Totally Spies!

Totally Spies!
Spies, from left to right: Clover, Alex and Sam
Genre	Action, comedy, teen drama, anime influenced
Created by	Vincent Chalvon-Demersay David Michel
Voices of	(English version) Katie Leigh as Alex (Seasons 1-2), Caitlin and Carmen Katie Griffin as Alex (Seasons 3-present) Jennifer Hale as Sam and Mandy Andrea Baker as Clover, Dominique, Stella (Seasons 3-5) and Crimson Jess Harnell as Jerry Lewis (Season 1–2) Adrian Truss as Jerry Lewis (Season 3–present) (French version) Céline Mauge as Alex, Mandy and Carmen Claire Guyot as Sam and Gabby Fily Keita as Clover and Stella Jean-Claude Donda as Jerry Lewis and Terence
Country of origin	France Canada
No. of episodes	130 (list of episodes)
Production
Running time	approximate 22 minutes
Original release
Network	TF1 Teletoon
Release	November 3, 2001 – Present
Related
The Amazing Spiez!

Totally Spies! is a French/Canadian animated series produced by the French company Marathon Production. Production began in 2001; the fifth season aired in 2008. A movie based on the show aired in France on July 22, 2009. In December 2011, it was announced that a sixth season is currently in production and is scheduled to air in September 2013.

Characters and other series elements

Main article: List of Totally Spies! characters

Totally Spies! features the adventures and missions of three teenage spies (Sam, Alex and Clover) led by the founder and administrator of the World Organization Of Human Protection (W.O.O.H.P.), Jerry.

Main

• Samantha "Sam" – (Seasons 1–present, including the movie): Sam has long red hair with her bangs simply held back with a pin, emerald green eyes and wears a green spy outfit. She is the most intelligent, responsible and practical of the girls; she is serious, worries a lot and loves sports. She likes reading a good book along with being outdoors. Dominique, one of Mandy's friends, is her rival. According to the episode "The Granny", her favorite color is purple, even though her signature color is green. She can play the accordion (her ability was taken from, then returned to her in the episode "Scam Camp, Much?"). Her mother's name is Gabby (short for Gabrielle). Gabby is nearly identical to her daughter. The part was written after a girl named Kate.

• Clover – (Seasons 1–present, including the movie): Clover has medium-short blonde hair down to her cheeks with blue eyes and wears a red catsuit. Clover is boy-crazy, a shopaholic, and a fashion fanatic. She always knows the latest trends and always makes sure she looks good. Mandy is her rival. Their constant fighting about the simplest things is a source of comic relief in the show. She goes through many boys in the show, and she cares deeply about fashion and designer paraphernalia. She greatly resembles her mother, Stella. Clover sometimes comes across as rude but is always there for her friends. The part was written after a girl named McKenzie.

• Alexandra "Alex" – (Seasons 1–present, including the movie): Alex has light brown eyes and short black hair styled in a bob. She is half white on her father's side, and her mother appears to be Afro-Hispanic. Alex's spy outfit is yellow. Despite her clumsiness when it comes to gadgets, Alex excels in athletics, particularly in soccer, her favorite sport. She is funny and is always there for her friends. Though she is somewhat of a tomboy compared to Clover and Sam, Alex is just as eager when it comes to fashion and boys. She has a toy turtle named Ollie, whom she identifies as her "bestest friend". Caitlin, one of Mandy's friends, is Alex's rival. According to a two-part episode adventure called "Like, So Totally Not Spies", her favorite color is yellow. Alex resembles her mother, Carmen, more than her father (Alex is the only main character whose father appears on the show). The part was written after a girl named Alexandra who goes by the name of Aly.

• Jerald James "Jerry" Lewis – (Seasons 1–present, including the movie): Jerry is the founder and administrator of W.O.O.H.P. (World Organization Of Human Protection). He is a middle-aged, very serious British gentleman. He finds means of transporting the girls to their headquarters — even though some of his methods upset them — briefs them on their missions, distributes their gadgets and provides mission support with information or direct involvement. He often annoys the girls with his attitude and constant missions, but when he is in danger, the girls are there to help. He has trouble keeping his spy identity a secret from his nosy mother, who has only been mentioned and seen a few times in the series. Sam, Clover and Alex once noted that they don't listen to anyone but Jerry, and usually they don't even listen to him, but they all love him.

• G.L.A.D.I.S. – (Seasons 3–4) G.L.A.D.I.S. is an acronym for Gadget Lending And Distribution Interactive System. "She" is a computer who is proud of her title and will often refuse to carry out odd jobs, stating that they are "beneath her". This is a constant source of irritation for both the girls and Jerry. She acts in a motherly role toward the girls. She has a personality, expressing her opinions and deliberately disobeying or modifying Jerry's orders if she feels that she needs to protect the girls. She even takes up hobbies, such as magic. In Season 5, G.L.A.D.I.S. is sent to a recycling facility (in actuality, she was written out of the series almost entirely due to fan complaints). G.L.A.D.I.S.'s design is an homage to Shirka, a character nearly identical in appearance from the classic French-Japanese animation Ulysses 31.

Supporting

• Mandy – (Seasons 1–present, including the movie): Mandy is the trio's rival at school and has long black hair and violet eyes. Being the model of the "popular teenager" stereotype, she is shown to be stylish, popular and attractive (at least in her own opinion), while others see her as unpleasant. Her mother, Phoebe, is given a different personality in each episode, but her appearance remains the same, as does her high and squeaky voice with a nasal laugh. Mandy even became a spy at one point, donning a purple spysuit, but quit when she was overwhelmed with the difficulty. Her two best friends, Dominique and Caitlin, follow her around almost constantly in seasons 1–4.

• David – (mostly Season 2, guest star in Season 4): David is a desirable guy in whom all three of the girls (as well as their nemesis, Mandy) are romantically interested. He was introduced in the episode "It's How You Play The Game". He loves the arts, including guitar playing, poetry and painting. He also has a love of nature and history. He has loose, brown hair and tanned skin.

• Arnold Jackson – (Seasons 1–4, guest star in Season 5): Arnold is a classmate of the girls and is a stereotypical nerd. Arnold is highly smart but socially inept and tends to be a bit unpleasant. In some episodes, he acts as a sycophant and minion of Mandy's; in other episodes, she teases him. He mostly acts as an unintentional obstacle to the girls and their goals.

• Britney – (Seasons 2–3, 5-present): In Seasons 2–3, Britney was a minor but important character. Britney was, at the time, the newest recruit to the team and was introduced in the episode "Alex Quits". Britney is of Asian descent and wears a blue spy outfit.

• Dean – (Season 4–5): Dean is an agent from WOOHP like Sam, Clover and Alex. He first appeared in "Evil Promotion Much?" as their trainer and was later shown in "Deja Cruise" as Jerry's sidekick for Sam, Alex and Clover's super spies test. The girls have shown some romantic interest in Dean, and he is the only boy who can resist Clover, much to her disdain. He is also the only male agent of WOOHP other than Jerry (and later Blaine) with a significant role. Dean returned in the episode "WOOHP-tastic" and was put in charge of the WOOHP gadget lab. He also takes part in the final battle in the series finale.

• Blaine – (Season 5-present): Blaine is introduced in the episode "Evil Granny" as the captain of the Mali-U beach volleyball team. His interests are similar to Clover's, which led to their dating within 5 minutes of his introduction. As Season 5 has a more continuous story, Blaine's relationship with Clover is the first in the series to last for more than one episode. The next two episodes (#109 and #110) deal entirely with this relationship. It is revealed that he is actually a freelance assassin sent by Geraldine Husk to kill Clover, who had convinced him that Clover was an evil spy. He finds out that isn't true, and the two of them continue dating for a short while. However, Geraldine later uses Blaine as a trap to capture Clover. At the conclusion of his initial story arc, Blaine joins WOOHP and is assigned to the Australia branch, and is later joined by Britney as his new partner, much to Clover's disdain.

Villains

For the first three seasons, the villains featured in the series were generally characters who appeared in just one episode. Most of them are villains because they have suffered some major disappointment, such as being constantly rejected by men or women, or trauma. Only a few villains ever made a second appearance, which always focused around them attempting to get revenge on the girls for foiling their original scheme.

In the Season 3 finale, the show gave the spies an actual arch-nemesis in the form of Terence "Terry" Lewis, Jerry's evil twin brother. Terence was supposed to be the show's final villain, being the main antagonist of the three-part episode "Evil Promotion Much?", originally intended as the series finale. When the show was renewed for a fourth season, Terence was brought back and given a major role as the main enemy of the girls. He forms a Legion of Doom-style organization called LAMOS, composed of the show's recurring villains, in order to battle the spies. Also in Season 4, Mandy and her friends Caitlin and Dominique became "Spy-sassins", the evil versions of the spies.

Headquarters

The World Organization Of Human Protection (or W.O.O.H.P.) is a fictional worldwide spy agency in Totally Spies!. Founded and headed by Jerry James Lewis, WOOHP uses cutting-edge technology and highly skilled agents to fight crime and defuse humanitarian crises all over the world. Its W-shaped headquarters building is located in Downtown Los Angeles.

Clover, Sam, and Alex are WOOHP's top three superspies, frequently called in to solve the most difficult cases worldwide. When he needs them, Jerry can "WOOHP" them to his office at the press of a button from wherever they might be. This is usually done via vacuum tunnels that lead to the office, but they have also been blasted to their destination via rocket ship, teleported, picked right off the freeway via helicopter, and scooped up by a passing train. On missions, Jerry provides the spies with information, analyzes clues, and occasionally steps in to give them a hand.

In Season 3, Jerry added the computer system G.L.A.D.I.S. to help him run his office. After two seasons, G.L.A.D.I.S. was written off the show in Season 5 as having been deactivated due to her attitude.

W.O.O.H.P. is shown to actually have four branches, in America, Europe, Australia and Antarctica. It also has a sister organization: W.O.O.A.P., the World Organization Of Animal Protection.

Opening Sequences

Seasons 1 and 2

The opening sequence for Seasons 1 and 2 features random footage of Sam, Clover and Alex in daily life and as undercover spies from several episodes. When Totally Spies! aired in the USA on Cartoon Network, an opening was composed using footage from Season 2, with a silver metallic logo and an instrumental version of Here We Go.

Seasons 3 and 4

The opening sequence for Seasons 3 and 4 begins with the TS logo appearing; then the camera zooms in through the logo and we get a brief glimpse of the girls in their villa. The girls and their X-powder rings go down through a vacuum tube into Jerry's office. Jerry snaps his fingers and the X-powder instantly exchanges their clothes for their spy uniforms. After that, footage from several episodes is shown. In the end, a still of the girls dressed in their spy uniforms appears, along with the purple Totally Spies! logo and the word "undercover" in digital writing below the logo.

Season 5

The opening sequence for Season 5 is similar to that for Seasons 3 and 4, but footage of the girls at Malibu University is shown. The opening animation of the TS logo has also been redesigned.

Season 6

The opening sequence for Season 6 will have completely new footage, but will be similar to Seasons 3–5. One of the episodes is a special about Versailles.

Media

Main article: List of Totally Spies! episodes

Broadcast history

Totally Spies! ran for a total of 5 seasons with 130 episodes.

In the United States, the show originally aired on ABC Family (along with Braceface) on Saturday mornings from 2001 to 2002, then in 2003, it moved to the Cartoon Network. After airing four seasons, Cartoon Network's contract to air Totally Spies expired, and since they didn't extend it, the channel was unable to air the show's fifth season. In March 2010, Cartoon Network re-licensed Totally Spies!. They have also licensed its spin-off, The Amazing Spiez! which cost the channel €16 million (US$21.5 million) and Totally Spies! The Movie, which cost them US$20 million. It is now currently available on Kabillion's Girls Rule On Demand.

In the Netherlands, Totally Spies! debuted in 2001 on Fox Kids. As of 2013, the show is still airing on Disney XD, Disney Channel and Nickelodeon. That means Totally Spies! has aired for over eleven years in the Netherlands. Season 6 of Totally Spies! first aired on August 29nd in The Netherlands on Nickelodeon. That makes The Netherland the fisrt country to show and air the new episodes.

The series also debuted in 2012 on Nickelodeon Asia, which means it is shown in all of southeast Asia and other countries with Nick Asia. In December 2011, Marathon announced that the series will be continued with a Season 6, to air in September 2013 on Cartoon Network.

In the United Kingdom a Season 5 and 6 returns to air in TBA, on Nickelodeon.

Home video releases

Goodtimes Entertainment released Totally Spies! on VHS and DVD in three volumes in 2004, each containing four episodes from Season 1. These releases are now out-of-print.

• Totally Spies Volume 1: First Secret Missions (contains Season 1 episodes "A Thing for Musicians", "Queen for a Day", "The New Jerry" and "A Spy is Born Part 1")
• Totally Spies Volume 2: The Getaway (contains Season 1 episodes "A Spy is Born Part 2", "The Getaway", "Stuck in the Middle Ages With You" and "The Eraser")
• Totally Spies Volume 3: Spies Attack (contains Season 1 episodes "Abductions", "Child's Play", "The Fugitives" and "Model Citizens")

Later in Canada, DEP Distribution released a complete Season 2 box set of DVDs. In New Zealand and Australia, the movie's DVD has been released with English audio. In Italy, both a DVD and a Blu-ray have been released, both containing Italian and English audio.

New Video Group has acquired the American DVD rights for the series as well as digital rights for the first three seasons of the series. They plan on releasing Season 1 in two volumes in August 2013, Season 2 in two volumes in October 2013, and a set containing the first 3 seasons in October as well.

Video games

The Totally Spies series was initially followed up with two video games titled Totally Spies! and Totally Spies! 2: Undercover. Both were developed by Mistic Software and published by Atari for the Nintendo Game Boy Advance and/or Nintendo DS. IGN rated Totally Spies! 2: Undercover with a score of 4.0/10 citing poor overall game presentation. Totally Spies! 3: Secret Agents was released in Europe and Australia for the Nintendo DS. Totally Spies! Totally Party was released in North America, Europe and Australia for the PlayStation 2, Wii and PC.

Spin-off

A spin-off series on Cartoon Network called The Amazing Spiez! features new characters as spies, though Sam, Alex and Clover make occasional cameos. Jerry is also seen saying his famous "Hello, Spies!" phrase. The series focuses on four young teenage siblings, Lee, Megan, Marc and Tony Clark, who have new and improved gadgets. The show had its world premiere on March 15, 2009, on Disney Channel Asia; and it had its US premiere on April 26, 2010, on Cartoon Network. Only Season 1 episodes and ten Season 2 episodes aired in the US. It was not as successful as the original series, but may return after the sixth season of Totally Spies! is finished airing.

Martin Mystery, a series that aired from 2003 to 2006, can also be considered a spinoff series as they were guest characters in a Totally Spies episode, although this occurred 4 years after Martin Mystery ended.

Comics

A Totally Spies! comic book comes out 12 times a year in Sweden. Five books with about 90 pages came out in Brazil as well. Each book represents an episode from the series. There is another comic called Totally Spies Unleashed; this opens with “I Hate the 80s!”, in which a bad guy, Boogie Gus, has invented a retro ray that de-ages people. The second story, “Attack of the 50 Ft. Tall Mandy”, turns their nemesis into a giant in a plot that involves a beauty contest and an escaped evil scientist.

Reception

The reception for Totally Spies! has been mostly positive. The show was chosen as "Best performing cartoon" 4kids and had the best ratings (Fox Kids UK). It was number 1 in its time slot in France (TF1 and Jetix), Italy (Italia Uno), the Netherlands (Fox Kids, then Jetix, now Disney XD, Disney Channel and Nickelodeon), Brazil (TV Globo) and the US (Cartoon Network). The Den in Ireland was the first TV station in Europe to show new episodes. The show has been sold to more than 100 countries. In 2004, it was Cartoon Network's second-highest-rated show. The show is popular among both girls and boys, with, according to David Michel (co-creator and co-producer of Totally Spies!) "a 50% boys 50% girls audience ratio, whereas everybody was predicting the show would score very low on boys".

External links

• Official website
• Totally Spies! at IMDb
• Totally Spies on Whoop.org
• Totally Spies! Fashion Agents on Facebook