Galidor: Defenders of the Outer Dimension (commonly shortened to Galidor) is a science fiction television series created by Thomas W. Lynch and The Lego Group, and co-produced by CinéGroupe and the Tom Lynch Company in association with YTV. Galidor premiered on February 9, 2002, and ran for twenty-six episodes across two seasons, airing its last episode on August 24, 2002. It had limited reruns on other international networks. The series, based on the toy line of the same name, follows teenager Nicholas "Nick" Bluetooth and his friend Allegra Zane after they are transported to the Outer Dimension. Once there, Nick uses his newfound "glinch" shapeshifting ability to aid resistance efforts against the tyrant Gorm who has conquered the Outer Dimension in search of the hidden realm of Galidor.
The concept for Galidor as a toy line with an associated television series was created by the Lego Group, hoping to break into a new merchandise market during a period of financial trouble. The concept was brought to Lynch in 2000, who created the story and characters and initially planned out a five-season story arc. The series began filming in September 2001 at the Cine Cite studios in Montreal with a budget of US$16 million. The show combined practical effects and live actors with puppets and green-screen CGI. The series saw minimal attention, and mixed reviews both at the time and in retrospect due to its plot and focus on special effects. The franchise was a commercial failure, though the toys gained a cult following in later years.
Plot On his fifteenth birthday, Nicholas "Nick" Bluetooth−who lives a quiet life with his grandfather−finds a floating device in his room. Accompanied by his friend Allegra Zane, Nick discovers a ship called the Egg. Nick and Allegra are transported by the Egg to the Outer Dimension, a network of isolated realms currently controlled by the tyrant Gorm. In the Outer Dimension, Nick displays a shapeshifting ability called glinching, allowing him to transform his limbs into different mechanical or organic objects. Nick and Allegra are soon joined by companions who suffered due to Gorm's actions. They are Jens, a plant-like being preserved in a robotic form; Euripides, the last survivor of a genocide enacted by Gorm's forces; and Nepol, a warrior of the Siktari people. Nick also receives visions from Riana, queen of the hidden realm of Galidor and his biological mother.
It is revealed that the Egg was sent from the Outer Dimension by Nick's father Sam, who has been missing since his childhood. Known as the Stranger in the Outer Dimension and now presumed dead, Sam is blamed for a computer virus created by Gorm which destroyed navigation maps in the Outer Dimension; the device that led Nick to the Egg is the last map in existence. Gorm now wants to conquer the Outer Dimension including Galidor, seeking out Nick's glinch powers to ensure his victory. Nick was left on Earth to hide him from Gorm, who managed to steal a piece of his glinch abilities, before Galidor was sealed away by Riana.
The main storyline revolves around Nick and his allies finding fragments of the key to unlock the gates of Galidor, racing against Gorm and his agents while helping the people of the Outer Dimension's realms. One of Gorm's agents, the Galidorian Lind, defects to join Nick's cause so she can reach home again. Gorm ends up recovering the Key and unlocking the doorway to Galidor, prompting a confrontation where Nick apparently destroys Gorm. The series ends with Nick reaching Galidor and reuniting with Riana, while Gorm is revealed to have survived and is holding Sam hostage.
Cast and characters Matthew Ewald as Nicholas "Nick" Bluetooth: a fifteen year-old who grew up without his parents, living a quiet life with his grandfather and dreaming of there being something more to the world. After coming to the Outer Dimension using the Egg ship, he unlocks the ability to "glinch", temporarily shapeshifting his limbs into the limbs of aliens and specialised machines. Marie-Marguerite Sabongui as Allegra Zane: Nick's best friend, a karate black belt and computer expert who holds a more practical outlook than does Nick. Initially frightened after she is dragged with Nick into the Outer Dimension, she ultimately sides with the resistance forces against Gorm. Michael O'Reilly as the voice of Jens: a master mechanic who maintains the Egg ship. Originally a plant-like being known as a Wexer from the realm of Wex, he was burned by Gorm, but his brain was preserved in a robot body. He is initially depicted with claw-like hands, which are later replaced with more articulate mechanical gloves. Jens is performed by Sam Magdi. Georges Morris as the voice of Euripides: Galidor's former Court Scholar, and now Nick's adviser. Euripedes is the last Amphibib, a sage frog-like species native to the formerly lush realm of Arbo wiped out by Gorm. He can use his staff to levitate individuals and objects via telekinesis and is capable of limited heat generation, though he prefers to use his knowledge and skills for more peaceful applications such as healing. Euripides's puppet form is performed by Jeffrey Hall. Walter Massey as the voice of Nepol: a warrior of the Yeti-esque Siktari people native to the snow-covered realm of Elta Siktar and a general in Galidor's army. Originally eight feet tall, he was shrunk to a small stature during Gorm's genocide against his species. He wields a luka, a spear-like weapon, can move at superhuman speeds, and can project ice or cold air at will. Nepol is performed by Claude Girous. Ian Finlay as the voice of Gorm: the main antagonist of the series. Gorm was once the chief advisor in Galidor's court but realized he would be unable to ascend to the throne and plotted a resistance out of jealousy towards Sam, leading to Riana banishing him from Galidor. He is a master illusionist who uses glinch powers stolen from Nick when Nick was still a baby to create his armies, intending to conquer the entire Outer Dimension, earning him the nickname "Conqueror of a Thousand Realms". Gorm is performed by Derrick Damon Reeve and later Steven P. Park. Karen Cliche as Lind: a recurring character and native Galidorian, she is introduced as an agent of Gorm being trained as his successor. She eventually defects to Nick's side out of a wish to return home. Randy Thomas as Dr. Samuel "Sam" Bluetooth, aka "the Stranger": Nick's long-lost father, who first constructed the Egg, traveled to the Outer Dimension, and fell in love with Riana, eventually marrying her and gaining a seat in the Galidorian council before Nick was born. He is first seen in the series falling into a chasm created by Gorm, presumably killing him, during one of Nick's nightmares. In the final scene of the series, he is shown to be alive and still being held hostage by Gorm. Tara Leigh as Riana: the Queen of Galidor and Nick's biological mother, from whom Nick inherited his autonomous glinching abilities. She communicates with Nick through visions due to sealing herself inside her home realm in order to protect it from Gorm.
Production During the late 1990s to early 2000s, Danish toy company The Lego Group were suffering from falling profits; while licenses for franchises such as Star Wars and the in-house Bionicle line proved profitable, at the time there was a market shift away from the style of brick building toys the Lego Group had designed up to that point. Intending to break into the action figure market, the Lego Group created a concept of figures with interchangeable limbs and an associated storyline. The intent was giving buyers both design freedom with the sets and an entertaining narrative. The Lego Group decided to create a television series to tell the toy line's story, and approached Thomas W. Lynch about the project in 2000; Lynch was well known in television for his work on multiple series aimed at the "tween" demographic. Lynch liked the concept, and worked together with the Lego Group designers to create what became Galidor: Defenders of the Outer Dimension, designing the story and characters based on the draft figure designs for the associated toy line.
The Galidor television series was co-produced by the Tom Lynch Company and Montreal-based CinéGroupe in association with Canadian channel YTV. CinéGroupe handled worldwide distribution in partnership with Columbia TriStar Intl. Television. The Lego Group held exclusive merchandise rights, collaboration on promotion and additional merchandise with United Media. Lynch and CinéGroupe president Jacques Pettigrew were executive producers, the production executive was Ken Katsumoto, Michel Lemire and Marie-Claude Beauchamp acted as series producers, and the lead director was George Mihalka. Mihalka directed several individual episodes alongside others including Jim Donovan and Giles Walker. The series cinematographer was Daniel Villeneuve, and Alan Best was CGI supervising director. The music, which combined electronic and techno with choral elements, was created by British composer Andrew R. Powell. Powell had worked on some of Lynch's earlier series.
When creating Galidor, Lynch wanted to combine a coming-of-age story with the "fun" of The Mummy (1999) and its sequel. Drawing inspiration from the Hero's journey concept, Nicholas was created as a character dealing with feelings of both personal and social isolation. Tom Chehak acted as showrunner working from Lynch's draft, overseeing the scripts and music, alongside working with the various partners to keep the show in line with project goals. The episode scripts were written by a large team including Lynch, Chehak, Alex Epstein and Damian Kindler. Lynch had a rough story plan spanning five seasons totalling 100 episodes, with the intention being to film the first two seasons, break for a few months, then produce the third season. Ewald, who played Nicholas, had previously acted in supporting roles and Minnesota theatre with Galidor being his first lead part. In contrast, Allegra was Sabongui's debut as an actor, having only done work in school productions before. Ewald and Sabongui auditioned on the same day, which coincided with the September 11 attacks, and bonded both during the aftermath and while filming.
Active production on Galidor began on September 25, 2001. Filming took place at the Cine Cite studios in Montreal, both in practical sets and against green screens. The show's two seasons were given a combined budget of C$25 million (US$16 million). Each episode, allotted a budget of C$1 million (US$620,000), was filmed and completed over a few weeks. Lynch was eager to create a series that blended CGI with practical elements and live actors. The show also incorporated practical effects, full body costumes for characters like Gorm, and puppet characters with incorporated animatronics. Ewald and Sabongui performed many of their own stunts, while Gorm's stunts were performed by Derrick Damon Reeve. Roughly a third of the storyboards were dedicated to CGI, which involved extensive cross-checking between crews and the overlaying of up to four different graphical elements in some scenes. The amount of CGI was limited due to the budget, with Lynch and Best cooperating on finding camera angles that balanced CGI with sets and practical effects. Shooting was done using a single HD camera to minimize post-production work. During the last couple of months shooting, Lynch learned that Fox Family was being bought by The Walt Disney Company. This worried him, as he assumed the purchase was due to the commercially-successful Power Rangers franchise, and that Disney would not be interested in funding new series like Galidor. He also noted that Galidor shared copyright with the Lego Group rather than being an in-house property, further discouraging promotion from Disney.
Broadcast