“Enchanted Camelot” Script

Get your copy here and read along!  Or read along online!

For those that aren’t aware, just as Avalon: WoM was based on Jewel Riders, the 90s cartoon in turn went through several concept phases.  Recently, I was able to acquire a script of one of these drafts.  There are many, many differences between what we saw on the screen in “Jewel Quest” and this early draft called “The Enchanted Quest.”  Below, I’ll outline the differences as we read along.

• First off, the name of the show!  Somewhere along the way, the title of  the show changed from “Enchanted Camelot” to “Princess Gwenevere and the Jewel Riders.”

• Also, there’s no New Camelot, it’s just plain Camelot.

• Gwen’s name is spelled with the more traditional “Guinevere” instead of the phonetically-spelled “Gwenevere.”  She’s still called “Gwen” throughout the script though.

• Gwen originally had a younger sister named Tara!

• Tamara was originally going to be named “Melody.”

  • Cleo was the same, but Spike was called “Rusty” and Sugar called “Samantha.”

• Fallon was originally going to be named “Alexandra” or “Alex”

  • Also, Moondance was originally named the somewhat generic “Midnight.”

• The Dweezles were originally just plain “weasel stooges” for Kale.

• Sunstar was originally going to be golden colored and named “Amber.”

• The Pack had huge differences!

  • Josh, Thunder, Shadow and Stormrunner were the only ones who went unchanged.

  • Drake was originally known as “Shawn.”

  • Max was originally “Thomas.”

  • And there was a fourth pair!  “Brand” the rider and “Blazer” the wolf!

• Anya was “Angelene” and Wintermane was described as a white tiger.

• Kale originally finds the Dark Stone in a magical pool surrounded by crystalline trees and foliage.  She tunes the magic to herself by grabbing it away from an image of Merlin she sees in the water.

  • Interestingly, the magic of the Dark Stone is green here instead of the purple it ended up being in the show.  It reminds me of the Dark Sorceress’s magic in Avalon: Web of Magic

• Tamara has only had the Heart Stone (“Heart Crystal” here) a week!

• In this continuity, Merlin didn’t make the jewels – they’re formed by  the wild magic of the land when “over time, magical energies become compressed and form into Jewels.”  Interestingly, only some of these jewel allow for human/animal bonding.  These jewels are then used by the pairs to turn wild magic to good.

  • I’m already curious about the possibilities of jewels other than Enchanted Jewels now!  Also, jewel are basically like the Avalon equivalent of coal becoming diamonds over a really long time.

• Tamara’s original purpose is to use her animal communication abilities to select groups of animals that have high probability of bonding with humans via Enchanted Jewels.

• Merlin is trapped in his bubble not by a deer apparition, but by a green cat.

• Kale wears her Dark Stone on a necklace! (Talk about bling!)

• The Crown Jewel here are known as the “Ten Stones of the Kingdom.”

• Kale doesn’t just throw Merlin into the Wild Magic, she full on vaporizes him into “Wizard Pixie Dust!”

• The Crystal Carriage was the “Crystal Camper” and was pulled by two horses instead of the bear-wolf.

• Merlin’s cottage originally had a planetarium – very similar to the Ravenswood house in Avalon: Web of Magic!

• Alex (Fallon) carried a sword!

• Archie could only speak telepathically like the other magical animals, and Melody had to tell the others what he was saying.

• The Heart Crystal is extra sensitive to Wild Magic, and that is what allows Melody to talk to multiple animals (and its also extra difficult to control per Archie).

• Alexandra and Midnight combine their two halves of the Moon Stone to make the “magic bullet” that allows them to catch up to Kale.

• Kale blasts “Rusty” with dark magic as he tries to prevent her from getting into the Dragon Wagon instead of taking a shot aimed at Tamara/Melody.

• The Pack also form force shields by connecting their two halves of the jewels.

• A “Dark Stone” is simply a jewel untuned by Merlin instead of the specific jewel.

• The Pack uses their Forest Stones to send messages through the trees.

• Heh, Shawn uses “Facets!” as a swear word!

• Lots of magic is described as using “webs” of interconnected magical power.  Early reference to the Web of Magic?

  • Also, generally the magic in webs are “conducted” by an individual.

• When Kale opens the jewel box, the Ten Stones form a magical “matrix” in which Merlin appears.

  • He states that by giving up his Key, he broke his ties to the physical world and entered the matrix.  When Kale tries to place her Dark Stone into the matrix, it explodes and sends the Ten Stones scattering.

• Names for the three gossiping nobles!  Lord Arville, Lady Newton, and Lord Drebin!

• Different animals presented to Gwen: White Tiger, Bronze Kirin, and Peacock Griffin.

• Merlin appears in a cloud of golden magic after Gwen gets the Sun Stone.  He says he now exists in the “spiritual plane, flowing within the wild magic of Camelot.”

• Things not present in this edition of the script:

  • Travel Trees (hinted at with crystalline bushes, though!) and Riding the Wild Magic.

  • Avalon.  Gwen is always referred to the Princess of Camelot.

 
The show would have been similar, but very different!  I’m curious if there would have been a larger tie-in with the Arthurian legends if this version had gone forward.  I’m curious if Tara would have gotten a jewel, and what possibilities having a fourth Pack member would have meant for the show.

And now I really want to write fic based on this version. XD