Raymond Thompson is the creator and executive producer of Atlantis High. Page 2

Raymond Thompson is the creator and executive producer of Atlantis High.

RT Again, they are all a parody of typical film and television characters and I’ve met them in my dreams many times over the years. There’s Josh Montana for example who is the Head Boy and the most popular guy at the school. He is vain and egotistical but has this vulnerability I’ve spoken of before. By night he becomes this amazing Superhero who tries to keep Sunset Cove as idyllic as it should be but even then he gets it wrong sometimes! There’s Commander Vermont who is like a Leslie Nielson character, his whole life revolves around the military and he is constantly on red alert and his wife who is like a walking tv commercial.

Q Did the characters develop along the way?

RT Certainly all the characters developed throughout the writing process. We have a tremendous and talented team of writers and I think they really enjoyed letting their imaginations run wild. Once filming began and the actors got a handle on their characters, each and every character developed along the way and took on more dimensions. Certain catch phrases and behaviours would appear more often than originally thought. In fact, the characters became even more eccentric and wacky as filming went on.

Q There are some actors in this series who play a variety of different roles. Why is that?

RT I think that we have a remarkable ensemble on Atlantis High and we treated this almost like the old Hollywood Studios would have. You tend to see the same actors popping up in a variety of different roles. This also adds to the overall weirdness of the show. For example, is Commander Vermont really a commander or is he more like the Godfather character the actor also plays? There’s a certain amount of mystery and intrigue involved and it will be fun for the audience to watch their favourite characters appear in different guises.

Q Is there a particular character whom you think will become an icon?

RT All of them! I believe that each and every character is so strong, so loveable that they will all become great favourites of the audience. Even the bad guys are loveable in this series!

Q Is there a reason for all the cross-dressing that goes on in Atlantis High?

RT (laughs) Because nothing and no one is quite as it seems! I think that viewers will be mystified and wonder who is really a man, who is really a woman, who is actually an alien. There are all sorts of people dressing up as old people, young people, etc. Maybe they’re just comfortable in Sunset Cove to dress as they feel! One thing is for sure though, in Series 2 some viewers will be interested to find out whether a character they think is a woman was once a man.

Q Who is this series aimed at? Who will it appeal to?

RT Cloud 9 tend to make programmes that are aimed at the teenage audience but always attracts a much wider audience. We have fans of our other shows that are grannies, even great grannies! Atlantis High is something that I think will appeal to the whole family. Families in England, Europe, Japan, indeed all over the world will find the charm in a character such as Mr. Dorsey or appreciate the humour of the series.

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