View source for Children of the Dog Star

{{Entry
 | episodes = 6
 | year = 1985
 | country = New Zealand
 | seasons = 1
 | breakdown = (1) 6
 | category = Aliens on Earth
 | colour = Yes
 | format = Serial
 | company = TV NEW ZEALAND AND THAMES TELEVISION
 | run_time = 30
 | language = English
 | creator = KEN CATRAN
 | type = Live Action
 | status = Ended
}}

== Summary ==

Three children in South Auckland discover fragments of a prehistoric extraterrestrial probe and unwittingly reassemble it, triggering a series of extraordinary events. Their discovery is linked to a nearby primeval swamp regarded in Māori tradition as tapu, a sacred and forbidden place where misfortune befalls those who disturb it.

The probe, named Kolob, arrived on Earth approximately 7,000 years earlier from the planet Siris in the constellation Canis Major. It was one of three remote‑controlled “argonauts” dispatched to observe human development and, when appropriate, to guide it. While its counterparts landed in Africa and the Americas, Kolob crashed in a region sparsely inhabited by early humans. Its memory banks, damaged by millennia of dormancy, compel it to reassemble itself by seeking a mind young, receptive, and powerful enough to control, a child.

That child is Gretchen, an exceptionally gifted twelve‑year‑old with a passion for astronomy, visiting her uncle’s isolated farm while her scientist parents work abroad. Alongside her new friends, Ronny, a streetwise city boy, and Bartle, a shy bird‑watcher, Gretchen becomes entangled in Kolob’s awakening. Their involvement ultimately brings them into contact with the probe’s creators, the Siriusians, granting a fleeting glimpse of life beyond Earth.

Interwoven with the central mystery is a local conflict: townspeople seeking to develop the land around the swamp clash with Māori residents determined to preserve the sacred site.

== Cast==

Gretchen SARAH DUNN, Ronny Kepa  JASON WALLACE,Bevis Elliot HAMISH BARTLE, Donald Kierney ROY BILLING, Kathleen SUSAN WILSON, Helen CATHERINE WILKIN,  Herbert RAYMOND HAWTHORNE, Vic DAVID MCKENZIE, Mataui Kepa ZAC WALLACE,  Hemi WHATANUI SKIPWITH, Constable Ben Willis JOHN MELLOR, Siriusians RODNEY NEWMAN, DENNIS GUBB (Ep.6 only)
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Tags: [[:Category:Aliens on Earth|Aliens on Earth]], [[:Category:New Zealand|New Zealand]], [[:Category:1985|1985]], [[:Category:English|English]]

[[:Category:FullIndex|Full Index]]
[[Category:1 Season]]
[[Category:6 Episodes]]
[[Category:Aliens on Earth]]
[[Category:New Zealand]]
[[Category:1985]]
[[Category:English]]
[[Category:Live Action]]
[[Category:Ended]]
[[Category:FullIndex]]
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Links:
* [[wikipedia:Children_of_the_Dog_Star|Children of the Dog Star - Wikipedia]]