Queen of Swords
Starring Tessie Santiago and Paul[sic] Wingfield
Syndicated
Premieres the week of Oct. 2
By Kathie Huddleston
Tessa Alvarado (Santiago) is a beautiful, 19th-century Spanish aristocrat. While
her father's been away in California for the last five years, Tessa has been a
busy girl. Rather than wearing dresses and attending dances, she's been wearing
pants and taking fencing lessons. She looks forward to her father's immanent
return, but is devastated to hears that he's been killed in an accident.
Tessa journeys to California, where further unpleasant discoveries await: Her
family's estate is in a shambles, and her father's death may not have been
accidental. Colonel Luis Montoya (Valentine Pelka), with the assistance of
Captain Marcus Grisham (Anthony Lemke), holds the area in a tyrannical grip.
Montoya kills any who oppose him and taxes his subjects to the point of
starvation.
When Tessa witnesses the cruel murder of her father's former manservant, she can
stand the injustices no longer. In a dream, her father tells her of an avenging
angel who will bring justice to the land. Tessa realizes her true destiny. With
the help of her gypsy servant, Marta, she will pose as a spoiled member of the
nobility but, when necessary, she will become the Queen of Swords, protector of
the innocent and avenging angel who will bring down tyranny.
Zorro with a twist
Queen of Swords joins the growing ranks of shows with female action leads.
Produced by the creators of Relic Hunter, the two shows share a similar style
and tone. But viewers must be willing to suspend more than a normal amount of
disbelief to make this adventure show work. For example, the Queen wears a
peekaboo lace mask but no one can figure out who she is. And, boy, the Colonel's
guards are some bad shots.
The burden of carrying Queen of Swords rests primarily on the slim shoulders of
newcomer Santiago, who won the role in a nationwide search. She is quite lovely
and, for the most part, does just fine as Tessa. However, she is not convincing
as the daring, sword-wielding Queen of Swords. One of the reasons shows like
Xena: Warrior Princess, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and even Relic Hunter work is
because the leading ladies are believable action heroes. If they hit a god,
demon or even just a bad guy, he, she or it is going down for the count.
However, at this early stage in the show's development, Santiago's Queen doesn't
give off that butt-kicking aura.
The rest of the cast offers fine support, especially Lemke as evil hunk Captain
Grisham. Peter Wingfield (Methos on Highlander) joins the cast after the first
episode, and there are other Highlander connections as well. Pelka, who played
the popular baddie Kronos, and Producer Ken Gord are both Highlander alumni.
Queen of Swords has an order for a full season, so there's plenty of time for
this series to gel. Let's hope Santiago can pull this one off. We need all the
female action heroes we can get. -- Kathie
From Sci Fire Wire
Wearing the mask and wielding a sword looks like a job for a woman
Issue 181
http://www.scifi.com/sfw/issue181/screen.html
