Xeaphon (Cool Barbie minisode)
| Xeaphon (Minisode) | |
|---|---|
 Xeaphon is presented with the Staff of Forest Elves. | |
| Written by | HIM Emperor Jonathan I |
| Original air date | 25 April 2015 |
| Runtime | 01:50 |
| Episode chronology | |
| Previous | Moonita minisode |
| Next | Colin minisode |
The Xeaphon minisode is the second of three "minisodes" of Cool Barbie released over the course of 2015, examining the aftermath of Cool Barbie VIII - Plan of the Scourge on three different characters. Produced by Austenasian Television Productions, the minisode was released on 25 April 2015.
Plot
The minisode begins with a narrative statement on-screen explaining that Xeaphon is an officer in NETDOF, an international organisation founded to protect the world from extraterrestrial attack.
At the NETDOF headquarters, a telephone rings. Ato, Xeaphon's mother (and self-styled secretary) answers the phone and puts the call through to Xeaphon, telling him that it is the Supreme Allied Commander. On the phone to Xeaphon, the Supreme Allied Commander informs him that Wisealise's staff (from CB.VIII) is not the Staff of the Forest Elves as he had claimed. The genuine staff is held by the Forest Elves themselves, who have agreed to give it to him in order to help avert any future attempts to free the Titans.
In a wooded Forest Elf colony, Xeaphon meets with a Forest Elf, who gives him the Staff, telling him that it is the greatest treasure of their people and that he must use it wisely. Xeaphon talks to Corporal Barbie, still in the body of his sister Moonita, reflecting that with an object of such power he may be able to switch them back.
Continuity notes
- The minisode was the first Cool Barbie production not to feature Xeaphon VII's Land of Plenty, the house in which stories are usually based. The only other productions to date to likewise not feature a single scene in the Land are the Colin minisode (2015) and CB.X (2016).
- The minisode introduces NETDOF, the successor to the branch of NATO focusing on extraterrestrial defence first seen in CB.I (2009). In CB.I, a photograph of St George's Hospital is used for the exterior of a secret NATO base; in the Xeaphon minisode, the NETDOF base is set at the same location, with shots of both the interior and exterior filmed on location. The base is featured again in CB.IX (2015) and CB.X (2016).
- Xeaphon uses the Staff of Forest Elves in future episodes; in CB.IX he uses it to confront the Mysteron, and in CB.XII (2017) uses it to defeat Kronos and knock out Colin. The Staff is last seen in CB.XV (2018), when it is destroyed by Dominus.
- In CB.VIII, Wisealise had claimed that his staff was the Staff of the Forest Elves, but never explained how he - an alien Scourge - obtained it. In the minisode, the Supreme Allied Commander confirms that Wisealise's staff was of alien origin all along.
- The Xeaphon minisode is the first ever Cool Barbie production in which the Barbie doll used since CB.I was not featured. Although Crown Princess Caroline is credited as playing Corporal Barbie, the character has no lines in the minisode and is only seen while in Moonita's body.
- The minisode is the only Cool Barbie production in which every actor involved only played a single role.
Production
Production of the Xeaphon minisode spanned December 2014 to February 2015. The minisode was completed before schedule, leading ATP to announce on 31 March 2015 that its release date had been brought forward from an unspecified point in May to 25 April.
Lord Timothy recorded his lines as the Supreme Allied Commander (both for the minisode and for CB.IX) while visiting the Imperial Residence on Christmas Day 2014; his final direct contribution to Cool Barbie. The scene in which Xeaphon and Corporal Barbie meet with the Forest Elf was filmed on Wimbledon Common on 1 January 2015, and the establishing shot was filmed - also on the Common - on 23 February. The scenes at the NETDOF base were filmed at St George's Hospital on 1 February.
Cast
- HIH Emperor Mother Margaret as:
- Ato
- HIM Emperor Jonathan I as:
- Xeaphon
- Lord Timothy, KOM, KPP as:
- Supreme Allied Commander
- Lady Jennifer, DOM as:
- Forest Elf
- HIH Crown Princess Caroline as:
- Corporal Barbie