Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Witch Blade Characters
Characters
Sara Pezzini
A New York City detective, Sara, is a disciplined, tough-talking woman of Italian descent, who first encountered The Witchblade while on a case with her ex-partner, Michael Yee. After both officers were mortally wounded by criminal Ian Nottingham, the entity suddenly left the possession of Nottingham's employer, Kenneth Irons, and gave its power to Sara, healing her wounds. Pezzini has since been thrown into a darker world in which she's encountered a number of mystical opponents and strange cases while hosting The Witchblade. Quite often, she has wished for her life to return to normal.
Eventually, it was revealed that The Witchblade was actually the offspring of the universe's two constants, The Angelus and The Darkness. When Jackie Estacado, the host of The Darkness, was "possessed" by its influence, he impregnated a temporarily comatose Sara as part of an effort to sway The Witchblade's balance. However, neither of them became aware of this until later. Eventually, Sara met and relinquished The Witchblade to Dani Baptiste, whom the entity had a strong affinity toward. Coincidentally, Dani also happened to be the daughter of Sara's police captain. Amidst complications during the birth of her daughter, Hope, Sara's life was saved when she received half of The Witchblade from Dani. During this period, both women bore distinct visual effects when activating the gauntlet. Sara, formerly possessing the half infused with The Darkness, manifested a dark appearance and bat-like wings when flying, while Dani manifested a bright appearance with fairy-like wings during flight.
Sara now possesses the full Witchblade, as Dani is now the host for The Angelus.
Danielle Baptiste
The latest in the long line of bearers, Danielle is an impulsive but goodhearted young dancer who was born in New Orleans. After moving to New York to pursue her career, she experienced a mysterious dream which foretold her destiny. In the vision, she saw herself inheriting great power by means of a mystical gauntlet, though she was told that it would require much discipline to control. Perplexed by the message, Dani found herself taking a walk and wandering to an antique shop the next day. It was there that she encountered Sara Pezinni, the current host of The Witchblade. Having become pregnant, Sara realized that the time had come for her to relinquish the entity. She also noticed that it became quite animated in Dani's presence, constantly reaching out to her. Dani recognized The Witchblade as the same entity from her dream, and offered to relieve Sara of it upon learning what it was. Realizing that Dani was meant to become the next host, Sara relinquished The Witchblade to her.
After receiving possession of the balance, Dani faced a string of challenges in learning to control both it and her emotions. While exploring her power, she also faced and overcame a number of mystical opponents. Eventually, Dani returned half of The Witchblade to Sara in order to save Sara's life following the birth of her child. She currently does not have any portion of the Witchblade, as she is the present host to The Angelus.
The Angelus
The Angelus is a female entity which is the source of all light and order. Throughout history, she has chosen various women on Earth to serve as her host, each of whom are joined in battle by numerous winged soldiers known as Angelus Warriors. Along with The Darkness, The Angelus is one of the two primal forces of the universe that created The Witchblade.
The Darkness
The Darkness is an ancient power dating back beyond human history, the blessed and cursed soul that is chaos and creation that manifests within a male child on the eve of his 21st birthday. Like The Angelus, it is one of the two constants in the universe that created The Witchblade, and has chosen male hosts throughout history.[2] The most well-known host is Jackie Estacado, a mob boss who has had many run-ins with Sara. While under The Darkness' influence, he impregnated a temporarily comatose Sara, which made him the father of her child, Hope.
Magdalena (Patience)
The warrior of the Catholic Church. A direct descendant of Jesus Christ and Mary Magdalene. She possess the Spear of Longinusartifact.
Detective Patrick Gleason
Sara's partner and boyfriend. He is of Irish descent and is a policeman. He takes care of Hope when Sara is away. He is also her sex partner and love interest.
The Curator/The Survivor
A mysterious owner of an antiques shop, The Curator is a sage-like spectator and occasional informant. One of Sara and Dani's most trusted confidants, he knows much about The Witchblade, the other entities, and the ongoing matters surrounding The Angelus and The Darkness. The Curator apparently dies inArtifacts, spontaneously exploding after saying all hope is lost. It was later revealed, however, that The Curator was, in reality, The Survivor — the mysterious mastermind behind all of the events ofArtifacts. His past is finally explored; he is the sole survivor of the previous universe, in which he was the "Codex" — meant to ensure its survival in the event of armageddon. Having originally failed in his duty, and witnessed the destruction of his family and everyone and everything he ever knew and cared about, The Survivor, existing for billions of years and witnessing all life in the universe, has been gradually manipulating and gathering the artifact bearers throughout the series in the knowledge he will need them in his plan to resurrect his universe.
Tau'ma
Brother of The Curator, and just as mysterious. Unlike his brother, who tries to keep the balance intact, Tau'ma is clearly on The Darkness' side. He can pull out darklings from his head to attack or spy on others, and wields a powerful cane with a gem-encrusted hawk head. His current location is unknown.
Hope Pezzini
Sara's mystical daughter with Jackie Estacado. She is neither of The Darkness nor The Angelus, but has unknown powers that are currently dormant. In Artifacts, Hope is the subject of a massive search by artifact bearers following her capture by The Survivor — it is during this search her parents, Jackie and Sara, finally consummate their feelings for each other, and Hope's nature is revealed by The Survivor; Hope is the "Codex" for the entire universe, meant to survive and ensure its survival. The Survivor plans to kill and replace her as the Codex to guarantee the resurrection of his own universe.
Julie Pezzini
Sara's sister. She was romantically involved with Jake but the two broke up when Jake discovered that she was running drugs. Under the effects of a hope-suppressing evil, Jake later returned and shot Julie, but she survived. As of issue #130, Julie has just come out of her stay in prison for her dealings with drugs. While taking Hope to a fair, Julie was surprised by Aphrodite who killed Julie after shooting her in the head. Aphrodite then kidnapped Hope, setting in motion plans to bring the Darkness and the Witchblade together.
Ian Nottingham
Formerly a Captain of the British Special Air Service, Ian subsequently joined MI5. He underwent behavioural modifications for the purpose of infiltrating The Yakuza. Afterward, he forgot his past, and became a bodyguard for Kenneth Irons. Ian has phenomenal skill with both archaic and modern weapons, bordering on the supernatural. In issue #1, Ian kills Sara's partner, Michael Yee. For a time he underwent a great change, allowing him the capability to absorb great quantities of energy and to drain energy from entities, even going so far as to temporarily host both The Witchblade and The Darkness. For a time, he wielded Excalibur, The Witchblade's twin, but it was revealed that the Excalibur entity was merely a shard of The Witchblade, which quickly reabsorbed it. After he lost Excalibur and was defeated by Sara in issue #75, Ian was taken to prison where he remains. In Artifacts #3, he is freed from prison by Aphrodite IV. Recently, he retrieved the Blood Sword from Michael Finnegan, gravely wounding the wielder of the Glacier Stone in the process, and left him in the river to die.
Kenneth Irons
A rich entrepreneur who discovered The Witchblade in Greece, Irons' age is undefined. It was eventually revealed that he was a Templar Knight of the third crusade and that he once drank from the Holy Grail, granting him a healing factor and 'immortality', establishing his age as greater than 800 yearsHowever, due to his exposure to The Witchblade during an attempt to host it, Irons does not age at a normal rate; he appears to be no older than 35. Initially, Ian Nottingham served as his close and trusted bodyguard, until both Irons' and Ian's fascination with Sara Pezzini drove a wedge between them. In a failed bid to gain control of The Witchblade, Kenneth Irons lost his hand and sacrificed his wife. In issue #75, Kenneth Irons was one of two characters left in the Deathpool. As a result, Chief Joe Siry killed Irons for all of the troubles that Irons had unleashed on Sara. He is the father of Geraud Irons.
Joe Siry
Sara's former captain when she served at the 18th Precinct. He was the partner of Sara's dead father, Detective Vincent Pezzini, and has a tendency to dote on her as if she is his daughter. He is married to Dalia. It was revealed that Siry had a hidden agenda with Irons, which forced him to kill Vincent Pezzini in order to protect Sara.
Jake McCarthy
Jake was Sara's best friend and partner. He grew madly in love with Sara, but his feelings were unrequited. A malevolent entity came to Earth and entered Jake's body, possessing him while he was wounded defending a weakened Sara. While in a coma he was placed in a hospital. When he awoke in issue #100, he was possessed by the demonic god that had entered his body. The god was bent on destroying the world to remake it into a hellish kingdom with him as ruler. Sara drove the demon's influence out of his mind, but Jake committed suicide to ensure that he could never return.
Lisa
Daughter of Maria, a deceased friend of Sara's. Sara promised Maria that she would keep an eye on Lisa. She makes her living as a model.
Witch Blade Episode Guide Season One
Episode list
[edit]Season 1 (2001)
| # | # | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | Production code |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | "Parallax" | Ralph Hemecker | Story:Ralph Hemecker & Richard C. Okie Teleplay:Ralph Hemecker | June 12, 2001 | 227105 |
| Det. Sara Pezzini is slowly learning more about the witchblade. She also finds herself before a hostile review board as they try to piece together what happened at the Rialto Theater. She is saddened to learn that her mentor, Captain Joe Siri, is retiring and he leaves her something from her father. When Sara and her new partner Jake McCartey answer a call to a shooting scene, they learn of a now defunct secret military program to create assassins known as the Black Dragons. One of the remaining Dragons, Hector Mobius, seems to be on the rampage. | ||||||
| 2 | 2 | "Conundrum" | Neill Fearnley | Story:Ralph Hemecker & Richard C. Okie Teleplay:Edithe Swenson | June 19, 2001 | 227102 |
| Sara and her new partner, Jake McCartey, investigate when skeletal remains are found carefully posed in a downtown park. Using missing person reports, they determine that the remains are those of Gina Maris, a model employed by Dominique Boucher. Slowly, Sara begins to realize that the woman's death and Boucher are somehow related to the Witchblade. She is shocked when she interviews Karen Bronte, Gina's roommate, only to find a photo of a woman and a young child whom Karen claims is her mother and grandmother. The grandmother could be Sara's identical twin. | ||||||
| 3 | 3 | "Diplopia" | Vern Gillum | Story:Ralph Hemecker & Richard C. Okie Teleplay:David Michaelson | June 26, 2001 | 227101 |
| Sara and Jake investigate a series of serial murders in the art community in New York. All of the cases somehow seem related to artist Isaac Sullivan but he has cast iron alibis for all of the murders. Much of the case involves the gay community and Sara takes Jake to task over his homophobia. Meanwhile, Sara meets Gabriel Bowman, a collector of trinket talismans and continues to learn about the history of the Witchblade and the fact that only one who is chosen can use it. Also, Kenneth Irons interferes with Sara's attempts to gain more knowledge about her past. | ||||||
| 4 | 4 | "Sacrifice" | David Jackson | Story:Ralph Hemecker & Richard C. Okie Teleplay:Richard C. Okie | July 3, 2001 | 227103 |
| Sara investigates the ritual murders of young women. With some assistance from Kenneth Irons, she learns of an ancient Celtic legend that tells of human sacrifice required to bring back to life a warrior queen. She also meets Conchobar, an Irish rock singer who has a profound effect on her. From Gabriel Bowman, Sara begins to gather information about the woman who may be her grandmother and her role as an Allied spy during World War II. | ||||||
| 5 | 5 | "Legion" | Neill Fearnley | Story:Ralph Hemecker & Richard C. Okie Teleplay:Richard C. Okie | July 10, 2001 | 227104 |
| The police arrest a troubled young man, Edward Nolan, for the murder of Monsignor Joe Bellamy. Except for Sara, the police are convinced that he is guilty. She is not ready to assign guilt so quickly, particularly when another priest, Father Del Toro, suggests that Nolan may be possessed. Using the Witchblade, Sara is able to make contact with the dead priest in the same way she can speak to her now dead partner, Danny Woo. She learns that the Vatican may have a particular interest in the Witchblade. But is turns out that Father Del Toro is not what he seems or claims to be. Meanwhile, Sara continues her relationship with Irish singer and poet Conchobar. | ||||||
| 6 | 6 | "Maelstrom" | James Whitmore, Jr. | Story:Ralph Hemecker & Richard C. Okie Teleplay:Richard C. Okie | July 17, 2001 | 227106 |
| Sara has to rescue her boyfriend, Concobar, when an Irish gang kidnaps him. The gang are members of the radical Ulster Defense League, a Northern Ireland right-wing group hell-bent on killing terrorists, and they are actually looking for his older brother Edward, a member of the Irish Republican Army (IRA) who reputedly set off 20 car bombs in Belfast in 1996. Sara will stop at nothing to find him, but her late partner, Danny, doesn't approve of her methods. When the kidnappers agree to release Conchobar for a hefty ransom of $2 million, the sole female gang member also demands the Witchblade bracelet. When Kenneth Irons refuses to help her out, Sara seeks to get the money by stealing from the police evidence room. | ||||||
| 7 | 7 | "Periculum" | Neill Fearnley | Story:Ralph Hemecker & Richard C. Okie Teleplay:Bruce A. Taylor &Roderick Taylor | July 24, 2001 | 227107 |
| Sara is grieving over the loss of Conchobar and her partner Jake is worried about her well-being. The time has come for Sara to undergo a test of worthiness, the Periculum. In a dream-like state, she meets some of her predecessors who explain the power and origins of the Witchblade and her own role in the world. If she fails the test, she will die. Meanwhile, Captain Dante invites Jake to join a group within the police, called the White Bulls, who ensure that justice is done... and don't hesitate to keep any of the financial proceeds that might come of it. | ||||||
| 8 | 8 | "Thanatopis" | James Whitmore, Jr. | Story:Ralph Hemecker Teleplay:Richard C. Okie | July 31, 2001 | 227108 |
| Captain Dante assigns all of his officers to track and hopefully arrest Armand Parsegian, a known arms dealer. He is assassinated before anything can be done however and Sara has a vision that indicates there is a connection between the murdered man and Kenneth Irons. She also sees Ian Nottingham as the assassin. Meanwhile, Gabriel asks for Sara's help when his best friend is found hanging from the rafters in his apartment building from an apparent suicide. He is convinced that his friend was murdered but again, Sara finds a connection to Irons. Also, Jake decides to accept Dante's offer to join his special group of police officers. | ||||||
| 9 | 9 | "Apprehension" | Robert Lee | Story:Ralph Hemecker & Richard C. Okie Teleplay:Richard C. Okie | August 7, 2001 | 227109 |
| Sara learns about the White Bulls from her late father who left her a video statement. She also knows who killed Prospero, a local pimp: Detective Orlinsky. She also learns of the long standing feud between Captain Dante and her father. She visits her old Captain, Joe Siri, who tells her of the role the White Bulls and Captain Dante played in her father's death. Kenneth Irons offers to help Sara but she is wary about trusting him, and it turns out that Dante also has powerful friends. | ||||||
| 10 | 10 | "Convergence" | James Whitmore, Jr. | Story:Ralph Hemecker Teleplay:Richard C. Okie & Ralph Hemecker | August 14, 2001 | 227110 |
| With her life is danger from the White Bulls, Sara's not sure who to she can trust. Even with partner Jake's revelation, she's not entirely sure she can trust him. Kenneth Irons desperately needs something from Sara or he will face dire consequences when he begins to age at a rapid rate. Meanwhile, Gabriel offers to help Sara by tracing a bullet cartrage, only to get betrayed and finds his own life in danger. | ||||||
| 11 | 11 | "Transcendence" | David Jackson | Story:Ralph Hemecker & Richard C. Okie Teleplay:Ralph Hemecker | August 21, 2001 | 227111 |
| Kenneth Irons tries to get Captain Dante to call off his hunt for Sara, but the Captain is dead set on eliminating her. Meanwhile, Sara and Jake set a trap for Dante but she is shocked when she learns who actually gives the White Bulls their orders. Sara learns of her extraordinary powers and how to use it to right many wrongs. Sara's unlikely protector, Ian Nottingham, surfaces with a life-threatening passion to watch over her that leads to irrevocable consequences. Sara has no choice but to accept the destiny that comes with wielding the gauntlet and use it to regain what she has lost as she sets off to have a final confrontation with Irons after she finally learns what his intentions are for her. | ||||||
Witch Blade Introduction
Witchblade
 |
| Witchblade's intertitle |
Genre Superhero
Supernatural drama
Action/Adventure
Mystery
Thriller
Created by Ralph
Hemecker
Starring Yancy
Butler
David Chokachi
Anthony Cistaro
Will Yun Lee
John Hensley
Eric Etebari
Theme music composer Joel
Goldsmith
Country of origin United
States
Language(s) English
No. of seasons 2
No. of episodes 23
(List of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s) Dan
Halsted
Ralph Hemecker
Producer(s) Vikki
Williams
Running time 60
minutes
Broadcast
Original channel TNT
Audio format Dolby
Original run June
12, 2001 – August 26, 2002
Chronology
Preceded by Witchblade
(2000 film)
Related shows Witchblade
(anime)
External links
Website
Following a pilot film in August 2000, the cable network TNT
premiered a Witchblade television series based on the Witchblade Top Cow
Productions comic book series in 2001. Some of the episodes were written by
Ralph Hemecker, Marc Silvestri (who also wrote the comic book) and J.D. Zeik.
Yancy Butler starred as Sara Pezzini, Anthony Cistaro as
Kenneth Irons, David Chokachi as Jake McCartey, Eric Etebari as Ian Nottingham,
Will Yun Lee as Danny Woo, Conrad Dunn as Tommy Gallo, Kenneth Welsh as Joe
Siri, and John Hensley as Gabriel Bowman, among others. Although critically
acclaimed and popular with audiences,[citation needed] the show was canceled in
September 2002; there was speculation that the cancellation was connected to
Butler's entering rehab for alcoholism.
The series ran for two seasons on TNT, for a total of 24
episodes (including pilot). The first episode aired June 12, 2001; the last
episode aired August 26, 2002. In spite of its cancellation, Witchblade was
ranked seventh in the Top 10 Basic Cable Dramas for 2002 (Multichannel News,
February 24, 2003).
Cast and characters
[edit]
Main cast
Witchblade is a supernatural drama television series. After
a pilot movie that aired August 27, 2000, a total of 23 episodes were made and
aired on TNT over two seasons. The series is based on the Witchblade Top Cow
Productions comic book series in 2001. It was directed by Ralph Hemecker and
written by Marc Silvestri (who also wrote the comic book) and J.D. Zeik.
Series overview
| Season | Episodes | Originally aired | DVDrelease date | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season premiere | Season finale | ||||
| 1 | 11 | June 12, 2001 | August 21, 2001 | July 29, 2008 | |
| 2 | 12 | June 16, 2002 | August 26, 2002 | ||
Episode list
Music
On May 29, 2007, the soundtrack for the series' score was
released by composer Joel Goldsmith on his independent record label, FreeClyde.
In 2004, a
compilation album, Witchblade the Music, was released on the Edge Artists
record label featuring music from/inspired by the Top Cow comic book and the
Witchblade TV series. It was compiled and produced by G Tom Mac.
DVD release
On April 1, 2008, Warner Home Video announced a DVD
release.Witchblade: The Complete Series — a seven-disc collectors set including
the original made-for-TV movie, all 23 episodes of the series, and special
features — was released on July 29, 2008.
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