MERMAIDS

Mermaids is an Australian made-for-tv movie that was styled as a series pilot. Unfortunately the series itself never took off, which is a pity because the premise of the show (though admittedly fluffy) is attractive and I for one would've definitely watched it. Taking place in the modern day, the movie follows the adventures of three estranged mermaid sisters who find that they need to work together.

The story starts when their father (who may or may not be the sea king) is killed by a fishing bomb. This prompts Diana, his eldest daughter, to head to land for the first time in her life to get revenge. There she meets up with her two younger sisters June and Venus, who are already on land for their own individual reasons, and the three have to work together to bring their father's killer to justice. Just like the mermaid of Splash, these mermaids gain legs when dry and a tail when wet, but in this version, although the mermaids are real, they are also magical and have a number of special abilities.

Diana (Erika Heynatz) is the eldest of the three sisters. Following her Roman goddess namesake, Diana is the strongest and wisest of the three, although she has a bit of a temper and detests everything to do with humans. Diana also has abnormal strength that makes her handy in a fight, and her mermaid item is a trident that handily shrinks into a silver comb when not required. She tends to be passionate, stubborn and is willing to do absolutely anything to ensure that their father's death is avenged.

Venus (Nikita Ager) is the middle of the three sisters. As you'd expect, she's the one that has men eating out of the palm of her hand. Adventurous and outgoing, Venus has her own problems that have bound her to land against her will. Her mermaid item is a tiara that doesn't really have anything to do with her siren power, which is the ability to hypnotise men and get them to do whatever she wants. She's also the unofficial peacekeeper of the trio when things get a little out of hand.

June (Sarah Laine) is the youngest and sweetest of the trio. Once again taking only a smidgen after the Roman goddess she was named for, June wants to find love and a happy ending for herself. It is because of this that she was disowned by their father, so she's the only permanent resident of land among the sisters. I won't add anymore spoilers, but June's part in the story pretty much takes after the Hans Christian Andersen version, which was a nice touch.

You would've thought that a set-up like this would be perfect for a campy tv series. (I miss Ocean Girl.) Not only are there three beautiful mermaids to look at, there's elements of fantasy, romance, comedy and even a little martial arts thrown in... And yet, the series never came to fruition. I would've loved to see the three sisters develop and each of them find their own happy endings, but alas it was not meant to be.

Watch a clip of June accidentally falling into water.

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