Tessa, à la pointe de l'épée

First off, I just want to make it known that I adored this show! I don't even remember my first time watching it. All I remember is seeing an ad for it, then months passing without seeing a full-length show, then channel surfing to find a masked woman in black sword-fighting soldiers. That got my attention and held it for the rest of the series. Sure, it's basically Zorro only with a lead female instead of a male, but it was (and still is) a joy to watch! The scripts were original and clever, the costumes were beautiful, and the landscape was just stunning! The fights were also done well, as were the shots of the actors on horseback (I'm a horse-lover, so I noticed this).

The big problem with it was the dialogue between characters. Some of it was clichéd, other times absurd. But then most of the time, it was it was decent. Sometimes I knew the next lines before the actors themselves said them. Despite that, the show was engaging and the characters were likable, even the villains: you just loved to hate them and see their plans get foiled. Tessie Santiago and Peter Wingfield had such great chemistry together that I wish the series could have gone on just to see what would come of their relationship (especially since I have a somewhat unhealthy crush on Wingfield).

This show was robbed by being cancelled after only one season, and I'm just glad that I managed to record most of the episodes before it stopped airing frequently on SiTV. I will always love this show!

!Viva la Reina!

After ghostbusters, it seems that rebooting a successful franchise with a female lead, doesn't guarantee its success. Yet this is exactly what happened with the 'Queen of swords'. Having grown up with the old Zorro series starring Duncan Regehr, this one seems to be aimed at a slightly older audience, he antagonists aren't true stereotypical cartoon characters as much, sometimes posing a real threat and actually killing people; but nothing overly violent. For what it is, an 80s-like show aiming for some swashbuckling entertainment, it couldn't have been executed better. It's a little more layered and fleshed out than the original Zorro series, but not so deep as to abandon its fun concept. A great job, reaching a well deserved 7/10, the maximum I'll give for the genre.

Queen Of Swords was an excellent syndicated TV series that was basically the adventures of a female Zorro, but was unique on its own. Sadly, this show only lasted one season (2000-2001) and was caught in the battle of syndication ratings from other shows like Sheena, Xena: Warrior Princess, Beastmaster, Relic Hunter, Andromeda, etc. Not garnering enough viewers, the show was cancelled by its producer, Fireworks Entertainment.

This show had excellent writing, great action/stunts, wonderful 19th-century costume designs, and a remarkable cast of talented stars, along with some well established actors & actresses making guest starring roles during its run. The series was filmed entirely on location in Almeria, Spain. This, of course, made for excellent scenery.

The big surprise was the show's main lead herself, Tessie Santiago, who played Tessa Alvarado/Queen Of Swords. This was her first professional acting work, and she really showed that she is a talented (and beautiful) actress, and that she can carry a series. I hope that she has a successful acting career in the many years to come.

A beautiful raven haired Vixen rules the screen. Unlike the leather clad Xeena, this Heroine come along elegant and beautifully dressed. The best in feminine power. The womens fashion of this period was extremely sexy, only to be surpassed in the 50's. The Heroine represent's it so well. Having her men (adversaries) well under control, fooling them at every turn. Elusive but not non approachable. I would have liked an more mature-adult version, but this version can be viewed by the whole family. Still, I give it an 8 out of 10 stars, just for good viewing pleasure. I would buy the complete set, if made available on DVD. And I was very disappointed, when the series was discontinued. I still would say: Go Girl Go ! I loved it.

I love the new ZORRO babe, she will definitely run Xena out of town. Original story lines, really adds allure this soon to be made classic. If only the original writers of ZORRO could come up with such outrageous materiel, maybe then it would not have been cancelled. Despite the wonderful script, and character development, at least there is a babe!!!