essa 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 imminent return, but is devastated to hear 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, this new offering shares 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.
