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Kia Cross is the only daughter of mid-21st century revolutionary leader Morgan Cross. After Morgan was captured and destroyed by forces working for ZoneWerks, an evil media/technology corporation run by Ty Harden, Kia was brainwashed and dispatched to a life of quiet servitude. Flash forward: Years
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debuted in 1997 as an online sci-fi series about a reluctant superheroine battling an evil "mediatech" empire in 2077 Southern
California. The title character—dubbed "a real revolutionary for a virtual age"—balanced freedom-fighting with realistic personal concerns like dating and having friends.
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WhirlGirl's allies include
Stekatta "Kat" Tressner, a stylish gear-head with a thing for WhirlGirl, and teenager Sid X, who can control computers telepathically with a "cybernetic crystal" implanted in his forehead. Victoria Thalios leads the "FreeVox" rebel group, which WhirlGirl often defends.
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later, as the programming wears off, Kia recalls her mother's work and transforms herself into a superheroine. Armed with a trademark weapon (the whirlblade) and a signature fighting move (the spin kick), she resumes the fight for freedom.
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for online and on-air use, making it the first regularly scheduled animated web series and the first independently produced web series licensed by a national television network. Showtime's parent company,
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went on to appear in 100 weekly webisodes through March 2001, with the character making occasional appearances on the TV channel as, for example the "host" of a programming block called "Lethal Ladies."
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On
February 27, 1999, the series helped advance web-TV convergence by being the first animated webisode to premiere simultaneously on a TV channel and its website—in this case, Showtime and SHO.com.
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WhirlGirl's primary foe, Ty Harden, not only runs the evil ZoneWerks empire; he is also Sid X's estranged father. Harden relies on Axxen Baines, a sadist who heads the ZoneWerks security apparatus.
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with a million-dollar multimedia marketing campaign featuring billboards and other outdoor ads in major U.S. markets, as well as full-page ads in major magazines.
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debuted in March 1998 on BMG's BUGjuice, E-Pub's Amused, ICL's GamesZone, Microsoft's WebTV Networks, and Canada's BeyondTV. That July, the site began running on
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became the first web series promoted with a traditional TV ad campaign that included high-profile spots in major markets. In 1999, Showtime supported
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549:"Yupi.com and Showtime Networks Inc. Collaborate in Virtual Universe; Showtime's Online Animated Series "WhirlGirl" to be Available in Spanish"
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284:(minimal animation elements) and looping music and sound effects. In August 1998, using Macromedia's new Flash 2.0 animation software,
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career, including: syndication partnerships with major websites, a distribution partnership with a premium cable network, a
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316:, took an undisclosed equity stake in Visionary Media. All 100 episodes were also dubbed into Spanish and distributed on
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could take minutes to load with a dial-up connection, the series consisted of comic-book-style panels livened up with
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replaced its comic-strip panels with five-minute-long webisodes, becoming one of the first animated web series.
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stunt, and in June 1999 became the first non-MTV property to be represented for licensing and merchandising by
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Even before the series was fully animated, Visionary signed online syndication deals with five affiliates, and
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launched at a Spring 1997 trade show. Because high-speed broadband access at home was very rare in 1997, and
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445:"SHO.com And SCIFI.COM Announce Popular Online Flash Comics Featured In Unique Crossover Episodes"
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simulcast, cross-media advertising campaigns, and licensing and merchandising agreements.
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Created by David B. Williams and produced by
Visionary Media, the studio he founded,
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appeared as animated versions of themselves in a futuristic Las Vegas.
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497:"IQ News: Looking For Sci-Fi Buffs, Lycos Lands Whirlgirl Web Strip"
471:"IQ News: Looking For Sci-Fi Buffs, Lycos Lands Whirlgirl Web Strip"
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with light animation and short bursts of music and sound effects,
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In May 2000, WhirlGirl teamed up with the hero of the SciFi (now
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ultimately became the first regularly scheduled web series using
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also appeared on the SciFi (now Syfy) Channel as part of the
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cartoon in a series of webisodes that appeared on both the
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510:"Milestones Of The Animation Industry In The 20th Century"
396:"Milestones Of The Animation Industry In The 20th Century"
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616:Kenneth Li, "WhirlGirl joining forces with MTV",
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484:"This Week's Clue: The Direction of Technology"
605:"SHOWTIME puts WHIRLGIRL in the public eye"
416:"Teen cyberseries gear up for TV crossover"
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378:, but the toy was not brought to market.
434:, Animation World Magazine, October 1999
243:In a September 1999 webisode, magicians
577:, Animation World Magazine, August 1999
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592:launches with national TV ad campaign"
538:, Broadcasting & Cable, 2000-02-07
525:, Broadcasting & Cable, 2000-09-03
512:, Animation World Magazine, 2000-01-01
631:"ReSaurus Debuts WhirlGirl Prototype"
607:, Animation World Network, 1999-08-08
405:, Animation World Network, 2000-01-01
458:"Net TVs nowhere near critical mass"
307:In January 1999, Showtime licensed
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688:American flash animated web series
536:"Can't keep a good WhirlGirl down"
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429:"Penn & Teller Guest Star On
562:"WhirlGirl spins into TV format"
521:Broadcasting & Cable Staff,
633:, Raving Toy Maniac, 2000-06-26
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551:, Business Wire, 2000-02-09
363:(another Viacom property).
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199:Initially launched as a
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418:, Kidscreen, 1999-04-01
174:Christine Jones Howard
618:Daily News (New York)
456:CNET News.com Staff,
447:Market Wire, May 2000
264:and SciFi websites.
128:Theme music composer
588:"Web action series
523:"You go, WhirlGirl"
366:In 2000, toy maker
157:Executive producers
107:Jonathan Ellinghaus
683:American webcomics
668:WhirlGirl on Vimeo
499:Adweek, 1998-07-13
482:Dana Blankenhorn,
473:Adweek, 1998-07-13
401:2009-04-30 at the
181:Production company
560:Kidscreen staff,
534:Richard Tedesco,
495:Bernhard Warner,
469:Bernhard Warner,
374:action figure at
245:Penn & Teller
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164:David B. Williams
144:Original language
136:Country of origin
119:Jennifer Richards
117:Kristen Johanssen
67:David B. Williams
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662:Official website
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649:Official website
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239:Guest characters
176:Ephraim Kehlmann
115:Kathleen Hubbard
83:Ephraim Kehlmann
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209:Flash animation
184:Visionary Media
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254:) Channel's
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131:James Avatar
121:Angela Tweed
113:Betsy Hooper
95:Gregg Ostrin
93:Betsy Hooper
85:Joel Rodgers
81:Betsy Hooper
72:Developed by
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629:RTM Staff,
370:unveiled a
324:Convergence
109:Moe Fischer
105:David DiLeo
103:Kim Campoli
677:Categories
382:References
278:rich media
223:Characters
152:Production
90:Written by
64:Created by
655:WhirlGirl
590:WhirlGirl
431:WhirlGirl
372:WhirlGirl
353:WhirlGirl
347:WhirlGirl
343:WhirlGirl
337:Marketing
330:WhirlGirl
309:WhirlGirl
304:as well.
298:WhirlGirl
286:WhirlGirl
274:WhirlGirl
268:Animation
205:WhirlGirl
192:WhirlGirl
169:Producers
111:Lani Ford
100:Voices of
58:Superhero
23:WhirlGirl
399:Archived
376:Toy Fair
368:ReSaurus
262:Showtime
213:webisode
201:webcomic
147:English
54:Romance
314:Viacom
50:Action
46:Comedy
318:Yupi.
302:Lycos
38:Genre
252:Syfy
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