Jem (TV series) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Jem
Title character and logo from opening sequence
Genre	Romance Science fiction
Created by	Christy Marx
Voices of	Samantha Newark Britta Phillips Patricia Alice Albrecht Kath Soucie Marlene Aragon Susan Blu Neil Ross Charlie Adler Desirée Goyette Cathy Cavadini Hazel Shermet
Composer(s)	Robert J. Walsh
Country of origin	United States
Original language(s)	English
No. of seasons	3
No. of episodes	65 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)	Joe Bacal Jay Bacal Tom Griffin Margaret Loesch
Running time	23 minutes
Production company(s)	Hasbro Sunbow Productions Marvel Productions
Distributor	Claster Television (United States) Sunbow Productions International (Internationally)
Release
Original network	First-run syndication
Picture format	NTSC
Audio format	Stereo
Original release	October 6, 1985 (1985-10-06) – May 2, 1988 (1988-05-02)

Jem, also known as Jem and the Holograms, is an American animated musical TV show. It aired from 1985 to 1988. The series is about Jerrica Benton, who owns a record company. She also has a secret identity as the singer Jem. The show follows the adventures of Jem and her band, the Holograms.

The series was made by Hasbro, Sunbow Productions, and Marvel Productions. This was the same team that created G.I. Joe and Transformers. Christy Marx, who created Jem, also wrote for those shows. Most of the animation was done by Japanese studio Toei Animation. Some was done by South Korean studio AKOM.

Story of Jem and the Holograms

Jem and her true identity, Jerrica Benton.

The story is about Jerrica Benton. She runs a music company called Starlight Music. Jerrica has a secret identity: Jem, the lead singer of the rock band, the Holograms. Jerrica becomes Jem with the help of a special computer. This computer is called Synergy. Jerrica's father built Synergy to be an amazing audio-visual machine. He left it to her after he passed away.

Jerrica uses tiny projectors in her earrings to activate Synergy. Synergy then creates a hologram of Jem over Jerrica. This hides Jerrica's face and clothes, turning her into Jem. Jem can also use her earrings to project holograms around her. She uses this power to escape danger and create cool special effects for her band's shows.

Meet the Holograms

Jem's band, the Holograms, has several members. Kimber Benton is Jerrica's younger sister. She plays keyboards and writes most of the band's songs. Aja Leith is the guitarist. Shana Elmsford is Jerrica's foster sister. She plays the synth drums. Aja and Shana have been friends with Jerrica and Kimber since they were young.

Shana briefly left the band to work in fashion. A new character, Carmen "Raya" Alonso, joined as her replacement. Raya is Latina and plays drums. The Holograms knew about Jem's secret identity and Synergy from the start. Raya found out by accident before joining. When Shana returned, she became the band's bassist.

Rival Bands and Villains

The Holograms have two main rival bands: the Misfits and the Stingers. The Misfits are led by Pizzazz (Phyllis Gabor), a spoiled rich girl. Her band includes Roxy (Roxanne Pelligrini), a tough guitarist, and Stormer (Mary Phillips), a kind keytar player. Later, Jetta (Sheila Burns), a British saxophonist, joins them.

The Stingers appear in the third season. They cause trouble for both the Holograms and the Misfits. The Stingers are from Germany. The band includes Riot (Rory Llewelyn), the lead singer, Rapture (Phoebe Ashe), a guitarist, and Minx (Ingrid Kruger), who plays keyboards.

Eric Raymond is the main villain and manager of the Misfits. He used to own half of Starlight Music. He constantly tries to take over Starlight Music and get revenge on Jem and the Holograms.

Challenges and Relationships

Jerrica often struggles to keep her two identities, Jerrica and Jem, separate. She also has to protect Synergy from people who want to use its holographic technology for bad. Jerrica and the Holograms also care for twelve foster children called the Starlight Girls.

The Misfits often try to ruin Jem and the Holograms' plans. Their rivalry can sometimes lead to dangerous situations. Eric Raymond encourages this competition.

Jerrica also has a complicated love life. Her longtime boyfriend, Rio Pacheco, is romantically interested in both Jerrica and Jem. He doesn't know they are the same person. Later, Riot, the lead singer of the Stingers, also falls for Jem. This makes Jerrica's relationships even more complex.

In the final episode, the Misfits and Jem's band make peace. This happens when Ba Nee, one of the Starlight Girls, finds her long-lost father. Jem and the Holograms help find him, with help from Riot's father. Jem also helps Riot and his father fix their relationship.

Characters and Episodes

Where Jem Aired

The show Jem was shown in many countries.

International Broadcast
USA
First-run syndication (October 6, 1985 – May 2, 1988)
USA Network (1989–1992)
UK
CITV (1986, 1987–late 80's)
UK Gold (1992–1994)
The Children's Channel (Then: TCC) (April 18, 1994 – November 11, 1994)
Sky One's Fun Factory / Sky One's The DJ Kat Show / Sky One / Sky Movies (Jem: The Movie On Sky Movies) (May 6, 1987 – December 14, 1997)
Canada
ABC Spark (November 23, 2016 - June 27, 2017)

The Jem Franchise Today

Christy Marx, the creator of Jem, has said she wants to bring the show back. However, she mentioned in 2004 that the rights to Jem are very complicated.

I would like to see that happen. I don't want to go into a lot of detail, but the whole rights situation for Jem is very, very complicated. Believe me, if there were a simple straightforward way to do it, it would be done. But there are some very big complications that are in the way at the moment.

—Christy Marx

Reruns of the Show

After almost 20 years, Jem reruns returned to TV in the United States. The show aired on The Hub Network/Discovery Family from May 31, 2011, to November 15, 2015.

In Canada, Teletoon Retro announced on July 25, 2011, that Jem would be part of its fall lineup. On April 5, 2012, Hasbro also announced that Jem would be available on Netflix.

Jem Dolls

On September 8, 2011, Hasbro announced it would be at the 2011 New York Comic Con. They said they would show new Jem and the Holograms toys.

On June 27, 2012, Integrity Toys, Inc. shared plans for new collectible fashion dolls based on the TV series. A special Hollywood Jem doll was sold at Comic-Con International in San Diego for about $135. It sold out quickly.

On October 5, 2012, pictures of four new dolls were shown: Classic Jem, Jerrica Benton, Synergy, and Rio Pacheco. They cost about $119 and started shipping in late November 2012. By October 2016, Integrity Toys had made over forty different dolls from the show.

Jem Comic Books

In 2011, Hasbro released a special comic book called Unit:E. It was a one-time comic for New York Comic-Con. It explored a possible crossover world for many Hasbro brands.

A new Jem comic book series was released by IDW in March 2015. It was written by Kelly Thompson with art by Sophie Campbell. This comic reimagined the series for modern times. It had new character designs and different stories. For example, the Holograms and Misfits were unsigned bands at first. Also, Kimber and Stormer started a romantic relationship. The series ended on June 14, 2017, after 26 issues. A short series called Jem & the Holograms: Infinite was released later that month.

In January 2019, a special comic called Jem and the Holograms: IDW 20/20 was published. It celebrated IDW Publishing's 20th anniversary. This comic took place 20 years after the main comic series ended.

Jem Film

After the success of G.I. Joe and Transformers movies, Hasbro thought about making a live-action Jem film. They partnered with Universal Pictures.

On March 20, 2014, a live-action Jem and the Holograms movie was announced. Jon M. Chu directed it. Filming began in April 2014. Aubrey Peeples was cast as Jem. Stefanie Scott played Kimber, Hayley Kiyoko played Aja, and Aurora Perrineau played Shana. Ryan Guzman was cast as Rio. Juliette Lewis and Molly Ringwald also joined the film.

The movie was released in theaters on October 23, 2015. Many critics and fans did not like it. They felt it was too much like a teen drama and changed too much from the original show. The movie did not make much money and was removed from theaters after two weeks.

Jem Music

Hasbro Studios and Legacy Recordings released a music album called Truly Outrageous: A Tribute to Starlight Records. It came out on August 7, 2015. This album was part of the promotion for the Jem movie. It featured new versions of classic songs from the Jem TV series. This album was only available digitally.

See also

In Spanish: Jem and the Holograms para niños