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The Island (2007)

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The Island (2007) (Series)
On September 9, 2009, the world ended. For them, it was just the beginning.

"Let's live like there is no tomorrow."

The Island note  is an Israeli science fiction adventure series for teens that aired from 2007 to 2010. Created by Giora Chamizer, the show follows a group of juvenile delinquents who discover they are destined to save the world from an impending asteroid strike scheduled for September 9, 2009. The series is known for its intricate, serialized plot involving time travel, alternate histories, and a vast mythology. It was one of the most expensive and popular teen shows in Israeli television history, lauded for its complex characters and high-stakes drama.

This show provides examples of:

  • Action Survivor: The main group is composed of juvenile delinquents who, through circumstance, become the sole hope for humanity's survival. They are forced to adapt to everything from surviving on an island to time-traveling conspiracies.
  • After the End: The future from which the original timers like Chief and Max originate is a post-apocalyptic world, rebuilt after the asteroid destroyed civilization.
  • Alternate Timeline: A core concept of the series. The characters frequently create alternate histories through their actions. Season 2, for example, explores a dark timeline where their foster father, Eddie, has become a ruthless dictator who hunts time travelers ("Timers").
  • Amnesiac Hero: In the second season, Dylan is sent to the past (1894) along with his mother, Ginny as babies. The journey erases the memories of their friends and of anything that happened in 2009.
  • Ancient Conspiracy: The central conflict is the secret war between the Congress, which governs the island and ruthlessly protects the established timeline, and the Resistance, whose members fight to avert the asteroid crash.
  • Big Bad: While the Congress serves as an antagonistic force, the ultimate villain is revealed to be Kairan, a Satan-like personification of evil created by history itself to correct the "error" of the world being saved. He can possess people, as he does with Eddie, turning him into a dictator.
  • Cain and Abel: The relationship between Max and Chief is a classic example. Max's intense jealousy of Chief's relationship with Ginny and his mother's perceived favoritism drives him to betray and eventually "kill" his own brother.
  • Chekhov's Gunman: Sol, a con artist who impersonates another prisoner named Chief to get into the halfway house, is later revealed to be the son of the man who designed the highly advanced fortress on the island.
  • Dystopia: The alternate 2009 depicted in season two is a classic dystopia, ruled by the tyrannical Eddie, where all citizens are tracked by chips and timers are hunted and eliminated.
  • Face–Heel Turn: Under the influence of Kairan, Eddie, the kind and fatherly figure from season one, transforms into a ruthless dictator who hunts down timers in the alternate timeline of season two.
  • Fish out of Water: In Season 2, the main characters travel from the post-apocalyptic 2010 back to 1909 and have to blend into a village of Timers, adjusting to the customs and technology of the early 20th century.
  • Heel–Face Turn: Max, consumed by jealousy for most of the series, ultimately redeems himself by helping the heroes in the third season.
  • Kid from the Future: The protagonist, Tommy, is revealed to be Dylan, a child born in 2010 on the island in a now-erased timeline. He is the biological son of Ginny and Chief, sent back in time to be raised and prepared for his destiny.
  • La Résistance: The "Macheteret" (Underground/Resistance) is the organization fighting to change history and stop the asteroid. Its members include the kids' mentors and, eventually, the kids themselves.
  • Medieval European Fantasy: The third season partly takes place on a medieval city in 1411.
  • Set Right What Once Went Wrong: The entire premise of the show is built on this. The characters' primary mission is to travel back to September 9, 2009, to intercept the asteroid and restore the original history where the world was never destroyed.
  • Stable Time Loop: A core concept of the show is that "history corrects itself." The timeline is presented as a powerful force that resists change, often leading to events repeating in different ways, creating a complex causal loop where the future influences the past and vice versa.
  • Star-Crossed Lovers: The romantic relationships in the series are fraught with temporal complications. Dylan and Libby's love is a central plot point, but they are constantly separated by different timelines and even death. The same applies to Ginny and Chief, whose love story is the catalyst for the entire series but is tragically cut short in multiple histories.
  • The Chosen One: Dylan is the prophesied timer with the unique ability to permanently alter the timeline, making him the only person who can truly save the world from the asteroid.
  • The Dragon: Blue is Kairan's loyal and seemingly indestructible enforcer. He can be killed but is always "rebooted," making him a relentless threat.
  • The End of the World as We Know It: The impending asteroid impact is the cataclysmic event that drives the entire plot and the characters' motivations.
  • The Wild West: The second season partly takes place at a Wild West-style village on the island in 1909.
  • Time Travel: The central mechanic of the series. Certain individuals known as "Timers" have a genetic ability to travel through time. This power is regulated by a mystical object called "The Torch," and its misuse can cause a "glitch" in the timeline.
  • Tomes of Prophecy and Fate: The "Red Book," drawn by a girl with precognitive abilities named Alma Ben-Ami, guides the main characters. Its cryptic drawings predict future events and are essential to the mission. A "Black Book" with similar properties appears in the third season.
  • Well-Intentioned Extremist: In the alternate 2009 timeline, Eddie becomes a murderous dictator. His goal is to eliminate all Timers, believing their power is too dangerous for the world. This is later revealed to be the result of him being possessed by Kairan.


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