Guinevere Jones
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Guinevere Jones is a Canadian/Australian fantasy television series and a series of four novels. It revolves around the adventures of the title character as she uses magic to fight evil, while at the same time dealing with problems and difficulties of high school. The show debuted in Canada on May 4, 2002 on YTV and ten days later in Australia. It ran for twenty-six episodes over two seasons.
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[edit] Television Show
Elizabeth Stewart created the television show. Both seasons aired in 2002.
[edit] Episodes
There are a total of twenty-six episodes, with thirteen in each season. Each episode has a self-contained little plot, but there are also several story arcs stretching across multiple episodes. Indeed, most episodes start with both a teaser and a "Last Time on Guinevere Jones..." plot review. The last three episodes are direct continuations of each other and are like a miniature serial.
[edit] Season 1
Season 1 Aired in May, June, and July of 2002.
1.1 Hard Rain
The series opener. Running from sinister things in Canada, Gwen and her mother move to suburban Melbourne. Gwen's Mom is declared insane and is put in a hospital. Gwen is put in foster care. She meets Merlin and finds out that she is the reincarnation of Guinevere and learns that her true destiny is to fight evil.
1.2 Psyched
People in St. James' Hospital are seeing things. Gwen and her Mom see them too.
1.3 That Old Black Magic
Morgana kidnaps Tasha. Josh and Gwen must rescue her.
1.4 Ordinary Evil
Gwen is removed from Harve and Louise's foster care. She believes that she may have inadvertently cast a spell to cause that.
1.5 Weird Sisters
During a rehearsal for a school production of MacBeth, Gwen starts to see visions of the future. They start coming true. Meanwhile, her pendant goes missing, and Reine develops a crush on Josh.
1.6 Dybbukkin
A mischievous demon possesses Spencer. Reine finds out that Gwen can do magic.
1.7 First Date
Josh and Gwen start falling in love.
1.8 Warwe and Mineer
A magical rock with Aborigine paintings and magical powers traps Spencer inside.
1.9 Love Hurts
This is the first episode with Michael. Tasha has a crush on him, and tries to get Gwen to cast a love spell on him. It goes wrong.
1.10 The Dryad
A dryad named Fern lives in the huge tree near the glade where Gwen meets Merlin. The tree is due to be cut down by a company owned by Reine's father.
1.11 Solo Act
Michael's father bribes the school so Michael will make the basketball team. However, that is exactly what Michael does not want. Meanwhile, Gwen finds that there is something Magical about Michael.
1.12 Shadows
Gwen manages to get Gadowain to stop following Michael around while invisible, but now he can't leave Tasha's shop and starts eating all of the snacks.
1.13 Choices
A woman named Amanda enters Gwen's life and provides proof that she is her Aunt. However, there is something disturbing about Amanda.
[edit] Season 2
Season 2 aired in September, October, November, and December of 2002.
2.1 Lost and Found
2.2 Time Cuts
Tasha sees Black Angus, an evil dog that dooms everyone who sees it to death. Using a faerie device, Gwen goes back in time to prevent anyone from seeing it.
2.3 Detention
While studying time capsules left behind by a class long ago, Gwen and Tasha discover find a horrible secret about a teacher who disappeared fifty years go.
2.4 Wishes
Using an artifact, Josh wishes for Gwen's love. His wish comes true and Gwen loves him... at the cost of everything else.
2.5 Tribes
2.6 Easy Money
Someone casts a spell and tries to frame Gwen for stealing money. Gwen must find the real culprit and contend with an over-zealous police investigator who thinks she is guilty.
2.7 No Place Like Home
This is a partial clip show. Someone casts a spell on Gwen to prevent her from leaving her foster parents' shop. She must find out who did it, why they did it, and how to stop them.
2.8 Bloodlines
Michael's parents are in a car accident. This unleashes a chain of events that leads to him finding out a dark secret about his past.
2.9 Fifi
Spencer accidentally sells his emotions for complete knowledge of the secrets of the universe. Gwen must get them back. Meanwhile, Michael has disappeared.
2.10 Spellbound
No one remembers who Michael is. Gwen must restore people's knowledge of him.
2.11 What Guinevere Knew
Gwen finds the crystal, and exorcises the demon possessing her mother.
2.12 Darkness Falls
While returning Merlin's crystal to its proper place, Gwen loses it to Morgana. Darkness falls across the land.
2.13 Rebellion
The series finale. Gwen learns who Morgana really is, and finds who is her father, and restores the world to its proper order.
[edit] Characters
There are several major characters in the television show and books:
- Gwen Jones is the protagonist. She uses magic to fight evil. She finds out in the first episode that she is the reincarnation of Guinevere from King Arthur's time. Her mother (Karen Jones) was captured by an evil spirit and spent her days in the mental hospital. Gwen was adopted by the Rosens who lived in a shop called New Sage which sell magical stuffs.
- Tasha Myers is Josh's sister. She works at a cafe called the Arc which is frequented by students at the school. She is Gwen's best friend and a great helper in Gwen's fight against evil.
- Josh Myers Tasha's brother. He is very much a foil to his sister. Sometime he acts like a boyfriend to Gwen alongside with Michael.
- Michael Medina is Gwen's friend and sometimes boyfriend. He was unwillingly protected by Gadowain until he used a magical gauntlet to repel the fairy.
- Spencer Huang is a friend of Tasha's.
- Reine Davidson is the primary antagonist of Gwen and her friends. She has some knowledge of magic herself. She has a crush on Josh as well as later on Michal.
- Merlin often offers Gwen advice but is also difficult. He is actually a spirit projecting himself from the past.
- Patrick O'Leary is one of Gwen's teachers at the school. There is somethibg sinister about him is actually Gwens father.
- Gadowain is a troublesome fairy. Micheal's protector.
[edit] Minor characters
These all appear in relatively few episodes or are not very important to the advancement of the overall story arc.
- Fire Bromsky is a member of Reine's gang. Her real name is Frances.
- Wind Winters, whose real name is Winifred Winters, is a member of Reine's gang.
- Morgana La Faye is an evil witch who opposes Gwen and Merlin.
- Penelope Blatt is the Socials teacher.
- Harve Rosen is Gwen's foster father.
- Louise Rosen is Gwen's foster mother.
- Katie Dawson is Gwen's foster sister and in foster care herself.
- Karen Jones is Gwen's mom.
There are other characters, such as one-episode appearers, who are very unimportant or are only relevant in one episode.
[edit] Magic
Based on the discussions in the series, people whose souls have been around for many lifetimes have magical ability. There appears to be a direct relationship between the age of the soul and a character's magic. Gwen, who has had many lifetimes, has powerful magic. Her Mom has some magic but not as much as Gwen. This is specifically discussed in the second episode.
It is specifically mentioned in the fifth episode (Weird Sisters) that objects do not have any magical ability. They just assist the bearer. This does not mean that objects cannot have spells cast on them. For example, the stone from Warwe and Mineer has magic on it.
The glade where Gwen talks to Merlin is near two Ley lines. This allows Gwen to focus her magic better.
[edit] Magical Artifacts
There are several magical items. The most important is a large fluorescent blue gemstone called Merlin's Stone. It is so powerful that it could allow the bearer to become immortal and break away from the endless cycle of death and rebirth. That is the reason Morgana seeks it.
Formed from a tiny piece of the stone is Gwen's pendant. Assists her in using magic. She has used for some of these purposes: erasing memories, influencing the actions of other people, and moving objects through telekinesis, as well as other purposes. The pendant lights up when near Merlin's stone.
In the first episode, Gwen receives a book from an unknown person. In the third episode the book gets destroyed because evil magic is in it.
Eventually, in Rebellion, it is revealed that Merlin's Stone is actually relatively unimportant; Gwen's Pendant is actually more powerful.
[edit] Settings
The majority of the action takes place in several places.
The fictional Griffin High School is where most of the scenes involving school take place. It is casually mentioned in the thirteenth episode that the setting is near Melbourne, Australia.
Near the school is a small forest glade where Gwen can talk to Merlin. Merlin mentions that the glade is near where two ley lines intersect. That is also where Gwen learns much of her magic.
The Arc is the cafe and arcade where Tasha works. It is frequented by other students.
The store Gwen's foster parents run is called The New Sage. It sells herbs. Gwen and her foster family live on the second floor of that same building.
The hospital is called St. James's Hospital.
[edit] Cast and crew
[edit] Cast
- Gwen is played by Canadian actress Tamara Hope.
- Tasha is played by Australian actress Greta Larkins.
- Josh is played by Australian actor Damien Bodie.
- Michael is played by Canadian actor Yani Gellman. Only after Episode 9.
[edit] Frequently Recurring Characters
- Reine is played by Bridget Neval.
- Merlin is played by Ted Hamilton.
- Mr. O'Leary played by Don Halbert.
- Morgana is played by Mercia Deane-Johns.
- Fire Bromsky is played by Vanessa Elliott.
- Gadowain is played by Ian Dixon.
- Wind Winifred Winters is played by Katie Campbell.
- Ms. Blatt is played by Pepe Trevor.
- Spencer is played by Australian actor Algin Abella.
- Katie is played by Madeline Page.
- Louise is played by Briony Behets.
- Harve is played by Dennis Coard.
[edit] Production and Writing
Elizabeth Stewart is the producer and creator of the series.
The show was filmed at St. Hellier's Convent, a 120-year old building and heritage site in Melbourne, Australia.
[edit] Aired On
Guinevere Jones is or was aired on: YTV and several other networks for its initial run. On March 1, 2005, YTV announced that it would be airing reruns of the show during the last half of March through May. In 2005, it appeared on Disney Italy, Nickelodeon UK, Nickelodeon Arabia and France 2.
[edit] Books
The four novels are a direct novelization of the television series.
The first book is called A River Through Time and covers the events from the first fourth of the series. It was written by Sophie Masson.
Book two covers the events of the remainder of the first season. It was written by Felicity Pulman. Its title is Love and Other Magic.
The third book, titled The Dark Side of Magic covers he first part of the second season. It was also written by Pulman.
Book four, also by Masson, is called No Place Like Home. It covers the events from the last part of the second season.
All four books are published by Random House Australia.
[edit] Selected Quotes
- "I told you, my name is Gwen." - Said by Gwen in every opening credit sequence.
- "We all have many lifetimes. We first met when you were King Arthur's queen. Your destiny is magic, Guinevere. Your task is to fight evil." - Said by Merlin in the opening credits.
[edit] References
- TVTome page accessed April 15, 2005
- Official Site accessed April 15, 2005 (Currently "under construction")
- Character Page accessed April 15, 2005 (Currently "under construction")
- Felicity Pulman website accessed July 18, 2005
[edit] External links
- Guinevere Jones at the Internet Movie Database
- Official Site (Currently "under construction")
- Guinevere Jones at YTV
