Diana (animated TV series)

Diana is an animated television series created by Australian filmmaker and musician Alex Harshegyi and developed by Harshegyi and American artist Jason Bellows. The series is a spin off of the cartoon Martin Mystery from French company Marathon Media (now known as Zodiak Kids Studios), which was loosely based upon the Italian comic book Martin Mystère by Alfredo Castelli. It is set in an alternate universe where the title character, Diana Lombard, never met Martin Mystery. Diana is set to air on Nickelodeon in the US, YTV in Canada, and 10 Shake in Australia.

Premise
The series re-imagines one of Martin Mystery’s main characters, Diana Lombard, as the main protagonist. The show is set in an alternate universe where Diana never met Martin Mystery, and they never became step-siblings. Diana is one of the smartest students and biggest overachievers in school, and her best friend, Jenni Anderson, is one of the prettiest and most popular girls. They are assisted by Kevin Gould, who is smart and an overachiever like Diana and was initially her penpal.

Characters
Diana Alexandra Lombard is a 16-year-old girl, usually seen with her two signature hair clips (one with a pink flower and one with a yellow star) and her small purple shoulder bag. She is highly intelligent, hyperactive, outgoing, a bit of a perfectionist, and overachiever. Diana is very easily annoyed, has a propensity to become extremely angry, and will generally make logical yet snide remarks. She can also have a hard time dealing with noise and will isolate herself from such situations. Despite all of this, she is kind-hearted and a loyal friend. She has green eyes and long brown hair, and is usually seen wearing a pink shirt with dark pink sleeves, light blue knee-length jeans and white and pink sneakers. Diana is voiced by Kelly Sheridan.

Jenni Anderson is Diana’s best friend, and one of the prettiest and most popular girls in school. She has blue eyes and flared auburn-colored hair, is usually shown with red lipstick, and speaks with a valley girl accent. Jenni is obsessed with glamour, fashion, boys, and her looks, much to Diana’s chagrin. A running gag for Jenni is her tendency to check herself out and compliment herself (usually in the mirror in her locker), and she often makes kissing noises when she does, both of which annoy Diana. However, Jenni is also very nice and mature, and tends to reason with Diana’s obsessive behaviour. Jenni is usually seen wearing a black blouse and black skirt with a purple belt and burgundy knee high boots. Jenni is voiced by Tabitha St. Germain.

Kevin Gould is Diana’s former penpal and friend. He is very shy, most likely due to the fact that no one wanted to be friends with him in elementary school. However, he is an overachiever like Diana, and wants to be rich when he gets older. Like Jenni, Kevin is more mature and calm compared to the sarcastic and abrasive Diana. He has brown hair like Diana, and usually wears a blue and white top, black pants and red sneakers. Kevin is voiced by Keenan Christensen.

Jason Bartlett is Diana’s self-proclaimed romantic admirer. His appearance is based on that of co-developer and art director Jason Bellows. Jason is an artist and avid dinosaur/action movie fan. His major character trait is his obsessive crush on Diana, although she never returns any affection, seeing him as a “creep” and occasional annoyance. Jason’s main outfit is a black T-shirt with a green dinosaur on it, jeans and black sneakers. Jason is voiced by Vincent Tong.

Tyler Williams is one of Diana’s classmates. He is an African-American immigrant with a love of sports. He also likes to listen to hip hop and R&B music and watch comedy shows. He is often seen wearing sports outfits or casual clothing, the latter sometimes with chains. His catchphrase is “Boi”, except when he talks to a girl, in which case he says “Gurl” instead. Tyler is voiced by Shawn Singleton.

Mike McLennan is a mischievous 13-year-old boy who likes to prank others, including Diana. When Diana is pranked by him, she usually responds to his pranks by chasing him, much to Jenni’s annoyance. Mike also has feelings for Jenni, but her view of Mike is not at all flattering. Diana and Jenni often call him a “brat” or a “little runt”. Despite his trouble-making personality, he has a good heart. Mike’s usual outfit is a bright green shirt, grey pants and red sneakers. Mike is voiced by Kathleen Barr.

Billy Orville is Jason’s younger stepbrother. He can be very annoying to Jason, especially when he teases him about his crush on Diana. Jason sometimes gets so annoyed that he throws Billy in a nearby trash can (Billy manages to get himself out anyway). Billy’s main outfit is an orange shirt with a blue jacket, black pants and orange boots. Billy is voiced by Sam Vincent.

Alex Hayward is a filmmaker. His appearance is based on that of creator Alex Harshegyi. He is best friends with Jason and Billy. In his first appearance, he was reluctant to meet Diana, but eventually warmed up to her. Alex’s main outfit is a red hoodie, grey track suit pants and black sneakers. Alex is voiced by Matt Hill.

Stephanie Hart is the most popular and most manipulative girl in Diana’s school. Stephanie and Diana do not get along very well, as the former always puts the latter down due to the latter’s intelligence and “lack of tolerance”, which at times annoys Diana. Stephanie is also the tallest girl in the school due to her long legs which make guys swoon over her. Stephanie is voiced by Kathleen Barr.

Maddie Yeakey and Taylor Lawrence are Stephanie’s two crony friends who accompany her at school and other events. In the trio, Stephanie is the leader, Taylor serves as the brains, and Maddie is the ditzy yet reliable friend. Maddie and Taylor are voiced by Andrea Libman and Ashleigh Ball, respectively.

Gregory Martin is a jock, football quarterback, self-proclaimed ruler of the school, and Tyler’s rival. He is quite sarcastic and can be cruel at times. Diana is seen to have a crush on Gregory (much to Jason’s jealousy and Tyler’s chagrin) due to his blond hair, good looks, and buff and athletic figure. While he doesn’t feel the same way, there have been times where he does seem interested in pursuing a relationship with her. Gregory is voiced by Sam Vincent.

Development
Martin Mystery, Java the Caveman and M.O.M. are written out of this series because it is set in an alternate universe where Diana Lombard and Martin Mystery never met and became step-siblings. Billy (in human form), however, is reimagined as the stepbrother of one of the new characters, and Jenni is still Diana’s best friend.

Kevin previously appeared in the Martin Mystery episode, “Return of the Imaginary Friend”. When it came time to start work on Diana, however, no one knew who his original voice actor was.

Harshegyi spent at least a year debating whether to keep the show in the same setting as Martin Mystery or to put it in a similar or different setting.

Comparisons
Harshegyi notes that some elements of the show are strikingly similar to the MTV cartoon Daria, particularly the name and intelligence of the titular character, as well as the name of the titular character’s best friend (Jane to Daria, in contrast to Jenni to Diana). This may lead to Diana being considered a ripoff of Daria, however it is not all that possible as the characters Diana and Jenni were introduced in Martin Mystery (the show that Diana is a spinoff of), and the premise of Diana does not meet the requirements of that of Daria (or vice versa).

Harshegyi also noted that many have compared the character Diana to Samantha from Totally Spies! in terms of appearance, intelligence and personality. However, the main difference is Samantha has a more composed demeanour while Diana does not.