Princess Gwenevere and the Jewel Riders

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Princess Gwenevere and the Jewel Riders

Cover of the American VHS release Full Circle
Format Animated series
Created by Robert Mandell
Starring Kerry Butler
Jean Louisa Kelly
Corinne Orr
Peter Fernandez
Country of origin USA
No. of episodes 26 (List of episodes)
Production
Producer(s) Allen J. Bohbot
Running time 24 minutes
Broadcast
Original channel syndicated

Princess Gwenevere and the Jewel Riders (also known as Starla & the Jewel Riders, and listed as such on BKN's official site; originally also as The Jewel Riders of Camelot) was an animated television series produced by Bohbot Productions (now BKN) with association with Hong Ying Animation and internationally syndicated by Bohbot Entertainment. The show was commissioned by Hasbro to accompany their line of toys (vague outline, the creators developed the plot and the characters).[1] There are two seasons of thirteen episodes each and the first episode was aired in 1995.

The series shared many similarities with the magical girl genre of anime and the programmes such as She-Ra and Wildfire, and was in many ways similar to The Adventures of the Galaxy Rangers (the both shows had the same creator, Robert Mandell).[2] While it is less well known than its predecessors, it has a small fan following and (along with Gargoyles) contained some of the earliest signs of a "quest"-genre series. Jewel Riders also greatly inspired the Avalon series of books.[3]

Contents

[edit] Story

Princess Gwenevere is inspired by the Arthurian myths and (in the American version) the title character shares name with the King Arthur's wife Guinevere. The other Arthurian characters in the show include Merlin, Morgan le Fay, and the episodical appearance of Lady of the Lake. The action is set in what is traditionally Arthur's resting place in the legend, the island of Avalon, here portrayed as a fairy tale utopia that keeps its magical energies in check with the aid of the royal Crown Jewels. It is also suggested that the series takes place in the present time, as over a thousand years passed since Merlin's victory over Morgana (for example Camelot is now known as "New Camelot") and there are sometimes references to modern day things, such as a supermarket dream sequence in the "Dreamfields" episode or the AT-AT-like form Guardian the genie takes in the episode "Wizard's Peak".

The plot follows a princess's quest to recover a series of enchanted gemstone jewels while competing with sorceresses who plot to conquer Avalon and use its magic for evil. There is a special emphasis on the "power of friendship" which enables the titular Jewel Riders to overcome their adversaries.

[edit] First season

The grand wizard Merlin mentors young Princess Gwenevere (Starla) (Kerry Butler), daughter of good Queen Anya, and her friends Tamara and Fallon for the day that they will inevitably find a "special friend" to share the power of their own themed Enchanted Jewels with. Gwen with the power of the Sun Stone, Fallon with the power of the Moon Stone, Tamara's jewel is the Heart Stone, allowing her to communicate with her animal friends, who each share a similar stone as part of their neck collars. The teenage Gwen is the last to find such a special animal, a winged unicorn known as Sunstar, and thus they fulfill their destiny and become the Jewel Riders, magical guardians of Avalon for generations. However, Lady Kale (Corinne Orr), the Queen's jealous and vindicative sister trying to hijack the throne, soon sends Merlin into the hidden realm of the wild magic using the sinister powers of her Dark Stone. Kale attempts to steal the Crown Jewels and use their powers to make herself the undisputed ruler of Avalon, but in the last moment Merlin manages to make them scatter and return to the lands from where they came. With the Crown Jewels gone from Merlin's Jewel Box, the wild magic in Avalon is no longer stable.

Avalon's fate now rests with the Jewel Riders, the latest incarnation of which consists of Princess Gwenevere and her best friends. Each of them has her own her Enchanted Jewel which enables them to weal Jewel Armor and travel safely through the dangerous dimension of wild magic. Once the magical bond of the Crown Jewels is broken, the wild magic flows out of control, causing magical outbreaks until the Jewels are all brought together again. Retrieving them is also the only way the Jewel Riders can recover Merlin from his prison inside the wild magic. Along the way they must contend with Lady Kale, who intends to instead tune the magic of Crown Jewels to herself and gain enough power to bring down Anya and become the queen. The Riders are often assisted by a trio of brave wolf-riding warriors known as the Pack who all use the power of the Forest Stones. Using the magic of the Enchanted Jewels to speak with fantastic animal friends, these adventurous teens team up to reclaim the jewels that can save the kingdom. They also learn of a failed conspiracy conceived many years ago by the powerful enchantress Morgana and the remaining Grand Wizards to defeat Merlin and take control of Avalon.

For the first thirteen episodes, retrieving the Crown Jewels is the primary storyline. The Crown Jewels include Jewel of the North Woods found in the Ravenwood, Jewel of the Dreamfields, Rainbow Jewel found inside the Rainbow Falls, Burning Ice Jewel found in the Tower of Glog at the Wizard's Peak, Desert Star Jewel recovered in the Great Desert and Faeryland, Misty Rose Jewel found in the Misty Moors, and the Jewel of the Jungle found in Morgana's hidden lair. At the conclusion of the first season Kale is vanquished and the Jewel Riders entune the power of the recovered Crown Jewels to their own. However, in doing so, they squander any chance of recovering Merlin for the time being, leaving the series as yet unresolved.

[edit] Second season

In the second season, instead of Crown Jewels, Gwenevere (Jean Louisa Kelly) and the Jewel Riders sought out the ancient Wizard Jewels, with an extra adversary to deal. Having been banished into the wild magic herself, Kale was drawn towards a floating palace where she meets Morgana, one of the legendary Grand Wizards and the creator of the Dark Stone who is now trapped in the wild magic. When Morgana realizes that the Dark Stone has now become magically connected to Kale (and she cannot seize complete control of it), she decides to join forces with the outlaw princess. Meanwhile, the Jewel Riders discover that the powers of the Crown Jewels, now attuned to themselves, have given them new magical armors and powers seven times more powerful. They have now at their disposal far greater magical power than they ever dreamed possible, which they have difficulty controlling. They must now learn how to use these enhanced powers and continue their quest to bring Merlin home and protect Avalon.

Soon, the Jewel Riders come face-to-face with Morgana and realize that they are dealing with a very powerful enemy. The seven Wizard Jewels are The One Jewel (Merlin’s wizard jewel - the red orb on his staff), the Garden Jewel (shaped like a flower), the Unicorn Jewel (shaped like a unicorn's horn), the Jewel of the Sea (shaped like a seashell), the Time Stone (shaped like a hourglass), the Jewel of Arden (shaped like a leaf), the Fortune Jewel (shaped like a top), and Morgana’s Dark Stone found by Lady Kale. The Riders are now trying to recover these jewels before Morgana can take them and use them to free the Grand Wizards and return to complete her conquest of Avalon. During one her adventures, Gwen meets a mysterious man called Ian (who eventually saves the day during the final battle), and falls in love with him. In the series' conclusion, the Riders win over Kale and Morgana in a test of skills and wits. The freed Merlin restores the balance of magic to Avalon for as long as it can be before evil arises again.

[edit] Characters

Main article: List of Jewel Riders characters

The teenage Jewels Riders trio consist of Gwenevere (Starla), riding on Sunstar, Fallon, riding on Moondance, and Tamara, riding on Shadowsong; each of their Jewels has different abilities and their own colors and corresponding gem stones with various powers. The Pack, or Knights of Avalon as they are also referred to, consist of Gwen's boyfriend-wannabe Drake (who is the leader), Josh and Max (the two have rather small roles); they protect the Crystal Palace and sometimes help Gwen, Tamara and Falon in their fight. The main villainess is intially Lady Kale, Gwen's wicked aunt, carried around by a dragon Grim. In the second season the prime enemy is Morgana, with the returning Kale at her side.

[edit] Episodes

Main article: List of Jewel Riders episodes
  1. Jewel Quest, Part I
  2. Jewel Quest, Part II
  3. Wizard’s Peak
  4. Travel Trees Don’t Dance
  5. Song of the Rainbow
  6. For Whom the Bell Trolls
  7. The Faery Princess
  8. Badlands
  9. Home Sweet Heart Stone
  10. Love Struck
  11. Dreamfields
  12. Revenge of the Dark Stone
  13. Full Circle
  14. Morgana
  15. Shadowsong
  16. Fashion Fever
  17. Vale of the Unicorns
  18. Prince of the Forest
  19. The Wizard of Gardenia
  20. The Jewel of the Sea
  21. Trouble in Elf Town
  22. The Wishing Jewel
  23. Mystery Island
  24. The Fortune Jewel
  25. Spirit of Avalon / Lady of the Lake
  26. The One Jewel / Last Dance

The episodes "Revenge of the Dark Stone" and "Spirit of Avalon" are continued immediately in the follow-up episodes.

[edit] Broadcasts and releases

[edit] Television broadcasts

[edit] VHS releases

There were four VHS releases in America by Family Home Entertainment, covering the first season only and consisting of Jewel Quest (which contained "Jewel Quest Part 1" and "Jewel Quest Part 2"), Wizard's Peak ("Wizard's Peak" and "Travel Trees Can't Dance"), For Whom the Bell Trolls ("For Whom the Bell Trolls" and "The Faery Princess"), and Full Circle ("Revenge of the Dark Stone" and "Full Circle").

In Europe there were British (in 1999 by Carlton Visual Entertainment) and French (in 2000 by Warner Home Video) VHS releases that contained also episodes from the second season of the show.

[edit] DVD release

Digiview Entertainment has reserved the right to release the show onto DVD in 2006. They announced plans to released the first two volumes in late 2006, and to release subsequent volumes over the course of the next year. The first DVD released by Digiview was Wizard's Peak, containing the first five episodes of the show and available in the Wal-Mart stores. Though it says "Princess Gwenevere and the Jewel Riders" on the cover, the actual show on the DVD is the international version (Starla & the Jewel Riders), which uses Gwenevere's European name Starla (both in the theme song, and in the main dialogue). In addition in the case of both the cover, and the show itself, the European-style fonts are used in the logo. The disc also appears to be region-free.

The complete first season was released on DVD in 2008 in France and the complete series was released in Serbia the same year.

[edit] Internet broadcast

In 2008-2009 the series was available to be watched for free in a streaming media form on the Lycos' Cinema service. The service was shut-down on April 29th 2009.

[edit] The Avalon book series

Main article: The Avalon Collection

In 2001, children author Rachel Roberts bought some of the rights to the show and wrote her own book series loosely based on the show and borrowing ideas and names (such as episode titles), as well as lyrics from some of the songs used in Jewel Riders.[3] The series consists of twelve novels, as well as the three-volume graphic novel adaptation, Avalon: The Warlock Diaries.[6]

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Robert Mandell interview on the Oedo
  2. ^ Robert Mandell on the Internet Movie Database
  3. ^ a b Feel the Magic of the Jewel Riders (Neowide)
  4. ^ (Spanish) «La princesa Starla» salva el reino de Avalón, El Mundo, 31 March 1996
  5. ^ (Catalan) STARLA I LES AMAZONES DE LES JOIES Televisió de Catalunya
  6. ^ Avalon: Web of Magic » Avalon: The Manga Vol. 1 official website

[edit] External links

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Princess Gwenevere and the Jewel Riders
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