Tower Prep


Tower Prep is an American teen science-fiction television series created for Cartoon Network by Paul Dini, who is known for previously writing and producing series in the DC Animated Universe. From October 12 to December 28, 2010, the series aired one thirteen-episode season, before being canceled by Cartoon Network.

Premise

The series centers around "Tower Prep", an isolated boarding school for teenagers with supernatural abilities. The protagonist and a group of friends 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

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

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.

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".