Student Bodies is a Canadian-American television sitcom that was produced in Montreal from 1997 to 1999.[1] While a live-action series, animations are used throughout as thoughts and imaginations. The segments are comical, bizarre and sometimes dark.
Though the show enjoyed much bigger success in Canada, the show was originally made for the American market under the distribution of 20th Television and aired on many Fox affiliated stations during the 1997-1998 and 1998–1999 seasons,[2][3] as well as a brief return during the winter of 2000.[4][5][6] The show aired in Canada on Global and YTV. It has been called "an imitation of Saved by the Bell" by critics,[citation needed] and featured an ensemble cast of high school students at Thomas A. EdisonHigh School. As of 2018, the show aired in reruns on ABC Spark.
Characters
Cody Anthony Miller (Jamie Elman), the protagonist of the show, was the cartoonist for the high school newspaper publication of the same name as the show, which rivaled the official school paper led by Victor Kane (Miklos Perlus). In the first season, Cody had an ongoing rivalry with Victor, the weaselly editor of the Student Voice, but they became friends after the staff of the "Student Voice" joined "Student Bodies".
The audience regularly saw his thoughts on the show's current situation in the form of his cartoons, a technique that has been used on other shows such as Lizzie McGuire. His cartoons were also often used as scene and location transitions, as a continuation of the current live scene, and in the opening and closing sequences. Another main source of Cody's cartoon drawings were his relationships with his girlfriends throughout the series, who included "Student Bodies" editor Emily Roberts (Nicole Lyn) and fellow member Grace Vasquez (Victoria Sanchez), and other characters including "transition" girlfriend Holly Benson (Katheryn Winnick) and Kim McCloud (Jennifer Finnigan), who became a main character in the third season.
Others in the cast included Erin Simms, who played Morgan McKnight in the first season and was the object of Chris Sheppard's (Ross Hull) infatuation, before he and Margaret "Mags" Abernathy (Katie Emme McIninch) became a couple on the show. Jessica Goldapple played Francesca "Flash" Albright, the photographer loyal to Victor Kane (Miklos Perlus) and Mark Taylor played Romeo Carter, who became Emily's boyfriend after Cody and Emily broke up. Romeo and Emily break up near the end of the show's final season. Staff at Edison High included vice-principal Mrs. Morton, played by Michelle Sweeney.
Trivia
The show was produced in Montreal despite being initially recorded and broadcast in English, was French dubbed entirely in France and broadcast, re-titled Vice-Versa, on Canal Famille (now Vrak) in Quebec.
The show's opening theme song (as well as the opening credits sequence) changed after the first seasons, to a pop rock-style theme song. This new theme song remained until the end of the series.
The show was shot at the site of a then moved primary school (formerly of École Saint-Gabriel-Lalemant) at Rue Louis-Hémon/Rue des Écores in Rosemont–La Petite-Patrie in Montreal, which is now an adult education centre (Centre Marie-Médiatrice).
Co-creator Alan Silberberg designed the animated segments.
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