M.I. High Explained

Genre:Action
Espionage thriller
Crime
School Spies
Creator:Keith Brumpton
Director:Richard Mark Elson
Toby Haynes
Simon Hook
Mat King
Zam Salim
Starring:Rachel Petladwala
Moustafa Palazli
Bel Powley
Danny John-Jules
Benjamin Kerfoot
Charlene Osuagwu
Oyiza Momoh
Sam Strike
Oscar Jacques
Natasha Watson
Julia Brown
Jonny Freeman
Language:English
Country:United Kingdom
Num Episodes:88
List Episodes:List of M.I. High episodes
Producer:Alison Jackson
Runtime:30 minutes approx.
Company:Kudos
Network:CBBC
Num Series:7

M.I. High is a British action television series produced by Kudos for CBBC and created by Keith Brumpton. The series focused on a team of undercover teenage spies working for the fictional British secret intelligence agency MI9 who had to balance their school life with their jobs as secret agents. The line-up of spies was altered between the show's seven series.

The series premiered on 8 January 2007 and originally ended on 21 March 2011 after five series, before being revived for a further two series that were broadcast between 7 January 2013 and 31 March 2014.

Premise

The series follows the adventures of secondary school pupils who work as undercover spies. The spies are led by an MI9 agent (first by Lenny Bicknall, later by Frank London) whose cover job is a school caretaker. The team must constantly save the world from domination by a variety of villains, whilst hiding their spy identities from their teachers and peers, and completing their school work. The identity of the overarching villains the Grand Master (Series 1–5) and the Mastermind (Series 6–7) remains a mystery within the show.

Cast

Main

M.I. High agents

Character!scope="col"
Portrayed bySeries
Daisy MillarBel Powley1–2
Blane WhittakerMoustafa Palazli1–2
Rose GuptaRachel Petladwala1–5
Oscar ColeBen Kerfoot3–5
Carrie StewartCharlene Osuagwu3–5
Aneisha JonesOyiza Momoh6–7
Dan MorganSam Strike6–7
Tom TupperOscar Jacques6–7
ZoeNatasha Watson6
Keri SummersJulia Brown7

Supporting

Saint Hope's/Saint Heart's School Staff

Antagonists

Episodes

See main article: List of M.I. High episodes.

SeasonEpisodesOriginal air dates
Series premiereSeries finale
1108 January 20075 March 2007
2137 January 200824 March 2008
3135 January 200930 March 2009
4134 January 201015 March 2010
51310 January 201121 March 2011
6137 January 201325 March 2013
71313 January 201431 March 2014

Awards and nominations

YearCeremonyCategoryOutcomeNotes
2008Royal Television SocietyBest Children's Drama Won [1]
2009Royal Television SocietyBest Children's Drama Nomination[2]

Merchandise

Books

Books have been released including three novels, a survival handbook and a 2012 annual.

A further novel, M.I. High: The Midas Machine, was cancelled.[3]

Comic

Release name! scope="col"
Release dateAuthorPublisherNotesRef
Totally... M.I. High27 January 2011(UK)Caryn JennerTitan MagazinesIncluded free poster, UV Pen and Notepad.[4] [5]

DVD release

The first series of M.I. High was scheduled to be released on DVD in two five-episode installments by the Contender Entertainment Group, under license from the BBC. The first of which was released on 21 January 2008 and the second which would complete the first season was to follow on 31 March 2008 but was cancelled indefinitely with no reason given, and the rest of the show has not seen a DVD release yet.[6] [7] The first DVD includes a documentary about the series (which is made up of various short clips shown during the series on CBBC Extra).

DVD release name!scope="col"
EpisodesYears of seriesUK release date
(Region 2)
Australian release date
(Region 4)
M.I High: Series 1 Vol 1S1 Ep. 1–5200721 January 2008[8] 2 March 2010[9]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Programme Awards Winners 2008 . . 2008 . 25 January 2014 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20150208210837/http://www.rts.org.uk/winners-rpa?term_node_tid_depth=122 . 8 February 2015 .
  2. Web site: Programme Awards Winners 2009 . . 2009 . 25 January 2014 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20131017132934/http://www.rts.org.uk/winners-rpa?term_node_tid_depth=121 . 17 October 2013 .
  3. Web site: M.I. High Book 1: The Midas Machine – Cancelled. egmont.co.uk. 26 February 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140304074250/http://www.egmont.co.uk/product.asp?prodid=2711. 4 March 2014.
  4. Web site: Issue 8 M.I. High . titanmagazines.com . 26 May 2014 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20140528005823/http://titanmagazines.com/t/totally/uk/8/ . 28 May 2014 .
  5. Web site: Titan Launch Totally M.I. High Magazine. 27 January 2011. titanmagazines.com . 15 October 2011.
  6. Web site: M.I. High: The Sinister Prime Minister and Other Adventures. . 2 June 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20130722222424/http://www.bva.org.uk/node/582277. 22 July 2013.
  7. Web site: M.I. High: Super Blane and Other Adventures. . 2 June 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20130722235609/http://www.bva.org.uk/node/542783. 22 July 2013.
  8. Web site: MI High – The Sinister Prime Minister and Other Adventures [2007] [DVD]]. Amazon UK. 21 January 2008. 7 September 2011.
  9. Web site: M.I.High – Series 1: Episodes 1–5 . . 7 September 2011 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20140114101654/https://www.jbhifionline.com.au/dvd/dvd-genres/kids-family/mi-high-series-1-eps-1-5/478528 . 14 January 2014 .