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Princess Gwenevere and the Jewel Riders (PGJR, also known outside of North America as Starla & the Jewel Riders, and sometimes spelled as the more traditionally Arthurian "Guinevere"[note 1]) is a 1995–1996 American comic fantasy-themed girl audiences-aimed animated television series produced by Bohbot Entertainment in association with Hong Ying Animation Company Limited. It was internationally syndicated by Bohbot on their Syndicated Amazin' Adventures block where it originally run for two 13-episode seasons.

Princess Gwenevere and the Jewel Riders
Cover art of the Family Home Entertainment VHS release Full Circle
Also known as	Starla & the Jewel Riders[1]
Genre	Adventure Comic fantasy Musical
Created by	Robert Mandell
Written by	Robert Mandell Christopher Rowley Robin Young James Luceno Katherine Lawrence Linda Shayne Mary Stanton
Directed by	Robert Mandell Peter Fernandez (recording) James Tang (animation)
Voices of	Kerry Butler Jean Louisa Kelly Corinne Orr Deborah Allison Laura Dean John Beach Voiceguy Bob Kaliban Peter Fernandez Henry Mandell
Theme music composer	Jeff Pescetto
Composers	Jeff Pescetto (songs) Louis Fagenson (score)
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	2
No. of episodes	26 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers	Allen J. Bohbot Joseph Cohen Robert Mandell Ralph Sorrentino
Producers	Winnie Chaffee Eleanor Kearney Raissa Roque
Running time	22 minutes
Production companies	New Frontier Entertainment[2] Enchanted Camelot Productions[2] Golden Films Hong Ying Animation Company Limited Bohbot Entertainment
Distributor	Bohbot Entertainment (United States) Bohbot Entertainment Worldwide (Internationally)
Release
Original network	Syndication (Amazin' Adventures)
Audio format	Stereo
Original release	September 9, 1995 (1995-09-09)[3] – December 12, 1996 (1996-12-12)

The plot follows the quest of young title Princess Gwenevere of Avalon and her fellow teenage title Jewel Riders, Fallon and Tamara, to find, secure and use the scattered enchanted jewels to stop evil sorceress Lady Kale from taking over the kingdom, restore harmony in magic and bring home their banished mentor Merlin. In the second season, the Jewel Riders receive more powers to compete against the returning Kale and the mighty new enemy Morgana for more magical jewels.

This series is in many ways similar to The Adventures of the Galaxy Rangers and both had the same creator and director, Robert Mandell, as well as some of its writers, notably Christopher Rowley. The series was initially planned as an adaptation of Dragonriders of Pern, came in the wake of Bohbot's earlier take on the Arthurian legend, King Arthur and the Knights of Justice, and shares similarities with the magical girl subgenre of anime and with some American cartoons. Although critics were divided on the show, it was a hit in France. It was later rebooted as the novel series Avalon: Web of Magic.

Plot

Premise

In the original version, the title character's name resembles that of King Arthur's wife, Queen Guinevere, while other Arthurian characters include Merlin and the Lady of the Lake.[6][7][8] The series is set in the legendary island of Avalon, here portrayed as a fairy tale-style utopia that keeps its magic in check through the seven Crown Jewels of the Kingdom, each representing an area of the realm. The story takes place a thousand years[9] after the good wizard Merlin's initial victory over the evil queen Morgana. The eponymous Jewel Riders are young female champions of goodness and magical guardians of the city of New Camelot who, mentored by the ageless Merlin and aided by their magic animal friends, have been traditionally upholding the laws of the peaceful land and defending its people for generations. But when a new great menace looms over Avalon, and with their teacher Merlin suddenly gone, the current Jewel Riders are tasked with recovering the mystical Enchanted Jewels that control the dangerous Wild Magic.

Avalon's fate rests with the Jewel Riders: the latest incarnation consists of the 16-year-old[10] Princess Gwenevere (Gwen) and her friends, Fallon and Tamara. Their jewels, besides their various unique powers, allow them to "ride" safely through the tunnels of a dangerous alternate dimension of the Wild Magic, as well as to communicate with their Special Friends ― the magic animals who each share a similar gemstone in their neck collars. The girls are often assisted by the Pack, an also teenage male trio of wolf-riding Knights of Avalon who wield the Forest Stones, and fight against Lady Kale, the ruthless former princess of Avalon who has vowed to command all the magic and rule the kingdom no matter the consequences. An emphasis is set on the "power of friendship", which enables the Jewel Riders to overcome evil[11] and to even ultimately befriend some of their would-be enemies. In the second season, the threat to Avalon is not over yet, and gets worse with an introduction of an even more dangerous adversary for the Jewel Riders to thwart. Instead of Crown Jewels, Gwen and her friends seek out another cache of magical gems while still struggling to keep off the forces of darkness and to contain the growing chaos in the magic.

First season

The story is set up during the two-part pilot episode "Jewel Quest". Princess Gwenevere, the young daughter of the current rulers of Avalon, Queen Anya and King Jared, is being prepared by Merlin for the day when she will meet a bonded animal friend to share their own themed Enchanted Jewels with. Gwen is yet to be given the magic of the royal Sun Stone, while her best friends Tamara and Fallon already wield the magic of the Moon and Heart Stones respectively. Gwen needs to search for such an animal and become the new leader of the Jewel Riders, and later succeeds in getting her Special Friend in Sunstar the flying unicorn. Meanwhile, outlaw Lady Kale, a hateful and power-hungry sister of Anya, gets ahold of the mysterious Dark Stone and uses it to overpower Merlin, sending him into the perilous dimension of Wild Magic. Kale steals the Crown Jewels and plans to use their magic to take over Avalon and reign forever, but Merlin foils her by breaking their setting and sending them back to the lands from where they had come, scattering them wide across the kingdom and beyond. Unfortunately, once the Crown Jewels' bond is broken, magic is no longer stable and flows out of control, causing dangerous outbreaks until they are brought back together. Retrieving them is the only way the Riders can free Merlin from being lost in the limbo of Wild Magic and so their titular quest begins. Using the magic of the Enchanted Jewels and their friendship, the Jewel Riders must prevent the cruel Kale from gaining more power, reclaim the Crown Jewels and save Merlin and all of Avalon.

The primary storyline tells of the Jewel Riders' adventures in their efforts to locate and secure each of the Crown Jewels before Kale can get her hands on them or to win them back if she does. The seven[note 2] Crown Jewels consist of the Jewel of the North Woods (in "Travel Trees Can't Dance"), the Rainbow Jewel found inside the Rainbow Falls (in "Song of the Rainbow"), the Jewel of the Burning Ice found in the Hall of Wizards at the Wizard's Peak in the snow-covered mountains (in "Wizard's Peak"), the Misty Rose Jewel found in the Misty Moors (in "For Whom the Bell Trolls"), the Desert Star Jewel of the Great Desert found in the magical realm of Faeryland (in "The Faery Princess"), the Jewel of the Dreamfields (in "Dreamfields"), and the Jewel of the Jungle found in the hidden lair of the legendary wizard Morgana (in "Revenge of the Dark Stone").

During the two-part dramatic finale of the first season (in "Revenge of the Dark Stone" and "Full Circle"), Kale succeeds in seizing control of the Jewel Keep at the Crystal Palace. Becoming seemingly invincible, she overthrows Anya, unleashes the dark magic onto Avalon, strips the Jewel Riders of their powers, and prepares to make herself a queen for eternity. Kale seeks out Merlin to finish him off, but he uses his remaining powers to pull her into the Wild Magic and holds her there long enough for the girls to release the magic of the Crystal Palace, revealed as the greatest Enchanted Jewel in Avalon. Unaware of this, Kale attempts to absorb the powers of the gathered Crown Jewels and ends up being destroyed and all the dark magic is undone. The girls then discover that they have tuned the Crown Jewels to their personal jewels, enabling them to channel all the magic of Avalon. In doing so, however, they squandered a chance of solving the magic crisis for good, as well as a chance of freeing Merlin, who has given up his staff jewel so Kale could be defeated.

Second season

The Jewel Riders realize that the Crown Jewels have given them a set of new 'Level Two' armor and magic seven times more powerful than before. They girls now have at their disposal far greater magic than they ever dreamed possible; they also find it difficult to use.[9] Meanwhile, inside the Wild Magic, Lady Kale's Dark Stone is summoned toward a floating palace, where she re-materializes and meets her accidental rescuer, the legendary Morgana, creator and original wielder of the Dark Stone. Morgana had led the other ancient wizards against Merlin a millennium ago but failed and, having lost her jewel, has remained trapped in the Wild Magic ever since. United only by their mutual hatred for Merlin, the two grudgingly decide to team up as Morgana sends Kale back to Avalon in search for the other Wizard Jewels in a preparation for her own return. The Jewel Riders need to master their enhanced jewel powers while they continue their quest to bring Merlin home, especially since soon they confront Morgana and realize that they are facing a very dangerous new enemy.

The seven Wizard Jewels are just as hard to obtain as the Crown Jewels were, as they are scattered in magical places beyond Avalon. Through most of the season the Riders try to find the jewels before they fall into the hands of Morgana, who wants to use their magic to complete her conquest of the kingdom; at the same time, Kale also seeks the Wizard Jewels for herself while supposedly working for/with Morgana. The seven Wizard Jewels consist of the Unicorn Jewel (in "Vale of the Unicorns"), the Jewel of Arden (in "Prince of the Forest"), the Garden Jewel (in "The Wizard of Gardenia"), the Jewel of the Sea (in "The Jewel of the Sea"), the Time Stone (in "Mystery Island"), and the Fortune Jewel (in "The Fortune Jewel"), not counting the Dark Stone itself.

Princess Gwenevere meets a handsome, mysterious young man called Ian (a werewolf-like individual who later comes to her rescue her during the final battle), falling in love with him. Tamara gains a magical animal for herself, which turns out to be a strange striped unicorn named Shadowsong. The deciding battle between the forces of light and dark ensues during the series' two-part conclusion (in "Lady of the Lake" and "The One Jewel"), set in the Heart of Avalon. There, Gwen is given the magic Staff of Avalon by the Lady of the Lake (the Spirit of Avalon), which she then uses to vanquish Kale again and to save her friends. In the final showdown, the Riders and their friends band together to battle Morgana in a test of skills and wits over the collected Wizard Jewels. Eventually, the princess fuses the Dark Stone with the Sun Stone and captures the ultimate One Jewel forged from all the Wizard Jewels, which the freed Merlin then uses to get rid of Morgana, the ancient wizards' ghosts, and the dark magic once and for all.

Characters

The Jewel Riders consist of teenage girls Gwenevere/Starla, Fallon and Tamara. Each girl has different abilities along with their gemstones of common and unique powers that also allow them to communicate with their magic animals:

• The adventurous and romantic Princess Gwenevere (voiced by Kerry Butler in the first season and Jean Louisa Kelly in the second season), the leading titular protagonist, is the daughter of Queen Anya and King Jared and the future queen of Avalon. She is the leader of the Jewel Riders, blonde and blue-eyed, wearing mostly shades of pink and wielding the royal Sun Stone with the great power of light and goodness. Her Special Friend is the unique winged unicorn named Sunstar (voiced by Deborah Allison).
• The tomboyish and practical Fallon (voiced by Deborah Allison) is an athletic bodyguard of Princess Gwenevere. She is a dark-skinned and dark-haired expert warrior and the scout of the Jewel Riders with the main powers relating to movement and illusion, wearing mostly shades of purple and wielding the Moon Stone and riding the unicorn princess named Moondance (voiced by Barbara Jean Kearney).
• The pink-haired Tamara (voiced by Laura Dean) is the empathetic and musically-talented healer of the Jewel Riders, wearing mostly shades of green and able to communicate with all animals and wielding the Heart Stone. She also has light green eyes and medium light skin. During the second season, she pairs with the otherworldly "zebracorn" named Shadowsong (voiced by Henry Mandell).

The Jewel Riders are aided, in a general absence of Merlin (voiced by Bob Kaliban) himself, by his talking owl familiar named Archimedes or just Archie (voiced by John Beach 'Voiceguy'). The girls are also sometimes assisted by the boys of the Pack, led by Gwen's aspiring boyfriend Drake (voiced by John Beach) who is supported by Josh (voiced by Bob Kaliban) and Max (voiced by Peter Fernandez). Other recurring characters include Gwen's parents Queen Anya (voiced by Corinne Orr) and King Jared, and the Travel Trees and Guardian the genie (all voiced by Bob Kaliban). Another major new character is Ian (voiced by Bob Kaliban), the man-wolf prince of the Forest of Arden, who falls in love with Gwen and becomes her champion and second main romantic interest (besides Drake).

The series' antagonist is initially Lady Kale (voiced by Corinne Orr, who also voiced Kale's good sister Queen Anya), Gwen's wicked aunt. Kale has become an "outlaw princess" after having been banished by Merlin for her earlier plots against him and Anya, and now uses magic for evil through the Dark Stone in her ambition to become the absolute ruler of Avalon. She is aided by her animals: Grimm the dragon (voiced by Peter Fernandez) and a duo of small dragon-weasel[9] creatures named Rufus and Twig (voiced by John Beach and Henry Mandell, respectively). The prime villain of the second season is Morgana (voiced by Deborah Allison), with a revived Kale being reduced to her very insubordinate sidekick.

Episodes

Season 1 (1995)

No.	Title	Written by	Original air date
1 2	"Jewel Quest"	Robert Mandell	September 10, 1995 (1995-09-10)
			September 17, 1995 (1995-09-17)
Gwenevere (Starla) is about to follow in the footsteps of her friends Tamara and Fallon as a Jewel Rider: the time has come for her to receive the special Enchanted Jewel, the Sun Stone, in the traditional Friendship Ring ceremony. Meanwhile, the evil Lady Kale plans to hijack control of the seven Crown Jewels of the Kingdom that she needs to reign over Avalon forever. She finds a mighty Dark Stone and uses it to trap Merlin and banish him into the hidden realms of wild magic. The Jewel Riders are able to secure the key to the magical Jewel Box where the Crown Jewels are kept, but Kale captures the box along with a winged unicorn named Sunstar. In the second part, the girls, aided by their male counterparts known as The Pack, embark on a mission to rescue Sunstar from Kale's Thornwood Castle. Gwen agrees to surrender the key to the Jewel Box in exchange for Sunstar, but in the last moment Merlin uses his remaining powers to scatter the Seven Crown Jewels to their original lands. The friends manage to free Sunstar and escape. Back in New Camelot, Gwenevere enters the Circle of Friendship to bond with Sunstar as her magical animal and shares the Sun Stone with her in order to become a Jewel Rider. But with the Crown Jewels dispersed, the magic in Avalon is no longer stable and so the quest to recover them begins.
3	"Travel Trees Can't Dance"	Christopher Rowley & Robin Young	September 24, 1995 (1995-09-24)
Gwen and Sunstar discover that the Travel Trees, which are used to "ride" the wild magic, are getting erratic. The two become separated from the Jewel Riders who are trying to track down the source of a wild magic outbreak in the Great Northwoods. Turns out the Trees have a Crown Jewel stuck in their portal and they are disappointed at not being able to dance, so they create a wild magic dance floor for all the forest animals. The arriving Kale steals Gwen's dance partner and seizes the Jewel of the Great Northwoods to use it for evil, but the reunited Jewel Riders outwit her and reclaim it.
4	"Song of the Rainbow"	Mary Stanton & Robin Young	October 1, 1995 (1995-10-01)
Tamara is caught in an enchantment when she plays a beautiful harp given to her for a performance at a craft fair. The music of the harp leads Tamara to Rainbow Falls in the Riverdells where the Rainbow Jewel has returned. After Lady Kale attacks the fair and steals the harp, Gwen and Fallon embark on the quest to save Tamara from going into weird trances and learn what happened to the jewel upon returning to the land. By doing this, they also manage to find the Rainbow Jewel and thwart Kale.[13]
5	"Wizard's Peak"	James Luceno & Robin Young	October 8, 1995 (1995-10-08)
The Jewel Riders and the Pack go on a quest to the Crystal Cliffs to find the Crown Jewel of Burning Ice on the mountain of Wizard's Peak. Attacked by Lady Kale, they separate into two groups. Fallon and the Pack bait Kale away, but Gwen and Drake soon find themselves trapped in a labyrinth of ice caverns. Trying to locate the jewel, the Jewel Riders find instead the magical genie Guardian intent on protecting the magical treasures of the ancient Hall of Wizards. In the end, they manage to escape and secure the Jewel.[14]
6	"For Whom the Bell Trolls"	Marianne Meyer & Robin Young	October 15, 1995 (1995-10-15)
The Pack finds a rhyming entertaining troll in the Misty Moors with the Misty Rose Crown Jewel. The troll uses it to turn the Pack into frogs and their wolves into lizards. Josh escapes and contacts the Riders. Gwen, Fallon and Tamara need to figure out the answers to the riddles of the troll in order to rescue the boys. But a talking swan waddles off with the jewel, unaware of wild magic havoc it was causing on its trail. The Jewel Riders chase after the swan to recover the jewel and restore the Misty Moors to normal, including the true forms of the troll and the swan.
7	"The Faery Princess"	Linda Shayne & Robin Young	October 22, 1995 (1995-10-22)
A faery, named Wisp, Faery King Odeon's daughter, goes after her lost flock of magic sheep. The sheep became affected by wild magic, turning into "biker-sheep" through a rainbow passage to the Great Deserts of Avalon. Wisp gets lost following them and needs help to find her way home, and so she enlists the help of the Jewel Riders, who discover the passage into Faeryland, an alternate dimension where magic works differently. However, Lady Kale arrives there first and decides this is a perfect new kingdom for her to rule. The Riders find the Desert Star Crown Jewel with the help of the Faery Princess and free the realm from Kale before she can master the faery magic.
8	"Badlands"	Katherine Lawrence & Robin Young	October 29, 1995 (1995-10-29)
Gwen, Fallon and Tamara escort a trading caravan through a canyon across the Badlands to the party at Castle Greenwood. In the caravan are Fallon’s parents, who disapprove of her being a Jewel Rider, leading Fallon to hate Gwen for forcing her to see them again. En route, they are ambushed by Kale and a band of outlaws who work for her. When Gwen needs help, Fallon puts aside her anger and saves her friend. Rescuing Gwen and protecting the caravan, Fallon proves to her parents that she excels as a Jewel Rider and her parents come to accept her choice.[15]
9	"Home Sweet Heart Stone"	Robin Young	November 5, 1995 (1995-11-05)
Tamara is called by her parents to Heartland Animal Farm to examine a recently discovered legendary prism fox. Lady Kale too heard the news and wants it as her new magic animal. Using enchanted bagpipes and other instruments, Kale plays a song to lure all the animals from the farm, only to discover that her prize is just a baby prism fox named Kit. Tamara and friends use their own music and magic to win against Kale and bring the animals back home, while Kit gets reunited with her parents where they all return home in the wild magic.
10	"Love Struck"	James Mattson	November 12, 1995 (1995-11-12)
Drake finds the talking Magic Sword of Garmondale in a tree at a carnival. Hungry for magic from the Enchanted Jewels of the Jewel Riders, the sword promises Drake that women will now fall madly in love with him. With the sword as his love coach, Drake tries some unusual magic love poems out on each of the Riders. The girls, sensing a trick, turn the tables on Drake by pretending to go along with "his" ruse. As the sword drains away the riders' magic, the girls and Drake outwit the sword, forcing it back to its original state.
11	"Dreamfields"	Robin Young	November 19, 1995 (1995-11-19)
Gwen runs off into the Dreamfields of the Great Plains when she becomes bored with her date with Drake. There, she becomes caught in a battle of dreams with Lady Kale, who is also trying to find the Crown Jewel. In a wild dream, Kale switches Gwen's Sun Stone with her Dark Stone and thus a dream world is created in which Gwenevere has become evil, and her aunt has become good. Gwen relies on her friends to help her fight the nightmares of the Dark Stone.
12	"Revenge of the Dark Stone"	Robin Young & Christopher Rowley	November 26, 1995 (1995-11-26)
Just when the Jewel Riders try to find the last Crown Jewel and complete the magic of Merlin’s Jewel Box, Lady Kale disguises herself as Queen Anya and sneaks into the Crystal Palace. Kale seizes the Jewel Keep and with it the Jewel Box, as well all the magic jewels stored there, and uses their powers to create an "antimagic" device and time-freeze all of New Camelot. When the Jewel Riders find the final Jewel, which was located in Morgana's old lair, Kale magically transports it into her hands and strips them of their powers, proclaiming herself the new Queen of Avalon.
13	"Full Circle"	Robin Young & Christopher Rowley	December 3, 1995 (1995-12-03)
With Avalon cast in darkness, the Jewel Riders refuse to give up and return to the Friendship Ring to perform the Circle of Friendship ceremony again. With their jewels recharged, and led by their friend Kit and other special creatures called magic gliders, they enter the wild magic to find Merlin. Merlin reveals that the Crystal Palace itself is an Enchanted Jewel with great powers of goodness. While Merlin and Kale fight in the wild magic over the control of the key to the Jewel Box, the girls use Merlin’s Jewel box to release the magic of the Crystal Palace. Lady Kale is destroyed and Avalon is restored but Merlin has sacrificed his magic jewel and cannot come back.

Season 2 (1996)

No.	Title	Written by	Original air date
14	"Morgana"	Robert Mandell	September 8, 1996 (1996-09-08)
The Jewel Riders learn about their newly enhanced magic and of a new quest to find the Wizard Jewels that can give Merlin back his powers and return him home. Meanwhile in the wild magic, the wizard Morgana summons her Dark Stone, inadvertently bringing back Lady Kale into existence and finds the Dark Stone has been tuned to Kale. Grudgingly, the two make a deal to work together against Merlin and the Jewel Riders and Morgana sends Kale to Avalon to retrieve the powerful Wizard Jewels. The Jewel Riders return to the Hall of Wizards, where they encounter Kale and face Morgana's powers for the first time, but are victorious with the help from the Guardian.[9]
15	"Shadowsong"	Robin Young	September 15, 1996 (1996-09-15)
The Jewel Riders ride wild magic looking for Wizard Jewels but the Travel Trees cannot handle their new magic and they must travel on their own. Tamara finds a place that registers strong magic and the Riders head there with magic gliders as their guides. But Morgana has set a trap that send Gwen, Sunstar, Fallon, Moondance and Archie to a place where Morgana can steal the magic of their Enchanted Jewels. Tamara is sent to another place in the wild magic where she makes friends with a frightened magical zebracorn named Shadowsong, who was self-conscious about his appearance. The two form a strong bond and rescue the other Rider.[16]
16	"Fashion Fever"	Robin Young & Christopher Rowley	September 22, 1996 (1996-09-22)
It is high fashion and high-jinx as the annual charity fashion show opens at the Crystal Palace fairgrounds. It is Queen Anya’s birthday and King Jared wants to surprise her with a new dress. When he assigns Gwen to handle the “secret mission”, she manages to get Fallon, Moondance, Tamara and Tamara’s baby animals involved in a comedy of errors as each girl and animal tries to complete the mission. Meanwhile, Lady Kale sneaks into the show, creating a style-shifting dress too magical for Gwen to resist. When Gwen puts the dress on, she falls under a spell and leads her evil aunt into the Jewel Keep. Fallon and Drake fight off Kale a in sword fight and break the enchantment.
17	"The Wizard of Gardenia"	James Luceno	September 29, 1996 (1996-09-29)
In the magical gardens of Gardenia, a gardener gnome fools the Jewel Riders into thinking that he is one of the Great Wizards from Avalon's past, and capable of great magic. The gnome has the ability to sculpt magical topiary animals that transform into crystal creatures. When the Jewel Riders discover that the gnome is not what he appears to be (actually just a wizard's apprentice), they convince the gnome to help them retrieve a powerful Wizard Jewel from a dangerous place called the Sorcerer's Playground and to foil Kale and Morgana who also come to get it.
18	"Vale of the Unicorns"	Katherine Lawrence	October 6, 1996 (1996-10-06)
The Jewel Riders journey to the enchanted lands of the unicorns to learn about the secret of their magic. These most magical animals in Avalon are in danger as the Unicorn Queen is missing and was kidnapped by Morgana to obtain the Unicorn Wizard Jewel. Moondance, daughter of the Queen, must go to the magical place and perform a series of tests to determine whether she should become the new queen. This would mean that Moondance can no longer be with the Jewel Riders and leave Fallon. Moondance must choose whether her loyalties are with the unicorns or with her best friend.
19	"Prince of the Forest"	Robin Young	October 13, 1996 (1996-10-13)
While searching for Faery Wraiths in the Forest of Arden, Gwenevere finds romance and magic with a strange boy named Ian. Ian rescues her from a marsh mire, but he does not reveal the jewel he has recently found and which has actually enabled him to transform from a wolfman beast to a human. Now that he has met Gwen, he is worried that if he gives the jewel away, he will lose her love. Ian must decide what to do because Kale has offered him the chance to remain human forever if he gives the jewel to her. After Ian rejects this offer and saves Gwen from Kale and Morgana, the princess assures him that no matter what shape he takes, she will always be his friend.
20	"The Wishing Jewel"	Laura Munro	October 20, 1996 (1996-10-20)
Gwen and Drake get lost in the misty walls that surround Avalon and discover a new magical but dangerous place outside the borders of the kingdom. Lost, they must work together to unravel a riddle told to them by the Travel Trees. Gwen and Drake must search for a magic wishing jewel that will turn this land to goodness and extend the borders of Avalon before wild magic causes this place to vanish completely. Each discover half of the Wishing Jewel, but they can not figure out why it does not work quite right until they realize that neither of them have the entire jewel so they must work together in order to reassemble its pieces.
21	"The Jewel of the Sea"	Linda Shayne	October 27, 1996 (1996-10-27)
The Jewel Riders embark on a great sea voyage to a magical island where a Wizard Jewel has landed. Sailing over the great Sea of Avalon, the girls discover an underwater kingdom of mermaid creatures. A merboy grabs Tamara’s Heart Stone and becomes human, but Tamara is transformed into a mermaid when she grabs the Magic Pearl. The other Jewel Riders must find the merboy who has run off to the magic atoll and convince him to give the Heart Stone back to Tamara. Meanwhile, in the undersea lagoon gardens, Tamara confronts a big sea dragon guarding his territory.
22	"Trouble in Elf Town"	Laraine Arkow & Marlowe Weisman	November 3, 1996 (1996-11-03)
Three mischievous trolls find new Enchanted Jewels in the wild magic and to energize it, they steal elf magic from the Elf Woods. The Jewel Riders ride into town and engage in a Western-style showdown with the trolls to save the elves.
23	"Mystery Island"	Robin Young	November 10, 1996 (1996-11-10)
Wild magic gliders tell the Jewel Riders a creature is crying from somewhere in the wild magic and Tamara convinces the Jewel Riders to go and rescue it. The girls ride into wild magic and discover a "lost island". But their enemies have also found this island and Morgana sends Kale after them. The Jewel Riders find a giant creature who, amazingly, only responds to the baby animals. It is up to Cleo, Sugar and Spike to save the day.
24	"The Fortune Jewel"	Robin Young	November 17, 1996 (1996-11-17)
A fortune teller named Esmerelda and her mysterious cat use the Fortune Jewel to tell people’s fortunes. When the Jewel Riders have their fortunes read, a dark future is revealed to Gwenevere that tells of the fall of the Crystal Palace and the rise of Morgana to rule Avalon. After Gwen and her friends fall into a magical trap set up by Kale, the cat's secret is revealed, him being really the ancient wizard Derek who has lost his human form when he was tricked by Morgana. With Esmerelda's and Derek's help, the Jewel Riders win again and capture the final Wizard Jewel.
25	"Lady of the Lake/Spirit of Avalon"	Robert Mandell & Christopher Rowley	November 24, 1996 (1996-11-24)
Determined to prevent the Fortune Jewel's prophecy from coming true, the Jewel Riders travel to seek out the wisdom of the Lady of the Lake. The girls to the shore of the mysterious Isle of Myst, where they are ambushed by Kale and Morgana. Only Gwenevere and Sunstar escape across a magical lake, where Gwen is given the magic Staff of Avalon so she can merge the collected Wizard Jewels into a new magical jewel for Merlin. With help of arriving Ian, Gwen uses the Staff and the Wizard Jewels to eliminate Kale and rescue her friends. However, Morgana appears to steal the Jewel Box and heads to the center of wild magic.[17]
26	"The Last Dance/The One Jewel"	Robert Mandell & Christopher Rowley	December 12, 1996 (1996-12-12)
Princess Gwenevere and the Jewel Riders journey to the center of wild magic, where they confront Morgana who is trying to forge the Wizard Jewels together and create the One Jewel that will control all the magic of Avalon. The final showdown begins as the Jewel Riders battle Morgana in a series of magical events to determine the future of Avalon and the fate of Merlin. They are winning when Ian seemingly sacrifices himself to save Sunstar's life and Morgana steals the Jewel Box again. In the end, Gwen uses the Dark Stone to create the One Jewel to destroy Morgana and the ghosts of the other evil wizards, rescue Merlin, and reunite with the human Ian.[18]

History

Development

Princess Gwenevere and the Jewel Riders was produced by the New York-based[19] studios New Frontier Entertainment and Enchanted Camelot Productions for Bohbot Productions (later BKN) in 1995.[3] The series was produced by much of the team behind the late 1980s science fiction cartoon The Adventures of the Galaxy Rangers, including the creator, co-writer and main director of both shows, Robert Mandell, after a long development process. Despite a similar theme and title, there are no connections with King Arthur and the Knights of Justice, which was Bohbot Entertainment's other Arthurian-inspired cartoon series that was produced in 1992–1993. It was originally supposed to be a cartoon adaptation of the Dragonriders of Pern series of fantasy novels by Anne McCaffrey but eventually went in a different direction.[20]

The series was renamed repeatedly in the course of its development, including to Enchanted Jewel Riders sometime in late 1994 or early 1995 and Princess Guinevere & Her Jewel Adventures in March 1995,[21][22] before ultimately becoming Princess Gwenevere and the Jewel Riders (which was again retitled as Starla & the Jewel Riders for the export version). One of the several work-in-progress titles for the show was Enchanted Camelot, which was acquired as such in March 1994 by LIVE Entertainment (along with Skysurfer Strike Force and Highlander: The Animated Series).[23][24][25] Enchanted Camelot had some major differences in its character design.[26] The August 1994 draft script for the pilot episode of Enchanted Camelot ("Enchanted Quest", which would become "Jewel Quest") was different in many aspects.[12][note 3] According to The Buffalo News, "the production team intended for the Jewel Riders to serve as positive role models for girls."[27] Bohbot's press kit for the series described it as "classic story-telling," incorporating "strong themes of friendship, teamwork, responsibility and conflict resolution."[3]

Each episode was constructed as an animated minimusical.[1] The animation work on the series was done in Taipei, Taiwan by Hong Ying Animation Company Limited;[28] one of the show's character designers was the future Emmy Award winner[29] Rob Davies. The overall design was done by Jane Abbot, with Billy Zeats and Greg Autore serving as art directors. Enrico Casarosa was one of the storyboard artists.[30] It was the first series scored by Louis Fagenson;[19] though the French version's soundtrack was the work of Julie Zenatti.[31] The show's CGI effects were created by Ian Tetrault in Autodesk 3ds Max and Adobe After Effects.

The actress for Gwenevere/Starla was changed for the second season because Kerry Butler had to go to Canada for the musical Beauty and the Beast. The series was not renewed for 1997, but there were originally rumors about a third season being planned for 1998.[32][33]

The series' art director Greg Autore said about the making of the second season: "Bohbot wanted European distribution which required 26 [episodes]. So they made the next 13. They would have made more but were waiting to see how it succeeded. When the second set of episodes was turned on, the only two directions to start with were – 1) Search for wild magic jewels since the first set was all found 2) Use Morgana as the ultimate villainess instead of Lady Kale. Fortunately, director Robert Mandell was open to many of my suggestions. That second season had many episodes that grew from my concepts and a very rough storyline suggestion. Since the second season were not yet written and were rushed into production, this was where I had the most fun. Instead of just translating the characters and creating new fashions, I was free to create many new powers and adventures for the show. While I had input on many of the first episodes, I was now creating the basic storylines for entire episodes. Robert always had Morgana in the back of his head as a villainess he wanted to do. Now we could break out and expand the world of Avalon in different ways."[34][35]

Broadcast

The series was first broadcast in the United States in 1995–1996 on Bohbot Entertainment's "Amazin'! Adventures" block, had U.S. coverage of 80% and aired on 106 stations.[36][37] Internationally, it was shown in more than 130 other countries[note 4] by 2000.[51] It was acquired by Fox Kids Europe in 2000. CITV in 1995 itself and Fox Kids UK when that first came out in 1996 aired it before the rest of Fox Kids Europe in 2000.[52]

Release

There have been four VHS releases in America by Family Home Entertainment in January 1996[53] covering only part of the first season and consisting of Jewel Quest (episodes "Jewel Quest Part 1" and "Jewel Quest Part 2"), Wizard's Peak ("Wizard's Peak" and "Travel Trees Can't Dance") and For Whom the Bell Trolls ("For Whom the Bell Trolls" and "The Faery Princess"),[54] followed by Full Circle ("Revenge of the Dark Stone" and "Full Circle") in July 1996.[55] Leading up to the release date, Hasbro and Toys 'R' Us offered an episode from the program on video for free with the pre-order purchase of a related toy.[53] The UK (Carlton Video 1997), Serbian (Vidcom 1996, "Prizor" dub) and French (Warner Home Video 2000) VHS releases include some episodes from the second season.

In 2005, the rights for the DVD retail in the United States and Canada were given to Digiview Entertainment,[56] which has reserved the right to release the show on DVD. They announced plans to released the first two volumes in 2006 and subsequent volumes over the course of the next year. However, the only DVD released by Digiview was Wizard's Peak, containing the first five episodes of the show and available in Wal-Mart stores. Though it says "Princess Gwenevere & the Jewel Riders" on the cover, the show on the DVD is the international version (Starla & the Jewel Riders); in the case of both the cover and the show itself, the Starla-style title fonts (similar to the title fonts in Gargoyles) are used in the logo,[57] and the disc appears to be region-free. The complete first season was released on DVD in France in 2008 dubbed into French.[58] The series was also released on DVD in Serbia in 2007 and 2008 with a Serbian dub.[59] Pidax Film released the German dub together with the English original on DVD in 2021.[60]

In 2008–2009, the series was available to be watched for free in a streaming media form on the Lycos Cinema service and later Kidlet.tv; while it was titled as Princess Gwenevere and the Jewel Riders, it was actually the Starla version. In 2009, the show was also made freely available for users of the Internet service SyncTV (available online from the browser for the American users and downloadable for watching for the others).[61] In 2011, the Starla version became available for streaming through Netflix for the users in the United States,[62] expanded to the entire first season in 2012.[63] The first two episodes ("Jewel Quest") have been put on YouTube by 41 Entertainment, a new company founded by the producer Allan J. Bohbot. In 2018, most of the episodes have been released in high quality and wide aspect ratio through the subscription service Watch It Kid!.[64] It was also made available on Apple TV,[65] Amazon Prime Video,[66] and (in Spanish) ZAZ TV.[67]

Merchandise

According to Robert Mandell, the show was originally commissioned by Hasbro through reverse toyetic to accompany their line of toys (albeit only in the form of vague outline and the creators developed the plot and the characters).[68][69] However, according to Variety, Bohbot "took the Princess Gwenevere concept to Hasbro Toys, which after extensive market research, put itself enthusiastically behind the project, collaborating in equal partnership with Bohbot on the development of the property."[70] A national "Watch and Win" contest in February 1996 offered viewers the opportunity to win Princess Gwenevere videos and toys if they mailed in the correct code words from the show.[53] The Hasbro/Kenner[36] toy line had two series of action figures for girls ages 4 and up. The first series contains Princess Gwenevere (Starla), Sun Power Gwenevere, Tamara, Fallon, Drake, Lady Kale, Sunstar, and Moondance; and the second series contains Deluxe Princess Gwenevere (Starla), Deluxe Tamara, and Deluxe Fallon.[71] According to Time to Play, the action figures' sales "bombed".[72] In the fall of 1996, Hasbro planned to reintroduce revamped versions of the figures as well as new characters from the animated series. The toys had a television advertising campaign featuring a 30-second commercial.[53]

Other merchandise included a series of collectible trading cards released by the Upper Deck Company in 1996,[73] a "play-a-sound" children's illustrated sound book by Nancy L. McGill based on the first two episodes and published by Publications International that same year,[74] Panini Group collectible stickers,[75] a makeup kit,[76] Happy Meal and Long John Silver's premium toys, lunchboxes, clothing items, and such. There were unrealized plans to produce a video game adaptation[77] and the series' theme song was included on Mastermix's TV SETS CD 14.[78]

Legacy

In 2001, author Rachel Roberts began writing her contemporary fantasy book series Avalon: Web of Magic loosely based on the show[77][79][80] and borrowing various concepts and names (including even some of the episode titles), as well as lyrics from some of the songs used in Jewel Riders. As of 2012, the series consists of 12 novels, as well as the three-volume graphic novel adaptation, titled Avalon: The Warlock Diaries.[81]

A film adaptation of Avalon: Web of Magic was announced in 2012,[79] but was never released. An Avalon animated series project was revealed in 2017.[82]

Natoo's jewel line Joyau Magique (Magic Jewel) was inspired by Jewel Riders, her favourite childhood cartoon.[83]

Reception

Ratings

Princess Gwenevere and the Jewel Riders was reported to be "struggling with a 0.6 national Nielsen rating among girls 2–11" in 1995. Bohbot hoped heavy promotion of the merchandise products would raise awareness of the show.[84] Nevertheless, it was the most popular of the first-run cartoon series in the 1995 edition of Bohbot's "Amazin' Adventures II" weekend syndicated package.[3] Daily Herald reported it was "the number one syndicated television show in the U.S. among girls 6 to 11" in 1996.[85] It was reported that Starla became "a huge hit" when it was shown in France. First broadcast there in April 1996, it reached the top of the channel France 3's ratings in children’s time slots with a 77.6% market share average, proving "that action, knights and fantastic stories work very well with boys, too."[39]

Critical reception

The reception by writers has been mixed. According to Video Librarian, "a cross between She-Ra: Princess of Power and the saccharine My Little Pony, the Princess Gwenevere and the Jewel Riders series is standard Saturday morning cartoon fodder."[86] Scott Moore of The Buffalo News compared the "underwhelming" Princess Gwenevere to the "overhyped" Sailor Moon.[87] Rob Bricken of Topless Robot ranked Princess Gwenevere fifth on his 2009 list of "most ridiculous" adaptations of Arthurian legend, commenting that shows like that "were clearly made to take advantage of a small, low-aiming school of girl-oriented action cartoons, but it ultimately lost out to a slightly more tolerable Japanese import."[88] Bert Olton opined in Arthurian Legends on Film and Television that "Princess Gwenevere and the Jewel Riders combines all the worst elements of minimalist cartooning, modern commercialism and vacuous storytelling with a tiny portion of Arthurian legend."[8] In The Middle Ages in Popular Culture: Medievalism and Genre, Clare Bradford and Rebecca Hutton described it as "a disappointing production that is markedly sexist and racist with only tenuous links to the Arthuriad."[89] Kathleen Richter of Ms. called the show "so sexist and racist" for how it has "the powerful female figure demonized as evil and the main character blonde and blue-eyed."[90]

On the other hand, France's Fun Radio included it among the 14 "probably the best" cartoons of the 1990s.[91] Alan and Barbara Lupack opined in King Arthur in America that the show, "with its strong female heroine, is interesting in part because it is designed primarily for girls".[37] Bustle's Lucia Peters wrote, "Princess Gwenevere and the Jewel Riders followed a pretty classic 'special kid and special friends have awesome powers and must defeat the forces of darkness' format. The fact that it met at the intersection of horses, sparkly things, and girl power, though, means that it holds a special place in many '90s kids' hearts."[92] Some noted the show for its positive values. According to Billboard, "there are life lessons to be learned along the way, and the program in general promotes brains over brawn".[93] Similarly, Keith Busby wrote in Arthurian Literature that "the series appeals to young girls and teaches them the values of friendship".[2] Marshal Honorof of Tom's Guide described it as similar to the 1980s Dungeons & Dragons cartoon in being "a traditional swords-and-sorcery adventure with stand-alone episodes and an emphasis on making kids laugh rather than bogging them down with the dour intrigue or blood-soaked combat of most medieval fantasy stories."[94] In 2018, Syfy's Brittany Vincent wrote that the show had been a "perfect fodder for young girls like me looking for strong women and heroes to imitate" and called it "a pleasant and kitschy relic of the past."[95]

See also

• Amethyst, Princess of Gemworld
• Lady Lovely Locks
• LoliRock
• Star vs. the Forces of Evil
• Steven Universe
• Tenko and the Guardians of the Magic
• W.I.T.C.H.
• Wildfire
• Winx Club
• Wonder Woman and the Star Riders
• She-Ra, Princess of Power

Notes

References

In-line

Other sources

• Enchanted Jewel Riders Show Bible.
• Full Production Credits at NYTimes.com.
• (in Catalan) Jewel Riders at Super3 channel's website.
• Kevin J. Harty, King Arthur on Film: New Essays on Arthurian Cinema, 1999, p224.
• Barbara Tepa Lupack, Adapting the Arthurian Legends for Children: Essays on Arthurian Juvenalia, 2004 ("Camelot on Camera: The Arthurian Legends and the Children's Films"), p281.

External links

• Official website (archived)
• Princess Gwenevere and the Jewel Riders at IMDb
• The Jewel Riders Archive

На других языках

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- [en] Princess Gwenevere and the Jewel Riders

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[es] La princesa Starla

La princesa Starla (título original: Princess Gwenevere and the Jewel Riders / Starla & the Jewel Riders) es una serie de televisión animada de Estados Unidos.

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[ru] Принцесса Старла и повелители камней

Принцесса Старла и повелители камней (англ. Princess Gwenevere and the Jewel Riders (Starla and the Jewel Riders)) — американский мультсериал. Сначала его транслировал 2х2 Телемаркет, после чего был повторно показан ориентировочно (Канал 1), а также на телеканале Сети НН (Нижний Новгород) в детской телепередаче Глаз-Алмаз.

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