Ultimate Book of Spells
| Ultimate Book of Spells | |
|---|---|
 The title card from UBOS. | |
| Also known as | UBOS |
| Genre | Animated children's television series |
| Written by |
Sean Catherine Derek Michael Edens |
| Directed by |
Kathi Castillo Dennis Graham |
| Voices of |
Michael Dobson Ron Halder Cathy Weseluck Janyse Jaud Jim Byrnes Patricia Drake Saffron Henderson Kirby Morrow Pauline Newstone Nicole Oliver |
| Theme music composer |
Will Anderson Jim West |
| Country of origin | Canada |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 26 |
| Production | |
| Running time | 20 mins |
| Production company(s) | BKN International |
| Distributor |
YTV (CAN) Toon Disney (US) |
| Release | |
| Original network |
YTV (CAN) Toon Disney (US) CBBC (UK) Pop (UK) |
| Original release | 12 September 2001 – 7 April 2002 |
| External links | |
| Website | |
The Ultimate Book of Spells, or UBOS, is a Canadian children's animated television series which began production in 2001. The series aired on YTV in Canada, Toon Disney in the United States and on CBBC and Pop in the United Kingdom, and ran for 26 episodes.
Overview/storyline
Cassy, Verne & Gus are three gifted students who go to an enchanted school where they learn about magic and how to use it. One day they receive a strange talking book in the mail. The book says his name is UBOS (Ultimate Book of Spells) and together they must journey to the center of the Earth to stop Zarlak. Zarlak is a powerful wizard who is stealing all of Earth's magic so he can ultimately escape his prison, at the center of the earth, into which he was banished after a great battle. This begins a journey of a lifetime for the three students – one they will never forget. They have to juggle school life and fighting the forces of evil with only each other and UBOS for help. UBOS is actually Cassy's great-grandfather in disguise, as proven by several episodes, for example, after witnessing the legendary battle which ended with Zarlack's banishment, UBOS says to Cassy, "Come, my child". just like her great-grandfather. In another episode, UBOS said that Cassandra the seventh helped "m(e) – I mean, your great-grandfather" to Cassy and finally admitting it to Verne whilst not being himself.
Characters
- Cassandra/Cassy (voiced by Janyse Jaud): The leader of the trio, and junior witch. She has a soft spot for animals and flowers but can become angry when taunted and when someone insults her family. Her ambition is to become a sorceress, as sorceresses are far superior to witches. She also wishes to become a trained healer, because she thinks it to be very rewarding. Her ambition leads her to strive at the top of her classes, and will sometimes use magical shortcuts to keep her place at the top. It is revealed in "Three is a Charm" that she is the great-granddaughter of the great wizard who defeated and banished Zarlack. She is also a master pilot of the "Scoot Zoomer", the means of transport for many students. Cassy's family symbol is a purple diamond which is also the colour that her family members frequently wear.
- Gus: He is half Elf and half Wizard. He is quite confident and sometimes acts childishly. He at first looks down on Verne due to his "mortie" status, but Verne manages to redeem himself by saving Gus's life. It is revealed in "Magical Quest" that he is related to a werewolf. Because he is half elf he is attracted to anything shiny, and when he sees something shiny, he says "Ohhhh sparklies". This usually makes Verne have to pull on his hood to keep him out of trouble. He has the ability to imitate voices without the assistance of magic. Gus's family symbol is a green star which is displayed on his shirt. His goal is to become a full wizard.
- Verne (voiced by Cathy Weseluck): He is a mortal (also known as mortie), but he displays magical powers and can naturally mend electronic devices. Because of his mortal status, he is called a "mortie". At some points he is quite cowardly and is surprised by almost anything that involves magic. He is quite skilled at Techno Magic which is good for putting ordinary electronics and/or mechanical devices together to make useful gadgets. At times, he will mess up a spell that does not involve Techno Magic, often with embarrassing results. However, his magical talents sometimes proves greater than his friends, he is often referred as "Gifted" throughout the series. He came to the school on a scholarship, initially repulsed by the idea of magic and wanting to do nothing with it. He shares a room with Gus. It is later discovered that he is a descendant of the great wizard Merlin because they have the same face and Verne's middle name is Ambrosius which is also Merlin's last name. Verne is given the symbol of three wands united by Cassy later on in the series. Unlike the rest of the Wizards at school with a standard magic wooden wand, Verne's wand is made from a retractable car aerial. In the episode "Eclipsed" a fortune teller told him that he was destined to become a very important wizard.
- UBOS (voiced by Ron Halder): An elderly looking book that has the power to teleport the three to the centre of the world where they must stop Zarlak. At some point he tends to be quite grumpy (mostly when Cassy stuffs him in her backpack) and hits the three on the head when he's scolding them. It is revealed throughout the series that he is Cassy's great-grandfather. UBOS is also the title character of the series.
- Toy frog prince: As described is a actually a prince who was cursed by Zarlack to look like a toy frog and confined at the magic school the Vonderland. He is the friend of the trio and UBOS. He stays along with Gus and Verne in their room. Although he refuses at first he is seen travelling with them to defeat zarlack in some episodes.
- Zarlack: The evil wizard and antagonist that seeks world domination. He desires to get his hands on UBOS so that he will have enough power to not only escape his prison but to destroy and rule the world.
- Rowce and Snerrot: Zarlack's henchman whom he often loses patience with. They have the power to combine to become a two-headed dragon, but like most henchmen, are rather dim-witted.
Others
- Ilsa: A 12-foot-tall (3.7 m) giant girl whose father is a big man (literally) in Vonderland. She was roommates with Cassy for a short while. Due to her size, Ilsa had trouble fitting in.
- Lucretia and Borgia: Evil fraternal twins who try to make trouble for the main characters. Their father used to serve Zarlak but defected before Zarlak's defeat, thus avoiding punishment for his crimes.
- Miss Crystalgazer: The Headmistress of Vonderland. She can transform into a cat at will.
- Professor Saysme Another Teacher of Vonderland, he is a young man with a top hat and teaches age regression magic.
- Professor Beagleboyce: The librarian of Vonderland.
- Miss Mayday: A ghost in charge of scoot-zoomer driving tests.
- Scrimpy: An imp who calls out to the trio for help when Zarlack attacks his village.
- Flaherty: A leprechaun who was forced into helping Lucretia cheat, by tinkering with Cassie's scoot-zoomer while racing, before he was freed.
- Wingo and Jingo: Two mischievous gremlins who were cast into a cuckoo clock for 100 years after losing a battle with Vonderland's builders. They are allowed to come out once a century to play while the whole school is put under a sleeping spell.
- Steps the Dragon (voiced by Michael Dobson)
- Prince Erbert (voiced by Michael Dobson)
Episodes
| Episode Number | Broadcast Date | Title | Description | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 - 1.1 (Pilot) | 12 September 2001 | Three is a charm | A mortie (non-magic person) named Verne comes to a magic school. He meets Gus, a half-elf second year junior wizard and Cassy, a third year junior witch. He also meets the evil twins: Lucretia and Borgia. He also meets the headmistress Miss Crystalgazer. He also meets a prince that has been enchanted to look like a toy frog. He also meets Ubos, a book that can talk and take them to the center of the earth where an evil wizard Zarlak is stealing magic from the outside world. He becomes good friends with Cassy and Gus! Three Is a Charm, after all! | |
| 02 - 1.2 | 19 September 2001 | Man or Mortie | Many winged beings are crashing into turrets of the castle. The only antidote comes from an extinct animal. It's up to the trio: Cassy, Gus, and Verne. | |
| 03 - 1.3 | 26 September 2001 | He Who Laughs Last | Zarlak's planning on taking joy from the surface world! It's up to the trio to stop them! | |
| 04 - 1.4 | 3 October 2001 | Rootopia of All Evil | Zarlak wants all the flowers (and the happiness) for himself! What will the trio do now? | |
| 05 - 1.5 | 10 October 2001 | Time and Again | Gus takes a crystal filled with "sparklies"(It's an elf thing) when they're class goes back in time to Zarlak's trial. It turns out to be the crystal that Cassy's great grandfather Getz needed for his battle with Zarlak! What will they do now? | |
| 06 - 1.6 | 17 October 2001 | Fire with Fire | Gus's magic seemed to be out of whack all of a sudden. He finds out that all the elves are losing their powers because they don't have the "Elfin Stone" anymore. A huge dragon stole it and the trio has to get it back! | |
| 07 - 1.7 | 24 October 2001 | The New Librarian | Professor Beagleboyce becomes the new librarian. He absorbs books' contents and he thinks those things actually happened to him! | |
| 08 - 1.8 | 31 October 2001 | Shadow Land | A shadow creature takes Cassy and Gus's shadows so it's up to Verne to get them back! | |
| 09 - 1.9 | 7 November 2001 | Once in a Blue Moon | Zarlak has kidnapped all the Charmlings. They are little elf-like people who can grant any wish if they want to. When Zarlak gets the "Ring of the Blue Moon" which can grant ANY wish in the entire world, it's up to the trio to get it back! | |
| 10 - 1.10 | 14 November 2001 | The Bind That Ties | Zarlak has captured all the bookbinder gnomes. They are small gnomes that keep the magical books and rivals to the elves. This forces all the books to become unglued. Ubos becomes delirious. It's up to the trio to bring them back. | |
| 11 - 1.11 | 21 November 2001 | Coat of Arms | Cassy finds out that her great-grandaunt Cassandra VII teamed up with Zarlak many, many, many years ago. Is it true? We'll just have to find out! | |
| 12 - 1.12 | 28 November 2001 | Out of Shape | Zarlak has captured small beings called "the tricky trolls", but one escaped and come to the kids. Zarlak then send his dragon to steal their magic book, but took Verne (who turned into UBOS) instead, then they kidnap Gus, leaving Cassy to save the day, who is having a hard time using her shape-changing powers. Will she be able to save the day by turning into Zarlak? | |
| 13 - 1.13 | 5 December 2001 | The Rift | Scavenger imps get a portal that they can use to get to the surface world with. The start stealing everything! It's up to the trio to stop them! But how can they stop them now that two of the kids are caught in the hands of Zarlak? | |
| 14 - 1.14 | 9 January 2002 | What a Cut-Up! | Zarlak has turned everything dull! Knives, forks, axes, and even morties! It's up to the trio to save them! | |
| 15 - 1.15 | 16 January 2002 | Multiple Mayhem | Cassy creates a duplicate of herself to get to all her classes but the duplicate is vandalizing the school and snubbing her friends How do they stop her if anything they do to Cassy's duplicate will happen to Cassy | |
| 16 - 1.16 | 23 January 2002 | The Tear of Moolana | Gus and Cassy are after The Tear of Moolana a gem that give anyone who possesses it all the power they could ever want so is Zarlak | |
| 17 - 1.17 | 30 January 2002 | Magical Logical | Everything is losing its logic! Video games, computers, wands and even Ubos! How can the trio get it back? | |
| 18 - 1.18 | 10 February 2002 | Veil of Illusion | The whole controversy of this episode is that the "Veil of Illusion" is disappearing from the school. Morties can see it! They find out that a great wizard is stealing it to hide his fortress from Zarlak! The trio needs to get it back! | |
| 19 - 1.19 | 17 February 2002 | Dark Image | Cassy and Gus make fun of Verne for being a mortie. He gets mad and leaves. He goes to the mortie arcade. He has a magical artifact in his backpack. It turns Verne into a powerful dark wizard. Later it Cassy into a powerful dark sorceress. It's up to Gus to stop them from destroying the earth and each other! | |
| 20 - 1.20 | 24 February 2002 | Sleeping Beauty School | Creatures from a land behind the grandfather clock came to Vonderland and put a sleeping spell on everyone except Cassy, Gus, Verne, and Ubos because they were off on one of their journeys. What will the trio do now? | |
| 21 - 1.21 | 3 March 2002 | Eclipsed | At the famous Festivus Solarus (the festival where all the witches and wizards at Vonderland get together to celebrate the time when the moon eclipses the sun), the moon is frozen in front of the sun and the temperature drops below zero! What will the trio do now? | CBBC rating (80,000) |
| 22 - 1.22 | 10 March 2002 | Big Girls Don't Cry | A giant girl named Ilsa comes to Vonderland and becomes roommates with Cassy. Cassy keeps trying to help her fit in, but Lucretia (one of the evil twins) keeps doing spells behind her back to make it seem like Cassy is making fun of her. Lucretia pretends to be her friend and gets Ilsa kidnapped by Zarlak! The trio have to save her! | |
| 23 - 1.23 | 17 March 2002 | Lucky Gus | Gus is getting lucky all of a sudden. He's beating Cassy at sports, he's got everyone hanging on his word when he's talking! But it's a trick from Zarlak to make Cassy and Verne jealous of him so they'll break up! How will they stick together? | |
| 24 - 1.24 | 24 March 2002 | Magic Quest | Cassy and Gus sit in a magic chair made by Merlin Cassy starts to change into a tree and Gus starts to turn into a werewolf They must find the ingredients for the spell Zarlaks trying to get the ingredients first we find out a big secret about Verne | |
| 25 - 1.25 | 31 March 2002 | The Lure | Gus fails his mid term So to find a challenge he goes to the high seas with his old ghost Cassy and Verne think he went onto an old ship But he didn't Cassy goes on the ship and is kidnapped Gus and Verne must save her | |
| 26 - 1.26 | 7 April 2002 | Solo Sorceress | Cassy sees Lucretia cheat during their scooter race contest, but nobody believes her. Now, it's up to her to prove it Verne and Gus that she is right. |
In the US DVD release of this series ( http://www.inetvideo.com/products/u-b-o-s-the-ultimate-book-of-spells-the-complete-series-all-26-episodes ), Solo Sorceress is not the final episode and occurs significantly earlier in the play order.
See also
External links
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