Queen of the Pen! Where are You?

Well...when I say "pen," I mean a writing instrument. Looking around the internet, I found that the word is used to mean the farm pen--as in Dolly the Sheep, Queen of the pen--and the prison nickname (pen)--as in a South American Drug Leader who is now Queen of the pen. I found one person at a pen pals' site who called her self Queen of the Pen and Paper. Unfortunately, no one was called just Queen of the (writing instrument) Pen.

I really wanted to know if there was a Queen of the Pen, since I think I experienced genuine email libel this week and I wanted to ask her what to do about it. Without a genuine Queen of the Pen out there, I read various internet sites about libel and learned that Mosaic and Solomonian laws in the book of Exodus in the bible protected individuals from defamation of character. For something to actually be libelous, it must contain three elements:

1) it must be specific,
2) it must be presented so that those who would care will read it, and
3) it must harm another's character (and that harm can be implied not necessarily specific).

The person performing the questionable act of libel, sent an email to various professionals with whom I work saying I said something which I never said or wrote. In fact what she said I said made it look like I was refusing to perform my job. When I sent out a correction saying that I had never said what she said I said, this person performing the questionable act of libel fired off an email telling me to stop "picking." I told her that I was not picking on her, I was just setting the written record straight as I do not need people thinking I said something I did not say.

Did you get all this? I think one must write in a confusing manner in order to complain about another and still avoid libel.

I suppose if I was truly picking, I could have sent her copies of the anti-defamation of character laws in Exodus, a definition of libel, and a request for an apology. Finally, I could have warned her of an upcoming call from my personal lawyer regarding cyber-libel, but I didn't do any of that.

So was I picking on her? I suppose I was a little, but I did not want other professionals thinking I was shirking the duties of my job and it was easier to just clarify the comment rather than contact a lawyer in order to get an apology.

Too bad that there was no Queen of the Pen I could contact, like Dear Abby, in order to make sure I did everything correctly. I avoided the office Christmas party since this woman's comment made me feel uncomfortable and unwelcome. Thinking about it, since I didn't have a Queen of the Pen to call on, I could have used the Queen of Swords to help bring home my point this week

....too bad she is a fictional character, but that is another story.







Copyright Romil Ilagan 2003, Used with permission
Based on an idea by David Abramowitz, 2000
No infringement of rights is implied or intended

Queen of Swords episode reviews--Honor Thy Father

Honor Thy Father

All that Glitters is not Gold

Tessa: "If my father can't have justice, then maybe someone else can."

Though this was the eighth episode aired in North America and Spain, it was actually supposed to be episode number three in the series. It had some nice writing and story concepts with the matching of ideas to build the Queen's career as is demonstrated by her alter-ego's line above. If the episodes had been aired in the order in which they were meant to be aired, some of the plotlines would have made more sense to viewers possibly bringing more people to US screens to see the series.

Gael García Bernal did a marvelous job portraying the "Indian shaman" Churi in this episode. Mr. Bernal is quite popular in Mexico so it seems odd that, in advertising for this segment, they did not play up the fact that he would appear as they did when guest stars like Daisy Fuentes, David Carradine, Bo Derek and Cristian de la Fuente appeared. His depiction of a young man whose quiet belief in his goal and persistence rubbed off on other characters thereby changing them easily moved the audience allowing each viewer to suspend his or her disbelief for that episode.

In "Honor Thy Father," Tessa's plight to find who murdered her father so that her soul might rest is mirrored by Churi's plight to regain his father's gold death mask (stolen by Montoya naturally) so that Churi's father's soul might rest. Rather than retrieving stolen gold, Tessa gives gold (10 gold Reales) to Raul, a deserter from Montoya's army, who says he can tell her who murdered her father. In both cases, the story points out that it is not gold nor money that matters (as Montoya so ardently believes), but rather the spirit or soul. Churi even teaches this fact to Dr. Helm who tells Churi he shouldn't bother about the death mask because humans are merely flesh and bone and after death there is nothing else. Churi points out that Dr. Helm does not really believe this so in the end the doctor helps Churi regain the mask and even tells the Queen that only "God" has the power of life and death (a complete turn around from his initial stated beliefs).

Tessa learns, and the audience is again reminded, that the person who will be one's ally is not always the individual one would typically expect. In the beginning, Tessa turns Churi in to the soldiers while she protects Raul. In the end, however, it is Churi who proves to be Tessa's confederate. Raul is a cad and a scoundrel who continues to try to blackmail Tessa after he has lost the original 10 Reales. Tessa wants so badly to find out who murdered her father that she gives him too many chances, such that she eventually accidentally kills him as he tries to ravage her. This is when she realizes that, as the Queen, maybe she cannot help herself, but she can help others. This seems to be the real turning point in the development of the Queen of Swords. Now not only is she avenging her own father's death, but rather she is an avenging angel for all people injured by Montoya's injustices and it is from this that she derives the will and determination to continue.

This was a nicely done story, again with beautiful sets, costumes, and hair, The swordplay between Montoya and the Queen in Montoya's office (again with Roberta Brown as Tessie Santiago's sword double) was beautifully done. Allowing the audience to see Raul watch as the Queen removed her mask was honestly exciting. There was associated with that moment a genuine "What now!?" feeling. Tessie Santiago was also becoming more comfortable with her characters. The banter between the Queen and Dr. Helm in Montoya's office as they searched for the gold mask was cute and well-played. Perhaps because friendly chatter suggested the two characters might be getting along, the actual tension between the two characters was accentuated when Dr. Helm chastised the Queen for saving his life by killing another man. This reaction shocked the Queen and it surprised this viewer. I enjoyed the Queen's guise as a nun, because in the initial attempts at creating this story Tessa was a nun rather than an orphaned rich girl. This was a nice nod to the roots of the story. The use of big glasses to conceal Tessa's identity supported Clark Kent's use of glasses to hide his alter ego "Superman." I also enjoyed Churi's singing in jail. It was a beautiful haunting hymn that stays with me for quite awhile every time I hear it.

I give this episode 8 Rapiers and 4 Daggers for a well written story that gave us some fun side elements and more insight into why Tessa continued as the Queen of Swords.


Taram

July 29, 2003

Queen of Swords episode reviews--Duel With a Stranger

Duel with a Stranger

Dancing with Danger

Captain Grisham: "All he does is the Spanish Circles."

On this second anniversary of the cowardly terror attacks on the United States on September 11, 2001, I am reminded of "Queen of Swords." There were a few reasons for that. One reason was the discussion on chat boards about how we wished we had a heroine like the "Queen" to save us. It was later that we realized that our heroes are not super beings, but rather, they were, and still are, our neighbors…flesh and blood human beings just like this writer and you the reader.

That is the message of the "Queen of Swords" episode Duel with a Stranger.

This was a beautifully crafted episode. In fact, I enjoyed it so much that I watched the tape four or five times before buckling down to write the review. The idea is that Tessa's former love Antonio, who she lost contact with when he left for the Napoleonic wars, has lost his family fortune and has accepted the job of Montoya's hired gun (that is "swordsman") who will kill and bring in the Queen's head. He has no idea that she is the woman he is sworn to capture and she has no idea that her love has turned mercenary. That is, not until a climatic sword duel in which Antonio traps the Queen against a canyon wall and rips off her mask revealing her identity. The scene brings home to us that Tessa is merely our heroic flesh and blood neighbor living the guise of the Queen of Swords. In the end, Antonio dies choosing not to betray Tessa making him her flesh and blood hero.

Speaking of moving scenes, two especially stand out. The Queen wants to give Antonio the chance to back out of his attempts to kill her. So she goes to see him in his hotel room at night. A duel ensues and Antonio takes her rapier. In order to escape, the Queen throws a kerosene lamp on the floor starting a fire. Then she breaks out of the French windows for the room leaping from the balcony with a huge fireball following close behind her. Heroes outrunning fireballs were popular scenes in the late 1990s and this scene follows that genre, but I loved it. Although the series star, Tessie Santiago, did not perform the stunt, I always thought it should have been included in publicity photos.

The other scene that was impressive was that in which Antonio pinned the Queen and ripped off her mask to reveal Tessa. Prior to this climatic move, the Queen and Antonio dance around each other using the Spanish Circle form taught to Tessa and Antonio by their mutual swordmaster in Spain. Not only do taunt and threaten each other with blades, but the tension in Tessa and Antonio's relationship is heightened as they dance around each other. This is a family show, so romance was limited. This scene, however, was a great technique to explain the story progression to children while, at the same time, making the mask ripping shot very erotic for adults.

The acting was fun. Tessie Santiago did a marvelous job of being confused by love as both Tessa and the Queen. She is obviously stronger as the Queen, but in this episode I could see traces of the same person in both personas. Nice job. Cristian de la Fuente was marvelous as Antonio. His line deliveries associated with his charming smile made ME smile. What wonderful casting. We have a parallel here, too. The star of the series is Tessie SANTIAGO while Mr. De la Fuente is from SANTIAGO, Chile. Sweet, eh? His character's death was kind of a bummer. Had the series continued so that characters could have made reappearances, it would have been fun to see Antonio again.

"But Mr. De la Fuente can't fence! Why would we want to see him in that role again?" you might ask. That is when the marvelous editing of the series played an important role. Anthony De Longis (supreme developer of the Spanish Circles fencing form used in "Queen of Swords" alluded to by Captain Grisham in the quote above) was Mr. De la Fuente's sword double. The editing never gives any hint that Mr. De Longis is in a scene instead of Mr. De la Feunte.

In the end, the viewer knows that Tessa, as our heroine the Queen, faces danger. We count the cost she pays and hope her heroic deeds do not take her life. After all, she is merely our flesh and blood neighbor. God bless all heroes...fallen and living.

I give Duel with a Stranger 9 Rapiers and 4 daggers for a beautifully moving story.

Taram
September 11, 2003

Queen of Swords episode reviews--The Witness

The Witness

Behind the Mask

Tessa: "Marta, it's not supposed to be this way. Only the Queen kills."

As the theme song by Proffer and Plunkett—sung by José Feliciano—tells us, we all hide behind a mask: a mask by which we want the world to remember us. When we hide our true persona from the world, do we also hide from ourselves? What happens when the two characters meet? These are the questions "The Witness" tries to ask and answer. Unfortunately, though the episode employed the talents of classically trained fencer, very hard worker, and famed actress Bo Derek, the story was weak.

As viewers who have seen the episode or readers who have read the synopsis know, "The Witness" tells a story in which Tessa witnesses the apparent murder of a poor young woman by a wealthy landowner's son. The landowner (Bo Derek as "Mary Rose") also happens to be a former buccaneer who travels with a sword and band of men expecting everything to go her way. Tessa promises the dead woman's brothers they she will not let threats or social standing keep her from testifying against Mary Rose's son at trial. Montoya naturally schemes to kill the young man and get both Tessa's and Mary Rose's lands by pitting them against each other. None-the-less, through various turns of events related to Vera's need to confess to Tessa that she was sleeping with another man on the night of the murder and saw the entire event, Tessa ends up believing the boy is innocent.

At one point in the story, Mary Rose sends one of her Rancheros to kill Tessa while she is riding home in her carriage. Though not dressed as the Queen, the Queen's reactions are triggered when Tessa is attacked. When she kills the Ranchero, Tessa begins to question the sanity and morality of killing in order to achieve a cause. This was a nice moment of tension. Unfortunately, rather than letting Tessa stew and worry about her choices, even making her doubt herself, this was merely a moment in the story. The tension is present and then it is gone. This would have been a nice piece of character development drawn out slowly as the story progressed. Tessie Santiago did a nice job of agonizing in front of Paulina Gálvez, as Marta, in this scene. She appeared to age 10-15 years as she spoke.

Needing a final sword duel to cap the episode, Mary Rose kidnaps Marta in order to convince Tessa to not testify against her son. While tied up, Marta is lectured by Mary Rose about the worries a mother has about her children. This scene provides one of the cuter moments when Marta is insulted by being called a "cook." As the Queen, Tessa finds Marta, duels Mary Rose in a nice sword fight in which both women are equally challenged, and wins Marta's freedom by allowing Mary Rose to kill the Queen in order to prove she is trustworthy. The Queen tells Mary Rose that Tessa will not testify against her son and Mary Rose believes her.

The next day everything works out for Mary Rose when her son is released as Tessa refuses to testify. Unfortunately, Tessa says nothing about her knowledge of Vera's statement (to protect Vera's faux marital mask of fidelity), so the dead woman's brothers do not know who the killer is, the dead woman does not receive justice, and Mary Rose doesn't learn to curb her blood-lust behavior.

I recall reading on the original show forum that an earlier version of the script had Mary Rose nicking Tessa as the Queen on the forearm during the sword duel. Then, when they meet the next day, Mary Rose sees the nick and realizes that Tessa and the Queen are one in the same. For me, the episode would have had an added element of excitement had that bit been left in the final cut. This way, Tessa would be stressed knowing that someone COULD reveal her secret someday. Having a stressed "super" hero is always more exciting.

The actors, editors, camera and lighting crew, and stunt people did an excellent job on this episode. The fight scenes were outstanding and the actor playing the dead woman's brother "Crispin" (Leo Medina) was beautifully cast. I wanted him to have justice for his sister and be safe! Unfortunately, the story and the producer's cut combined to weaken a good effort in this episode. Fortunately, other episodes of the QUEEN OF SWORDS were stronger and more exciting.

I am compelled to award "The Witness" 5 Rapiers and 4 Daggers for decent acting and stunt scenes with a moderately well crafted story.

Taram

October 19, 2003

Queen of Swords episode reviews--Vengeance

Vengeance

The Day of The Dead

Queen: "Looks like I'm not the only one who hides behind a mask."

This was another fine episode by master craftsman James Thorpe who wrote a number of the earlier episodes of QUEEN OF SWORDS giving it much of the stories meaning and flavor. Though not shown in this order in the original episodes in the US, this was supposed to be the fourth episode in the series and it works if viewed with that in mind. There were a couple of different themes and one main symbol tying the story together very nicely. We can give Mr. Thorpe and the producers credit for the themes, but director Brian Grant needs to be mentioned for the use of a cross as the symbol tying characters together and also rendering some asunder in this episode.

The story begins with a pale clown puppet landing in a blanket after having been tossed in the air by some village children at the local Harvest Festival. It was a rather eerie looking beginning which set the tone for the story. Americans and Canadians might refer to the Harvest Festival as Thanksgiving in this day and age. In 1817, the festival probably took place around the same time so it could have been combined with the Roman Catholic Feast Day occurring on November first known in the US as "All Souls Day." In Spanish speaking countries the day is known as "Dia de la Muerte" or "Day of the Dead." Mr. Thorpe and the producers used this phrase to tie together the murder of a local villager committed by a visiting assassin (played beautifully by Englishman James Innes-Smith ) with the death of the assassin's brother by Dr. Helm years earlier in Spain and then brought the concept full circle when the Queen discovers that the assassin is back to kill Dr. Helm. (This also explains why Montoya's men never caught the Queen. She figured out the intended target of the assassin while they "combed the countryside" – something they did a lot. He did not have the most competent staff to assist him in his treachery.)

In learning about the life Dr. Helm lead in the Napoleonic Wars – in fact, the life he tried to escape by becoming a physician – the audience is lead into the second theme expressed by the Queen in her statement at the top of this review. We are reminded in the opening song (which is played hauntingly in many forms) by Jose Feliciano that not only the Queen of Swords leads a life hidden behind a mask, but we all do. In this story we learn that Dr. Helm's current lifestyle is a mask for his history. We also get a glimpse behind the mask of charm used by Montoya to cater only to the richest Dons in Santa Helena in order to build his massive amounts of wealth to control the land when he appears to play delightfully with the children. When one spills a bottle of wine splattering on the Colonel, he curses at the child under his breath.

These themes play wonderfully tying the story together, but I especially liked the use of the cross as the unifying symbol for the story. In fact as I re-watched the episode, I began looking for crosses just to see how the director would fit them in -- not that they were that obvious to the first time casual viewer. No, these were well-placed symbols woven into the story such that they added rather than detracted from it. I only took notice because it is my job to watch for these things. In Roman history, a cross was an instrument of torture and death. Instruments of "torture" are used for ultimate healing in Judeo-Christian history, surgery, and the dentist's office. Similar messages associated with crosses were used here. The most stand out moments were the assassin's use of a CROSSbow to kill and crosses in the local church where emergency surgery took place to try and save the wounded Don, (these symbols were matched one above another as the assassin tried to shoot Dr. Helm in the church. Other significant uses of the cross symbol included the image of a knife crossing the foot of a crucifix making a Greek cross when Ramon (played by another fine English actor Freddy Douglas whose Ramon was the only guest character to make a return appearance) tries to kill Don Aguilera as revenge for his father's death and a cross carved in a chair sitting next to Montoya's head as he conspires with the assassin. Perhaps the most interesting creation and use of a cross as symbol came in the knife fight between the assassin and the Queen. Twice, the assassin pinned the Queen's arms and shoulders against a wall in the shape of a cross to try and stop her aggression (and twice she got away). I never found any crosses in scenes between the doctor and the Queen. It was as if to say they hadn't made a connection yet.

The courtyard fight between the Queen and the assassin was one of the best in the series. Roberta Brown and Anthony DeLongis worked as knife doubles for Tessie Santiago and James Innes-Smith, but the fantastic editing does not let the unaware viewer in on this. The scene was excellent. My only wish was that they would have used longer shots to show us what was happening. All the tight close-ups made the scene tense, but it would have been nice to see more of the action.

Speaking of nice editing, Tessie Santiago and Peter Wingfield had four wonderful scenes together which made the episode most special. The scene that stands out as being the most fun was one in which they shared more banter about telling secrets. The quick editing from one face to the other gave the scene an added touch of humour that might not have been there in one long shot.

This was Ms. Santiago's fourth episode as a professional and lead actress. In this episode, one could see that she had picked up on nuances of voice needed for film and looked far more polished that in the first episode "Destiny." As such, the Queen looks like she was becoming more comfortable in her role as "saviour" of the people of Santa Helena which made sense since the first few days of anyone's job (be one a Queen or a servant) are rocky. This all served the story quite well and made me want to see each additional episode.

I give this episode 9 Rapiers and 4 Daggers for great use of symbolism to tell a story, fun scenes between the Doctor and the Queen, and one of the best fight scenes ever.


Taram

July 31, 2003

Queen of Swords episode reviews--Fever

Fever

All I need is a Hero

Queen: "For a friend."

The life of a good man was abruptly ended by a bullet in July, 2003 in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Casey Dominguez saw two men attempting to rob a co-worker outside the nursing home at which they both worked. He took flight chasing these thieves and halted the attempted robbery. In the process, one thug turned and killed Mr. Dominguez who will always be remembered as a hero. There are heroes amongst us. Sometimes these are our neighbors…people we would never expect to risk life, limb, or reputation to help a non-family member. Unfortunately we miss these heroes' presence in our lives until we lose them.

With "Fever," the third episode originally aired, but actually the fifth in the series, we leave the story introduction plots (especially those created by executive story consultant James Thorpe) and move to a nice episode written by Scott Kraft. "Fever" did not have the symbolism that "Vengeance" did. Nor did it contain the single words leading to choices technique that "Destiny" did. None-the-less, it was a well put together story that flowed nicely, was entertaining, and made the viewer start to wonder why someone would risk everything to help others outside of one's home. After September 11, 2001 (a horrifyingly sad day of loss in the United States), "QUEEN OF SWORDS" was finishing its original airing in North America and Spain. Avid viewers writing to the official site's message board wrote about the real heroes of the day and also wished that the Queen had been more than a story so she could help the people in harm's way. Others would wonder why anyone would help in the first place. The Queen's line clarified the reasoning heroes must use to justify helping others. All people are connected somehow and are the hero's friend. The rest of us might not see life that way, but a genuine hero does. Author Joseph Campbell teaches us that there is more to a heroes way of thinking than that, but viewing others as one's extended friends is one aspect suggested by this episode.

Writer Scott Kraft tells the struggles of two people dealing with the deadly fever (Montoya and peasant Enrique) killing many citizens of Santa Helena and effortlessly weaves them together with antagonists Captain Grisham and the Queen of Swords. In doing so he completely absorbs the viewer in the story. Tessa likes being viewed as a hero by the townspeople when she works as the Queen and is disheartened when the people believe Montoya as he claims the Queen has stolen their precisous medicine to fight the deadly fever gripping the town. When Tessa exclaims to Marta, "Of course! He blames the Queen and gets the medicine for himself," the viewers, who already understand that it is Grisham who stole the medicine can't help but cheer her on telling her "Good job. You are half-way there. Just keep looking." We want to see this self-appointed hero solve the crime in order to help the sick and dying .

Eventually the Queen does discover that it was Grisham who stole the medicine so that Montoya might die leaving Grisham in charge of Santa Helena. Dr. Helm also figures out the secret and they both follow Grisham to the abandoned mine where he has hid the precious medicine. A marvelous fight, augmented by the Queen jumping in slow motion off the top of the cave onto Grisham, ensues. The Queen struggles and even has to admit to Grisham that he has gotten better. When Grisham disarms the Queen and is about to kill her with his sword, everyone is surprised by the pacifist physician's skillful use of a gun to cut the blade in half with a bullet – so much so that the Queen is able to overpower Grisham, save the day, and allow the doctor to bring healing to her community of extended friends. It was a fight scene that told a lot about each of the characters. We were made more aware of the doctor's hidden skills with weapons, we find that Grisham is improving as fighter and that the Queen has weaknesses.

Though she was credited as working in "Fever," American Roberta Brown was replaced as sword double by Frenchwoman Gaelle Cohen as Tessie Santiago's sword double for economic reasons. Ms. Brown and stuntwoman Natalie Guijarro were the best doubles for Ms. Santiago. Their faces looked enough like hers that unless one knew about the doubles, it always looked like Ms. Santiago performing in every angle of stunt scenes. Ms. Cohen, though a fine stage fighter, has a distinct face that stands out every time it passes the camera making this writer step out of the story to actually think "Hey, that isn't Tessie Santiago" if only for a moment.

Another aspect of the episode that made little sense was a scene in which Tessa asks Vera Hidalgo (Elsa Pataky ) for help from Captain Grisham, but she refuses. Her refusal is not tied into any other event or events in the story. Perhaps one has to read an early script to find out what purpose that scene had. At it's best, the scene emphasized Senora Hidalgo's familiarity with the Captain – something we had already learned about in "Destiny." This was the only aspect of the story that seemed to stick out as unnecessary, though. Everything else worked together as pieces of a puzzle.

I rather enjoyed the surprise at the ending in which Colonel Montoya asks Dr. Helm what was in the medicine he used to save the residents of Santa Helena. We learn that he was creating salicylic acid from willow bark or to those of us in the 21st century: aspirin. Once, what we consider common played heroic roles in people's lives. Maybe we are overlooking heroes in our everyday lives viewing them as common and trivial. That is definitely our loss.

I give this episode 8 Rapiers and 5 Daggers for telling a great story, teaching me to be aware of the heroes in my life, and reminding me of the value of straight aspirin.


Taram

Queen of Swords episode reviews--Death to the Queen

Death to the Queen

The First and the Best…….

The Queen: "I didn't think you could count!



"Death to the Queen," though it was the second episode of the series, was the first episode of Queen of Swords filmed. Oddly enough, it only aired once in the United States. (I believe it was shown at least eight times in the Phillipines.) This possibly could have been due to a line uttered by Valentine Pelka as "Col. Montoya." While holding the Queen's top, found by "Captain Grisham," he speaks of "the skin of the fox." In Spanish the word for "fox" is "zorro," and unfortunately all through the Queen's initial North American run she and her were creators were dogged by copyright/trademark lawsuits including one by those who own "Zorro." (I was even contacted by one of Sony Studio's lawyers to make a statement against "Queen of Swords" -- which I refused to do.) The lawsuit by the owners of "Zorro" TM was eventually dismissed, but it worked to limit any progress the "Queen of Swords" could have made into the landscape of television.

Even though this episode only "officially" appeared once in the initial run in the U.S. and Canada, it is considered the best episode by the few who remain as diehard followers of the Queen. This episode was filmed first in order to give actors time to know one another. This way, when "Tessa" and "Marta" interacted with each other in the first episode, they could look like they knew each other. The episode, also, introduced the character of "Dr. Helm" played by Peter Wingfield and set up the love-hate relationship between he and the Queen.

In "Death to the Queen," men are disappearing. Eventually Tessa learns that men are being taken to a gold mine run by Col. Montoya in order to dig for gold so that he can buy a cannon and thereby establish greater control of the area. She follows a group of abducted men into a canyon and is shot off her horse by Captain Grisham's men waiting to ambush her. She is wounded and cornered at the top of a cliff. Rather than surrendering to Grisham she falls off the cliff. (It is interesting to note that four different women played the Queen in that one scene.)Grisham's men search the beach and find her top. (We are never told how she loses her top, but after reading the shooting script, I learned that she survived the fall, hid in a cove, and took off her top and pushed it into the ocean-away from herself-in order to throw the troops off her track.) Montoya is thrilled to get the blouse, but demands that Grisham find the Queen. Meanwhile Grisham tells his married girlfriend "Vera," that the Queen is dead. Vera in turn shares the news with Marta who is devestated to learn that the girl she raised has died.

Back at the beach, the soldiers searching the beach see the Queen's topless body and approach it. She wakes up, beats up one soldier, and throws the other off his horse which she then rides back to town. There she hides in her Hacienda and surprises the very relieved Marta. Marta probes the wound and we realize that, though, not deadly, it is serious.

That night, Tessa goes to a party in Dr. Helm's honor where her wound starts to bleed. The blood is smeared on a wall and discovered by Montoya who decides to look for the Queen by having Dr. Helm examine all the women in attendance for a wound. To save her friend, Marta breaks a glass in her hand and says she said nothing because she knew servants were not allowed to drink. Dr. Helm takes her to his office and bandages her wound. There Marta reads his palm and sees his bloody past.

The next day Vera comes to visit the Alvarado Hacienda where she tells of her groom being taken to the mines. Tessa speaks with Vera's husband, "Don Gaspar Hidalgo," to ask about the mines. While they talk, the dead body of one of Tessa's servants is brought into town. Tessa looks at the dirt on the body and in a matched shot we see the Queen's gloved hand looking at the dirt around the mine.

The men at the mine are very sick so Col. Montoya sends Dr. Helm to the camp. While there, the Queen's presence becomes apparent. A sergeant lines up five men and tells the Queen that if she doesn't show herself he will kill five men. In a dramatic moment, the Queen surrenders. The Sergrant ties her to a stake. The doctor notices that she is bleeding. In order to get close to her, he tells the Sergrant that he has to help her so she will be alive for Montoya when he arrives. The sergeant surrenders to this logic and allows the doctor to approach the tightly bound, wounded Queen. As the doctor bandages the Queen's open wound, she tells him "Don't bother," because Montoya will just kill her later. The doctor slides up behind her and said he was helping in order to.....he cuts the ropes binding her wrists.

Montoya and Grisham ride up to the mine thrilled at his capture. At the same time, the Queen breaks free, bonks a guard on the head, and hides in the mine. The sergeant goes in after her. She captures him and empties blasting powder on the way out of the mine. As they exit the mine she tosses a lantern on the powder, blows up the mine, escapes, and ends Montoya's need to kidnap men to work in the mine. With the help of Dr. Helm, the Queen of Swords saved the day.

This was Tessie Santiago's first appearance as a professional actress. Her delivery of lines continued to improve with time, but her actions and reactions in this episode showed that she was the perfect choice to play the Queen of Swords and Tessa Alvarado. Valentine Pelka was a delicious bad guy, Anthony Lemke was handsome and sexy, Peter Wingfield's smile will melt the heart of the hardest viewer and Paulina Gálvez played the role of supportive (and WISER) friend with great aplomb. The story, the writing, and Jon Cassar's direction was excellent. The stunts and stuntwork were phenomenal. The only flaw in the episode was leaving out the scene that explained how the Queen lost her top between the top of the cliff and the beach. I eventually saw one of the eraly scripts and there was an explanation, but without that segment the story was slightly confusing. My favorite aspect of this episode, which made it my favorite of all the episodes made, was the choice made by Tessa AND the Queen to sacrifice herself for the good of strangers who were "weaker" and less fortunate than her. That is the sign of a true hero!

Viva La Reina de Espadas!

I give this episode 9 Rapiers and 5 Daggers for an absolutely fun story that I enjoy watching again and again.

Taram

July 29, 2003

Queen of Swords episode reviews--Destiny

Originally published at TVTome

Destiny

Choices

Torres: "A flick of the wrist and I could kill you."



…and with that single opening line is set the tone for each of the 22 episodes of QUEEN of SWORDS. Characters utter marvelously, memorable lines in each episode, though this line is not one of them. No, this line is uttered by Tessa Alvarado's fencing master and friend in Spain played by series swordmaster Anthony DeLongis who went on to play her mortal foe in California, Krane, in the later episode "The Hanged Man." The line could have been spoken by either the good or the bad DeLongis character and so delineates the persistent resoluteness with which Tessa must lead her public and hidden lives in order to balance her dealings with light and dark/nobility and evil without falling prey to either state.

With that said, let me simply say "Destiny" was a very well crafted piece of television. It was the second episode filmed in the series in order to give the actresses playing Marta ( Paulina Gálvez) and Tessa ( Tessie Santiago) the opportunity to interact for awhile and better appear as if the characters had been together for ten years while Tessa grew up. This was a wise move on the producers' part as it worked.

The costumes were beautiful, the setting in Almeira, Spain to represent early California was perfect, and even the men's hairstyles stood out as exceptional. (I don't think I have ever seen a series where the men always had such fine looking hair.)

The three best aspects of this episode were the direction, the writing, and the editing. The writing and the direction worked closely together. As Tessa made discoveries and choices, the audience was introduced to all of the various characters who would play a major role in the series except for Dr. Helm ( Peter Wingfield ) to whom we are introduced in the second episode. Each choice moved the plot forward and, quite often with a single word or phrase, the action would segue to another part of the story. In addition, Tessa's choices would introduce us to characters to be used in the story. For example when Tessa decides to go home, she meets Captain Marcus Grisham (Anthony Lemke) soon after her return. When she learns (from Marta ) to flatter rather than argue, we meet Colonel Luis Ramirez Montyoya ( Valentine Pelka ) at a bizarre afternoon celebration ocurring just opposite of an execution. When she decides to seek information, we meet Don Gaspar Hidalgo ( Tacho González ) who acts both as a friend and as an obstacle. All of these are characters pertinet to the continuation of the story. Tessa had to make 8 MAJOR decisions in this episode. This was a lot to fit into 43 minutes, but the writer and director made this happen and did it well. As Tessa made these decisions, they became part of her fabric to make her the Queen of Swords, so though she had more than one persona, she was still just one person. Again, nice writing and storytelling.

The introduction of Colonel Montoya, in which we first see him playing a slow, haunting, violin solo in his rose garden, was prime work. The melody alone suggested the treachery behind his apparent gentility. I also enjoyed the introduction of the Queen of Swords through the dream and spirit world. I thought the use of Tessa's father's own wine, "Santa Rita," as the liquid gold that opened the door to Tessa's future as the Queen of Swords to be quite ingenious. For, you see, in the Roman Catholic Church, St. Rita/Santa Rita is the patron saint of the impossible – an apt description of the task facing Tessa as the Queen . The sword that had been in Tessa's family "for generations," the use of her mother's shawl for the mask, and the painting of her as a child referring to Tessa as her father's angel (to which he referred to her in Tessa ‘s dream) brought her life, and the story, full circle. In her dream about her father, Don Rafael Alvarado (played by José Sancho) tells his daughter that she would "never (be) alone" and, with these instruments of her family's past, their history would always be with her as the Queen of Swords . Finally, the matched shots of Colonel Montoya on one balcony speaking of being a "good shepherd" to the people, his sheep, while the Queen appears opposite him on the church roof asking him if this good shepherding takes place before or after he leads his sheep to slaughter was dramatic and accentuated that good and evil can look and sound the opposite of what conventional wisdom expects – a major point in this series, and in everyday life today.

Again the editing was marvelous. The interspersing of scenes of cultured flamenco dance with the execution of Don Alvarado's man servant Carlos, just feet away worked perfectly. The drumming sound built up the excitement of the moment while the simultaneous final strike of the feet with the gunshots followed by total silence accentuated the terror of the man's sudden murder. This technique was effectively used other times such as Don Alvarado's death taking place while Tessa learns to defend from death with her fencing master and when Marta read cards predicting the birth of the Queen of Swords while Tessa met her father in a dream in which he urged her to become the Queen of Swords . Perhaps my favorite bits of editing were those involving swordplay. In order to make the actors look like expert swordsmen, an experienced sword double would play opposite the actor whose face was on screen. This way the sword double could make the actor look good. In this episode, the phenomenal and multi-talented Roberta Brown performed as sword double for Tessie Santiago while Anthony Delongis (the same Anthony DeLongis mentioned above) worked as sword double for Anthony Lemke. The editing was so flawless, that unless one knew this was being done and looked very hard for either of the doubles, one could easily believe that it was Ms. Santiago and Mr. Lemke, alone, dueling to the death. Though we only ever see the sword doubles' backs, they are well worth mentioning as they were a major part of this series. Regarding the swordplay, the double' and triple' in which the Queen and Grisham engaged in the jail added to the strained relationship between them. It was as if there was an odd chemistry between the two swordslingers and they did not want to see their bout end. Future episodes built upon this only slightly.

The executive producer of the series and series creator, David Abramowitz, worked as a producer on HIGHLANDER: THE SERIES . So, many actors who appeared in QUEEN OF SWORDS are familiar from that "family." As a member of that familiar group, Mr. Pelka beautifully portrated the evil yet handsome Colonel Montoya. Ms. Santiago, Mr. Lemke, and Ms. Gálvez are new to Mr. Abramowitz' production clan. None-the-less, they did well in this opening episode. Ms. Gálvez as a beautiful, yet older and wiser friend, was subtle enough to be thouroughly enjoyed without upstaging Ms. Santiago as the lead. I appreciated Mr. Lemke's knowing glances and facial smirks. Being Ms. Santiago's first acting job, she was a bit raw around the edges in her performances, but this rawness gave her performance believability as a vulnerable young woman who wanted revenge. This made her a very strong lead. She was an excellent choice to play the demanding role of Tessa / María Teresa Alvarado /Queen of Swords .

I was always sorry that the series was not allowed to come to a conclusion (and I was especially saddened that it did not continue after one season). It was a story that allowed me to see the old desert southwest as a place where something exciting and filled with imagination could have taken place. The series was the first piece of "normal" television that aired after non-stop televised horror and sadness, 24/7, following September 11th, 2001 It was a series that gave hope and joy to many people and continues to inspire masses around the world as it is sold in syndication. So, if you ever get a chance to catch an episode of QUEEN OF SWORDS on this continent or any other, jump at the chance and ENJOY!!!

I give this episode 8 Rapiers and 2 Daggers for an excellent beginning that helped me understand the story and want to see more episodes.


Taram

July 28, 2003

The Queen's reviews & Juan Diego

Today is the Feast Day of St. Juan Diego. Juan Diego is the fifty something man who was walking over a mountain on the way to mass one morning in the 1500's in what is now Mexico City (then called Tepeyac Hill) and met the Queen of Heaven, the Blessed Virgin Mary (a.k.a. the mother of Jesus Christ). She told him that he and all the people of Mexico (and the world) are her children and she loves him. They met on a number of occasions at that spot. To help Juan Diego convince other people, including the local bishop, that she is our Queen in heaven and our mother, too, she placed Castillian roses (which only grew in Spain and were the bishop's favorite flower) on his cape or tilde. Remember that this was the middle of winter in middle Mexico and it was cold, so roses wouldn't have been growing then even if they were indigenous to the area. When Juan Diego showed his tilde to the bishop, the bishop dropped to his knees because under the Castillian roses was an indelible image of the Queen of Heaven, The bishop built a church on the site of Mary's appearance to Juan Diego. People still go there to see Juan Diego's tilde with the Queen of Heaven's painting of herself. As a result of this event, Mexico rapidly became a Catholic country.

In the fictional world of the 1817 Queen of Swords, this heroine openly practiced her Catholic faith.

For a few years, I wrote television reviews for a now defunct website called TVTome. When another company purchased the website, the rights to my reviews did not go to the new company, but returned to me. I never finished writing all my planned reviews for the Queen of Swords, but I would like to see those that I did write still out in the open. So, today, I will start adding my reviews of the series Queen of Swords, an earthly heroine Queen who honored the Queen of Heaven.

Stay tuned!

Feast of the Immaculate Conception

Well, it has been almost 12 months since my last post....now that is the way to lose faithful readers, but thank you Loren Paul for your kind comments. I checked out your site and really liked it.

Well, carrying on with the theme of Life According to the Queen, I wanted to say hello on this important feast day for Mary, Queen of Heaven. Today, December 8th, is the day Roman Catholics celebrate the Feast of her Immaculate Conception. That is when she was conceived without the stain of original sin brought on by our first parents Adam and Eve when they denied God's wisdom in the Garden of Eden. (That is my theology lesson for today.)

Life has been rather rough with all the weirdness of my last post. All the people who did not like the speed of my emails or how I ran one of my lists left my world together on December 31st. The ringlet of discontent tried to organize a mass exit from the lists, but, of 125 list members, only 3 left. I learned to try and listen to others, but to ultimately go with my own conscience. Gee after all these years, you would have thought I had known that.

My mom got cancer, so I spent the summer looking for an experimental drug to fight this cellular demon. I found it and this little pill has shrunken the tumours. So far so good, but everything is still wait and see since the drug takes such a physical toll on her. I miss getting to talk with her when I have problems at work since she has to rest so much, but when I do get to talk to her, I cherish our talks more than I ever did. That has been a good outcome of this stressful time--for me at least.

I watched the NBC and then the CBS movies about Pope John Paul II these past two weeks. The CBS version was especially true to what I remember about the Pope's pontificate--especially his last few days. It especially reminded me that in addition to my beloved mother on Earth, I have a mother in heaven and, as mother of Christ, she is Queen of Heaven. Life lessons according to this Queen seem to be: wait, pray, and remember that I am not alone. That is good to remember these days. So today, on this Feast Day, I not only remember it, but I seem to feel it just a little bit more. As Pope John Paul II said, "Totus Tuus" and "Be Not Afraid." Those thoughts are meant for you, too, dear reader.