Kokomo Tribune Entertainment NOW
Issue link: http://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/373063
TV Media Weekly
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Aug. 30 - Sept. 5, 2014
in the Fates challenge. Christian
Sochor triumphed in the inaugural
Fates challenge, leaving his team-
mates Patrick Higgins and Katie
Smaluk to the mercy of the other
Paladins, each of whom had to
choose which fellow hero to save.
Patrick garnered the most support
from his companions, making Ka-
tie return her piece of the Sunspear
as she became the first to be elimi-
nated.
Following their training session,
the Paladins are invited to an audi-
ence with the ruler of Sanctum,
Queen Ralia (Susanne Gschwendt-
ner, "The Fairy Who Stole Eyes,"
2006). After their conversation is
interrupted by an injured soldier,
the queen decides danger is close
and the heroes need some intense
training. The competitors partici-
pate in a tournament on horse-
back, taking on a variety of differ-
ent combat styles and weapons.
In the second challenge, it is
Shondo Blades who comes out on
top and receives the Mark of Dex-
terity. Ashley Guerrero and Jim Cur-
ry end up in the bottom three, join-
ing Christian, who is in danger of
elimination for a second time. Jim
saves himself in the Fates chal-
lenge, and the Paladins decide to
save Christian, banishing Ashley
back to our world.
By Jacqui Wiens
TV Media
T
he line between reality and
non-reality television has al-
ways been a bit blurry. The
genre has been plagued
with accusations of scripting inter-
actions, coercing their subjects into
taking atypical actions and even
predetermining the outcomes of
various shows.
ABC's recent venture into the re-
ality genre is sending up smoke
signals that obscure the line alto-
gether, as "The Quest" takes 12
brave Paladins into the mystical
Everealm, where being knighted is
more than a formality and where
ogres, dragons and dark lords loom
menacingly. Step inside the adven-
ture as the Paladins fight to free
Everealm when a new episode of
"The Quest" airs Thursday, Sept. 4,
on ABC.
Dragons? In a reality series? It
does seem absurd at first glance,
but while the contestants — called
Paladins — will be interacting with
actors, their actions and abilities
will determine the eventual "one
true hero" who will take on the evil
Verlox to save Everealm. "The
Quest" is an ambitious series that
aims to seamlessly merge our
world with a fantastical realm. The
imaginary world is inhabited by
various species pulled from the
pages of fantasy novels, as well as
the essential castle full of good hu-
mans sheltered from the evils of
the outside world.
At the start of the series, the he-
roes arrive in Everealm and are
greeted by the Fates, the mysteri-
ous beings who summoned the
Paladins from our world to save
the magical dimension. The Fates
— played by Stephanie Budden-
brock ("Risse im Beton," 2014),
Florence Kasumba ("Tatort") and
Mai Duong Kieu ("Roughtown,"
2014) — reveal that their world is
under siege by a dark being known
as Verlox (Doug Tait, "Pair of
Kings"), and 11 of the 12 king-
doms have already fallen under
the might of his onslaught.
The heroes venture to the final
free kingdom, led by Crio the
Dreamer (Jan Hutter, "Joyeux
Noel," 2005), arriving at Castle
Sanctum to hear the history of
"The Quest" from the Grand Vizier
(Marcello De Nardo, "My Best Ene-
my," 2011), chief among the
queen's advisers.
As the Grand Vizier explained, a
similar group of 12 heroes defeat-
ed Verlox 1,000 years ago using
the Sunspear. Verlox was banished
back then, but has since made his
way back to Everealm. The new
Paladins each received a piece of
the Sunspear from the Fates and
must now train and compete
amongst themselves in order to
become the one true hero.
The morning after their arrival at
Castle Sanctum, the Paladins are
sent to the training yard under the
watchful eye of Sir Ansgar (Peter
Windhofer, "Silk Road," 2008),
head of the Royal Army. Working in
teams of three, the champions use
their skills and teamwork to take
down fake enemies. Bonnie Gor-
don, one of the Paladins from the
winning team, was nominated by
her teammates and awarded the
Mark of Leadership, the first of the
small badges the contestants will
wear to indicate they won a chal-
lenge.
Back on the reality side of this
fantasy series, the losing team of
three must eliminate one of their
members. As with all the future
challenges, the competitors receive
one last chance to save themselves
Marcello De Nardo and Susanne Gschwendtner star in
"The Quest"
By the fates
Reality and fantasy collide in an ambitious 'Quest'
2
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Cover story
CHANNEL GUIDE
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