<s>
WhirlGirl	B-Operating_System
debuted	O
in	O
1997	O
as	O
an	O
online	O
sci-fi	O
series	O
about	O
a	O
reluctant	O
superheroine	O
battling	O
an	O
evil	O
"	O
mediatech	O
"	O
empire	O
in	O
2077	O
Southern	O
California	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Initially	O
launched	O
as	O
a	O
webcomic	O
with	O
light	O
animation	O
and	O
short	O
bursts	O
of	O
music	O
and	O
sound	O
effects	O
,	O
WhirlGirl	B-Operating_System
ultimately	O
became	O
the	O
first	O
regularly	O
scheduled	O
web	O
series	O
using	O
Flash	B-Operating_System
animation	I-Operating_System
,	O
and	O
went	O
on	O
to	O
achieve	O
a	O
variety	O
of	O
other	O
industry	O
firsts	O
over	O
a	O
100-webisode	O
career	O
,	O
including	O
:	O
syndication	O
partnerships	O
with	O
major	O
websites	O
,	O
a	O
distribution	O
partnership	O
with	O
a	O
premium	O
cable	O
network	O
,	O
a	O
web	O
television	O
simulcast	O
,	O
cross-media	O
advertising	O
campaigns	O
,	O
and	O
licensing	O
and	O
merchandising	O
agreements	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
WhirlGirl	B-Operating_System
's	O
allies	O
include	O
Stekatta	O
"	O
Kat	O
"	O
Tressner	O
,	O
a	O
stylish	O
gear-head	O
with	O
a	O
thing	O
for	O
WhirlGirl	B-Operating_System
,	O
and	O
teenager	O
Sid	O
X	O
,	O
who	O
can	O
control	O
computers	O
telepathically	O
with	O
a	O
"	O
cybernetic	O
crystal	O
"	O
implanted	O
in	O
his	O
forehead	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Victoria	O
Thalios	O
leads	O
the	O
"	O
FreeVox	O
"	O
rebel	O
group	O
,	O
which	O
WhirlGirl	B-Operating_System
often	O
defends	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
WhirlGirl	B-Operating_System
's	O
primary	O
foe	O
,	O
Ty	O
Harden	O
,	O
not	O
only	O
runs	O
the	O
evil	O
ZoneWerks	O
empire	O
;	O
he	O
is	O
also	O
Sid	O
X	O
's	O
estranged	O
father	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
May	O
2000	O
,	O
WhirlGirl	B-Operating_System
teamed	O
up	O
with	O
the	O
hero	O
of	O
the	O
SciFi	O
(	O
now	O
Syfy	O
)	O
Channel	O
's	O
Barbarian	O
Moron	O
cartoon	O
in	O
a	O
series	O
of	O
webisodes	O
that	O
appeared	O
on	O
both	O
the	O
Showtime	O
and	O
SciFi	O
websites	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Created	O
by	O
David	O
B	O
.	O
Williams	O
and	O
produced	O
by	O
Visionary	O
Media	O
,	O
the	O
studio	O
he	O
founded	O
,	O
WhirlGirl	B-Operating_System
launched	O
at	O
a	O
Spring	O
1997	O
trade	O
show	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
August	O
1998	O
,	O
using	O
Macromedia	O
's	O
new	O
Flash	O
2.0	O
animation	O
software	O
,	O
WhirlGirl	B-Operating_System
replaced	O
its	O
comic-strip	O
panels	O
with	O
five-minute-long	O
webisodes	O
,	O
becoming	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
first	O
animated	O
web	O
series	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Even	O
before	O
the	O
series	O
was	O
fully	O
animated	O
,	O
Visionary	O
signed	O
online	O
syndication	O
deals	O
with	O
five	O
affiliates	O
,	O
and	O
WhirlGirl	B-Operating_System
debuted	O
in	O
March	O
1998	O
on	O
BMG	O
's	O
BUGjuice	O
,	O
E-Pub	O
'	O
s	O
Amused	O
,	O
ICL	O
's	O
GamesZone	O
,	O
Microsoft	O
's	O
WebTV	O
Networks	O
,	O
and	O
Canada	O
's	O
BeyondTV	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
That	O
July	O
,	O
the	O
site	O
began	O
running	O
on	O
Lycos	B-Application
as	O
well	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
January	O
1999	O
,	O
Showtime	O
licensed	O
WhirlGirl	B-Operating_System
for	O
online	O
and	O
on-air	O
use	O
,	O
making	O
it	O
the	O
first	O
regularly	O
scheduled	O
animated	O
web	O
series	O
and	O
the	O
first	O
independently	O
produced	O
web	O
series	O
licensed	O
by	O
a	O
national	O
television	O
network	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
WhirlGirl	B-Operating_System
went	O
on	O
to	O
appear	O
in	O
100	O
weekly	O
webisodes	O
through	O
March	O
2001	O
,	O
with	O
the	O
character	O
making	O
occasional	O
appearances	O
on	O
the	O
TV	O
channel	O
as	O
,	O
for	O
example	O
the	O
"	O
host	O
"	O
of	O
a	O
programming	O
block	O
called	O
"	O
Lethal	O
Ladies.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
July	O
1997	O
,	O
WhirlGirl	B-Operating_System
became	O
the	O
first	O
web	O
series	O
promoted	O
with	O
a	O
traditional	O
TV	O
ad	O
campaign	O
that	O
included	O
high-profile	O
spots	O
in	O
major	O
markets	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
1999	O
,	O
Showtime	O
supported	O
WhirlGirl	B-Operating_System
with	O
a	O
million-dollar	O
multimedia	O
marketing	O
campaign	O
featuring	O
billboards	O
and	O
other	O
outdoor	O
ads	O
in	O
major	O
U.S.	O
markets	O
,	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
full-page	O
ads	O
in	O
major	O
magazines	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
WhirlGirl	B-Operating_System
also	O
appeared	O
on	O
the	O
SciFi	O
(	O
now	O
Syfy	O
)	O
Channel	O
as	O
part	O
of	O
the	O
Barbarian	O
Moron	O
stunt	O
,	O
and	O
in	O
June	O
1999	O
became	O
the	O
first	O
non-MTV	O
property	O
to	O
be	O
represented	O
for	O
licensing	O
and	O
merchandising	O
by	O
MTV	O
Networks	O
(	O
another	O
Viacom	O
property	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2000	O
,	O
toy	O
maker	O
ReSaurus	O
unveiled	O
a	O
WhirlGirl	B-Operating_System
action	O
figure	O
at	O
Toy	O
Fair	O
,	O
but	O
the	O
toy	O
was	O
not	O
brought	O
to	O
market	O
.	O
</s>
