Flight 29 Down

Flight 29 Down is an American adventure comedy-drama television series about a group of teenagers who are stranded on an island. It was produced by Discovery Kids. The show was created by Stan Rogow (Lizzie McGuire, Darcy's Wild Life) and D. J. MacHale (Are You Afraid of the Dark?, The Pendragon book series). The executive producers are Rogow, MacHale, Shauna Shapiro Jackson, and Gina & Rann Watumull.

The third and final season of the series was produced as a four-part film instead of the episodic format of the first two seasons. The film, Flight 29 Down: The Hotel Tango, aired in August 2007. In addition, the series was broadcast Saturday mornings on NBC as part of the Discovery Kids on NBC brand from 2005 to 2006.

The show was filmed on the island of Oahu in Hawaii.

Premise
The show follows a group of teens stranded on a South Pacific island in the Federated States of Micronesia after they crash their plane (a De Havilland Heron) in a tropical storm while flying to an eco-adventure camping trip in Palau. A plot device of a video diary powered by a solar battery charger allows the kids to talk about themselves and to the camera about their difficult everyday struggles, the island, and each other.

The series bore superficial similarities to Lost, an adult-oriented drama that debuted a year before Flight 29 Down, but Flight 29 Down never incorporated any supernatural elements as Lost eventually did. It also has many similarities with The New People and with Gordon Korman's Island trilogy.

Main

 * Lex Marin (Allen Alvarado) is the youngest of the group and Daley's younger 10-year-old (later 11) stepbrother who is highly intelligent and resourceful.
 * Nathan McHugh (Corbin Bleu) is a former Boy Scout who finds his survival training less useful on the island.
 * Daley Marin (Hallee Hirsh) is Lex's stepsister, the class president who tries to take charge but frequently alienates the others with her arrogance.
 * Eric McGorrill (Jeremy Kissner) is more of a slacker and a comedian who tends to manipulate people to get out of various responsibilities and chores.
 * Cody Jackson (Johnny Pacar) is the group's first elected leader, a quiet kid who comes from a poorer part of town and has a mysterious past.
 * Taylor Hagan (Lauren Storm) is spoiled, self-centered, and initially oblivious to the danger the group is in.
 * Melissa Wu (Kristy Wu) is level-headed and sensitive, harboring a secret crush on Jackson.

The "Lost"

 * Abby Fujimoto (Tani Lynn Fujimoto) is one of the survivors who goes on a long journey with Captain Russell, Ian, and Jory to reach the north shore of the island in order to find something to aide their rescue. When she returns to the main group, she finds herself out of place and sets off on her own again. When she next reappears, she is hardened by her experiences and has a darker attitude.
 * Jory Cavanaugh (B. K. Cannon) is one of the survivors who went off to explore the island with Captain Russell. She reappears in the finale.
 * Ian Bedawan (Blade Rogers) is one of the survivors who went off to explore the island with Captain Russell. He reappears in the finale.
 * Captain Bob Russell (John Kapelos) is the only adult of the group, who takes a few of the kids into the island to find signs of civilization. In the finale, it's revealed that he sustained a head injury which caused him to go crazy.

Episodes
Note: All episodes of the series were written by D. J. MacHale, "The Arrival" was written by Stan Rogow.

First season
A flight with ten teenagers and a pilot crashes on a tropical island after a storm results in an engine explosion. They all survive the crash. Three of the teenagers and the pilot leave to explore the island. The rest elect a leader and try to survive on their own. A huge monsoon ruins the camp and their communication equipment; however, brief contact with another plane had been established before the destruction.

Second season
The group continue to survive but a storm left their camp in ruins, as well as their plane washed out to sea. One of the characters, Daley, is elected the new leader and she begins a democracy. The plane washes back on shore with a huge hole on its side. The survivors begin to learn that the island was involved in World War II when they find a time capsule from a general who once inhabited the island. They soon figure out there must be some life on the island.

Film
"Flight 29 Down: The Hotel Tango" was released in 2007 as the series finale. The castaways split into two groups. One stays on the beach, and one travels to find life on the island. Just when they think the place is deserted, they find an old concrete hotel used in WWII, along with other old buildings rotting away. They find the pilot, and the two other survivors in the hotel. The pilot has a bad sickness that makes him go crazy. In the end the castaways are saved by the Navy just before Typhoon Melissa hits the island and destroys everything.

Home releases
All seasons have been released on DVD. The first season was released individually in 3 volumes, but later released on a first season package. Season 2 was released in one package and the series finale was released separate from the other DVDs.

In 2008, all the seasons have been released on DVD in Sweden by Pan Vision.

Differences between the books and the series

 * In the episode "Groundbreaking", the castaways individually approach the box and imagine what would be in it, but in the book Scratch, the survivors have a meeting and explain what they thought the box was filled with.
 * In the book Ten Rules, Lex's parents had a divorce, but in the film, he mentions that his dad died.
 * The episode "Survival Of The Fittest" is before the episode "Mazeathon", but in the books, it's the other way around.
 * The books have parts added to them that are not in the series.
 * In the book Static, Melissa had the idea to have an election, but in the series, the kids all contributed to the idea.
 * In the book Scratch, "Groundbreaking" is supposed to be first, but "He Said, She Said, He Said" is before that episode.
 * In the books, the episodes "The Tide" and "Home Sweet Home" had been cut out in the storyline because they finished building Lex's shelter.
 * In the book Static, Daley and Nathan go to the back of the plane to get the life raft; in the episode "Arrival", they do not.
 * In the book Scratch, Melissa tells only Daley that Nathan likes her, not everybody at once.
 * In the episode "Chilloween", Jackson plays "I Won't Stand Alone" but in the books he doesn't.
 * In the book actions happen earlier or later it, is twisted
 * In the episode "Mazeathon", Jackson wears converse low-tops, whereas in the book he wears sandals that blistered his feet, which had him running slower, so he took off the strap sandals to sprint barefoot as opposed to kicking off his chucks.
 * In Mazethon novel Nathan wore slip-on converse low-tops, while Jackson ran in bare feet.
 * In the book a slight romance between Abby and Ian is mentioned, but in the series it is not.
 * In the book, the stories of the "lost" kids are explored more than in the series.

Music
Sam Winans composed most of the music of Flight 29 Down. Corbin Bleu, Nathan McHugh, sang "Circles" in the background in the episode, "He Said, She Said, He Said."

Broadcasts
The series aired on Discovery Kids and premiered in the United States on October 1, 2005. The final episode aired on August 25, 2007. After the series ended, reruns continued to air on The Hub until December 24, 2011. The show is available for streaming on Peacock and Tubi TV in the United States.

The first season was aired on SVT (Sweden) during Summer 2006, as a part of the breakfast show Hej Hej sommar (Hello, Hello Summer). The second season aired in the same program during summer 2007, and started August 7. It has had reruns as part of the summer program "Sommarlov" both 2012 and 2013. The show aired in Finland (season 1 and season 2) during Summer 2006 as a part of the breakfast show Summeri. It is also aired on the Belgium channel Ketnet.

The show premiered in Portugal on September 17, 2011, the show airs in English with Portuguese subtitles on SIC.

The show premiered in Latin America, March 10, 2007, at 21:00 on Boomerang.

The show's first season also aired on TV3 Slovenia during the Summer of 2007. It is not known if TV3 Slovenia will air the second season or the film, The Hotel Tango.

The show premiered in Canada on Family on June 2, 2007, and on CHRGD on February 7, 2017. The show also was aired in Saudi Arabia by MBC4

It was shown in Brazil by TV Cultura in 2008, from Monday to Friday, at 7 pm (Brasilia Time), under the title in Portuguese "Resgate Vôo 29" (Flight Rescue 29).

The first two seasons aired in Japan on NHK from June 2009 to March 2010. It was titled ''Totsuzen! Sabaibaru'' (Suddenly! Survival). The film was aired as season 3.

In Australia and New Zealand, the show was aired on Foxtel on the channel Nickelodeon every Saturday Night.

In Turkey, the show aired on TV8.