Wizards and Warriors
"Wizards and Warriors"
is a sword and
sorcery comedy adventure television series which aired on network television in
1983. A precursor to such popular shows today as "Hercules" and "Xena," Wizards and
Warriors combined a medieval time period complete with knights and wizards and
mystical creatures with modern-day commentary and humor.
The story behind the series takes place on the continent of Aperans, which is
currently involved in a civil war between the northern region of Karteia and the
southern region of Camarand. The northern forces are ruled by the evil Prince
Dirk Blackpool, assisted (somewhat) by the wizard Vector. Blackpool also has the
wicked witch Bethel in his corner and coerces her into stealing Vector's
monocle, the source of his magic. Vector is naturally upset, and while not
plotting with Blackpool to overthrow his southern enemies, is trying to kill the
prince so that his monocle will be returned to him. Blackpool is also joined by
his younger brother Geoffrey, who, while managing to do a passable job leading
the troops, is highly lacking in the brains department.
The southern forces are led by King Edwin Baaldorf and the rather decrepit good wizard Traquill. Baaldorf is joined in his fight by Prince Erik Greystone, the heir to all Camarand. Erik is engaged (sort of) to the king's ditzy daughter, Ariel, and is assisted by his trusty vassal Marko, the strongest man in the kingdom who can also talk to animals. Erik's playboy brother Justin also drops by from time to time to help out, as long as it doesn't interrupt a card game or a rendezvous with the famous Winslow sisters. Erik and his friends are constantly on the defensive, trying to save the south from all manners of weapons and monsters and ghouls thrown at them by the evil forces of the north.
Duncan Regehr plays Prince Dirk Blackpool.
Notes: The costumer for this series, Theodora Van Runkle, won an emmy for her costume creations for the episode "Dungeon of Death," and the hair stylist, Sharleen Rassi, was nominated (but didn't win) for her work in "The Rescue. " Also of note is that some of the battle scenes in almost every episode was borrowed from stock footage of the Warner Brothers' "Excaliber," (IMDB). The creaky black leather outfit Duncan wore for most of the episodes was reused in an episode of "Alien Nation."
Make allowances for the very dated special effects and you will enjoy this gem of a television show. If you are a fan of Duncan's because of Zorro and you haven't seen Wizards and Warriors, you'll be amazed at his portrayal of the ultimate bad guy. He makes it difficult for one to root for the good guys to win. If any series was ever "ahead of its time," this is it!
(This series is not available commercially, but it is now easier to find bootleg versions than it was a few years ago. The quality is not wonderful, but this series is so good, it is well worth putting up with the poor prints just to see it. There are both two and four DVD set versions available. There is a different look to the two. Mostly it just appears the four DVD set has more intense color. The clarity is about the same, but there are some advertisements and lead in ads on the four DVD set.)