Based on the comic book series dreamt up by Jem Garrard, Vagrant Queen follows the space operatic adventures of former child queen Elida (Adriyan Rae). Our story begins eight years after Elida was forced to flee her kingdom. During her escape, she watched her mother seemingly murdered by their nemesis, Commander Lazaro (Paul Du Toit), a loyal servant to the Republic government and out to extinguish her bloodline. Having now turned her back on her regal claims, Elida makes a living as a gun-for-hire scavenger. When her old friend Isaac (Tim Razon) tracks her down, claiming that her mother is very much still alive, they head off with their new ship mechanic, Amae (Alex McGregor), to rescue her. Along the way, the trio meet a galaxy full of eccentric aliens, and face a plethora of trials and tribulations.
Vagrant Queen plays like a blend of Firefly, Guardians of the Galaxy, and Red Dwarf. It’s painfully colourful, packed full of crazy alien beings, and has that same zany sense of humour that the aforementioned properties all share. It’s point of difference though is that, for once, it’s a female-heavy science-fiction. Two of our core three leads are female, but more importantly, everyone in the director’s chair are female too. Comic creator Jem Garrard leads the bulk of the series, enabling the show to make the transition from page-to-screen smoother. Joining Garrard in the director seat are Natalie Haarhoof, Cindy Lee, and Danishka Esterhazy, the latter of which is very familiar with female led science-fiction. If you’ve yet to watch Level 16, I highly recommend that you give it a spin as it’s currently available on Netflix.
What makes the show even more special is that in addition to flying the flag for women, it also embraces the LGBTQ+ community beautifully, with several characters being open about their true sexuality. Not only that, but the core romance – the traditional ‘will they / won’t they’ plot – revolves around our female leads. Yet another core representation box that Vagrant Queen checks is having a black female as the protagonist. It’s an achievement all of its own to have a female character as the lead, but to make said female both black and queer demonstrates a clear and important modern way of thinking.
Outside of its radical work with minorities, the show is your fairly standard science-fiction series. Whilst it may be dynamic in diversity and representation, when it comes to the narrative, it sticks closer to the well-trodden path. This is potentially due to it being the first season of the show, with the show runners not wanting to veer too far off track initially. The lack of risks taken with the story lets the show down, and were it not for the other ground-breaking hooks, it could easily disappear amongst the multitude of other science-fiction properties out there. Towards the end, the series picks up a little pace, and the finale points to an interesting new direction for a future continuation to venture down. However, it seems as though it may be too little too late.
Sadly, it was recently announced that the show would not be returning for a second season, which is a shame given all the good work it has done for diversifying the science-fiction landscape. The lack of a follow-on season begs the question of whether Vagrant Queen is worth the investment of your time. The answer to that is: if you are a fan of classic science-fiction space operas, this is likely to be the perfect series for you; those less familiar with sci-fi shows may struggle with all the different worlds, aliens etc. Either way, if you’re in the mood for colourful, cosmic, and camp, then Vagrant Queen shouldn’t steer you wrong.
Dazzler Media presents Vagrant Queen: Season One on Blu-ray, DVD & Digital from 13th July 2020
Vagrant Queen: Season One
Summary
A fun, campy, kitsch science-fiction show that flies the flag for female empowerment, LGBTQ+, and people of colour.
