since last airing in the United States around 1990/1991 (in re-runs), Jem (and the Holograms) returned to Syndication. In the spring of 2011, Jem started airing on The Hub with a sneak preview of the first six episodes on May 28, 2011. On May 31, The Hub began to air the show regularly four times a day. The Hub stated that upon its return to television, Jem (and the Holograms) became one of the Hub's highest rated/watched programs.
On July 25, 2011, Teletoon Retro
, a Canadian channel dedicated to cartoons, announced that Jem would be part of its fall 2011 lineup.
On September 08, 2011, Hasbro
issued a press release announcing its attendance at the 2011 New York Comic Con convention slated to run from October 13 to October 16. It would be showing, at its booth, new and upcoming products from its toy lines, including Jem and the Holograms.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
animated television series that ran from 1985 to 1988 in U.S. first-run syndication
Television syndication
In broadcasting, syndication is the sale of the right to broadcast radio shows and television shows by multiple radio stations and television stations, without going through a broadcast network, though the process of syndication may conjure up structures like those of a network itself, by its very...
. The show is about music company owner Jerrica Benton, her singer alter-ego Jem, her band the Holograms, and their adventures.
The series was a joint collaboration by Hasbro
Hasbro
Hasbro is a multinational toy and boardgame company from the United States of America. It is one of the largest toy makers in the world. The corporate headquarters is located in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, United States...
, Marvel Productions
Marvel Productions
Marvel Productions Ltd. , last called New World Animation, was a television and film studio subsidiary of Marvel Entertainment Group , based in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, then New World Entertainment and News Corporation/Fox...
and Sunbow Productions
Sunbow Productions
Sunbow Entertainment was an animation studio, founded in 1980 and owned up until 1998 by Griffin-Bacal Advertising in New York. The first animation efforts by Griffin-Bacal were producing the animated commercials for Hasbro's G.I...
, the same team responsible for G.I. Joe and Transformers
The Transformers (TV series)
The Transformers is an animated television series depicting a war among giant robots who could transform into vehicles, other objects and animal-like forms. Written and recorded in America, the series was animated in Japan and South Korea...
. The creator of the series, Christy Marx
Christy Marx
Christy Marx grew up in Danville, Illinois and is an American writer and a photographer. She has written scripts for various episodes of TV-series, mainly for kids' shows, including Jem, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Conan the Adventurer, G.I. Joe, Hypernauts, Captain Power and others...
, had also been a staff writer for the aforementioned programs. The animation was provided by the Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese animation studio Toei Doga (now Toei Animation
Toei Animation
Toei Animation Co., Ltd. is a Japanese animation studio owned by Toei Co., Ltd. The studio was founded in 1948 as Japan Animated Films . In 1956, Toei purchased the studio and it was reincorporated under its current name...
). As of October of 2011, Jem was being transmitted on The Hub in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and on Teletoon Retro
Teletoon Retro
Teletoon Retro is a Canadian English language Category B specialty channel based on the Teletoon programming block Teletoon Retro. The service consists of animation series from Canada and around the world, all of which commenced production at least 10 years prior to their exhibition...
in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
.
Production
HasbroHasbro
Hasbro is a multinational toy and boardgame company from the United States of America. It is one of the largest toy makers in the world. The corporate headquarters is located in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, United States...
hired advertising agency Griffin-Bacal Advertising
Griffin-Bacal Advertising
Griffin-Bacal Advertising was a global advertising agency founded in 1978 by Tom Griffin and Joe Bacal. One of their first clients was Hasbro, whom employed their services for coming up with advertising campaigns for several of their toy lines such as "G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero" and...
, the founders of Sunbow Productions
Sunbow Productions
Sunbow Entertainment was an animation studio, founded in 1980 and owned up until 1998 by Griffin-Bacal Advertising in New York. The first animation efforts by Griffin-Bacal were producing the animated commercials for Hasbro's G.I...
, to create the 65-episode animation series. Griffin-Bacal (Sunbow), as well as Marvel Productions
Marvel Productions
Marvel Productions Ltd. , last called New World Animation, was a television and film studio subsidiary of Marvel Entertainment Group , based in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, then New World Entertainment and News Corporation/Fox...
, had previously created the successful G.I. Joe series for Hasbro
Hasbro
Hasbro is a multinational toy and boardgame company from the United States of America. It is one of the largest toy makers in the world. The corporate headquarters is located in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, United States...
. G.I. Joe writer Christy Marx
Christy Marx
Christy Marx grew up in Danville, Illinois and is an American writer and a photographer. She has written scripts for various episodes of TV-series, mainly for kids' shows, including Jem, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Conan the Adventurer, G.I. Joe, Hypernauts, Captain Power and others...
was hired to create the series based on the line of dolls and the original concept, which consisted of the two girl bands, Synergy, the boyfriend Rio, and the Rockin' Roadster. Marx created the full character biographies and relationships, including the love triangle aspect between Rio and Jerrica Benton/Jem, Starlight Music and Starlight House, the Starlight Girls, the villain Eric Raymond and various secondary characters. Later, Marx was asked to develop new characters as they were introduced. Marx wrote 23 of the 65 episodes. Other writers for the series included Cary Bates
Cary Bates
Cary Bates is an American comic book, animation television and film writer.-Biography:Bates began submitting ideas for comic book covers to DC Comics at the age of 13, and a number of them were bought and published, the first as the cover to Superman #167...
, Greg Weisman
Greg Weisman
Greg Weisman is an American comic book and animation writer and producer, best known as the creator of Gargoyles and as the Supervising Producer of The Spectacular Spider-Man. Weisman is currently a producer on the Young Justice animated series...
, Paul Dini
Paul Dini
Paul Dini is an American writer and producer who works in the television and comic book industries. He is best known as a producer and writer for several Warner Bros./DC Comics animated series, including Star Wars: Ewoks, Tiny Toon Adventures, Batman: The Animated Series, Superman: The Animated...
, Buzz Dixon
Buzz Dixon
Buzz Dixon is an American writer of comic books, film, and cartoons. He has written comics for multiple companies, including Eclipse Comics , Marvel Comics, and a Buck Rogers adaptation for TSR, Inc..His cartoon work includes both writing and editing credits...
, Ellen Guon
Ellen Guon
Ellen Guon Beeman is an American fantasy and science fiction author, television screenwriter and computer game designer/producer. She has published four novels and has worked on over 40 video games.-Career in the game industry:...
, Steve Mitchell, Michael Reaves
Michael Reaves
James Michael Reaves is an American writer, known for his contributions as producer and story editor to a number of 1990s animated television series, including Disney's Gargoyles and Batman: The Animated Series. He has also written media tie-in novels, children's books, and original fiction...
, David Wise
David Wise (writer)
David Wise is a television and animation writer, tutored by writers such as Ursula K. Le Guin, Frank Herbert, Harlan Ellison and Theodore Sturgeon whilst attending the Clarion Workshop.-Early life:...
, Marv Wolfman
Marv Wolfman
Marvin A. "Marv" Wolfman is an award-winning American comic book writer. He is best known for lengthy runs on The Tomb of Dracula, creating Blade for Marvel Comics, and The New Teen Titans for DC Comics.-1960s:...
, Mary Skrenes
Mary Skrenes
Mary Skrenes is a comic book writer and screenwriter. She may be best known as co-creator of Omega the Unknown for Marvel Comics, although she worked on other Marvel characters such as the Defenders and Guardians of the Galaxy...
, Beth Bornstein, Roger Slifer
Roger Slifer
Roger Slifer is a writer of comic books, animation, and video games, well-known for a run on Omega Men in the 1980s.-Biography:Slifer started out in comics as an editor at Marvel Comics where he also wrote a number of comic books....
, Richard Merwin, Sandy Fries, Cheri Wilkerson, Misty Stewart-Taggart, George Arthur Bloom
George Arthur Bloom
George Arthur Bloom is an American screenwriter known for his work on Nelvana television titles such as The Magic School Bus and Cyberchase. He also wrote the pilot for The Transformers. In 1980, he was a scriptwriter for Disney's The Last Flight of Noah's Ark...
, Jina Bacarr, Barbara Petty, Chris Pelzer, Michael Charles Hill, Eric Early, Clare Noto, Carla Conway, and Evelyn A. R. Gabai.
The Executive Producers were Joe Bacal, Jay Bacal, Tom Griffin, and Margaret Loesch
Margaret Loesch
Margaret Ann Loesch, is a veteran television executive, multi-award–winning producer, who is currently the President and CEO of Discovery Communications and Hasbro Inc's joint venture television network, The Hub.-Early life:...
. The story editor was Roger Slifer
Roger Slifer
Roger Slifer is a writer of comic books, animation, and video games, well-known for a run on Omega Men in the 1980s.-Biography:Slifer started out in comics as an editor at Marvel Comics where he also wrote a number of comic books....
and Christy Marx
Christy Marx
Christy Marx grew up in Danville, Illinois and is an American writer and a photographer. She has written scripts for various episodes of TV-series, mainly for kids' shows, including Jem, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Conan the Adventurer, G.I. Joe, Hypernauts, Captain Power and others...
third season, and the voice director was industry veteran Wally Burr
Wally Burr
Wally Burr is an American voice actor and director. He was best known as the voice director for the Generation 1 cartoon and The Transformers: The Movie. Aside from voicing some incidental characters, he has also filled in roles for regular voice actors who were unavailable for taping. He is also...
. The show's directors and supervising animators included many veterans of the DePatie-Freleng
DePatie-Freleng Enterprises
DePatie-Freleng Enterprises was a Hollywood-based animation production company, active from 1963 to 1981. They produced theatrical cartoons, animated series, commercials, title sequences and television specials. Notable among these is The Pink Panther film titles and cartoon shorts and the Dr....
cartoon studio including Gerry Chiniquy
Gerry Chiniquy
Germain Adolph "Gerry" Chiniquy was an American animator. He is best known for his work with Friz Freleng, at both Warner Bros. and DePatie-Freleng Enterprises....
, John Gibbs, Norm McCabe
Norman McCabe
Norman McCabe was an American animator who enjoyed a long career which lasted into the 1990s.-Early career:...
, Warren Batchelder
Warren Batchelder
Warren Batchelder was an animator on many Warner Bros. and DePatie-Freleng cartoons. He also worked as animation director on the Dungeons and Dragons cartoon show.-Career:Batchelder began his animation career in 1936...
and Tom Ray
Tom Ray
Thomas Archer Ray was an American animator.-Career:Ray was born in Williams, Arizona. He began work at Warner Bros. Cartoons in 1937. Over the first two decades of his career, he was a junior animator who received no screen credit until Destination Earth in 1956. In 1958, he became a master...
.
Casting
Samantha NewarkSamantha Newark
Samantha Newark is a British-American singer and voice actress.Newark is best known for her voice-over work on the animated 1980s cartoon series Jem as the speaking voice of Jerrica/Jem...
was chosen to provide the speaking voice of Jem, but despite having toured as a child singer in Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
, she was rejected for Jem's singing voice. Instead, Britta Phillips
Britta Phillips
Britta Phillips is an American musician, songwriter, actress and voice actor. She is best known as the singing voice of the title character of Jem and as one half of the duo Dean and Britta, with her husband Dean Wareham...
, who had never before worked professionally as a singer, was cast as the singing voice of Jem after obtaining an audition through her father who worked on jingles
Jingle
A jingle is a short tune used in advertising and for other commercial uses. The jingle contains one or more hooks and lyrics that explicitly promote the product being advertised, usually through the use of one or more advertising slogans. Ad buyers use jingles in radio and television...
in New York. The initial take from the audition was used as the first opening theme song, "Truly Outrageous."The remaining Holograms speaking voices were provided by Cathianne Blore (Kimber Benton/Aja Leith), Cindy McGee (Shana Elmsford), and Linda Dangcil
Linda Dangcil
Linda Dangcil was an American actress and dancer best known for her roles as Sister Ana in the ABC television series The Flying Nun and Carmen 'Raya' Alonso in the animated series Jem....
(Carmen 'Raya' Alonso).
The Misfits's speaking voices were provided by Patricia Alice Albrecht (Phyllis 'Pizzazz' Gabor), Samantha Paris (Roxanne 'Roxy' Pellegrini), Susan Blu
Susan Blu
Susan Maria Blu , sometimes credited as Sue Blu, is an American voice actress, voice director, and casting director in American and Canadian cinema and television...
(Mary 'Stormer' Phillips), and Louise Dorsey (Sheila 'Jetta' Burns), the daughter of Engelbert Humperdinck
Engelbert Humperdinck
Engelbert Humperdinck was a German composer, best known for his opera, Hänsel und Gretel. Humperdinck was born at Siegburg in the Rhine Province; at the age of 67 he died in Neustrelitz, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.-Life:After receiving piano lessons, Humperdinck produced his first composition...
. Ellen Bernfield provided the singing voice of Pizzazz.
The Stingers's speaking voices were provided by Townsend Coleman
Townsend Coleman
Townsend Coleman is an American voice actor who performed in many animated series and TV commercials beginning in the early 1980s...
(Rory 'Riot' Llewelyn), Ellen Gerstell
Ellen Gerstell
-Voice roles:*Jem *Monchhichis *Dragon's Lair - Princess Daphne *My Little Pony: The Movie *Little Clowns of Happytown *My Little Pony TV series...
(Phoebe 'Rapture' Ashe), and Kath Soucie
Kath Soucie
Katherine Elaine Soucie is an American voice actress. She is sometimes credited as Kath Soucie, Katherine Soucie, Kath Souci, Kath E...
(Ingrid 'Minx' Kurger). Gordon Grody, a vocal coach who later worked with Stefanie "Lady GaGa" Germanotta
Lady GaGa
Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta , better known by her stage name Lady Gaga, is an American singer and songwriter. Born and raised in New York City, she primarily studied at the Convent of the Sacred Heart and briefly attended New York University's Tisch School of the Arts before withdrawing to...
, provided the singing voice for Riot.
Other notable cast members included Charlie Adler, who had already had a lengthy voice-over career, as the central villain Eric Raymond, the late Vicki Sue Robinson
Vicki Sue Robinson
Vicki Sue Robinson was an American theatre and film actress and singer, closely associated with the disco era of late 1970s pop music; she is most famous for her 1976 hit, "Turn the Beat Around."-Early life and career:...
, famous for the 1970's discothèque-oriented hit "Turn the Beat Around
Turn the Beat Around
In 1994 , the song was recorded by Gloria Estefan for the soundtrack to the film The Specialist. Released as a single, it became a hit reaching #13 on the Billboard Hot 100 and is also featured on Estefan's fourth solo album Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me. She also sang the song as her opening...
", who provided the singing voices of both Rapture and Minx, and Ari Gold, pop singer and songwriter, who provided the singing voice for Ba Nee.
Plot
The series revolves around Jem who is the mysterious lead singer and front-woman of the rock group "Jem and the Holograms". She is also Jerrica Benton, owner/manager of Starlight Music. Jerrica adopts this personaPersona
A persona, in the word's everyday usage, is a social role or a character played by an actor. The word is derived from Latin, where it originally referred to a theatrical mask. The Latin word probably derived from the Etruscan word "phersu", with the same meaning, and that from the Greek πρόσωπον...
with the help of a holographic
Holography
Holography is a technique that allows the light scattered from an object to be recorded and later reconstructed so that when an imaging system is placed in the reconstructed beam, an image of the object will be seen even when the object is no longer present...
computer, known as Synergy, which was built by Jerrica's father to be "the ultimate audio-visual entertainment synthesizer" and is bequeathed to her after his passing. Jerrica is able to command Synergy to project "the Jem hologram" over herself by means of the remote micro-projectors in her earrings, thus disguising her features and clothing enabling her to assume the Jem persona. While disguised as Jem, Jerrica is able to move freely without restrictions and on several occasions other people have been in direct physical contact with her without disrupting the holographic projection. Jem, through the use of her earrings, is also able to project holograms around her and uses this ability throughout the series to avoid danger and provide special effects for the performances of her group.
Jem's group consists of Kimber Benton, Jerrica's younger sister, keyboard
Keyboard instrument
A keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
ist, and main songwriter
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
for the band; Aja Leith, guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
ist; and Shana Elmsford, who plays the synth drum
Drum
The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments, which is technically classified as the membranophones. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a shell and struck, either directly with the player's hands, or with a...
s. Aja and Shana are also childhood friends and adopted foster
Foster care
Foster care is the term used for a system in which a minor who has been made a ward is placed in the private home of a state certified caregiver referred to as a "foster parent"....
sisters of Jerrica and Kimber, having lived with Benton family since they were young. Shana briefly leaves the group to pursue a career in fashion, at which point a new character, Carmen "Raya" Alonso, is introduced as her replacement. The Holograms are aware of Jem's secret identity and the existence of Synergy when the series begins while Raya is made aware unintentionally shortly before joining the group.
The Holograms have two rival bands, "The Misfits" and "The Stingers." The Misfits are composed of petulant rich girl Pizzazz (real name Phyllis Gabor) and her cohorts: no-nonsense Roxanne "Roxy" Pelligrini and kind-hearted, sensitive keytar
Keytar
A keytar is a relatively lightweight keyboard that is supported by a strap around the neck and shoulders, similar to the way a guitar is supported by a strap. Keytars allow players a greater range of movement compared to conventional keyboards, which are placed on stands...
player Stormer (Mary Phillips). They are joined later by the manipulative British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
saxophone
Saxophone
The saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...
player Jetta (Sheila Burns). The Stingers appear at the start of the third season when they hit town and shake things up for both groups becoming co-owners of "Stingers Sound" with Eric Raymond. The Stingers are composed of egotistical lead singer Riot (Rory Llewelyn), guitarist/con artist Rapture (Phoebe Ashe), and keyboardist Minx (Ingrid Kruger).
Episodes of the series frequently revolve around Jerrica's efforts to keep her two identities separate, protect Synergy from those who might exploit the holographic technology, and support the twelve foster children known as the "Starlight Girls" who live with her and the Holograms. The Misfits frequently attempt to upstage Jem and the Holograms's endeavors, often nearly resulting in physical harm or death to members of the group. This rivalry is encouraged and manipulated by their manager and central villain in the series, Eric Raymond, former half-owner of Starlight Music who runs Misfits Music (later Stingers Sound). During the series Eric Raymond plots constantly to become owner of Starlight Music and get revenge on Jem and the Holograms for losing control of the company. Jerrica also deals with a complex and emotionally draining faux love triangle
Love triangle
A love triangle is usually a romantic relationship involving three people. While it can refer to two people independently romantically linked with a third, it usually implies that each of the three people has some kind of relationship to the other two...
involving her alter identity, Jem, and Rio Pacheco, longtime boyfriend of Jerrica. Rio romantically pursues both women not knowing they are one in the same. Later in the series, Jem is also romantically sought after by Riot, the lead singer of the The Stingers, who becomes infatuated with her, adding further complications to her relationships.
In the final episode of the series, the Misfits and Jem declare a truce when Ba Nee, one of the most troubled foster girls in Starlight House, was claimed by her long-lost father found by Jem and the Holograms with the help of Riot's father whose relationship with Riot is mended with the help of Jem.
Music
The inclusion of music videos in JemJem
-Given name:* Jem is a nickname for James, Jeremiah, Jeremy or Jemma. Or it could be an anglicized version of the Turkish name Cem.* Jem , the stage name of the Welsh singer songwriter and musician Jemma Griffiths* Jem Belcher, English bare knuckle boxer...
was a result of the success and popularity of MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
at the time which began airing four years prior. The placement of the songs throughout each episode was done to complement the story and the use of music videos in the show was considered "radical" for the time.
The show's format called for three fully produced songs for the featured music videos in each episode. Lyrics for the show's featured songs were written by Barry Harman. The theme song JEM - Truly, Truly, Truly Outrageous was the opening and closing theme for the show until late 1987, when Bryant's second theme, JEM GIRLS became the show's opening theme for the majority of episodes and JEM - Truly, Truly, Truly Outrageous was kept as the show's permanent closing theme. Music videos either featured an "in-your-face" style that was directed at the viewer or the more traditional style. The music videos paralled the style of rock videos found on MTV at the time featuring fast editing, a quick pace, and special effects.
| A music video featured in the show. | A music video that deviates from the normal action in the show. |
Ellen Bernfeld, performing as Pizzazz, Britta Phillips
Britta Phillips
Britta Phillips is an American musician, songwriter, actress and voice actor. She is best known as the singing voice of the title character of Jem and as one half of the duo Dean and Britta, with her husband Dean Wareham...
, performing as Jem, and Gordon Grody, performing as Riot, the lead singer of the Stingers, along with Diva Gray, Florence Warner and Angela Capelli were the voices of the pop, funk and punk electronica productions, supported by Britta Phillips
Britta Phillips
Britta Phillips is an American musician, songwriter, actress and voice actor. She is best known as the singing voice of the title character of Jem and as one half of the duo Dean and Britta, with her husband Dean Wareham...
's father, pianist Peter Phillips, and by guitarist Steve Bill, bassist Tom Barney and set drummer and electronic drum programmer Tom Oldakowski. Anne Bryant, who chose the singers and musicians, created a pure young pop sound for Jem and the Holograms supported by acoustic instruments. The sound for The Misfits was crafted as strictly electronic other than the addition of guitars and an occasional sax solo. This was done to create an identifiable punk electronica style in stark contrast to their rival singing groups. In season three, Bryant introduced the slower, smooth, sexy/funky groove for the third group that entered the show, the Stingers.
No official Jem "Soundtrack" was ever released; however, many of the songs from the first season were released on cassette with dolls or play-sets.
| List of cassette releases |
|---|
Love Is Here – (included in the Video Madness playset of the same name)
Show Me The Way – (included in the Video Madness playset of the same name)
It's Workin' Out – (included in the Video Madness playset of the same name)
Welcome To The Jungle – (included in the Video Madness playset of the same name)
Kimber – (included with the Kimber doll)
(instrumental versions of songs on side B) Kimber Second Edition – (included with the Kimber Second Edition doll)
(instrumental versions of songs on side B) Aja – (included with the Aja doll)
(instrumental versions of songs on side B) Aja Second Edition – (included with the Aja Second Edition doll)
(instrumental versions of songs on side B) Shana – (included with the Shana doll)
(instrumental versions of songs on side B) Shana Second Edition – (included with the Shana Second Edition doll)
(instrumental versions of songs on side B) Raya – (included with the Raya doll)
(instrumental versions of songs on side B) Pizzazz – (included with the Pizzazz doll)
(instrumental versions of songs on side B) Roxy – (included with the Roxy doll)
(instrumental versions of songs on side B) Stormer – (included with the Stormer doll)
(instrumental versions of songs on side B) Jetta – (included with the Jetta doll)
(instrumental versions of songs on side B) Clash – (included with the Clash doll)
(instrumental versions of songs on side B) Rio – (included with the Rio doll)
(instrumental versions of songs on side B) Synergy – (included with the Synergy doll)
(instrumental versions of songs on side B) Video – (included with the Video doll)
(instrumental versions of songs on side B) Danse – (included with the Danse doll)
(instrumental versions of songs on side B) Flash 'N Sizzle Jem/Jerrica – (included with Flash 'N Sizzle Jem/Jerrica doll)
(instrumental versions of songs on side B) Glitter 'N Gold Jem/Jerrica – (included with Glitter 'N Gold Jem/Jerrica doll)
(instrumental versions of songs on side B) Glitter 'N Gold Rio – (included with Glitter 'N Gold Rio doll)
(instrumental versions of songs on side B) Glitter 'N Gold – (Second year mail-in offer)
Jem and Friends Dream Tour – (mail-in offer for Glitter 'N Gold Jem/Jerrica or Glitter 'N Gold Rio dolls)
|
Reception
Jem was #1 NielsenNielsen Media Research
Nielsen Media Research is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre films and newspapers...
rated syndicated cartoon show in November 1986 and in 1987 it was the 3rd most watched children's program in syndication with 2.5 million viewers weekly. Jem has aired in multiple countries including Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, and France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. The show was nominated for the Young Artist Award
Young Artist Award
The Young Artist Award is an accolade bestowed by the Young Artist Foundation, a non-profit organization founded in 1978 to recognize and award excellence of youth performers, and to provide scholarships for young artists who may be physically and/or financially challenged.The Young Artist...
twice, once in 1986 for "EXCEPTIONAL YOUNG ACTRESSES IN ANIMATION: SERIES, SPECIALS, or FILM FEATURES" for Samantha Newark's
Samantha Newark
Samantha Newark is a British-American singer and voice actress.Newark is best known for her voice-over work on the animated 1980s cartoon series Jem as the speaking voice of Jerrica/Jem...
performance, then in 1988 for "BEST ANIMATION SERIES". The long-standing popularity of Mattel's
Mattel
Mattel, Inc. is the world's largest toy company based on revenue. The products it produces include Fisher Price, Barbie dolls, Hot Wheels and Matchbox toys, Masters of the Universe, American Girl dolls, board games, and, in the early 1980s, video game consoles. The company's name is derived from...
Barbie
Barbie
Barbie is a fashion doll manufactured by the American toy-company Mattel, Inc. and launched in March 1959. American businesswoman Ruth Handler is credited with the creation of the doll using a German doll called Bild Lilli as her inspiration....
franchise led to a competition between Hasbro
Hasbro
Hasbro is a multinational toy and boardgame company from the United States of America. It is one of the largest toy makers in the world. The corporate headquarters is located in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, United States...
's toy line and Barbie and the Rockers
Barbie and the Rockers
Barbie and the Rockers was a doll line made in the mid-1980s by Mattel to compete with Hasbro's popular Jem doll line...
, a similar line by Mattel, which resulted in reduced sales for both products. Hasbro discontinued the Jem toy line at the end of 1987 after it failed to meet sales expectations, but despite this, the show continued production and aired until 1988. Jem was released partially on DVD in multiple countries, with a complete set available for the first time in 2011. In 2011 Jem began airing on The Hub in the U.S., causing a significant increase in ratings for the channel. It also aired on Teletoon Retro
Teletoon Retro
Teletoon Retro is a Canadian English language Category B specialty channel based on the Teletoon programming block Teletoon Retro. The service consists of animation series from Canada and around the world, all of which commenced production at least 10 years prior to their exhibition...
in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
.
Releases
| Release name | Ep # | Company | Release Date | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Various VHS releases | 25(Total) | Kid Rhino Rhino Entertainment Rhino Entertainment Company is an American specialty record label and production company. It is owned by Warner Music Group.-History:Rhino was originally a novelty song and reissue company during the 1970s and 1980s, releasing compilation albums of pop, rock & roll, and rhythm & blues successes... , Family Home Entertainment Family Home Entertainment Family Home Entertainment was an American home video company founded in 1980 by Noel C. Bloom. It was a division of International Video Entertainment, which had its headquarters in Newbury Park, California.-General information:... , Avid Entertainment Artisan Entertainment Artisan Entertainment Inc. was a privately held independent American movie studio until it was purchased by a Canadian studio, Lionsgate, in 2003. At the time of its acquisition, Artisan had a library of thousands of films developed through acquisition, original production, and production and... |
1986-1987 (FHE,Avid) 1999 (Kid Rhino) | Various home video releases containing between two and five episodes. |
|
45 | Rhino Entertainment(US) Rhino Entertainment Rhino Entertainment Company is an American specialty record label and production company. It is owned by Warner Music Group.-History:Rhino was originally a novelty song and reissue company during the 1970s and 1980s, releasing compilation albums of pop, rock & roll, and rhythm & blues successes... |
|
Contains all 26 episodes of season one released as "Jem - The Complete 1st & 2nd Seasons" and the first 19 episodes from season 2 released as "Jem: Season 3 - Volume 1". Each DVD release is digitally remastered and contains Dolby Digital 5.1 audio along with the Dolby Digital 2.0. |
| Jem The Movie | 5 | Metrodome (UK) | June 4, 2007 | Contains the first 5 episodes of the series. |
|
|
64 | Declic images (France) |
|
The episodes are dubbed in French with the exception of the music videos. The set is missing the episode "Fathers' Day." |
| Jem and the Holograms: Season One | 26 | Shout! Factory (US) | October 11, 2011 | All 26 episodes from season one. |
| Jem and the Holograms: The Truly Outrageous Complete Series | 65 | Shout! Factory (US) | October 11, 2011 | The complete series on 11 DVDs with bonus material. Bonus material includes the documentary featurettes "Showtime, Synergy! The Truly Outrageous Creation of an '80s Icon," "Glamour & Glitter," and "Jem Girls (and Boys!) Remember," as well as original commercials, animatics, and rare DVD-ROM material. |
| Jem And The Holograms: Season Two | 27 | Shout! Factory (US) | February 14, 2012 | All 27 episodes from season two. |
Current status of franchise
Christy Marx has long expressed a desire to make a modern day revival of the animated series, but stated in a 2004 interview that there are a great deal of complications concerning the rights to the Jem properties.
"I would like to see that happen. I don't want to go into a lot of detail, but the whole rights situation for Jem is very, very complicated. Believe me, if there were a simple straightforward way to do it, it would be done. But there are some very big complications that are in the way at the moment." --Christy Marx.
Forbes.com reported that Hasbro had recently re-acquired distribution rights to the Sunbow library of Hasbro Classics, which includes Jem. This in turn led to speculation that Jem might be re-released on DVD in the future.
Given the recent success of G.I. Joe
G.I. Joe
G.I. Joe is a line of action figures produced by the toy company Hasbro. The initial product offering represented four of the branches of the U.S. armed forces with the Action Soldier , Action Sailor , Action Pilot , Action Marine and later on, the Action Nurse...
and Transformers
Transformers
A transformer is a device that transfers electrical energy from one circuit to another by magnetic coupling.Transformer may also refer to:* ASUS Eee Pad Transformer, an Android 3.2 Honeycomb tablet computer manufacturer by Asus...
, Hasbro
Hasbro
Hasbro is a multinational toy and boardgame company from the United States of America. It is one of the largest toy makers in the world. The corporate headquarters is located in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, United States...
was rumored to be considering a live-action movie with Universal Studios
Universal Studios
Universal Pictures , a subsidiary of NBCUniversal, is one of the six major movie studios....
, with which Hasbro had signed a six-movie contract in 2010, or a new incarnation of the animated series.
In 2011, Shout! Factory announced that it was releasing the entire series on DVD.
After 20 years, since last airing in the United States around 1990/1991 (in re-runs), Jem (and the Holograms) returned to Syndication. In the spring of 2011, Jem started airing on The Hub with a sneak preview of the first six episodes on May 28, 2011. On May 31, The Hub began to air the show regularly four times a day. The Hub stated that upon its return to television, Jem (and the Holograms) became one of the Hub's highest rated/watched programs.
On July 25, 2011, Teletoon Retro
Teletoon Retro
Teletoon Retro is a Canadian English language Category B specialty channel based on the Teletoon programming block Teletoon Retro. The service consists of animation series from Canada and around the world, all of which commenced production at least 10 years prior to their exhibition...
, a Canadian channel dedicated to cartoons, announced that Jem would be part of its fall 2011 lineup.
On September 08, 2011, Hasbro
Hasbro
Hasbro is a multinational toy and boardgame company from the United States of America. It is one of the largest toy makers in the world. The corporate headquarters is located in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, United States...
issued a press release announcing its attendance at the 2011 New York Comic Con convention slated to run from October 13 to October 16. It would be showing, at its booth, new and upcoming products from its toy lines, including Jem and the Holograms.
External links
- TotallyJem! - Detailed information about the production, marketing, and history of the franchise
- Jem vs Pranceatron - Further information about the toy line
- Rock Jem - Episode synopsis and further information about the show