M.I. High

M.I. High
File:M.I High Tiltle Card.jpg Top: Series 3-5 title card Bottom: Series 6 title card
Created by	Jayden Delbridge
Directed by	Richard Mark Elson Toby Haynes Simon Hook Mat King Zam Salim
Starring	Chris Stanton (1—) Jonny Freeman (3—) Chanelle Owen(3-5,7-) Natasha Watson (6—) Oyiza Momoh (6—) Sam Strike (6—) Oscar Jacques (6—) Rachel Petladwala (1-5) Ben Kerfoot (3-5) Charlene Osuagwu (3-5) Bel Powley (1-2) Moustafa Palazli (1-2) Danny John-Jules (1-2) Jane Cameron (1-2)
Country of origin	United Kingdom
No. of episodes	75 (list of episodes)
Production
Producer	Kerry Appleyard
Running time	Approx. 28 minutes
Production company	Kudos
Original release
Network	BBC One, CBBC
Release	8 January 2007 (2007-01-08) – present

M.I. High is a BBC children's spy-fi adventure series. It was produced for the BBC by the independent production company Kudos, who also produced the hit BBC spy drama Spooks. It follows in the success of the Young Bond and the Alex Rider series of books and films. M.I. High is recorded in high definition and is shown on the CBBC Channel and CBBC Outputs on BBC One and BBC Two. M.I. High is also shown on the BBC HD Channel. Repeats also frequently air in Australia on ABC3.But on ABC3 some scenes have been cut. As of October 2012 the series has began airing on the UKTV channel Watch.

Scenario

The series following the adventures of four secondary school pupils who work as undercover spies. The spies are led by M.I.9 agent Frank London (Jonny Freeman) and working undercover as the school caretaker. All other spies' covers have been rumbled and the only spies left undercover are those still being trained, including those still in school. Their base is 230 ft below the school,they enter the base by sliding a light switch across which reveals a finger print scanner lock. They enter the caretaker's store room, pull a broom which turns the floor into a high-speed lift which changes the spies' clothing and hairstyles. The identity of the overarching villains across series 1-5, the Grand Master, and series 6, the Mastermind remains a mystery within the show. Using their Knowledge and the field tactics they must save the world from evil plans and world dominations can the newly formed group be able to save the world

Revival

2013

MI High was renewed for a sixth series in early 2013. The first broadcast of the show was aired on the CBBC channel on Monday 7 January 2013. Jonny Freeman was still playing his part as the caretaker and the head of M.I. High but was joined by four new cast members: Zoe (Natasha Watson), Aniesha Jones (Oyiza Momoh ), Dan Morgan (Sam Strike) and Tom Tupper (Oscar Jacques.) The MI High project has been moved to a new school called Bleakwood Academy but later in the first episode it is renamed St. Hearts. Paul Bamford played a new character called Big Roly. With Rose leaving at the end of series 5, Mr. Flatley is now the only character to appear in all the series.

2014

A seventh series has been confirmed, although scripts are still currently being written. Filming started in the summer of 2013 and the episodes are to be shown at the beginning of 2014. Mrs King comes back in this series.

Characters

Current

Main article: List of M.I. High characters

• Kenneth Flatley (Saint Hope's/Saint Hearts' Headmaster Series 1-), played by Chris Stanton. He is unaware of the spying activities along with much else that happens in the school. He is the only character to appear in all 7 of the series. In series 6, when Mr Flatley gets locked up he appears to think Stella has a good relationship with Frank.
• Frank London (Saint Hope's / Saint Heart's Caretaker / M.I. High's Supervising Agent, Series 3-) is an M.I.9 agent deep undercover posing as Saint Heart's School's caretaker. Frank is also the father figure to all of his agents, especially Oscar Cole and Zoe. Played by Jonny Freeman.
• Aneisha Jones (Saint Heart's Student and M.I.9 Spy, Series 6-), played by Oyiza Momoh. Aniesha Jones is a field agent with Dan and Zoe. She fights KORPS, and is the master of disguise in the group.
• Dan Morgan (Saint Heart's Student and M.I.9 Spy, Series 6-), played by Sam Strike. Daniel Morgan is a very good field agent with Zoe and Aniesha. Him and Zoe fancy each other as shown in various episodes of the series, especially episode 9 and 13, where he risks his life to save her. Melissa Allbright has a crush on him but he doesn't feel the same as he has feelings for Zoe .
• Tom Tupper (Saint Heart's Student and M.I.9 Spy, Series 6-) played by Oscar Jacques. Tom is the gadget boy of the group, he usually stays behind at base and guides the others through their missions, eating biscuits. In one episode, The Germinator, he goes out and has to save the day, as the rest of the team are critically ill. Apparently it was 'way too dangerous'.
• Zoe (Saint Heart's Student and M.I.9 Spy, Series 6-), played by Natasha Watson. Zoe is partially technical agent, but mainly a field agent. She works well with Dan and Aniesha and all are friends. She has feelings for Daniel Morgan and she's good friends with Melissa Allbright. It is revealed that she is the Mastermind's daughter. In episode 12 it reveals that Zoe is a clone of the Mastermind, the only successful one, and also in episode 13 it shows that Dan would do anything to save her.

Past

• Rose Gupta (Saint Hope's Student and M.I.9 Spy, Series 1-5), played by Rachel Petladwala. Rose has a high IQ, winning various competitions and producing miscellaneous inventions throughout the series. She is the team's scientific, technical and analytical expert. At school, Rose is shown as a stereotypical type of 'nerd' with big glasses, either with her hair tied up or tied back. She is usually always shown carrying several books. At times she can get frustrated over stupidity, clumsiness or not knowing something. When Daisy and Blane leave and Rose get into her second year of being a spy she is more confident in her self and is being recognised by the class and rose also develops more skills in her Physical technics.
• Oscar Cole (Saint Hope's student and M.I.9 Spy, Series 3-5), played by Ben Kerfoot, is the team's cover, social 'chameleon' and infiltration expert, speaking over 14 different languages. Oscar's mother, Jade Dixon-Halliday, betrayed M.I.9 for S.K.U.L. She appears to be a double agent, switching sides continuously to gain the advantage. Oscar seems very insecure about his mum, not wanting anybody to find out what she is like. In 'Return of the Mummy,' she is believed to be on S.K.U.L.'s side. Oscar's father, Edward Dixon-Halliday, went missing in action in a mission that he took up in Africa when Oscar was 4 and Oscar believed that he had died. However, as revealed in 'The Lost Hero,' is alive and was working as a mole in S.K.U.L. after taking 9 years to escape from Africa. It is also revealed that Oscar did not live with foster parents but instead an MI9 agent, who tried bonding with him but failed. Before it was revealed that Oscar's father was alive he was very close to Frank, much closer than Rose or Carrie. This is especially shown in 'Operation Flopsy' when Oscar turned to Frank alone about S.K.U.L and his mother.
• Carrie Stewart (Saint Hope's Student and M.I.9 Spy, Series 3-5), played by Charlene Osuagwu, is a skilled gymnast on the British gymnastic team, and proficient in various types of martial arts.
• Blane Whittaker (Saint Hope's Student and M.I.9 Spy, Series 1-2), played by Moustafa Palazli. He was one of the three original agents in M.I. High. Blane was a karate black belt and held the UK long jump record. Blane has been best friends with Stewart since the age of six. It was mentioned in 'Nerd Alert' that Blane has an older brother who's in the military. After the end of series two, both Blane and Daisy leave the series, to go and train new child agents for M.I.9. Blane's hobbies include watching martial arts films and playing video games. He also has feelings for Daisy as this is blatantly obvious throughout the series.
• Daisy Miller (Saint Hope's Student and M.I.9 Spy, Series 1-2), played by Bel Powley. She was one of the three original agents in M.I. High. Daisy is a master of disguise, and in many episodes she goes undercover. Daisy is an only child. Her parents both work abroad. She has met the Queen because of her dad's important political position and lives in a big country estate, although she tells no-one at school about her family or where she lives. Only Blane finds out the truth in 'The Power Thief'. After the end of series two, both Daisy and Blane leave the series, to go off and train new child agents for M.I.9. She has an interest in Blane but hasn't told him though he asks her in the episode 'Spy Animals' whether she fancied him or not. She and Blane had to resign from spy work to train young spies. She is also in love with Blane.
• Shaun Coll (Saint Hope's Student), played by Barry Malone. His hobbies include pretending to be a spy. The agents get a bit nervous as they think Shaun knows something about what they do. In Series 6 they take him in for questioning.
• Lenny Bicknall (Saint Hope's Caretaker / M.I. High's Supervising Agent, Series 1-2), played by Danny John-Jules. He was an M.I.9 agent deep undercover posing as Saint Hope's School's caretaker. He has been with M.I.9 for many years and has been involved in several espionage missions. His own personal spy gadget is a signalling device concealed within the handle of his broom, which he uses when in caretaker guise to contact agents under his care. Lenny moves on from M.I. High before series 3, and is replaced by Frank.
• The Grand Master (S.K.U.L. Super Villain, Series 1-6), played by Julian Bleach and voice by Kerry Shale (series 1), Winnie Mromria (series 5-6). The Leader of S.K.U.L., the Super Kriminal Underworld League. He owns a white rabbit which he refers to as General Flopsy. The Grand Master's face is never seen on-screen; his features are always concealed in shadows, or covered with sunglasses and a scarf. In the first episode of Series 6, S.K.U.L. falls after an assault on numerous S.K.U.L. bases and The Grand Master's capture by M.I.9. He now resides in an M.I.9 prison with Flopsy living in HQ.
• The Grand Mistress (Super Villain), played by Tracy Ann Oberman. In series 4, S.K.U.L. was taken over by the Grand Mistress with the help of animatronic animals. Though defeated in the episode she became the villain in the second M.I. High game and returned in series 5.

Episodes

Main article: List of M.I. High episodes

Merchandise

Books

Books have been released including three novels, a survival handbook and a 2012 annual.

Book	Year published	Cover photo	Notes
M. I. High: A New Generation	31 January 2008	A Split Picture of Rose, Blane and Daisy.	Paperback
M. I. High: Secrets & Spieeees	31 January 2008	A Split Picture of Rose, Blane and Daisy.	Paperback
MI High: Spy Survival Handbook	31 January 2008	Rose, Blane and Daisy in M.I High Headquarters.	Paperback
M.I. High Annual 2012	1 August 2011	Carrie, Oscar and Rose running.	Hardcover
MI High: The Midas Machine	3 January 2012	Rose, Oscar and Carrie running in M.I High Headquarters.	Paperback

Three novels were written, but never published. The first two were "Race Against Time" and "Dangerous Games", both planned to be published in March 2008, and the third was "The Midas Machine", as listed above.

Comic

Release name	Release date	Author	Publisher	Notes	Ref
Totally… M.I. High	27 January 2011(UK)	Caryn Jenner	Titan Magazines

DVD release

The first series of M.I. High was scheduled to be released on DVD in two five-episode installments. The first of which was released on 21 January 2008 and the second was to follow on 31 March 2008 but was cancelled indefinitely, the rest of the DVD collection has been suspended indefinitely. The first DVD includes a documentary about the series (which is made up of various short clips show during the series on CBBC Extra).

DVD release name	Episodes	Years of series	UK release date (Region 2)	North American release date (Region 1)	Australian release date (Region 4)
M.I High: Series 1 Vol 1	S1 Ep 1-5	2007	21 January 2008	N/A	2 March 2010

iTunes releases

MI High Series 1-3 has released digitally on iTunes Australia and France, they are on present in Standard-definition.

Netflix releases

Netflix UK has released Series 1 on their streaming service and they are present in High-definition.

M.I. High games

Whack the Mole!

Starting at the beginning of series two there was a new interactive web experience that could be found at the show's web site. The game was created by Xenophile Media. After gaining access to the Flash-based game with a registration process, players could participate in weekly missions. The missions were tied in with events occurring on the show each week, but the game included video clips that summarised each episode which made it possible for people outside of the broadcast area to play the game as well.

The plot of the game centered around the spy school which was the basis of the television programme. There was a mole amongst the students, and it was the job of the player to try to figure out who the rogue agent was. At the successful end of each mission, the list of suspects was narrowed down automatically.

The user interface included the Digital Operations Research Assistant (D.O.R.A), which guided players to manipulate various technological tools including a geographic locator and an audio analyzer. Players were given instructions about how to use the tools to have success in the missions.

When a player completed the game, they would find out who the Mole was (it was Number 9: Panda Strobel)

Catch The Grand Mistress

For series 4 and 5, "Whack the Mole" was relaunched to tie in with the new series. The objective was to catch the Grand Mistress, the main antagonist of Series 4, Episode 2, "The Bunny Whisperer" and Series 5, Episode 2, "The B-Team." Each week, missions would be unlocked. Information would be released in each mission to allow the player to eliminate bases, which would result in the correct base being located by process of elimination at the end of the game. Various clues about the Grand Mistress' mistress plan were also scattered throughout the game. For the new game, the graphics were modified and updated, but retained the same high-tech look. D.O.R.A. and the Spy Pod was also present in the new game.

When a player completed the game, they would find out that her secret lair was in the Kingsway Telephone Exchange and that her mistress plan was to build a particle accelerator to create everlasting batteries for her hypnotic toy, the Whoozle Top, not to create a black hole underneath London as the agents first thought.

Spy Skills

For the 2013 relaunch of M.I.High, a new game was launched to tie in with the new series. The objective is to complete missions in different areas of intelligence. The games and their agents are as follows:

• Dan - Codename: Scramble (complete missions scaling walls of buildings to escape KORPS agents)
• Aneisha - Undercover Ops (use a CAT device to collect items needed by Aneisha to infiltrate KORPS)
• Tom - Intel. Interception (use a radial data scanner to decode messages being transmitted by KORPS)
• Zoe - Surveillance Set-Up (plant tracking devices near KORPS)

External links

• M.I. High at BBC Online
• M.I. High at Kudos Kudos Film and Television
• M.I. High at BBC France
• M.I. High at IMDb
• In Sweden

References

EXTRAS: Barry Malone Lauren McGarvey