Baxter (TV series)

Baxter
Pilot episode intertitle
Created by	Daphne Ballon Alex Pugsley
Starring	Evan Williams Holly Deveaux Kyle Mac Brittany Bristow Shannon Kook-Chun Tara Joshi Dewshane Williams
Theme music composer	Angelo Oddi
Opening theme	performed by Evan Williams
Composer(s)	Angelo Oddi
Country of origin	Canada
Original language(s)	English
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	13
Production
Executive producer(s)	Daphne Ballon Christina Jennings Scott Garvie
Producer(s)	Laura Harbin Jan Peter Meyboom (supervising producers) Stephen Montgomery Suzanne French
Location(s)	Toronto, Ontario (filming location)
Camera setup	Film; Single-camera
Running time	Approx. 22 minutes
Production company(s)	Family Shaftesbury Kids
Release
Original network	Family
Picture format	480i (SDTV) 1080i (HDTV)
Original release	May 24, 2010 – January 2, 2011

Baxter is a Canadian children's comedy television series. The series is produced by Shaftesbury Films, in association with Family Channel. The series ran from May 24, 2010 to January 2, 2011 before being cancelled later that year.^[1]

Plot

Baxter is a half-hour live-action comedy that follows slacker student and wannabe comedian Baxter McNab and his friends at Northern Star School of the Arts.^[2]

Cast

• Evan Williams as Baxter McNab, a slacker student when he accepted into his father's old high school, his acting style is a comedy winging it and has a love for improv acting. He also has a not so hidden crush on the new girl to the school Tassie Symons, and may develop a relationship with his best friend Emma Ruby. The two also share the first kiss of the series in "Trust Game" during an improv show down.
• Holly Deveaux as Emma Ruby, Baxter's best friend and aspiring actor who has shown an affinity towards dance, and accidental improv as shown when she and Baxter make fun of Shakespeare in "Trust Game". And she might develop feelings for Baxter and/or Devo. Devon and Emma had a moment on the episode "Dancing Fools."
• Kyle Mac as Marcus Crombie, Baxter's main rival in the series. He and Baxter are polar opposites in almost every way from their attitudes to their acting styles. Marcus prefers heavily scripted works of art but has shown to be able to adapt rather quickly to new events as shown in "Cindy and the Prince of Rock".
• Brittany Bristow as Tassie Symons, a new girl who came to Northern Star to help launch an acting career. Baxter has a crush on her but she likes his rival Marcus.
• Shannon Kook as Devon Phillip, a street dancer who came to Northern Star because his mom felt he needed a more control when he dances. He also develop feelings for Emma, considering the episode "Dancing Fools."
• Tara Joshi as Jenna Jacovitch, the star of the hit TV show "My Girlfriend Is an Alien". She takes dance and is over dramatic.
• Dewshane Williams as Jackal Corman, a director in the making. He also has an affinity towards dance getting along well with Devon even making their own hit dance together, called Dance Craz-Y.

Recurring cast:

• Baxter's Mom, a small-time actress who is shrewd but caring when raising her three children.
• The twins, Baxter's younger brother and sister. One or both are usually involved in a parallel to Baxter's dilemma, which may or may not inspire him.
• Professor Kingsfield, the drama teacher at Northern Star. He is quite stern and takes his role as a teacher seriously, but is not without a heart. He is the only person other than Emma at Northern Star to know who Baxter's father is.

Episodes 2010-2011

Episode #[3]	Episode title	Original air date
1	"Baxter McNab"	6 June 2010
On his first day of school, Baxter resolves to keep his famous father a secret but BF Emma has other plans. When he thinks he's only there because his father's a grad, Baxter has to choose between bolting and taking part in the New Student Showcase.
2	"Cry Me a River"	13 June 2010
Baxter thinks his emotional life is his own business but risks getting kicked out of the drama program if he can’t cry on stage. Meanwhile Devon can’t figure out why he only got an A- for his dance performance.
3	"Mock vs Rock"	24 May 2010
Baxter and gang decide to do a Spinal Tap type performance for the battle of the bands competition, as a send up of Marcus's pretentious art rock band. They decide, since Baxter is actually talented, that they should compete for real but Baxter's not so sure that's a good idea...
4	"Trust Games"	18 July 2010
When a theatre games instructor comes to the school, Baxter takes to it like a duck to water; unlike his partner Emma who finds improv terrifying. Deven is supposed to do a ballet routine with the school diva.
5	"To Crush or Not To Crush"	20 June 2010
Baxter writes a secret love poem to Tassie that gets posted, anonymously, on the bulletin board. Jackal has to make an experimental film, which he thinks is a waste of time.
6	"Duelling Hearts"	27 June 2010
Emma is asked to run the Renaissance Festival and goes overboard: demoting her best buddy Baxter from duelist to jester. Deven and Jenna are frustrated by the lame Renaissance dancing and threaten to quit.
7	"Vampire Movies"	10 October 2010
Baxter and Emma, with Jackal's help, decide to make a vampire movie for English class starring Tassie, Marcus and Jenna. When the girls get sick of the boys’ lame take on vampires they decide to do their own film.
8	"Audition Fever"	4 July 2010
Baxter tries out for a small part in the musical and then, to tick off Marcus, decides to compete with him for the lead. Meanwhile Emma and Jenna are competing for the same part.
9	"Zap the Competition"	11 July 2010
K-Red, the pretentious director of a pimple commercial and one of Jackal’s heroes, is shooting at the school and various students try to create the perfect zit commercial, while Marcus tries to shut the whole thing down.
10	"Cindy and the Prince of Rock"	25 July 2010
When the musical theatre teacher has a serious creative block due to "romantic problems", Emma and Baxter have to save the day. Meanwhile Marcus and Tassie, as the leads in the musical, are falling for each other.
11	"Dance Craze-Y"	24 May 2010
Baxter goes toe-to-toe with Kingfield when he decides to organize a school dance, defying Kingfield’s long-term ban. Emma tries to cheer up Tassie after she gets dumped by Marcus. Deven and Jackal want to create the next dance craze.
12	"Dancing Fools"	1 August 2010
Baxter joins a lyrical dance workshop to get closer to the mysterious Anya. Meanwhile, Deven's not loving lyrical dance and needs Emma's help to go through with it.
13	"Finale"	2 January 2011
The performance of the musical “Cindy and the Prince of Rock”—Baxter is dismayed when his comic support role is turned into a lead, especially after he hears his father is attending the performance.

Production

The series was commissioned by Family Channel and then produced by Shaftesbury Films. The series was created by Alex Pugsley and Daphne Ballon with Christina Jennings and Scott Garvie as executive producers. Season one aired on May 24, 2010 and finished on January 2, 2011.^[4]

References

1. Diane (May 11, 2010). "Baxter premieres May 24 on Family Channel". Press Release. TV-Eh!. Retrieved 22 August 2010.
2. "Family Channel gets an education in the performing arts with premiere of new original series, Baxter". Canada Newswire. Digital Journal. May 11, 2010. Retrieved 22 August 2010.
3. "Family Online Schedule - May 2011" (PDF). p. 1. Archived from the original on 2011-06-28. Retrieved 2011-06-12. Baxter 1-01 ... 1-13
4. Diane (March 2, 2010). "Baxter in production for Family Channel". Press Release. TV-Eh!. Retrieved 22 August 2010.