Aaron Stone is a science fiction action-adventure television series created by Bruce Kalish. Originally broadcast with the launch of Disney XD on February 13, 2009, it was the first original series to air on the network. It was produced in conjunction with Canadian Shaftesbury Films and filmed in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Contents
Premise
The series was about a teenager named Charlie Landers (Kelly Blatz) who is enlisted to become the real-life counterpart of his world-renowned avatar Aaron Stone from the fictional video game Hero Rising. The series also starred David Lambert, Tania Gunadi and J. P. Manoux. Unlike most of Disney's live-action shows, Aaron Stone featured a darker tone with a complex storyline.
Cast and characters
Main
Kelly Blatz as Charlie Landers/Aaron Stone: The teenage protagonist, who assumes the role of his video-game avatar in order to protect his family and the world. His Hero Rising avatar and real-life secret identity is named "Aaron Stone." He is 16 years old at the beginning of the series. He is the best of the best in Hero Rising. His weapons in Hero Rising and in real-life alter ego as Aaron Stone is the Gauntlet, and as said by S.T.A.N., the Gauntlet has the power of ten suns which makes it the most powerful weapon in Hero Rising. He also has a bike which is from the S.S.J. (Super Sonic Jet). In the earlier episodes he had a crush on Emma before finding out she worked for Mr. Hall.
Tania Gunadi as Emma Lau/Dark Tamara: A nerdy computer-savvy tomboy who is Charlie's next door neighbor. She knows of Charlie's double identity and works for Mr. Hall. She is very proficient in hacking and stealth tactics. She created most of Charlie's weapons and is a 2nd degree weapon specialist. She, like Charlie, has an alter-ego: her avatar, Dark Tamara. It is also revealed that her first kiss was with Jason, in episode "Game On" to hide the secret of S.T.A.N. being an android when his hand fell off.
David Lambert as Jason Landers/Terminus Mag: Charlie's 14-year-old younger brother, who, like Charlie, is an enthusiastic Internet-game player. His gaming skills are seriously lacking. His avatar is Terminus Mag, a giant golden robot who is his brother's ally. He has a crush on Emma but she doesn't return his feelings. In Run Aaron, Run, it is hinted that he might be starting to like Megan. Jason has no idea his brother Charlie is a secret real-life world crime-fighting hero: Aaron Stone, until the series finale that he found out about Charlie's alter ego. In the series finale, he was a big help to his brother by finding Damaged's weakness and by helping Aaron defeat him and presumably becomes part of Aaron's team permanently afterwards. He is one of the first people to see T. Abner Hall's face. His first kiss was with Emma, in episode "Game On".
J. P. Manoux as S.T.A.N.: Charlie's android sidekick. His name is said to be an acronym of "Sentient Tactical Assisting Neo-human". Stan is ruled by Asimov's Laws of Robotics: He must not harm humans or allow humans to be harmed, and he must obey orders. He can't harm opponents that are part human, like mutants and cyborgs. Due to the Three Laws, Stan is almost useless in a fight. Despite this he is a very powerful fighter, but can only fight non-human opponents, like Hunter and Xero's robots. Stan's lock-down mode activates whenever his circuits are being tampered turning him into traveling cargo. It is revealed in "Resident Weevil" that he has been recording Charlie's adventures and adding up his progress into "points". As a cover-up, Stan is a teacher at Charlie and Jason's school. In episode "Mutant Rain Part 2", Stan is able to bypass Asimov's Laws even though he knows it will destroy him in order to save Aaron's life. He blasts Grudge down as he's about to finish Aaron off, allowing Aaron to free Grudge from Elias Powers control, but causing Stan to self-destruct, leaving only his head intact. Vas and Ram are able to reactivate his head and he is able to track down Aaron and Jason uses him to defeat Powers by hitting Powers in the head with Stan's head (unknown to them, U later frees and replaces Powers). After the adventure is over, Hall rebuilds him, making him new and improved. While S.T.A.N. still looks the same, Hall says he is now able to do much more.
Recurring
Martin Roach as T. Abner Hall: the President of HALL Industries and maker of the game, Hero Rising. He is Charlie's mentor and Stan's creator. It was his idea to help the world by creating a think-tank, which led to the creation of the intelligence serum that turned the Omega Defiance into villains bent on destruction. In Hall's defense, he told them not to take the serum as it wasn't finished testing. He refused the request from the group to take his vial of the serum and instead opts to use all of Hall Industries resources to help bring down the Omega Defiance and undo the damage the serum has caused. Mr. Hall is always seen with his face hidden in the shadows. He does this on purpose, as anyone who sees his face would become a target of the Omega Defiance. Mr. Hall's face can sometimes be vaguely made out, but never completely seen, even in flashbacks. Hall reveals his face in episode "Mutant Rain (Part 2)" to Aaron's team as they have earned his full trust.
Vasanth Saranga as Vas Mehta/Vasuvius: The brother of Ramdas. He is from Kolkata, India. Vas is the nerdier and more traditional of the two brothers. He and his brother join Aaron's team and in the series finale are among those who Hall finally reveal his face to.
Jesse Rath as Ramdas "Ram" Mehta/Lethal Lotus: The brother of Vas. Like his brother, he is also from Kolkata, India. Ram often wears a mechanical helmet and is slightly more cool than his brother. He and his brother join Aaron's team and in the series finale are among those who Hall finally reveal his face to.
Rob Ramsay as Percy Budnick: A large bully who has a crush on Emma and is always out to get Jason. Jason often provokes Budnick. Percy is also a member of the Eastland High wrestling team.
Shauna MacDonald as Amanda Landers (season 1): Charlie & Jason's mother & new employee of HALL Industries.
Italia Ricci as Chase Ravenwood (season 1): Charlie's classmate and love interest. She is secretly obsessed with comic books and finds a connection with Charlie when they find out they both enjoy the "Lost Fighter" series of comics. Chase moved to California in "Saturday Fight Fever" to much of Charlie's disappointment.
Villains
Malcolm Travis as Elias Powers: A former Hall Industries researcher & the real creator of the Hero Rising video game. A programming genius, he designed the game to be unbeatable. He is shown to enjoy games, especially mind games. In finding out the truth about the Omega Defiance, he fell out with Mr. Hall and joined the seven. He turned himself into a cyborg, by attaching a device in himself that is linked to his brain, making him smarter and unable to feel pain. He escaped in the episode "Mind Games" but was recaptured in the season 1 finale. He broke out of Hall's prison in the episode "Run Aaron, Run" and try to get revenge on Aaron in the same episode. He then made an alliance with Damaged in "Mutant Rain (Part 1)", the series finale, in which he trained a young man name "Grudge" to help him with his plan. Powers was seemly captured by Emma, only to turn out to be (unknown to the heroes) U in disguise. The real Elias Powers is last seen going to the "Uriah Chamber", a mysterious chamber under the White House that is said to hold a great and terrible power. Powers is the longest running antagonist of the series.
The Omega Defiance is an evil group composed of the seven most brilliant minds on the planet, and whom Aaron Stone has to defeat. The group was originally assembled by T. Abner Hall to form a think-tank for the sole purpose of bettering mankind. The seven created a serum that genetically alters DNA, enabling the subject to increase their intelligence tenfold. Impatient and eager to test it, they took the serum themselves. However, the serum was flawed, and instead of making them smarter, it twisted their minds and made them more aggressive. They began to believe that mankind isn't worth bettering, so they betrayed Hall, and now desire to conquer the world and make things their way, with them in charge. They are all presumably defeated by Damaged, a mutant escapee from the research lab called Sector 21, in season 2, except for Dr. Necros who is taken prisoner.
Anthony J. Mifsud as Dr. Necros: A chemist who specializes in creating dangerous serums and toxins. His name is derived from a Greek term meaning "death". It is unknown what became of Dr. Necros after Damaged's capture.
Steven Yaffee as Xero: A young corporate executive who is skilled in handling computers, but incapable of adequate social relations. Xero is an owner of Xero Industries. He is known for fighting through the use of machines and technology, rather than taking on Aaron face-to-face. Due to his social awkwardness, he often speaks in text language (ex. LOL, Stone!). He seems to be the youngest member of the Omega Defiance. His name is probably a reference to the binary code, zero being one of the binary digits.
Production
Production for the first season ran from June 2, to December 19, 2008. The first season aired on Disney XD from February 13, to November 27, 2009. On May 5, 2009, Disney announced that the show had been renewed for a second season. Kelly Blatz confirmed via Twitter account that production for the second season began on June 22, 2009.
On November 11, 2009, in a live Ustream chat with J. P. Manoux, Tania Gunadi and Bruce Kalish, it was announced that Aaron Stone would not be renewed for a third season, with the second season being its last. The given reason was that Disney XD made the decision to put more emphasis on live-action programming that is primarily comedy-based. This announcement was made before season one concluded in the United States. A total of 14 episodes were produced for the second season premiering on February 24, 2010. The last remaining 8 episodes began airing on June 16 and concluded on July 30, 2010. As of 2015, Disney XD discontinued airing reruns of Aaron Stone in the United States.
Other appearances
In the 2015 Disney Channel Original Movie, Descendants, Carlos, played by Cameron Boyce, was seen playing "Hero Rising" as the Aaron Stone character.
In an episode of Good Luck Charlie, Gabe and P.J. can be seen playing a video game also containing footage from Hero Rising.