Finders Keepers (Australian TV series) facts for kids

Finders Keepers, also known as The Finder, is an Australian children's TV show. It was first shown on October 28, 1991. The show is based on a book by Emily Rodda.

The story is about a boy named Patrick. One day, while playing on his computer, he gets a strange invitation. It's an invite to a TV game show called "Finders Keepers." He finds the invitation through a special store in a shopping mall. Patrick decides to accept the invitation. Suddenly, he is pulled into another world! In this new world, he gets clues to find missing treasures from his own world. He takes part in an exciting hunt that crosses between different dimensions.

The show was aired on ABC TV. It covered the story from the book in two seasons. Each season had five episodes, making a total of ten episodes.

Main Characters

Here are the main actors and the characters they played in the show:

• Jeremy Schwerdt as Patrick
• Grant Piro as Max
• Paul Tresnan as Lucky
• Sam Prest as Clock Robot
• Joey Kennedy as Estelle
• Kate Smith as Claire
• Caroline Winnall as Carol
• Jacki Kerin as Boopie
• Penny Maegraith as Mum
• Patrick Frost as Dad

Episode Guide

The show had two seasons, each with five exciting episodes.

Season 1: The First Hunt

Episode 1: The Invitation

Patrick really loves computers. One day, he's playing a game when he gets an invite. It's for a big game called "Finders Keepers" with a million-dollar prize! No one believes him because the game is on Channel 8, and that channel doesn't exist in his city. But Patrick keeps hearing about the game. When it's time to play, he almost misses it. Luckily, he crosses a special time barrier through a TV set and starts the game.

Episode 2: The Search

Patrick's first task is to find a lost object from his own world. He only has a clue and a special beeper brooch. The brooch beeps when he is close to the object. He searches the zoo and a shopping center. The brooch starts beeping at a gift shop! After some twists and turns, Patrick finds the object. He then crosses the time barrier again with his "find."

Episode 3: The Barrier

Patrick agrees to keep playing "Finders Keepers." As he's about to go back, the system breaks down. This leaves him stuck on the other side for a short time. A girl named Wendy shows him the time barrier. People on the other side can actually see and touch it! Patrick sees objects moving through the barrier. He also learns about something called TBE. When he tries to return to the TV station, the system breaks down even more. He worries he might never get home.

Episode 4: The Visitor

Patrick finally gets sent back home. But Eleanor Doon's clue leads him to Estelle's ring. Patrick faces a tough choice: take Estelle's ring or miss out on winning a computer. As he thinks about what to do, he starts to learn the truth about Estelle. He eventually crosses back over for the third time.

Episode 5: The Return

Estelle is reunited with Boopie. Patrick returns the object to Eleanor Doon and wins his computer! But then, the system breaks down again, even worse this time. Max manages to send Patrick home, but without his computer. Patrick says goodbye to his new friends. A few days later, he gets a very interesting "present."

Season 2: The Clock's Secret

Episode 1: The Clock

Patrick finds an urgent message from Max on his computer. Max needs Patrick's help! Patrick goes to the TV shop to cross the time barrier. He leaves his cousin Carol at a clock. Carol finds a strange ball. When she goes to tell Patrick, she sees him disappear into the barrier. Carol runs to the spot and she also gets pulled in! Things are very bad on the other side. Max prepares to send Patrick back to find the clockmaker. But just as Max is about to send him home, agents burst in and arrest him. Carol is left lost and alone on the other side.

Episode 2: The Ball

Patrick makes it to the shopping center. But time has passed, and the clock is gone. He meets a worried Claire, who is looking for Carol. Patrick realizes Carol must have followed him. They rush home to contact Max, who is being questioned by the agents. The agents let Max go but lock his room, so he can't get to his computer. Carol has her own encounter with agents. They try to take her strange ball, which shows magical powers and burns one agent's hand. Patrick and Claire track the clock to a warehouse. Meanwhile, Carol is confronted by Parsons, a senior agent.

Episode 3: The Clock Maker

Carol escapes the agents again and gets close to the barrier. This causes a serious problem called a "time stream." Patrick and Claire find a poem on the clock. It helps them find the clockmaker, Anna Varga. She is sick in the hospital, and Patrick goes to find her. The time stream has traveled from the barrier into the TV stations, knocking down a wall. Max figures out how to get back into his room. Patrick finds Anna Varga and tells her the clock has been moved. She must get to the clock right away! Carol won't move from the barrier as night falls. Parsons decides to use a special gun to push Carol into the barrier.

Episode 4: The Regulator

McCready, the senior agent, stops Parsons, and Carol is saved. Max creates a device to help him get back into his room. Patrick arrives at the clock with Anna Varga. She does a quick fix on its crystal part. But a very important piece, the regulator, is missing from the clock. Max contacts Patrick and learns from Anna Varga that she is connected to the clock. McCready wants Max arrested again. He thinks Max is linked to Carol and her strange ball. Estelle sees Carol at the barrier and tries to help her. But Parsons interferes, and Carol runs into the barrier in fright. Patrick goes into the barrier after Carol. The episode ends as he searches for her.

Episode 5: The Time Keeper

Patrick finds Carol, but he loses the device that can transport them. They are lost inside the barrier. Max is put in isolation, but not before he tells McCready all about the time keeper clock and the missing regulator. Claire helps Anna Varga move the clock back to the shopping center. Meanwhile, McCready, who knows two children are stuck in the barrier, starts to wonder if Max is right. He goes to Max's room to help Patrick and Carol. He is met by Estelle. Max arrives, and with Anna Varga's help, he moves Patrick and Carol to the shopping center. The regulator is put back in the time keeper, and the clock returns to normal. Claire gets Patrick and Carol home just minutes before their mum and dad return.

Filming Locations

Many of the shopping center scenes were filmed at Northpark Shopping Centre in Prospect, Adelaide, South Australia. This mall has changed a lot since the show was made. Some scenes were filmed across the road at Sefton Plaza, which looks mostly the same. The show made it seem like both shopping centers were the same place. Other places where they filmed include Botanic Park (near the Adelaide Zoo) and the Dry Creek salt pans (north of Adelaide).