The Tribe is a New Zealand–British post-apocalyptic fictional television series primarily aimed at teenagers. The series aired from 24 April 1999 to 6 September 2003 on Channel 5 in the United Kingdom. Five series of The Tribe were produced, with 52 unnamed episodes per series, amounting to 260 half-hour episodes over its entire run. The first series mainly focuses on the tribe of the Mall Rats and their life in the Mall, with later series exploring other locations in and around the City. Most characters appear in more than one series, however each series have a different story where the Mall Rats have to overcome a problem or defeat an enemy Tribe.
Series overview
Series 1 (1999) Series 1 of the television series The Tribe was first broadcast from 24 April 1999 to 23 October 1999 on Five in the UK.
It starts about six to nine months after a deadly Virus has killed all the adults.
A group of children take refuge in a Mall in an unnamed City and form a Tribe, the Mall Rats. Series 1 mainly takes place in the Mall, where the new Tribe learns to deal with everyday problems. The main opponents of the Mall Rats during Series 1 are the Locos.
At the beginning of Series 1, we are introduced to the strong-willed, responsible leader Amber and her younger friend, aspiring doctor/mechanic Dal. They find a little girl called Cloe wandering the dangerous streets, then meet cute kids, twins Patsy and Paul who are being looked after by Salene. A peace-loving loner, Bray, is taking care of the heavily pregnant Trudy and looking for a place for her to give birth. Arrogant street fighter Lex, his sweet if slow friend Ryan, Lex's material girl Zandra and confrontational Glen are trying to join the top Tribe in the City, the Locusts (or Locos) led by Zoot and Ebony. In one way or another, all end up in the Phoenix Shopping Mall (bar Glen who got caught by the Locos) and meet Jack, the boy scientist who lives there alone. Soon, Asian spiritualist Tai-San and slippery young thief KC also join the Tribe.
A multitude of serious subjects are tackled in Series 1. There is a power struggle from the start in the Mall between Lex, Amber and Bray, and on the outside, between the Locos and Demon Dogs for the City. Lex kills Zoot, who turns out to be the father of Trudy's baby and Bray's kid brother (his real name is Martin, a play on words for 'martyr'). Lex tries to rape Zandra, but she ends up marrying him later anyway. Salene suffers from bulimia, only beating it with Ryan's help.
Jealousy is rife in the Mall - Lex of Zandra and Ryan's friendship, Zandra of Lex's trysts with Tai-San and Ebony, Trudy of Bray and Salene, and later Bray and Amber. The virus begins to affect kids later in the series and Lex is infected with it just when his new wife Zandra tells him she is pregnant. Bray and Amber finally find love with each other after an iffy start. The Tribe goes on a quest for the antidote at the end of the series, and the finale shows them finding pivotal information at the Eagle Mountain Observatory.
Characters
Amber - Beth Allen
Bray - Dwayne Cameron
Cloe - Jaimee Kaire-Gataulu
Dal - Ashwath Sundarasen
Ebony - Meryl Cassie
Jack - Michael Wesley-Smith
KC - Ari Boyland
Lex - Caleb Ross
Patsy - Sarah Major
Ryan - Ryan Runciman
Salene - Victoria Spence
Tai-San - Michelle Ang
Trudy - Antonia Prebble
Zandra - Amy Morrison
Series 2 (1999–2000) Series 2 of the television series The Tribe was first broadcast from 11 November 1999 to 6 May 2000 on Five in the UK.
It starts right as the Mall Rats deal with the loss of Amber and Zandra in the explosion on Eagle Mountain. Series 2 mainly deals with the struggle of the Mall Rats to unite the Tribes of the City and their effort to produce an antidote for the Virus. As the Tribes ally themselves, a new unknown enemy, later revealed to be the Chosen, gradually takes power over the City.
Series 2 begins on Eagle Mountain, just as a generator catches fire in the building. Amber and a pregnant Zandra die in the explosion that follows. The Mall Rats are distraught, but still end up deciding to stay together and find another antidote before they get wiped out.