SKILLS He loves to skateboard, and is willing - PBS Kids

Matt leaps first and asks questions later – literally! He’s a true friend,with bravery and brains to spare. Matt is always ready to jump in andexplore, so sometimes the girls and Digit have to hold him back. He’s anobserver and collector. He might find something along the way and stuffit into his backpack – he never knows when he might just find a use for it.When he’s got a problem to solve, Matt just wants to get his hands on it andfigure it out. Or play with his yo-yo till he gets an idea. Matt is a bottom-liner, andusually speaks his mind. He doesn’t need to preface things he says – he just getsto the heart of the matter.Matt is crazy for jokes and puns. He’s totally into all the cool stuff he getsto do in cyberspace, like racing around in cybercoupes and exploringunusual places. His favorite cybersite is Radopolis, because they havethe best skatepark in the virtual universe.BACKGROUND An 11 year old caucasion, he lives on a farmSKILLS He loves to skateboard, and is willing to try any andall daring and extreme games. He can drive a tractor (or justabout anything else), ride a horse, milk a cow, and fix anything!He’s a good improviser and great at telling jokes.PET PEEVES WaitingFAVORITE COLOR Green8 | cyberchase© 2000-2003 Educational Broadcasting Corporation and Nelvana International Limited. All rights reserved. CYBERCHASE is a trademark of the Educational Broadcasting Corporation. Materials subject to change. Please discard outdated as new pages are issued.

JACKIE GOOD GUYSJackie is a natural-born organizer. She’s smart, poised and charming. She’s also quite stylish– Jackie never goes anywhere without her signature red jewelry. Jackie has a bigheart, and she’s also filled with big ideas and big plans. Don’t get on her bad sidethough, because she speaks her mind and doesn’t mince words.Sometimes Jackie freaks out just a little bit, if it looks like things aren’t going well.And she really doesn’t like trolls and giant amphibians. But when there’s a problemto tackle, Jackie jumps in and talks it out to find a solution. A good listener, Jackieis quick to pick up clues.Jackie’s got a sly sense of humor, and loves adventure. One of her favoriteexperiences in cyberspace was meeting a real pirate – the spooky cyberghostIvanka the Invincible.BACKGROUND An 11 year old African-American, she lives in a suburban houseSKILLS Jackie is very agile and limber. She’s a great gymnast and anexcellent artist, often using her ability to draw to help problemsolve. Like the others, she is computer savvy andloves to instant message.PET PEEVES Bugs and anything messyFAVORITE COLOR Yellow9

The youngest of the three Earth kids, Inez is also the feistiest. She’s friendly, intelligentand a bit of a tomboy. Just don’t call her little! She’s small, but she’s spunky. An avidreader, Inez has a broad vocabulary in both English and Spanish. She loves to use bigwords – she isn’t trying to show off, it’s just the way she is.A natural skeptic, Inez doesn’t take things at face value. She doesn’t mind askingquestions and she doesn’t like being wrong. Inez likes to think things through too,often puzzling them out while balanced on her head, sitting upside-down with herlegs crossed.She loves to giggle and to quote – her family, famous people, herself! Whenconfronting Hacker and other baddies, Inez stays calm and focused. But she’s beenknown to holler too, especially when being chased by wild cybergorillas!BACKGROUND A 9 year old Latina, she lives a city apartmentSKILLS She’s a fast runner, an excellent roller-blader and bike rider,and a very good basketball player.PET PEEVES Heights, bad sportsmanship and whenever Matt callsher “Nezzie”FAVORITE COLOR Purple10 | cyberchase© 2000-2003 Educational Broadcasting Corporation and Nelvana International Limited. All rights reserved. CYBERCHASE is a trademark of the Educational Broadcasting Corporation. Materials subject to change. Please discard outdated as new pages are issued.

You gotta love Digit. He may not always have the right answers, but he always gives200% for Team Motherboard. Digit is sort of mother hen (er, “cyboid”) to Inez,Jackie and Matt, and he looks after them whenever they’re in cyberspace. Hehelps Motherboard too, taking care of things for her at Control Central.Digit is one tough-talking cyberbird. He’s not afraid of Hacker – not usually,anyway. In fact, he was made by Hacker, back when Hacker worked forMotherboard. Digit wouldn’t dream of associating with “that crumb-bum” now.Digit helps the “Earthlies” (as he fondly calls Inez, Jackie and Matt) figurethings out by asking endless questions whenever he doesn’t understandsomething…which is often. Sometimes he talks about taking a day off, buthe wouldn’t miss spending time with his friends or fighting against Hackerfor anything.AGE Not that old! “Hey, what do I look like – Grandma Moses?”SKILLS He can go over or around things the kids can’t. He can turn his beak into all sorts of mechanical toolsto help out in tough situations. Digit is an excellent mimic. He has a hatch in his chest that is filled with just aboutanything the kids might need to help get them (or himself) out of a jam.PET PEEVES Heights and having to do things overFAVORITE COLOR He can’t decide.FAVORITE BOOK “The Cyber Chef” by Digit leBoid and “Jonathan Livingston Seagull” by Richard Bach11

Ageless Benevolent RulerLOCATION CyberspacePET PEEVES HackerFAVORITE COLOR She finds beautyin all colors.FAVORITE BOOKS EncyclopediaBritannica,World Almanac…Motherboard is the benevolent ruler of cyberspace – theheart, soul, energy and brain of the giant computer system.But she just hasn’t been herself since Hacker unleashed amega-virus that devastated her circuitry. Motherboard isthe engine and source of information – a warehouse ofevery idea from the beginning of time – but becauseHacker zapped her operating system, she’s running withmore than a few glitches and bugs.Motherboard radiates goodness, warmth and peace,and appreciates the hard work done by Matt, Jackieand Inez, who she calls “CyberMates.” She has a goodsense of humor, too, and is very wise, especially toHacker’s ways.Home base is Control Central – a vast, hi-tech computercenter. She often appears as an electronically-generatedimage on a computer screen. Even in her weakened state,Motherboard stores all the data of and hosts unique sitesacross the virtual universe. When Motherboard speaks, itmay sound like she’s on a bad mobile phone connection,but cybercitizens know they can always count on her.12 | cyberchase© 2000-2003 Educational Broadcasting Corporation and Nelvana International Limited. All rights reserved. CYBERCHASE is a trademark of the Educational Broadcasting Corporation. Materials subject to change. Please discard outdated as new pages are issued.

There’s really nothing good to say about Hacker. He’s all bad, all the time. His goalin life is simple: take over the cyberuniverse. At times smart and cunning,Hacker is also self-important, arrogant, and smug. He’s got a penchant forpomposity and absolutely adores alliteration.Hacker celebrates his victories before they’re won, planning elaborateevents with his co-hort/girlfriend the Wicked Witch. He has a particularfondness for outrageous outfits and imperious speeches. Hacker isvery vain, especially about his hair and chin.His hapless henchmen are the robots Buzz and Delete, alsoknown as “you dithering duncebuckets.” They never seemto do anything right, but he’s stuck with them because he’snotoriously cheap and can’t afford better help. Oh, and noone else would work for him either.SPECIES CyborgLOCATION CyberspaceSKILLS Wreaking havoc and creating chaosPET PEEVES Jackie, Matt and Inez. Being called “Hacker”instead of “The Hacker”.FAVORITE COLOR PuceFAVORITE BOOK “The Prince,” by Machiavelli13

Buzz works for Hacker because it’s his job. He does enjoy hiswork– cheating and scheming are two of Buzz’s favorite activities.He’s a crusty, cranky robot with a soft spot for donuts; henever met one he didn’t like. But Buzz is not really very good athis job. Unless Hacker tells him exactly what to do, things arelikely to go very wrong. Buzz would hate to admit it, but workwould be a lot less fun if his pal Delete – a.k..a. “Dee-Dee” –wasn’t around.SPECIES RobotLOCATION Cyberspace, Northern FrontierSKILLS Taking orders from HackerFAVORITE FOOD Donuts14 | cyberchase© 2000-2003 Educational Broadcasting Corporation and Nelvana International Limited. All rights reserved. CYBERCHASE is a trademark of the Educational Broadcasting Corporation. Materials subject to change. Please discard outdated as new pages are issued.

Delete is a bad guy with a sensitive side. If Hacker would let him,he’d have a pet bunny named George. Delete works forHacker because “Buzzy” does, and “Buzzy” is his friend.Not that he minds the dirty work – Delete likes tocause problems and make mischief as much as the nexthorrible henchman. But don’t ask him to solveproblems; he can’t. He’ll just ask Buzz what to do.Together, Buzz and Delete are best described as“dumb and dumber.”SPECIES RobotLOCATION Cyberspace, Northern FrontierSKILLS “Gee, I can’t think of any.”FAVORITE BOOK He’s not much of a reader.15

The Skwak Pad is an ingenious electronic device that’s part PDA, phone, calculator,camera and computer. It’s how the kids talk to each other from differentparts of cyberspace.They use it to keep track of things too, especially when problemsare complicated.Digit and the kids zoom around in cyberspace in lotsof cool vehicles, including this Cybercoupe.16 | cyberchase© 2000-2003 Educational Broadcasting Corporation and Nelvana International Limited. All rights reserved. CYBERCHASE is a trademark of the Educational Broadcasting Corporation. Materials subject to change. Please discard outdated as new pages are issued.

Hacker’s Cyber-Cycle is one of the many vehicles Hackerlikes to ride when he’s cruising around cybersitescreating chaos.The Grim Wreaker is Hacker’s ship, his home, his pride and joy. It’s goteverything he needs to wreak havoc on the cyber universe.17

18 | cyberchase© 2000-2003 Educational Broadcasting Corporation and Nelvana International Limited. All rights reserved. CYBERCHASE is a trademark of the Educational Broadcasting Corporation. Materials subject to change. Please discard outdated as new pages are issued.

Everything out in the whole wide world – and more– is here in cyberspace, from Ancient Egypt’s Mumsieand Binky, to the zombies and werewolves ofCastleblanca. It’s a magnificent, often wacky, off-thewall,animated world that exists in the online worldof a computer. While some of the sites might havetheir source in the Real World, those who inhabit itand the trappings of the site have a decidedly stylized,computerized, cyberized look. Cyberspace’s circuitryis its stars, binary code is its “Milky Way” and cybersitesare its planets. It’s a fabulous dimension full ofcolorful characters and amazing locations where anythingcan happen – and often does.19