Are you in there, Dad?... Because if you are, we're never gonna stop looking until we find you.
—Cleo Bellows, "Red Wolf's Daughter"
MythQuest was a Canadian series that aired on PBS in 2001, with the goal of teaching children about the mythology of cultures throughout the world. It lasted for thirteen episodes before being prematurely cancelled.Archeologist Matt Bellows is scanning artifacts into the Cyber Museum when he finds an object he calls the Gorgos stone. When he scans it in, the trickster god Gorgos is released into the system. That same night, Matt disappears without a trace...Soon after his disappearance, his children, Cleo and Alex Bellows open up the Cyber Museum to find that it has undergone an unexpected upgrade. When one of them touches an artifact on the screen, they are instantly transported into a myth, taking the place of one of the heroes as the other sibling watches from the real world. They must now travel through the myths to find their father, all while avoiding the trickery of Gorgos.The show was never released on DVD, but it is available on Netflix in some regions.
This series provides examples of:
Achilles Heel: After they meet two supposedly invincible characters, Alex concludes that any invincible character must have a weakness.
All Myths Are True: Inside the Cyber Musuem, this is played straight. Outside, the characters acknowledge that most of the stories aren't true, but are just as important to the fabric of a culture as its history.
All Stories Are Real Somewhere: The later episodes hint that they aren't just going into the Cyber Museum, but into another world where the myth actually happened.
A Load of Bull: The very first episode is about Theseus and the Minotaur.
Brother-Sister Incest: Alex is extremely creeped out when Cleo matter-of-factly points out that this was extremely common across mythologies for married divine couples.
Brother-Sister Team: Alex and Cleo are siblings, searching for their father.
Burial at Sea: Seth tries to get rid of Osiris' body by floating it down the Nile.
Delinquent Hair: Max Asher evidently thinks this about Alex's Spiky Hair, since his reaction is to assume Alex got in a fight. Alex was actually just trying to make himself more attractive to a girl.
Disguised in Drag: Thor tells Alex about the first time his hammer was stolen. At Loki's suggestion, he pretended to be his wife to get close to the theif and retrieve his hammer.
Distracted by My Own Sexy: Some of the myth characters are very attractive. Naturally, Alex or Cleo will stare in the mirror quite often when they take the place of those characters.
Doing Research: Because they don't know what myth they'll be entering until they're in it, the sibling that stays behind has to do this on the fly to ensure they don't mess up the myth.
Don't You Dare Pity Me!: Cleo sometimes, but most notably when she wins a ski trip in a raffle.
Doppelgänger: The name and topic of the seventh episode.
Fake Static: In the first episode, Matt is on a video call with his university collegue, who is angry at him for borrowing an archaeological artifact without permission. He claims he can't see or hear her, then hangs up.
Fate Worse Than Death: Loki is chained to a rock with the entrails of his son underneath a venomous snake.
Later in the series, being part of a myth that the Gorgos stone is inhabiting becomes this, as its influence slowly causes the story and everyone in it to first change, then fade completely out of human memory and existence.
Fingerprinting Air: Averted. The kids' mother is called down to identify a man found in a stream, because the water makes fingerprinting impossible.
Flashback: Used in "Blodeuwedd" when the characters give testimony.
Flashback Effects: In "Blodeuwedd", all the flashbacks are sepia-toned and have a slight echo/reverb.
Fourth Wall Observer: In-universe, Alex and Cleo whenever they go into a myth. Also Gorgos. He's a god, like half the characters Alex and Cleo meet, but the difference is he knows he's in a myth.
Frothy Mugs of Water: Averted in "Hammer of the Gods". Cleo and Alex are both underage, yet Alex takes advantage of and encourages Thor's drinking and Cleo jokes about it. Alex himself doesn't seem to take part, though.
God Emperor: Alex, when he becomes Osiris in episode 9.
Gods Need Prayer Badly: In "Red Wolf's Daughter", the spirits need someone to tell their stories or they will cease to exist.
Honor Before Reason: Alex, when he decides not to get back to the real world after the Caradoc myth changes. Instead he asks to be beheaded by Eliavres instead of Arthur, on account of a promise he made a year earlier.
Human Sacrifice: Shows up in "Quetzalcoatl", when Alex travels to an Aztec myth.
I Gave My Word: In his request to be beheaded by Eliavres instead of King Arthur, Alex uses this reason.
It's for a Book: Whenever Alex or Cleo need information about a myth from someone, they tell them that it's for school.
Keeping Secrets Sucks: Hiding the portal's existence almost causes Alex to lose Phil's friendship.
Last Request: Alex has one in episode six, when he asks that instead of being executed for treason, he keep his word and let the unknown knight behead him.
Let's Fight Like Gentlemen: In episode six, Lancelot and Maleagant fight over Guinevere. After both of them acquire an extra weapon (Maleagant an axe and Lancelot a sword), Lancelot points out that they're both honorable, and they return to fighting with matched swords.
The Lost Woods: The Blood Trees from episode 5, wherein lives Yuki-Onna.
Losing Your Head: The mysterious knight gets beheaded, then picks up his head and requests his sword.
The Mirror Shows Your True Self: Mirrors (or anything else reflective) show Alex or Cleo what they look like when they're inside the myth.
Mr. Exposition: Max Asher is a well-done version of this.
Multi-Part Episode: Just has one. The 9th and 10th episode are entitled "Isis and Osiris Part 1" and "Isis and Osiris Part 2", respectively.
Multitasked Conversation: In "Hammer of the Gods", Alex asks Cleo questions that Thor thinks are for him.
Mysterious Mist: Surrounds the spirit of the Lake in "Red Wolf's Daughter."
Narnia Time: Some of the myths last for days, while the outside sibling has only been watching for a few hours. In episode five, they mentioned that the myth could skip ahead, over irrelevant parts, but those are usually large jumps, and don't entirely explain the discrepency.
Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: Gorgos says Alex's name and distracts him before he can change a myth, thereby saving the world from destruction.
No Pronunciation Guide: Alex has plenty of trouble with the Welsh names in episode 13. Interestingly, he pronounces "Blodeuwedd" correctly on the first try. (blo-D'OW-weth)
Off with His Head!: In "Sir Caradoc at the Round Table", a mysterious knight offers to be beheaded in return for the privilege of beheading his beheader. This kind of story is actually known as "the beheading game", and is mentioned in the episode.
Orphean Rescue: In "Orpheus", Alex recreates the rescue of Eurydice.
Owl Be Damned: Gwydion and Math turn Blodeuwedd into an owl as punishment for killing her husband.
Parents In Distress: Alex and Cleo searching for their disappeared father is the premise of the show.
Pensieve Flashback: In episode 2, when Thor shows Alex the adventures he had with Loki.
Prophecies Are Always Right: In "The Oracle", Cleo has visions of both the myth world and the real world. All of them come true.
Prophecy Twist: The Oracle tells a king that if he marches on Persia, "By your hands, a great army will fall." She doesn't specify whose...
Rashomon-Style: In "Blodeuwedd", three different versions of the king's death are presented.
Recursive Reality: In "Doppelganger", Alex touches a mirror, which reflects him through the plasma screen, to get into a myth. He has some trouble with that.
Releasing From The Promise: Eliavres releases Alex!Caradoc from his promise to be beheaded when he willingly offers his neck
Ripple Effect Indicator: Textbooks and storybooks, as well as people's memory, change if the myth changes.
Ripple-Effect-Proof Memory: Averted and played straight. If they change the outcome of a myth, the memories of people in the real world reflect that. However, the changes don't seem to affect the person doing the changing, so it's possible for them to change it back.
Save Both Worlds: Gorgos lives to change and destroy myths, thereby removing them entirely from human consciousness. Alex and Cleo go into the myths and attempt to prevent him from doing so.
Separate Scene Storytelling: Brin, Gronw, and Lleu all give their testimony through a flashback in "Blodeuwedd"
Spiky Hair: Alex thinks this will impress his crush, Brittany.
Spoiler Opening: The title sequence contains information about Gorgos delivered by a character that wouldn't be introduced until the fifth episode.
Spoonerism: Used to show that Thor is "darely brunk"
Status Quo Is God: The kids have to be extremely careful to not change the myths that they go into, as changing the story in the myth world changes it in the real world as well, and after a short amount of time, within memory as well. This tends to have ripple effects, one of which is to make escaping the myth world easier for Gorgos.
However, Alex and Cleo are constantly afraid that someone will come and turn off the computer when one of them is in the myth world, causing them to be trapped in the story permanently. This is partially why they usually have the other sibling keeping watch on the screen and preventing people from coming in the study.
What Happened to the Mouse?: Cleo's mutual crush with David is a recurring subplot, until the fifth episode. He's never seen or mentioned again.
Who Needs Their Whole Body?: The mysterious knight gets back up after being beheaded in "Sir Caradoc at the Round Table."
World's Most Beautiful Woman: Cleo becomes this when she takes the place of Blodeuwedd. She rather likes it in the beginning, but as the myth continues, she becomes increasingly irritated by how shallow other peoples' perception of Blodeuwedd is, and how her role had simply been a Trophy Wife.
You Can't Fight Fate: Merlin in episode six: "Never had much luck changing fate. You throw a rock in the river, and the water just moves around it."
You Can't Go Home Again: Matt Bellows can't get back unless he touches the Gorgos Stone. Unfortunately, it's not as easy to find as most of the artifacts the teens touch.
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