"Licat volaré si superturgum Aquila volat" "Any man can fly if he rides on the back of an eagle"

Welcome ...to AquilaFans, the only fan site on the Internet for this very under appreciated and almost forgotten BBC drama series. This is just a mini site, covering the episode listing, cast and crew, origins, theme tune and anything else I can get hold of to do with Aquila. It also covers how to go about getting it shown on TV again!

Aquila status update:

Recently, a fan wrote in and told me he saw Craig Vye at the theatre in a touring production of "To Kill a Mockingbird" Craig played one of the main characters (Jem) in the play. He asked Craig about Aquila and Craig replied that there was a "Whiff in the wind about a possible DVD release some time in the near future." Craig also told him that there had been plans at the time to do a third series of Aquila and possibly a film but it had sadly all fallen through at the last minute.

Want to watch Aquila episodes? CLICK HERE!

General Info

Air Date: 1997/1998 UK aired on BBC1        13x25 minute episodes.    Two series. Creator: Andrew Norriss      Script Development: Marilyn Fox Music: David Chilton & Nick Russell          Director: David Bell Cast Ben Brooks as Tom Baxter        Craig Vye as Geoff Reynolds Sally Anne Law as Mrs Baxter      Vivien Parry as Mrs Reynolds Summary The series is based on a book called Aquila written by Andrew Norriss. It follows the adventures of two boys who find an alien space craft in a Roman burial site. This space craft is actually a life pod from a huge mother ship and it can do practically anything from flying through walls as though they aren't there to boiling water for your cup of tea. The name Aquila is Latin for Eagle. Two series were broadcast on CBBC and the second one ended abruptly on a cliffhanger. No more were made. I don't know why this is. Maybe it wasn't popular enough. It is more likely the two young stars of the show had their GCSE exams coming up and so had to spend their time revising for them. I seem to remember them saying something about that on TV. Filming Locations The first series took 8 weeks to film during April and May of 1997. Most of the series was shot on location near Bristol for the archaeological scenes, as well as in a house and garden in north west London. After filming, there was another 3 months work, editing the film and dubbing the sound, before it was ready to be aired on TV. Other filming locations include: Redcliffe Caves, Bristol; Mendips, Charterhouse, Black Rock Nature Reserve, Cheddar Gorge and Berrow Beach in Somerset.

Info on Aquila itself

While I watched the show I wrote down some information from it. This is mainly from the second series as I'd gotten more into it then. Introduction Aquila is the life pod from an Yrillian battle cruiser. The battle cruiser is currently in orbit and comes within flying range of Aquila approximately every two years. After a huge battle, the cruiser has been repairing its damage for around 6000 years. Origins The Yrillian battle cruiser that Aquila came from was very badly damaged in the 4th Yrillian War. Aquila was made 6000 years ago as a survival pod for the battle cruiser by the Yrillians on Deneb. Deneb is a star in the constillation of Tsignis. Aquila Factfile ~ Aquila is 3 meters long ~ The buttons on its dashboard glow ~ It can reach speeds of up to 700mph ~ It runs on air that is sucked in through the inlets at the front ~ Incredible range, can go into space, to the Moon etc ~ You can run TVs and other electrical appliances off Aquila ~ Aquila can heat up food, tea etc with its laser beam Buttons on the dash and their functions This is a small list of the various buttons on the dashboard of Aquila and what they do. It covers all the ones that were discovered in both series. Heater - Warms seats Help Button - When this is pressed the words "Sevire sto?" appear as a hologram in front of the pilot. The translation for this is "Hi, what can I do for you?" Tom and Geoff got it to speak English by asking it in Latin to speak English. Now it speaks in English instead of Latin. It knows thousands of different languages from across the Universe. Energy Line - This button opens a hatch in the front of Aquila and a blue crackling energy line comes out, pulling in the first thing it locks onto. It also freezes people and animals. Laser Beam - This comes from a hatch in the back of Aquila. It is a solid red beam that burns through everything in its path and sets wood on fire. Invisibility - Makes Aquila invisible so no one outside can see it. Other Information Aquila can go through brick walls as though their not there. It's virtually indestructable. There may be a kind of invisible forcefield around it. If you ask it to do something (in the correct language that its set on of course) it will. It can also drive itself. You can tell it what to do, where to go, what direction and it will. It travels anywhere at top speed. Provided it knows where a location is, it will return to that location if you request it. For example when Tom said "Return to location Eagle's Eyrie" (where they kept Aquila hidden), Aquila went there. Three short blasts followed by two long blasts on a dog whistle will call it back again. Energy Loss When energy is low, a purple button in the middle of the dashboard flashes, then others flash as more energy is lost. A loud alarm sounds to let you know the energy is low. The alarm stops only when you touch or go near Aquila. If the warning is not heeded, invisibilty is the next thing to gradually go. As more energy is lost, Aquila slows down to conserve it. The next warning is the buttons flashing. Aquila starts to fly slower and slower and if the warning is still not heeded, Aquila will lurch to one side, land itself if its in the air and all the lights go out. Solution to Energy Loss Clear out the air inlets on the front of Aquila. Energy is lost because the air inlets are clogged. No air got inside so Aquila loses energy. Aquila runs on air. An interesting note is that in the book it ran on water, absorbing rain or water from a garden hose.

This is a drawing I did of Aquila's dashboard. It is taken from the one Tom did in the first series. It shows all the buttons they had discovered.

Episode List

Season 1 1. The Eagle Has Landed   (First Broadcast 2nd December 1997) 2. Homeward Bound   (First Broadcast 4th December 1997) 3. Losing Sight   (First Broadcast 9th December 1997) 4. Manual Control   (First Broadcast 11th December 1997) 5. Energy Levels   (First Broadcast 16th December 1997) 6. Comprehension Exercise   (First Broadcast 18th December 1997) 7. The Eagle's Eyrie   (First Broadcast 23rd December 1997) Season 2 8. The Birthday Surprise   (First Broadcast 1st December 1998) 9. Battling Baby   (First Broadcast 3rd December 1998) 10. An Elephant Surrounded By Blind Men   (First Brdcst 8th Dec 1998) 11. The Gooseberry   (First Broadcast 10th December 1998) 12. End of an Eyrie  (First Broadcast 15th December 1998) 13. On Second Thoughts, Let's Panic   (First Broadcast 17th Dec 1998) It was shown on Tuesdays and Thursdays and the last episode ended on a cliffhanger where Tom, Geoff and their new friend found the Yrillian battle cruiser.

Geoff (left) and Tom (right) with Aquila

The Theme Tune

Any Aquila fan will tell you, the theme tune is one of the most wicked parts of the show. Luckily I managed to record some flight music onto a cassette which I then recorded onto the computer, so you can hear it for yourself. The intro and end themes were provided by Roeland. Just click the links below to hear the music. Files are MP3 and WAV format.

Aquila Flight Music

Aquila Intro

Aquila Ending

Want to see Aquila on CBBC again?

If like me, you want to see repeats of this excellent sci fi drama series on CBBC on BBC1 or 2 again, then send a polite request to the BBC at the link below. If enough people ask, they will show the series again but one person can't do it alone! We must all do our part if we really want to see it shown again. They're very nice people at the BBC and they'll send your requests onto the schedulers. Maybe if enough people want it back, they will show it. To write to them, click the link below BBC Email form

To contact me, click HERE

Tom & Geoff in Aquila

Disclaimer: I do not own Aquila. Site layout, sound clips and drawings are mine, please ask before taking them. Original Aquila concept  (c) Andrew Norriss, the author of the book! The TV series belongs to the BBC.