Series / Level 9

Level 9 was a short-lived series airing on UPN between 2000 and 2001.

Hidden within the US Government, Level 9 is a team of government agents, geeks, and reformed hackers who solve cyber crimes.

---

This series contains examples of:

• Arc Villain: Level 9 was created in response to threats from the cyber-hacker Crazyhorse.
• Boxed Crook: Roland Travis joined Level 9 as an alternative to going to jail for cyber crimes.
• Disposable Sex Worker: In "Digital Babylon", the team tracks down a killer who's been targeting performers in online sex shows.
• Double-Meaning Title:
  • "Through the Looking Glass" is a Literary Allusion Title and a reference to the looking glass self. In the episode, Wiley uses the "looking glass" as a metaphor for the virtual world online.
  • "Ten Little Hackers" is Titled After the Song "Ten Little Indians" and features a hitlist of Jargon and nine of his high school classmates.
• Fun with Acronyms: The Geosynchronous Orbiter Display, a satellite array jokingly referred to as "the eyes of GOD".
• Fun with Homophones: Crazyhorse's name is "like the Indian chief but spelled differently". His name is never actually spelled out in the show, but in a series with hackers, there's an implied reference to Cray supercomputers.
• Hacked by a Pirate: In "Mail Call", Travis opens an email with a trojan horse that, among other things, puts a taunting GIF on his monitor.
• Hollywood Hacking: Sosh, Jargon, and Travis' primary roles on the team.
• Jurisdiction Friction: In "DefCon", a team of Feds trips up on Level 9's operation and apprehends Travis. After talking to each others' bosses on the phone, the Feds sheepishly pack up and leave.
• Never Suicide: In "A Price to Pay", the team investigates the apparent suicide of Annie's mentor.
• Noodle Incident: "Shootin'" Hooten doesn't want to discuss how he got his nickname.
• No Such Agency: Level 9 is recruited from across "the entire federal law enforcement sandbox", doesn't officially exist, and denies knowledge of the agency if asked by civilians or other government agents.
• One of the Boys: In "Through the Looking Glass", Sosh mentions that she played Little League baseball. Bear in mind the series was made when Little League franchises were starting to face Title IX challenges.
  Sosh: My little brother...couldn't believe I wanted to play hardball with the boys, and when I made the All Star team, he practically had a heart attack!
• Pop-Culture Pun Episode Title: "DefCon", "Reboot", "Digital Babylon", "Avatar", "Wetware", and "Eat Flaming Death" are titled after Internet memes and computer/hacker culture.
• Shameful Strip: In the closing minutes of "Digital Babylon", Sosh is tracked down by a creep and forced to perform a striptease for him. She kills him by bashing his head in with a keyboard.
• Witness Protection: "Mail Call" involves the theft of the entire Witness Protection Program database, which cross-references the witnesses' aliases with their previous lives.

---