The Tribe

The song always played in the casino is actually sung by Caleb Ross (Lex), Dwayne Cameron (Bray) and Daniel James (Zoot).

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The Phoenix Mall set was the largest set in the southern hemisphere at the time it was completed. It also remains the largest set ever built in New Zealand for any TV series shot there.

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The series' cast lived together in a boarding house with strict rules, one of which was no dating between cast members.

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Daniel James, who played Zoot, went on to work as an Art Director.

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The theme song of series 1 is sung by Rosalind J. From series 2 onward, the theme song is sung by Meryl Cassie, who plays Ebony, one of the characters in The Tribe.

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Cloe (Jaimee Kaire-Gataulu) and Ved (Dan Weekes-Hannah) had an on-screen relationship in series 4. Both actors admit they also dated off camera, despite a rule forbidding the cast from dating. Weekes also claimed that he and Kaire were written out of the series after they got on the wrong train and missed a shoot, which cost the studio thousands of dollars in rescheduling.

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No on-screen relationship lasted longer than 2 seasons.

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The only characters to appear in all 5 series (excluding archive footage) and record new dialogue are Lex, Ebony, Jack, Salene, Trudy and Zoot (Daniel James). Although Zoot's character died in episode 7 of the first series, he appeared with new dialogue in every subsequent series: in the second series in pre-Tribe flashbacks and Ebony's nightmares, in the third series as a hallucination for the Guardian, in the fourth series in a nightmare for Ebony and in a dramatic moment during the series finale, and in the fifth series in Ebony's reality-space dreams and as a hologram around the City.

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In series 1, Tai-San read Amber's fortune and predicted that she would later marry and have three children. Beth Allen (Amber) and her husband were expecting their third child in June 2020.

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Java (Megan Alatini) and Siva (Monique Cassie) were introduced as Ebony's (Meryl Cassie) older sisters. The three are also sisters in real life. They sing vocals on the outro of seasons 4 and 5 and later formed a group together.

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Zoot (Daniel James), one of the series' most popular characters, was killed off in the eighth episode of the first season. His return routes: flashbacks, pre-Tribe scenes, dreams, holograms and a computer virus.

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There are many similarities between Ram in the fourth series and Davros in Doctor Who. Both are super-geniuses confined to wheelchairs. Both are enemies of germs and use advanced technology to control people.

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Patsy and Mouse have siblings who mysteriously disappeared shortly after joining the Mallrats, even though they themselves never left the mall.

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The Mall and The Hotel stand out as central locations throughout the series. The sewers beneath the mall and the hotel's swimming pool are not seen after the third series. In the fifth series, the mall was limited to the top floor and Jack's workspace.

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In a flashback, Trudy and Zoot meet Ebony for the first time in a biology class. The teacher tells them about locusts and how it is theorized that they would survive on Earth after all humans died. This may be a retroactive explanation for why Zoot named his gang "The Locusts".

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No characters or cast members appear in the sequel series The New Tomorrow. Bray and Zoot are mentioned. Caleb Ross (Lex) and Vanessa Stacey (Alice) worked on the production crew.

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Amy Morrison (Zandra) and Caleb Ross (Lex) appeared in episodes of Hercules: The Legendary Adventures and its spin-off Xena: Warrior Princess. Beth Allen (Amber), Michelle Ang (Tai-San) and Jaimee Kaire-Gataulu (Cloe) also appeared in Xena.

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In the first series, Lex attempts to sexually assault Zandra but is stopped by Ryan. He later marries her in the same series. In the second series, Lex attempts to sexually assault Salene and is again stopped by Ryan. He marries Tai-San in the same ceremony in which Salene and Ryan marry.

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The first song the Mallrats listen to after Jack and Dal get the batteries was 'Abe Messiah', the series' first opening theme. It was performed by members of the cast.

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Several characters disappear from the series with their fates left unresolved. Paul and Charlie vanish and are never found. Danni is forced to join The Chosen and is never seen again. Ryan and Patsy are sent by The Chosen to work in the mines as punishment but do not return for unknown reasons. Tally and Andy are taken by the Technos and never seen again. Dee and Patch run away, leaving only a vague note about their plans. Fish informs Lex that some of the people taken by the Technos for "deletion" (namely Bray, Tai-San and Ved) may still be alive.

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Zoot's real name is Martin. The Guardian's real name is Jaffa. A flashback reveals that the two were in the same biology class at school along with Trudy and Ebony.

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The name of the city is never mentioned in the series. The only specific information is that it is considered a large city.

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Glen was the only character to die of the virus after the initial outbreak subsided.

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Of the live animals the Mallrats acquired as food, only one is eaten.

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Dee's sudden inclusion in the Mallrats is never explained. During the third series, four members of the Mozzies leave the group to work as Lex's assistants. Given that Dee wears a Mozzie outfit and works as a deputy in her first appearance, it would not be wrong to assume that she too accepted Lex's offer, but not at the same time as her colleagues.

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Antonia Prebbble (Trudy) and Michelle Ang (Tai-San) also worked together on Outrageous Fortune (2005), as Loretta West and Tracy Hong respectively.

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The series unexpectedly predicted the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic 21 years before it happened (a virus responsible for countless deaths among adults, while children are the least affected by the disease).

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Towards the end of the fifth series, Ram creates a self-learning computer program that decides humans are the greatest threat to life on Earth and must be destroyed. This is similar to the plot of Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines.

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Sarah Major (Patsy) has the most notable change in height. She goes from being one of the shortest members of the main cast to one of the tallest women. Several characters who were taller than her in the first series are shorter than her by the third season, when she leaves.

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Ram uses the RealSpace program to give Pride the sensation of flying. Some time later, Pride becomes obsessed with flying and considers diving off a building to try it. Ram later confesses to Slade that he once became so obsessed with trying to fly that he jumped off a building, causing the accident that left him confined to a wheelchair.

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When Beth Allen returned to the series, her character's name was listed as "Eagle/Amber" for several episodes. Later, when she stopped using her new nickname, it reverted to "Amber/Eagle" for the rest of the series.

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Although Zoot is killed early in the series, he manages to remain a central figure throughout. Even though he never appears, he continues to be recognized as the villain in the spin-off The New Tomorrow.

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In response to Zandra being killed off after the first season, a fan petition demanded her return to the series. The petition remained active five years after the series ended.

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The group Ebony forms in the final series has no name. They are informally referred to as "Zoot Followers".

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Both The Guardian and Ram have loyal assistants who are compassionate toward the people they hold captive, who join the cause only to help people and who later side with the Mallrats against them.

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Because of the actors' ages, some main cast members left the series or took on greatly reduced roles in order to focus on their education.

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Jack is captured and taken away by The Chosen after he is caught spying on them early in the third series. The same thing happens to him again with the Technos in the fourth series.

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Darryl tells Lex that he got the idea to impersonate Zoot after buying Zoot's hat and sunglasses from a boy, but that he later discovered the boy was selling counterfeit goods. He is referring to one of KC's money-making scams in the third series.

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Trudy does not appear in the only episode that features flashbacks to before the virus.

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Brady speaks only a single word over the course of the series: she says "Mama" to Tai-San, though she does not say it while behind the camera.

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Lex is the most promiscuous character, having sex with Tai-San, drill instructor Zandra, May, Siva and Kandy.

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Patch and Mega are the only two characters who wear glasses regularly. Tai-San wears hers only the first time she appears in the series. Jack and Dal sometimes wear a modified pair of shoes while working with wires or circuits.

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Most of the main cast members appeared in shows and films that also featured other main cast members, the biggest example being Shortland Street. Beth Allen (Amber), Ari Boyland (KC), Dwayne Cameron (Bray), Meryl Cassie (Ebony), Tom Hern (Ram), Amy Morrison (Zandra), James Napier (Jay), Vicky Rodewyk (Jel), Caleb Ross (Lex), Victoria Spence (Salene), Fleur Saville (Ruby) and Jacob Tomuri (Lieutenant Luke) all had roles in the soap opera.

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There is no swearing in the series, and no references to tobacco or recreational drug use. Medication is used only for its intended medical purposes (with the exception of Trudy's suicide attempt). The only weapon shown is a toy propeller in a video game.

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Ashwath Sundaresan, Jennyfer Jewell and the Cassie siblings were all born outside New Zealand.

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Beth Allen (Amber), Antonia Prebble (Trudy) and Tori Spence (Salene) appeared together in the stage play Little Blonde Hen in June 2009.

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