There is one word in the English language that , when repeated three times in a row , instantly conjures up something magical . It might be unearthly , and a little bit chilling at times , but saying those words out loud guarantees a raucous adventure . They are , of course : “ Zoom Zoom Zoom . ”
Disney Channel ’s Zenon : Girl of the 21st Century is celebrating its twentieth anniversary today . Loosely based on the children ’s book serial by Marilyn Sadler , the Disney Channel Original Movie stars Kirsten Storms as Zenon , a teenage little girl from the class 2049 who ’s spent most of her life on a inquiry station in space . After uncovering a dangerous patch by the space place ’s owner , she ’s literally “ grounded ” and sent to live with her aunt on Earth . There , she see about precious son , ponies , and onion rings . Oh , and how theprivatization of space programswill pencil lead to nothing but disaster and last .
To commemorate the day of remembrance , I spoke with one of the motion picture ’s most - infamous personalities : Phillip Rhys , who played the sway ace Proto Zoa . know more lately for asterisk onSyfy ’s Nightflyers , the approaching Pretty Little Liars spinoff , and the “ Husbands of River Song ” Doctor Who especial , Rhys still looks back fondly on the movie that made him a household face among tween girls ( 13 - twelvemonth - old Beth Elderkin would be having a field day if she knew this audience was on the sensible horizon ) .
“ I ’m just astonished by the response because in many ways I thought it was just another job — a honorable Book of Job , but another line , ” Rhys told me . “ Every kid had a Zenon [ and ] Proto Zoa experience . It ’s incredible , the showdown I have daily when they connect the dots . First they hear the accent mark , then they know I ’m an thespian , and then ‘ Oh my gosh , you ’re Proto Zoa ! ’ ”
According to Rhys , Proto Zoa was just one in a number of instrumentalist he ’d bring that year , suppose that when you ’re “ in your 20 ’s and you have an English dialect , you get kind of typecast . ” Of course , Proto Zoa was n’t just any rock star , he was a outer space rock star from the hereafter , with spiky bleached hair . Rhys said the blonde hair was a leftover from a previous character , inspired by the characters in Trainspotting , but Proto Zoa was an enigma all his own . “ He ’s a bit Bowie , he ’s a bit Elvis , he ’s a bit Liberace , ” he say .
However , there is one thing Proto Zoa definitely is n’t : a good professional dancer .
Rhys say the biggest hurdle in playing Proto Zoa was the last song and dancing number , to the now - notorious “ Zoom Zoom Zoom . ” The original dance , orchestrated by Michael Jackson ’s choreographer , was a merriment and complex rock wiz romp . But Rhys … couldn’t quite get a grip on it .
“ There I was on stage , in costume , with my banding Microbe , and they played the song . And crikey , I was just abyssal . You should ’ve seen their faces . Their jaw drop , ” Rhys said . “ They did n’t ask if I could trip the light fantastic toe , they just arrogate I had some sort of rhythm method . And I was perfectly atrocious . ”
They ended up making a modified version for Rhys to perform . “ I went home that Nox and practice this very simple bit . I did n’t get much sopor that night , just trying to practise these dance moves . But if you look , the band are the ones that are dancing . I pretty much just quell still , or point to the sky and star — or Zenon . ”
Zenon and its Zequel , which Rhys also performed in ( he wasreplacedfor the third film due to scheduling difference ) , may be decades old now — but Rhys has remain a strong presence in the region of skill fabrication . More lately , he was Murphy on Syfy ’s Nightflyers , but he also encounter Ramone on the2015 Doctor Who Christmas peculiar , “ The Husbands of River Song . ” That one was unquestionably a favorite for him — not only because he ’s a immense Doctor Who fan , but also because its human - focused stories are what he be intimate the most in scientific discipline fabrication .
“ When I [ was ] on that curing inside the TARDIS , and in and around that domain , I was just beside myself . I could n’t believe it . It was a substantial pipe dream descend honest , ” Rhys said . “ With regards to science fiction , I love it as a genre . And I love it when you ’re deal with human issue within that context . It ’s something [ Stanley ] Kubrick did so well , and some of the bestDoctor Who episodes , and even Nightflyers . They ’re still human stories . The behemoth and all that , they ’re great , but in the end , it ’s character - driven tale that makes you feel something . ”
queerly , that variety of brings us back to Zenon . It might have been a silly motion-picture show for kids about a fille who lived on a blank space station , but it was also surprisingly grounded — a role - driven “ Pisces out of water ” story about a girl pick up to make the best of a bad spot and press for the people she cared about . And , as Rhys point out , it also capitalise on a vital time when technology was changing rapidly , and kids were check how to change with it . The picture fundamentally predicts iPads , GoPros , and Elon Musk — even if it still recall solar - power car were the way of the future tense . No matter if the engineering has become dated , or the dad culture references ( though “ President Chelsea Clinton ” still cook me bright ) , it ’s still a stupidly serious meter .
“ I ’ve been in a numeral of projects . you may have a great playscript and the shoot fail well — but something happen in Charles William Post , or something pass in the way they market it . There ’s so many variables , ” Rhys enjoin . “ It was that minute in clip where it stick . If you were to do a reboot of it now , it may not stick to . ”
Zetus Lupetus .
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