Princess Gwenevere & The Jewel Riders - Season 3

Princess Gwenevere & the Jewel Riders (PGJR, also known outside of North America as Starla & the Jewel Riders, and sometimes misspelled as "Princess Guinevere") revives its third season. An American comic fantasy-themed animated children's television series produced by Bohbot Productions and Hasbroin association with Hong Ying Animation. It was internationally syndicated by Bohbot Entertainment in the version where the title character renamed to Starla. The series was primarily aimed for girls and had two seasons of thirteen episodes each in 1995–1996; a third season was reportedly planned in fall 1998, but then it was apparently cancelled.

The plot follows the quest of a young princess of Avalon, Gwenevere (Starla), and her friends, Fallon and Tamara, to find and secure the scattered enchanted jewels to stop the evil sorceress Lady Kale from taking over the kingdom, restore harmony in magic, and bring the banished Merlin home. In the second season, the Jewel Riders receive more powers and new costumes to battle the returning Kale and the mighty Morgana for more magical jewels that also need to be kept out the grasp of dark forces.

Jewel Riders is in many ways similar to The Adventures of the Galaxy Rangers and both series 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 to some American cartoons. Although writers were divided on the show, it was a hit in France and later became the basis for the novel series and upcoming filmAvalon: Web of Magic.

Premise
The show's action is set in the legendary island of Avalon, here portrayed as a fairy tale style utopia that keeps its magic in check by the seven Crown Jewels of the Kingdom, each representing an area of the realm. The series takes place after a thousand years[6]passed since the good wizard Merlin's initial victory over the witch queen Morgana. In the original version of the show, the title character has her name similar with Arthur's wife, Guinevere; other Arthurian characters include Merlin and Lady of the Lake.[7][8][9]Mentored by the ageless Merlin, the Jewel Riders are the young female champions of goodness and magical guardians of NewCamelot, who uphold the laws of the peaceful land and defend its people for generations. But when evil threatens Avalon and with their teacher Merlin suddenly gone, the trio of Jewel Riders, the kingdom's traditional teen defenders, aided by their animal friends, are tasked with recovering the mystical Enchanted Jewels that are essential for controlling 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 unique powers, are allowing them to "ride" safely the tunnels through the 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, a teenage male trio of wolf-riding Knights of Avalon wielding the Forest Stones. The protagonists contend with the ruthless Lady Kale, a 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] 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 fight off the forces of darkness and to contain the growing chaos in the magic.

Characters
The titular trio of teenage Jewels Riders consist of Gwenevere/Starla (voiced by Kerry Butler in the first season and Jean Louisa Kelly in the second season), whose Special Friend is the winged unicorn Sunstar (voiced by Deborah Allison), and her friends: Fallon (voiced by Deborah Allison), riding Moondance the unicorn princess (Barbara Jean Kearney), and Tamara (voiced by Laura Dean), who in the second season gets the "zebracorn" Shadowsong (voiced by Henry Mandell).[8] Each of their jewels has different magical abilities and their own colors and corresponding gemstones of various powers, also allowing them to communicate with their animals.

The series' main villain is initially Lady Kale (voiced by Corinne Orr, who also voiced Kale's good sister Queen Anya), Gwen's aunt who has become an "outlaw princess" and now uses magic for evil. She is aided by her animals: Grimm the dragon (voiced by Peter Fernandez) and a duo of small dweasel[6] creatures named Rufus and Twig (voiced by John Beach Voiceguy and Henry Mandell, respectively). The prime antagonist in the second season is Morgana (voiced by Deborah Allison), with Kale reduced to basically her insubordinate sidekick.

Gwenevere and her friends are aided by the Merlin's talking owl named Archie (voiced by John Beach Voiceguy). In their missions, the Jewel Riders are sometimes assisted by the Pack, led by Gwen's aspiring boyfriend Drake (voiced by John Beach Voiceguy) and consisting of 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.