Charlie Jade is a science fiction television series filmed mainly in Cape Town, South Africa. It stars Jeffrey Pierce in the title role, as a detective from a parallel universe who finds himself trapped in our universe. This is a Canadian and South African co-production filmed in conjunction with CHUM Television and the South African Industrial Development Corporation (IDC). The special effects were produced by the Montreal-based company Cinegroupe led by Michel Lemire. The show started in 2004 and was aired on the Canadian Space Channel. It premiered on the Space Channel April 16, 2005 and aired in Eastern Europe, France, Italy, on SABC 3 in South Africa, on Fox Japan, and on AXN in Hong Kong. The show began airing in the United Kingdom in October 2007, on FX. The Sci Fi Channel in the United States premiered the show on June 6, 2008, but after 2 episodes on Friday prime-time, was moved to overnight Mon/Tue. Summary of plot The show uses the idea of parallel universes, or a multiverse. There are several universes that coexist — each somewhat different from the others. As of the first season, these are the universes that have been explored in the TV series: The Alphaverse, a dystopian view of what our future could be like. It is the home universe of the main character Charlie Jade. The Alphaverse's inhabitants are segregated into "classes" of different levels (e.g., C-1, or Class 1 — which stands for Upper Class). It is dominated by five gigantic multinational firms. Prime among these is a corporation called Vexcor. Despite the Alphaverse's dystopian society, it does contain some futuristic technology that is within the level of our capability. The Betaverse, which corresponds to our present day actual reality. The Gammaverse, a rather idyllic version of our world, what it would be like if the planet's inhabitants made careful use of its resources. An 'unknown' universe, inhabited with primitive people living in huts. A universe that is home to 'men in grey suits'. During the pilot episode, scientists from Vexcor attempt to open a wormhole from the Alphaverse to the Gammaverse in a bid to drain water from the latter to the former. In Gammaverse, terrorists Bern and Reena — aware of Vexcor's intent — prepare to sabotage the facility. Before the stable wormhole can be completed, a massive explosion at the site of the portal (a large open-air