Tower Prep

Premise

The series centers around "Tower Prep", an isolated boarding school for teenagers with supernatural abilities. The protagonist (Ian Archer) and a group of friends (Gabe Forrest, Suki Sato, and CJ Ward) are unwilling students at the institution, with no memory of how they got there. Throughout the series, they explore the mysteries of Tower Prep in the hope of escaping and returning to their normal lives.

Characters

Main

• Drew Van Acker as Ian Archer, the rebel, has the ability of "Preflex", seeing and reacting to events before they occur, which lets him excel in martial arts.
• Elise Gatien as Candice "CJ" Ward, the popular girl, has the ability of "Perception", which lets her read people's intentions from their body language.
• Ryan Pinkston as Gabriel "Gabe" Lexington Forrest, the class clown, has the ability of "Hypersuasion", which let him talk people into doing whatever he wants.
• Dyana Liu as Suki Sato, the quiet one, has the ability of "Mimicry", which lets her perfectly imitate any sound she has ever heard.

Tower Prep staff

• Ted Whittail as Headmaster, the mysterious head of Tower Prep, eventually revealed to be CJ's father.
• Dan Payne as Coach, a former student of Tower Prep and a test subject for Corvus H-40, a performance-enhancing substance.
• Alek Diakun as Dr. Specs, a doctor responsible for wiping the memories of new students.
• Richard Steinmetz as Coach History
• Karin Konoval as Nurse

Supporting

• Peggy Jo Jacobs as the voice of Whisper 119, the AI responsible for managing the school and contacting new students. Later upgraded to Whisper 120.
• Richard Harmon as Ray Snider, a student with the ability of "Hyper-strength".
• Izaak Smith as Calvin "Cal" Rice, a jock with the ability of enhanced hearing who bullies Ian.
• Andrew Dunbar as Conner Owens, a member of a secret group who assists Ian and his friends.
• David Smith and Matthew Thiessen as Cornelius Augustus Tower, a former magician, WWI fighter pilot, and jazz artist, who founded Tower Prep.
• Charlie Carrick as Fenton Capwell, an opera-loving student.
• Jodi Balfour as Emily Wright, the former class president of Tower Prep.

Minor

• Calum Worthy as Don Finch, Ray Snider's best friend.
• Terry Chen as Shinji Sato, Suki Sato's older brother.
• Jeffery Ballard as Emerson Poencet, a student with the ability of microscopic vision.
• Jarod Joseph as Howard Gilmore, a student with the ability to see in the dark.
• Kacey Rohl as Ross Anderson, Emily's ruthless campaign manager.

Production

Paul Dini wrote the first episode of Tower Prep, drawing on his own experiences of "strangeness" and "alienation" at prep school. Cartoon Network picked up the series as part of their initiative to develop live action programming for a family audience. The pilot was shot in 2009, and full production of the first season began in 2010 in Vancouver, British Columbia. Former X-Files writer Glen Morgan was hired as executive producer and showrunner, joined by a writing team including Dini, Glen's brother Darin Morgan, Riley Stearns, Aury Wallington, Jeff Eckerle, and Marilyn Osborn.

The promotion for the series began with a fictional storyline, in which Cartoon Network published vlogs from the four main characters. Prior to the series premiere, a sneak peek of the show was released for free download on the iTunes Store featuring half of the first episode. To promote the premiere, the network announced a giveaway of 1,000 iPod Touch devices that would take place during the show. The song "Unstoppable" by Foxy Shazam was used in network promos and in the episode "Trust".

Cancellation

The last two episodes of the first season aired on December 28, 2010. On March 23, 2011, Cartoon Network announced their new and returning programs for the remainder of 2011 and Tower Prep was not mentioned as one of the returning series. In October 2011, Cartoon Network removed all Tower Prep content from its website.

In December 2011, Paul Dini announced that the series would not return for a second season. Dini continued to comment on the series over the next several years, saying that he was "sworn to secrecy" about the ending, that Cartoon Network decided not to air a second season despite talk of foreign financing, and that he was never given a reason for the cancellation of the series. Dini speculated that a primary reason for the cancellation was that Tower Prep drew a primarily female viewership, and that Cartoon Network wanted to instead target young male viewers for their merchandising.

Episodes

Reception

Critics commented on the show's low production values and murky fight scenes, but praised its overall concept, writing, and cast. Brian Lowry of Variety said the show's mysteries might appeal to both children and adults, calling it "a series that points the way toward a best-case scenario" for Cartoon Network's live-action programming.

In the 2011 Leo Awards, Brenton Spencer was nominated for Best Direction in a Youth or Children's Program or Series for the episode "Dreams".

Notes

References

References

1. [http://news.turner.com/article_display.cfm?article_id=4796 Cartoon Network Picks Up First Two Live-Action Series] – Turner Newsroom Release Date: 11/6/2009
2. [http://www.rbr.com/tv-cable/tv-programming/23557.html Cartoon Network holds 2010 upfront] {{Webarchive. link. (2011-07-15 – Radio Business Report/Television Business Report 21 April 2010 04:49:00)
3. [https://web.archive.org/web/20110713155038/http://m.towerprep.com/site/ian.html Ian Archer profile]
4. [https://web.archive.org/web/20110717080439/http://m.towerprep.com/site/cj.html CJ Ward profile]
5. [https://web.archive.org/web/20110717080434/http://m.towerprep.com/site/gabe.html Gabe Forrest profile]
6. [https://web.archive.org/web/20110717080519/http://m.towerprep.com/site/suki.html Suki Sato profile]
7. Phegley, Kiel. (2010-08-05). "CCI: "Tower Prep" & "Firebreather"". [[Comic Book Resources]]..
8. Phegley, Kiel. (2010-11-23). "Discovering Paul Dini's "Tower Prep"". [[Comic Book Resources]]..
9. Seidman, Robert. (March 23, 2011). "Cartoon Network Unveils New Programming Slate Including Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck and Details on 'How to Train Your Dragon'". TV by the Numbers.com.
10. (December 7, 2011). "Over :(". Paul Dini's official Twitter.
11. (December 7, 2011). "Nope. Sorry.". Paul Dini's official Twitter.
12. (December 7, 2011). "Sorry. I'm sworn to secrecy.". Paul Dini's official Twitter.
13. (May 27, 2012). "There was talk of foreign financing for season 2, but CN decided not to air it again in the US regardless, so the deal fell thru.". Paul Dini's official Twitter.
14. Goldman, Eric. (2013-12-16). "Paul Dini on Cartoon Network's Programming Decisions and Why Boy Viewers Are Valued Over Girls". [[IGN]]..
15. (2013). "Shadow of the Bat". SModcast Podcast Network.
16. Lutes, Alicia. (2013-12-19). "According to 'Tower Prep' Creator, Girls Were the Reason The Show Was Cancelled".
17. (2010-10-20). "Tuesday Cable Ratings: 'Sons of Anarchy' Drops; Teen Mom Special Second-Best to Yankees/Rangers; Stargate Universe, Caprica Weaken & More – Ratings". Zap2it.
18. "Tuesday Cable Ratings: Heat/Celtics Slam Dunk; 'Sons of Anarchy' Steady; 16 & Pregnant, Caprica, Stargate Universe, Millionaire Matchmaker & More – Ratings". Zap2it.
19. (2010-11-03). "Tuesday Cable Ratings: 'Sons of Anarchy' Rises; 'Stargate Universe' Steady + 'Dirty Jobs,' '16 and Pregnant,' 'In Treatment' & More – Ratings". Zap2it.
20. (2010-11-10). "Tuesday Cable Ratings: 'Sons of Anarchy' Dips, Tops Cable; 'Stargate Universe' Steady + 'Dirty Jobs,' '16 and Pregnant,' 'In Treatment' & More – Ratings". Zap2it.
21. (2010-11-17). "Tuesday Cable Ratings: 'Sons of Anarchy' Rides Higher, Tops Cable; 'Glory Daze' Modest in Premiere; 'Stargate Universe' Steady & More – Ratings". Zap2it.
22. (2010-11-24). "Tuesday Cable Ratings: 'Sons of Anarchy' Rides Steady, Again Tops Cable; 'Stargate Universe' Inches Higher; 'Glory Days' Slides & More – Ratings". Zap2it.
23. (2010-12-01). "Tuesday Cable Ratings: 'Sons of Anarchy' Finale Rises; 'Stargate Universe,' "Glory Daze' Steady; '16 and Pregnant' & More – Ratings". Zap2it.
24. (2010-12-08). "Tuesday Cable Ratings: '16 & Pregnant' Rises; 'Eureka,' 'Warehouse 13,' 'Glory Daze' & More – Ratings". Zap2it.
25. "Tuesday Cable Ratings: '16 & Pregnant,' 'Glory Daze' Slip + 'Millionaire Matchmaker,' 'Tower Prep' & More – Ratings". Zap2it.
26. "Tuesday 12/21 Cable Ratings: '16 & Pregnant,' 'Glory Daze,' 'Storage Wars,' 'Tower Prep' & More – Ratings". Zap2it.
27. Gorman, Bill. (December 25, 2010). "Tuesday 12/21 Cable Ratings: '''16 & Pregnant,''' '''Glory Daze,''' '''Storage Wars,''' '''Tower Prep''' & More". TV by the Numbers.
28. Lloyd, Robert. (2010-10-19). "Television review: 'Tower Prep' on Cartoon Network". Los Angeles Times.
29. VanDerWerff, Emily. (2010-10-17). "Tower Prep – "New Kid"". The A.V. Club.
30. Lowry, Brian. (2010-10-16). "Tower Prep Review". Variety..
31. "Leo Awards, 2011 Nominees by Name". Leo Awards.