Princess Gwenevere and the Jewel Riders

infobox Television
bgcolour = #64A2DF
show_name = Princess Gwenevere and the Jewel Riders


caption = VHS cover of "Full Circle"
format = Animated series
runtime = 22 minutes
creator = Robert Mandell
Katherine Lawrence
producer = Allen Bohbot
starring = Kerry Butler
Corinne Orr
Jean Louisa Kelly
Peter Fernandez
country = USA
network = syndicated
num_episodes = 26
list_episodes = List of Jewel Riders episodes

"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 and internationally syndicated by Bohbot (now BKN) Entertainment and lasted for two seasons, first airing in 1995.

The series took major influences from programmes such as "She-Ra", "Wildfire", and "Galaxy Rangers" (which shared the same creator, Robert Mandell). While it is less well known than its predecessors, it has a small fan following and contained some of the earliest signs of a "quest"-genre series that would soon be seen in more popular series like "Jackie Chan Adventures".

tory

"Princess Gwenevere" is loosely based on the Arthurian legend; the title character is loosely based on King Arthur's wife Guinevere. Other Arthurian characters include Merlin, Morgan le Fay, and the Lady of the Lake. The action is set in Arthur's legendary resting place, Avalon, here portrayed as a fairy tale utopia that keeps its magical energies in check with the aid of the royal Crown Jewels. The plot follows Princess's quest to recover enchanted jewels from the evil witches who plot to rule over the magic of the land of Avalon.

ynopsis

First season

The grand wizard Merlin mentors young Princess Gwenevere (Starla), 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, two of the jewels are empowered by the two most dominant factors of day and night. 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. 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, protectors of Avalon fighting the forces of darkness.

However, Merlin is soon ambushed by his former apprentice Lady Kale, the Queen's jealous twin sister trying to usurp the throne. Using a powerful wizard's stone called the Dark Stone, the wicked sorceress banishes Merlin into the hidden realms of the "Wild Magic". Avalon's fate now rests with the Jewel Riders: guardians of the realm for generations, the latest incarnation of which consists of Princess Gwenevere, and her best friends. After manipulating the Jewel Riders into surrendering the Crown Jewels, Kale soon loses them, but they scatter across every corner of Avalon - causing Wild Magic outbreaks until they 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 Kale, as the evil princess intends to use the power of Crown Jewels to make herself the undisputed ruler of Avalon.

For the first thirteen episodes, retrieving the Crown Jewels is the primary quest, and the Jewel Riders are often assisted by a royal guard of brave warriors who all use the power of the Forest Stones, known as The Pack. Using the magic of the Enchanted Jewels to speak with fantastic animal friends, these adventurous teens team up with the magic of Avalon to fight Kale and reclaim the jewels that can save the kingdom. Along the way the Jewel Riders also learn of a conspiracy conceived many years ago by the powerful evil sorceress Morgana and the remaining Grand Wizards to defeat Merlin and take control of Avalon. At the conclusion of the first season the Jewel Riders defeat Kale and entune the power of the recovered Crown Jewels to their own - but in doing so, they squander any chance of recovering Merlin for the time being, leaving the series as yet slightly unresolved.

econd season

In the second season, instead of Crown Jewels, the Jewel Riders sought out the ancient Wizard Jewels, with an extra adversary to deal with besides Lady Kale. Having been exiled into the Wild Magic, Kale was drawn towards a floating palace where she meets Morgana, one of the legendary Grand Wizards and the creator of the Dark Stone. 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 ally herself 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 armor and powers seven times more powerful, which they have difficulty controlling. The Jewel Box gives their jewels far greater magical power than they ever dreamed possible. They must now learn how to use these enhanced powers and continue their quest to bring Merlin home and protect Avalon. Once again, the Jewel Riders must outwit Kale and her new ally or risk losing the magical realm of Avalon forever. Soon, they come face-to-face with Morgana and realize that they are dealing with a very powerful enemy. 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.

Gwen/Starla learns from a fortune teller aided by a Wizard Jewel of her destiny to become a ruler of Avalon. Motivated by this vision, Gwen/Starla is able to have the confidence to eventually lead the Jewel Riders to victory over her adversaries in a test of skills and wits in the series finale, freeing Merlin. Together, they restore the balance of magic to Avalon for as long as it can be before evil arises again.

Episodes

1st season

2nd season

Release

VHS releases

There were four VHS releases in America by Family Home Entertainment, and some slightly different video releases in Europe. Though all of the American releases were from the first season only, there were various European VHS releases under the name "Starla and the Jewel Riders" that contained episodes from the second season of the show.

The American VHS releases consisted 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").

DVD release

Digiview Entertainment has reserved the right to release the show onto DVD around Summer 2006. They announced plans to released the first two volumes in late 2006, and to release subsequent volumes over the course of the year.

The first DVD released by Digiview was "Wizard's Peak", containing the first five episodes of the show and is available in the Walmart stores. Though it says "Princess Gwenevere and the Jewel Riders" on the cover, the actual show on the DVD is the international version ("Starla and the Jewel Riders"), which uses Gwenevere's European name Starla (both in the theme song, and in the main dialogue); in the case of both the cover, and the show itself, the European-style logo is used. The disc also appears to be region free, as it states that "This disc is compatible with all DVD players."

Internet (Lycos Cinema)

The series is now available to be watched for free in a streaming media form on the Lycos Cinema service. [ [http://cinema.lycos.com/title/37951/starla_and_the_jewel_raiders Starla and the Jewel Raiders / G / Saturday Morning Classics] ]

ee also

*The Avalon Collection

References

External links

*imdb title|0112131
* [http://cinema.lycos.com/title/37951/starla_and_the_jewel_raiders Princess Gwenevere and the Jewel Raiders] Lycos
* [http://www.bknkids.com/starla.shtml Starla and the Jewel Riders] BKN
*ca icon [http://www.super3.cat/psuper3/sp3Item.jsp?idint=147&item=programa&seccio=serie STARLA I LES AMAZONES DE LES JOIES] Televisió de Catalunya
* [http://community.livejournal.com/jewel_power Princess Gwenevere and the Jewel Riders] LiveJournal
*sp icon [http://www.elmundo.es/papel/hemeroteca/1996/03/31/television/99569.html «La princesa Starla» salva el reino de Avalón] , "El Mundo", 31 March 1996