And even more important, according to his friends and coworkers, a great human being. What a tragic loss for his family, and two (then) young sons.
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Any Xena:WP fans on the boards?
- Thread starter JanewayRulz!
- Start date
And even more important, according to his friends and coworkers, a great human being. What a tragic loss for his family, and two (then) young sons.
decent audio on this song of Kevin's. "She's a Lady"
Rob Tapert on Kevin Smith
Rob Tapert on Kevin Smith
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I realized, way back in post 865... that I forgot to say goodbye to a few other people who left in season 6.
As I indicated back then, season 6 has been one long goodbye starting with "The Furies" in "Coming Home"... (Good riddance to bad rubbish!)
Then the very lovely Cyrene, mother of X:WP in "Haunting of Amphipolis.
Then Gabrielle's parents and her sister Lilla in "Who's Gurkhan". (Not counting Sarah in this "goodbye" wrapup, since we only saw her in this ep)
Then Virgil, son of Joxer & Meg in "The Abyss". (He was in 3 of the first 6 eps of season 6, plus those last few in season 5)
Then Brunhilda at the end of the Norse Trilogy. (Technically in 3 eps if you count the flames and flashback in #2)
Then Marga in "Dangerous Prey". (She had been in the season premiere, too)
Then Odin, KING of the Norse gods and Grinhilda in "You Are There". (4 eps each that season)
Then EVE... Daughter of Xena in "Path of Vengeance" (5 eps that season)
Then VARIA, Amazon Queen in "To Helicon and Back" (4 eps that season) along with a multitude of Amazons and their Queens.
Then Ephiny (Sniff, sniff) and her (now grown) son Xenon in "Last of the Centaurs" (She, seen for the first time since season 4 & he for the first time since season 3)
Then a trifecta in "When Fates Collide"... specifically, Caesar, Brutus and ALTI.
Then Aphrodite in "Many Happy Returns".
Then ARES and JOXER in "Soul Possession"... with an "honourable mention" going to "Bruce Campbell" for being identified as a potential celebrity invitee by the C.H.A.K.R.A.M. speaker Dr Delaney.
Yes... one could almost be forgiven for thinking season 6 was simply one really long goodbye.
I said... "ALMOST."
As I indicated back then, season 6 has been one long goodbye starting with "The Furies" in "Coming Home"... (Good riddance to bad rubbish!)
Then the very lovely Cyrene, mother of X:WP in "Haunting of Amphipolis.
Then Gabrielle's parents and her sister Lilla in "Who's Gurkhan". (Not counting Sarah in this "goodbye" wrapup, since we only saw her in this ep)
Then Virgil, son of Joxer & Meg in "The Abyss". (He was in 3 of the first 6 eps of season 6, plus those last few in season 5)
Then Brunhilda at the end of the Norse Trilogy. (Technically in 3 eps if you count the flames and flashback in #2)
Then Marga in "Dangerous Prey". (She had been in the season premiere, too)
Then Odin, KING of the Norse gods and Grinhilda in "You Are There". (4 eps each that season)
Then EVE... Daughter of Xena in "Path of Vengeance" (5 eps that season)
Then VARIA, Amazon Queen in "To Helicon and Back" (4 eps that season) along with a multitude of Amazons and their Queens.
Then Ephiny (Sniff, sniff) and her (now grown) son Xenon in "Last of the Centaurs" (She, seen for the first time since season 4 & he for the first time since season 3)
Then a trifecta in "When Fates Collide"... specifically, Caesar, Brutus and ALTI.
Then Aphrodite in "Many Happy Returns".
Then ARES and JOXER in "Soul Possession"... with an "honourable mention" going to "Bruce Campbell" for being identified as a potential celebrity invitee by the C.H.A.K.R.A.M. speaker Dr Delaney.
Yes... one could almost be forgiven for thinking season 6 was simply one really long goodbye.
I said... "ALMOST."
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Ohhhhhh, he ADMITTED that he fantasized about Xena & Gabrielle... remember this scene in season 6's "The God you know"?
Xena as "Saba": (To Caligula) "You have no idea. And now-- let us entertain you."
http://mikes-images.com/eps/tgyk/pages/tgyk_mq_217cd.htm (The gloved hand on his chest belongs to Gabrielle.)
Ares: "You know I have fantasized about this in a hundred
different situations, I've gotta tell ya, I never got to this
scenario."
http://mikes-images.com/eps/tgyk/pages/tgyk_mq_232cd.htm
Xena: "Well, enjoy it while you can 'cause in about 30 seconds all hell is gonna break loose."
Not the right ep, but does have the right people! (Please, folks, stop flipping the video clips from left to right. Xena looks funny with her sword and chakram on the wrong side. Yessss, I KNOW Rob Tapert did it ONCE in "Paradise Found", but he HAD to correct a sight line issue. You don't have that excuse.) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SP_zhzTQgdA&feature=fvsr
Has many clips from the right ep, but "only" 2 of the 3 people.Ares & Gabrielle: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQHMaxpjQjw
This was my kind of you tube video for sure
It really depends on what you are looking for.
If you want sweet innocent Gabrielle and big macho Xena... go for season 1. Watching Xena kick someone behind her, in his face, while she's sitting at a tavern table as Gabrielle is sitting nearby in blissful ignorance.... THAT only happened in season 1. Plus you get to see everything for the "first" time... glimpses into her recent warlord past, the introduction of Callisto, and the start of themes that will be carried onward like Gabrielle's bad "luck" with men. (which to be fair, includes her bad luck with "women".)
If you want simple camaraderie and to be tantalized with "are they or aren't they"... go season 2.
If you want high drama and tragedy... season 3 is your best bet, but to really "feel" the tragedy, it helps to have seen 1 & 2 so you understand what these two characters are potentially losing.
Season 4 is interesting to me only in that their relationship kicks into several different gears, but once again you can't really understand the ANGST in Xena's soul in the 2 part premiere or her fear of losing Gabrielle to crucifixion or to "another person" unless you've seen the relationship change through season 2 & 3.
Many people hate season 5. I don't. I just don't like several of the eps (Love season 3's China eps, DON'T love season 5's) . I really liked the stress (sorry guys & subtexter gals) that the pregnancy and baby put on their relationship. I guess I'm just weird that way.
Season 6?
Again, there are vocal opponents to 6... but I love it. I "think" you can enjoy it without everything else, but I doubt you will "get" it as well without going through the entire series. So much has happened to these two people by then, that without season 1... you could never understand Gabrielle's angst over being known more as a warrior than as a bard or fear over losing Xena. Also, you probably wouldn't realize WHY season 6 takes place 30 & 31 years AFTER Xena & Gabrielle meet in season 1!
So, to answer your original question... I think season 1-2-3-4-5-6 are the BEST!
But if you plan on only watching 1 season of Xena:WP EVER... then go with season 6.
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Best season of Xena?
Well, as a guy who didn't care one way or another towards the subtext (which was originally unintended and existed to walk the line between pleasing the strong lesbian fanbase [when they formally established it, the show was really growing, they felt they hit the right balance] and between alienating viewers & advertisers & affiliates who might object. Going from subtext to text is subject to the Ellen effect and the whole thing how shippers can make a show jump the shark too), so long as they didn't turn it into a smarmy relationship show and didn't forget the center of the show is an action drama (too much comedy is almost as damaging as making a show about a relationship), here's my view of Xena, having seen all 6 seasons first-run:
Season 1- This is before the show went with absurdist comedies occasionally. The episodes are mostly serious to very serious, with comedies being light-hearted but not over the top. Hercules this season was the same way. Only in the 96-97 season did they start making screwball comedies. Gabrielle wears a blue blouse here and is the naive bard, not the sharp-tongued warrior of words as she is with the green top. There are no really bad episodes this season and the show is trying to define itself, but does start to get some top-ranked hits ("Callisto", "Is There a Doctor in the House?"). The show resembles early Hercules (S1-2) more than peak Xena (S2-4) because of that finding its footing.
Season 2- Some people consider this season the best. Ratings hit their all time peak this season and a fair number of the top-ranked episodes are here. "Destiny", "The Quest", "Necessary Evil", "A Day in the Life" is considered the best stretch of episodes ever for the series. Shippers & subtexters l-o-v-e "A Day in the Life" while all viewers regard "The Quest" very highly, often putting it near the top of best episode ever lists. Except for "Ulysses" which for some reason people really really hate, this season is comprised almost entirely of above average episodes. "Return of Callisto", "Intimate Stranger", "Ten Little Warlords" tends to be somewhat well-regarded too. The last is really bizarre but interesting because of Xena's Tonight Show accident, leading to Callisto to play Xena for the episode.
Gabrielle switches to a green top and is less the bystander and is more able to fight weakly for herself with her staff. She becomes more assertive, particularly having a sharp-tongued wit in comedies. The supporting cast really starts to show up here. Joxer, Autolycus, Ares, Aphrodite, etc. It only started to coalesce in the back half of the 95-96 season.
I think people's tastes vary, but Season 2 & 3 are considered the best & 2nd best/2nd best & best season by most people.
Season 3- This is quite a busy season. The over the top comedies start to really dominate. Sometimes they hit a home run ("Been There, Done That"), sometimes they are a triple play when your team is at bat. but overall their average is pretty good. Has many very well liked episodes. The serious episodes tend to be good this season. Many people seem to like this season the most.
For "The Bitter Suite" (an opera style drama, symbolically expressing the growing divide between Xena & Gabrielle that season due to the Dahak arc/Hope), milage varies between viewers. Singing episodes were rare then. It was completely different from anything else. Bitter Suite was the first in a long time. They tried to make lightning strike twice in Season 5 and it was a huge flop. Buffy did it, got acclaim. Now Glee does it every episode.
There are 2 Dahak arcs. The 1st is a loose one in Xena Season 3 which is just 2 eps somewhat early on, some increased tension, then 2 eps at the end of the season. The 2nd one is in Hercules Season 5 which has Hercules travel all outside of Greece, discovering Dahak's growing influence, then returning to Greece and finding Dahak there. Spans the whole 1st half of the season.
Same as Season 2 with green top Gabby and the extensive use of the supporting cast.
Season 4- Feels down from Seasons 2 & 3, but is still good. The screwball comedies start to become more misses ("A Tale of Two Muses", "Key to the Kingdom") than hits though. Some dramatic episodes are good to great, some are meh, some suck. The trip to India makes up a few episodes in the middle of the season, they bring the Caesar story to its obvious end, and try their hand at a major new villain (Najira), who vanishes after the season (guess she didn't play out well).
Same as season 2 with the supporting cast. It's green top Gabby til she goes all new age in India, switches to an orange top and becomes a pacifist AKA "Xena, I'm sitting this battle out".
Season 5- There's a list of the 12 best & worst episodes of Xena. 6 of the 12 worst episodes are from this season and 5 are from the same part of the season (or in "Married with Fishsticks" case, made at that time but aired later). Xena: Pregnant Princess didn't fly. That's why there were hordes of comedies and really badly written episodes (some of that was Kurtzman & Orci briefly writing Xena disastrously, just like Ron Moore's disastrous brief run on Voyager. Same time too (Summer-Fall 1999) infact. But when that's the executive producer's baby, the viewers are just going to have to put up with it or tune out. The show became too much a ripoff of the Jesus story (immaculate conception), which put off a lot of people then, religious or otherwise. X-Files did that too in Season 8, and it drove away many viewers.
Oh, and Gabrielle starts watching TMNT this season. She liked Raphael the most, so started wearing red and wielding sais.
Fans generally like the 1st 3 episodes of the season, then like the season mostly from "Eternal Bonds" onward. Athena is a good villain. It's a really uneven season, and while the leap forward 25 years at the end of the season makes for a great story, it dooms the supporting cast that really added to Xena (i.e. no more Joxer, Autolycus, etc).
I'd consider Season 5 the worst season of the series, and the worst overall of all 12 seasons Hercules & Xena had between them. They needed to sideline Xena the same way they quietly did with Hercules in Season 4 due to his life-threatening shoulder issue (though HTLJ could've handled that better without so many crossdressing and animal comedies) and have Hercules, Xena, Amarice (who was just being introduced as a new sidekick) pick up the action slack. The worst episodes were all filmed around her 5th-8th months. Action and pregnancy don't blend well. Unlike most, I thought her pregnancy battle armor was decent though.
Season 6- The show felt darker and returned to its roots. The comedies were toned way down, but when they appeared, they were over the top and not well received. Season 6 felt closest in overall seriousness: lightheartedness to Season 1. But, it felt empty without the supporting cast, which really added to both Hercules & Xena. It's a decent albeit mediocre season. It has very few top-ranked episodes ("When Fates Collide" is it) and a few bottom-ranked episodes, including the controversial series finale. Parallels Voyager Season 7 (also 00-01), an overall mediocre season with a controversial finale except I'd say while Xena pulled away from the late '90s "we can be every genre!" style (i.e. dramas, comedies, etc) in this season, Voyager didn't (all the over the top Doctor, Barclay episodes). X-Files did pull away this season too. Season 8 was also mediocre, but it lacked all the comedies of Season 7 (99-00).
Season 6 is definately a post-peak season, but it is a rebound overall from what Season 5 was.
I'd rank them S2 > S3 > S4 > S1 > S6 >>> S5, but for most people, these seem to be how the seasons group:
really good: Seasons 2, 3
pretty good to average: Seasons 1, 4, 6
kinda crappy: Season 5
Well, as a guy who didn't care one way or another towards the subtext (which was originally unintended and existed to walk the line between pleasing the strong lesbian fanbase [when they formally established it, the show was really growing, they felt they hit the right balance] and between alienating viewers & advertisers & affiliates who might object. Going from subtext to text is subject to the Ellen effect and the whole thing how shippers can make a show jump the shark too), so long as they didn't turn it into a smarmy relationship show and didn't forget the center of the show is an action drama (too much comedy is almost as damaging as making a show about a relationship), here's my view of Xena, having seen all 6 seasons first-run:
Season 1- This is before the show went with absurdist comedies occasionally. The episodes are mostly serious to very serious, with comedies being light-hearted but not over the top. Hercules this season was the same way. Only in the 96-97 season did they start making screwball comedies. Gabrielle wears a blue blouse here and is the naive bard, not the sharp-tongued warrior of words as she is with the green top. There are no really bad episodes this season and the show is trying to define itself, but does start to get some top-ranked hits ("Callisto", "Is There a Doctor in the House?"). The show resembles early Hercules (S1-2) more than peak Xena (S2-4) because of that finding its footing.
Season 2- Some people consider this season the best. Ratings hit their all time peak this season and a fair number of the top-ranked episodes are here. "Destiny", "The Quest", "Necessary Evil", "A Day in the Life" is considered the best stretch of episodes ever for the series. Shippers & subtexters l-o-v-e "A Day in the Life" while all viewers regard "The Quest" very highly, often putting it near the top of best episode ever lists. Except for "Ulysses" which for some reason people really really hate, this season is comprised almost entirely of above average episodes. "Return of Callisto", "Intimate Stranger", "Ten Little Warlords" tends to be somewhat well-regarded too. The last is really bizarre but interesting because of Xena's Tonight Show accident, leading to Callisto to play Xena for the episode.
Gabrielle switches to a green top and is less the bystander and is more able to fight weakly for herself with her staff. She becomes more assertive, particularly having a sharp-tongued wit in comedies. The supporting cast really starts to show up here. Joxer, Autolycus, Ares, Aphrodite, etc. It only started to coalesce in the back half of the 95-96 season.
I think people's tastes vary, but Season 2 & 3 are considered the best & 2nd best/2nd best & best season by most people.
Season 3- This is quite a busy season. The over the top comedies start to really dominate. Sometimes they hit a home run ("Been There, Done That"), sometimes they are a triple play when your team is at bat. but overall their average is pretty good. Has many very well liked episodes. The serious episodes tend to be good this season. Many people seem to like this season the most.
For "The Bitter Suite" (an opera style drama, symbolically expressing the growing divide between Xena & Gabrielle that season due to the Dahak arc/Hope), milage varies between viewers. Singing episodes were rare then. It was completely different from anything else. Bitter Suite was the first in a long time. They tried to make lightning strike twice in Season 5 and it was a huge flop. Buffy did it, got acclaim. Now Glee does it every episode.
There are 2 Dahak arcs. The 1st is a loose one in Xena Season 3 which is just 2 eps somewhat early on, some increased tension, then 2 eps at the end of the season. The 2nd one is in Hercules Season 5 which has Hercules travel all outside of Greece, discovering Dahak's growing influence, then returning to Greece and finding Dahak there. Spans the whole 1st half of the season.
Same as Season 2 with green top Gabby and the extensive use of the supporting cast.
Season 4- Feels down from Seasons 2 & 3, but is still good. The screwball comedies start to become more misses ("A Tale of Two Muses", "Key to the Kingdom") than hits though. Some dramatic episodes are good to great, some are meh, some suck. The trip to India makes up a few episodes in the middle of the season, they bring the Caesar story to its obvious end, and try their hand at a major new villain (Najira), who vanishes after the season (guess she didn't play out well).
Same as season 2 with the supporting cast. It's green top Gabby til she goes all new age in India, switches to an orange top and becomes a pacifist AKA "Xena, I'm sitting this battle out".
Season 5- There's a list of the 12 best & worst episodes of Xena. 6 of the 12 worst episodes are from this season and 5 are from the same part of the season (or in "Married with Fishsticks" case, made at that time but aired later). Xena: Pregnant Princess didn't fly. That's why there were hordes of comedies and really badly written episodes (some of that was Kurtzman & Orci briefly writing Xena disastrously, just like Ron Moore's disastrous brief run on Voyager. Same time too (Summer-Fall 1999) infact. But when that's the executive producer's baby, the viewers are just going to have to put up with it or tune out. The show became too much a ripoff of the Jesus story (immaculate conception), which put off a lot of people then, religious or otherwise. X-Files did that too in Season 8, and it drove away many viewers.
Oh, and Gabrielle starts watching TMNT this season. She liked Raphael the most, so started wearing red and wielding sais.
Fans generally like the 1st 3 episodes of the season, then like the season mostly from "Eternal Bonds" onward. Athena is a good villain. It's a really uneven season, and while the leap forward 25 years at the end of the season makes for a great story, it dooms the supporting cast that really added to Xena (i.e. no more Joxer, Autolycus, etc).
I'd consider Season 5 the worst season of the series, and the worst overall of all 12 seasons Hercules & Xena had between them. They needed to sideline Xena the same way they quietly did with Hercules in Season 4 due to his life-threatening shoulder issue (though HTLJ could've handled that better without so many crossdressing and animal comedies) and have Hercules, Xena, Amarice (who was just being introduced as a new sidekick) pick up the action slack. The worst episodes were all filmed around her 5th-8th months. Action and pregnancy don't blend well. Unlike most, I thought her pregnancy battle armor was decent though.
Season 6- The show felt darker and returned to its roots. The comedies were toned way down, but when they appeared, they were over the top and not well received. Season 6 felt closest in overall seriousness: lightheartedness to Season 1. But, it felt empty without the supporting cast, which really added to both Hercules & Xena. It's a decent albeit mediocre season. It has very few top-ranked episodes ("When Fates Collide" is it) and a few bottom-ranked episodes, including the controversial series finale. Parallels Voyager Season 7 (also 00-01), an overall mediocre season with a controversial finale except I'd say while Xena pulled away from the late '90s "we can be every genre!" style (i.e. dramas, comedies, etc) in this season, Voyager didn't (all the over the top Doctor, Barclay episodes). X-Files did pull away this season too. Season 8 was also mediocre, but it lacked all the comedies of Season 7 (99-00).
Season 6 is definately a post-peak season, but it is a rebound overall from what Season 5 was.
I'd rank them S2 > S3 > S4 > S1 > S6 >>> S5, but for most people, these seem to be how the seasons group:
really good: Seasons 2, 3
pretty good to average: Seasons 1, 4, 6
kinda crappy: Season 5
I've looked over the last few months of my posts in this thread and have stolen quite a few passages to illustrate my themes. Just think of this as the "Cliffs Notes" version of season 6's posts.
Tonight's theme... its not "goodbye"... its what sometimes comes after "hello". If we are lucky.
But before I start... let me temporarily hop back to season 1.
(Athens City Academy of performing Bards)
.... I like the unintended foreshadowing of the finale in this scene.
Gabrielle: “Well OK, so he irks me a bit. But this is the Academy. Am I supposed to pass up my shot at a dream come true?”
Xena: “Nope, no one should pass up their dreams. How long would you be gone?”
Gabrielle: “Oh maybe four or five years, or (I don't remember, does she change the time-frame when she sees Xena's reaction?) maybe a little less, if I, if I study real hard. You’d hardly notice I was missing.”
Xena: “Even if I had an army around me, I’d still notice you were missing. You want some company? At least as far as Athens.”
Gabrielle: “Well you’ve got that Cyclops problem in Keremus to take care of. And in case I don’t get in...”
Xena: “Oh, you’ll get in, Gabrielle. You’re a good storyteller. I only remember one story told me when I was young. It was about two orphans who decided to search the world for their families. And it’s all about their adventures and how they kept searching. But the part I remember most is the end.”
Xena and Gabrielle: “And when the first man... ”
Gabrielle: “... reached the end of his journey, he found himself...”
Xena and Gabrielle: “... at the beginning.”
Gabrielle: “The family he had sought had travelled the world with him. The only family he had ever known ever needed was standing right beside him. I know the story.”
Xena: “Thanks for being my family." "You’re like a sister to me. Now, go get your dream
(The height of arrogance is quoting oneself, and here I go!
)This 6th season seems to be about getting in touch with love.
The first ep... "Coming Home" was about Eve's fear of losing her Mother's (and Gabrielle's) love because of what she'd done to the Amazons, Xena's love for the woman she nearly killed, and Gabrielle's love for Xena, and about Ares' love not just of his former godhood but more telling for the mortal known as Xena. He really DOES have a "thing" for her!
The second ep "Haunting of Amphipolis" was about the love Xena has not just for Eve, but also for her dead Brother, her dead Mother and for Gabrielle, and the love her Mother has for all three women.
The third ep... the third ep... hmmmm.
The callow fellow would say that the third ep has to do with ratings and an increasing need to distinguish oneself from the pack, to capture the audience who's already seen 114 different versions of kung fu babes kicking ass and taking names. One could turn to the syfy series "Caprica" or the Starz series "Spartacus" to show how far this need to "distinguish" oneself from the pack has come.
One could.
But I'm going to resist, and take it "seriously".
The third ep IS about love, which by the end of the episode is deemed to be superior to the lust which was showcased throughout. The love a Mother has for her Daughter, and vice versa, the love two friends (?) have for each other, and the love a believer has for their god. And no... I do not, digress.
Xena: "You and I have much in common."
Lucifer: "Of course we do. You're a mortal female with a lying tongue, savage tendencies, and a blonde girlfriend. I'm a celibate archangel in the service of the Lord."
So... at the end of one of the most lustful episodes in Xena history... how can I claim it proves that love is superior to lust? Well... besides the STAR claiming it is?
Eve: "Mother!"
Xena: "Eve."
Eve: "You're back!"
Xena: "Part of me never left."
Eve: (Well... DUH!!!!!) "I never should have doubted you."
Xena: "After all you've seen and been through, I can't blame you for thinking the dark side had won. I just hope that one you'll believe as strongly as I do in the power of love to save lives."
and of course....
(Gabby looks away, but why? Ashamed of what Xena did, ashamed of THINKING Xena had succumbed. Ashamed at what SHE herself was doing???)
Gabrielle: "Thought I'd lost you for a minute, there."
Xena: (Smirks) "Yeah, which minute was that?"
Gabrielle: (Finally looks up to the WP) "You and Lucifer were looking, um... a little, uh... "
Xena: "Gabrielle, every time I felt myself start to lose control, um... just thought of you-- led me back home."
As I said....,
"this sixth season seems to be about getting in touch with love... " and although the first few eps seemed to dwell on Xena's love for her Mother and her Daughter, someone else definitely played a prominent role in that emotional exploration. In the last two eps and the next ep, the prominence of Gabrielle in the "Xena-verse" continues to grow as if "catching up" after a season of (appropriate) distraction by Xena's pregnancy and birth and battle against the gods and the fates for the life of her child.
(Heart of Darkness, final scene in the temple)
Xena: "Gabrielle, every time I felt myself start to lose control, um just thought of you, led me back home."
(Who's Gurkhan? Final scene on board ship, sailing for home.)
(Gabrielle's neice has obviously never heard of Livia, the Bitch of Rome or Eve's "other" mother Callisto)
Sarah:"You don't understand. I've done terrible things. How can I ever be forgiven?
(Gabrielle, the Killer of Meridian, the Killer of her daughter Hope, the betrayer of Xena in China and of Solon, the would be murderer of Eve, and the wannabe assassin who's refusal to consider consequences lead to the brutal beating and near death of her best friend, looks back at Eve and then at Sarah...)
Gabrielle: "Are you ever in the right company."
(Then she looks up at her best friend, the former Destroyer of Nations... who simply smiles.)
(Legacy)
Gabrielle: "Hm-m-m... you saved me today, Xena, against the greater good. Why? Isn't that what we've been fighting for?"
(I'm not sure why Gabrielle is so dense here... maybe because she really did become distanced from Xena during that 5th season pregnancy, or maybe because she just really needs to be reassured about her place in the Xenaverse. Whatever the reason, Xena tries to explain, yet again)
Xena: "Gabrielle, in everyone's life, there's something that goes beyond the greater good. That's what you are in my life. I wasn't about to let you die out there if there was something I could do about it."
Gabrielle: "What if it was my choice?"
Xena: "Especially if it was your choice."
(The Abyss)
(Shivers uncontrollably as Xena wraps the vine about her) Gabrielle: "Xena, I have a... a last wish."
Xena: "I don't want to hear of it."
Gabrielle: "No-- I'm serious. You don't want to know?"
(Guilt DOES work on WP's!)
Xena: "What is it, then?"
Gabrielle: (Still shivering) "I don't... want... to be buried... with... the Amazons."
(Did her job, listened to her friend and now plans to ignore the implications completely!)
Xena: "All right. Well, in fifty years, when the time comes."
(Green eyes look up into blue)
Gabrielle: "Xena... I wanna lie with you... with your family... in Amphipolis?"
(She stops ignoring implications, and stops wrapping vines as she looks at the dying woman before her)
Xena: "What about your family?"
Gabrielle: "I love them, but I'm a part of you. I want it to be like that forever. I love you."
(The Norse/Ring Trilogy)
"The Rheingold" first separates the two women and Gabrielle must go in search of Xena with the assistance of a guide, a woman who knows more about Xena's past than Gabrielle ever did.
"The Ring" will bring them back together and will add two serious complications/competitors for their relationship.
"The Return of the Valkries" will separate them once again and this time it will be Xena who shall be lead into a search for Gabrielle, by a man who loves the Sleeping Beauty almost as much as Xena.
But for right now... its morning, and Gabrielle awakens alone in their room. She sees a scroll on the pillow where Xena's head had recently laid.
Gabrielle picks up and reads letter.
Xena's Voice Narrates: "Gabrielle, I've gone to take care of some unfinished business. This mission is so dangerous, I'm afraid I won't survive, and I can't ask you to die with me once again. Whatever happens, know that my love for you is endless. Xena."
Well, that's pretty much how the trilogy began... and this is how it ended.
(Return of the Valkyries)
Again, I loved the last line of the show... when asked (by the Rhinemadien) about the noble transformation of evil Xena into Good Xena... she simply said...
Xena: "It wasn't magic"
And she looked at Gabrielle.
(Old Ares had a Farm, final scene as the two ride away)
Gabrielle: "How are you feeling?"
Xena: "I've learned something since coming back here. You can't look for peace in the world around you. You've gotta find it in your own heart. I was happy when I was a kid here 'cause I was loved and I felt like I belonged. I was lucky then and I'm lucky now."
Gabrielle: (Smiles) "Me, too."
Somewhere:
(The God You Know, final scene in Caligula's palace)
Aphrodite: (Looking for a touchstone?) "Gabrielle when you were trying to get through to me earlier, you said a coupl'a times that you were my friend. Did you really mean that?"
(Gabrielle looks a little hesitant here, maybe she fears another kissing scene with the former goddess?)
Gabrielle: "Absolutely."
Aphrodite: (To her brother, Ares) "How cloyingly sentimental..." (To Gabrielle) "... but very much appreciated."
Xena: (Waves to her daughter, also sitting quietly on the bed) "All right, everyone, let's get outta here. Come on."
Eve: (Slides under Xena's left arm as they walk away) "Are you sorry, Mother? To lose your greatest gift? The ability to kill gods?"
Xena: "Nah, it'll just make life spicier. Besides, I've still got my two greatest gifts..." (And she stretches her right arm out to wrap around Gabrielle) and I've got no intention of losing either of them."
(And You Are there)
I do love this ep, "And you Are There". Love the way its a commentary on today's society (what happens when one takes "love" for granted, when its spurned, etc), not to mention the way it pillories modern day "journalism", especially its inappropriate invasion of that right so many throw away now a days. Privacy.
The other thing I love about this ep is how these two can really yank each other's chains... whether its Gabrielle complaining to Xena about not being told "what" her plan is, or Gabrielle setting up Xena with Nigel over the question all of millenia wanted answered.
Interviewer: "...The question that Gabrielle has been avoiding all evening... The question that has never, ever been answered. Are you two lovers?"
(And the microphone is thrust into Xena's face)
Xena: (have they no couth in the 20th century???) "You're asking... "
Interviewer: "That's right. I'm asking, are you two lovers?"
Xena: (UP hops the Warrior Princess!) "That's none 'a your beeswax, Nigel."
Gabrielle: "OK, Xena you know, you just risked everything to bring love back into the world."
Xena: "So what?"
Gabrielle: "I think you should answer the question."
Xena: "Oh, you do, do ya?"
Gabrielle: "Yeah."
Needless to say... Gabrielle's face looks downright DEVIOUS at this moment.
(Path Of Vengeance final scene in the series with Eve, Gabrielle & Xena)
Xena is still trying to process this news (That Eve is leaving), as Eve turns to Gabrielle
Eve: "Thank you for saving my mother..." (For people who wondered what the answer was at the end of "You are There...) "...for bringing her such happiness. I'm forever in your debt."
Gabrielle: "Eve-- "
Eve: "Gabrielle-- "
(Reaches for the woman who helped deliver her on the day of her birth, who died with Xena to save her from the gods, who fought with Livia to save her from herself, who fought with Varia to save her from her Amazon kinswomen.)
Gabrielle: (Gabrielle is happy to find someone who hugs as much as she does!) "You don't owe me anything."
Eve: (Turns to Xena one final time) "And thank you for giving me life so many times. I love you." (She dives into a heartfelt clinch with the woman who loved her enough to die for her, over and over again.)
(To Helicon and Back)
An interesting ep when looking for evidence of X/G's relationship. Interesting in that its not spoken of, anywhere... but you "see" it, whether its in Xena's ability to ESP the initial attack... or watching her jump out of a fortress window to the sea 100 feet below to reach Gabrielle's side, or this scene I mentioned last May... after that initial bloody attack where Varia had been captured.
"The next scene has no dialogue. We see Gabrielle and the rest of the Amazon Queens standing before the burning pyre of bodies. So many bodies that they are piled one on top of the other in multiple levels. Xena stands silently next to Gabrielle, then turns to leave. As she does, she stretches out and simply touches Gabrielle's arm, and Gabrielle makes an attempt to do the same before Xena walks to Argo and mounts to ride away."
(Send in the Clones)
You can be forgiven if you've forgotten where"the love" in this ep. It was shown during that initial confrontation between Xena/ Gabrielle/ Alti in the junk yard.
(All we see is HATE in Xena's eyes as she looks at Gabrielle in the junkyard)
Clone-Xena: "Why did you bring her back?"
(Alti walks around Xena and Gabrielle, until she can position herself to push Gabby back into Xena's chest. Xena is fuming, Gabby looks worried.)
Alti: "Well-- consider her my gift to you, Xena."
(Xena is furious, as she looks down at the blonde. Worry not, Gabrielle's now close enough to whisper face to face]
Clone-Gabrielle: "Xena... Xena, you weren't like this in the end. Think of what we accomplished. Think of the good that we did for the world."
Flashbacks show Xena saving various little girls from various explosions and arrows.
Clone-Xena: [Whispers like a lost child] "Gabrielle."
(Her voice is a lifeline, thrown to a soul foundering in the ocean of loneliness and doubt)
Clone-Gabrielle: "Xena, the good that we did for each other."
(Last of the Centaurs)
In this one, we are back to yanking chains in the final scene, and that's just fine with me.
Makes me think of the final scene in season 1's "Altared States".Gabrielle: (The Amazon Queen has a confession) "Xena, I'm glad you didn't kill Belach."
Xena: (The Warrior Princess can't help but "rub it in.") "Oh, now you're glad."
Gabrielle: "You know? Different roads lead to the same place."
(Its funny, Xena is walking on the "downhill" side of Gabrielle and she's STILL taller!)
Xena: (She's still rubbing it in!) "That's very wise... only on your road... he'd be dead."
Gabrielle: [Chuckles at their role reversal this "ep".] "Right... I can be wise, sometimes."
Xena: "Yeah, right."
Gabrielle: (She looks up at Xena) "I can, really."
(An arm goes around the shoulders of Potadiea's battling "midwife" as Xena smiles.)
Xena:"Yeah. I'm agreeing with you... as always."
(When Fates Collide)
3 weeks it took to recap this baby... and if you couldn't see the X/G... then you are denser than Joxer! Heck... even CAESAR could see it.
Julius Caesar "It's ironic, isn't it? How a single decision can change the entire path of one's destiny. Had I not betrayed Xena, I'd be ruling Rome today. Instead, I get stabbed in the back by my good friend, Brutus.. while Xena gets to ride off into the sunset with her girlfriend... hardly a fitting end for Julius Caesar."
I prefer to leave it with the Empress' words in the jail cell... after only knowing the Playwright for less than 3 days...
Xena: "Get out."
Gabrielle: "Don't."
Its now her turn to quietly plead with a woman she only met 3 ? days ago. Suddenly we hear "boots" in the corridor, and see Joxer/Neo arrive at the cell door.
Neo: "Empress... it's time."
He unlocks the cell door and the troops enter, going directly to The Empress' right and left side as Gabrielle continues to hold that face in her hands before we see one final smile.
Xena: "I'll love you forever."
(Many Happy Returns)
Nothing I said can top this poem.
(Soul Possession, final scene)
Gabrielle in Mattie: (She looks HER old friend up and down, with a smile) “Xena... no matter how hard Ares has tried, he has never been able to break us up.”
Xena-in-Annie: “And he never will, I promise.”
Love.
Whether they be best friends or intimate lovers, the thing that cannot be disputed is that there is a great love between these two... one that is obvious to anyone who really looks, and season 6 REALLY looks.
Yes... one could almost be forgiven for thinking season 6 was simply about love.
I said.... "ALMOST".
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I'm sure those of you who have been reading along with me these last few months, not to mention those Xena fans who've loved the series for the last 16 YEARS, know the third theme that Season 6 revolved around.
Guilt.
It's funny, despite the frequent forays into Evil Xena's past, its so easy for us to forget her beginnings. Its so easy to blame her mistakes on "outside" circumstances... the warlord Cortese sacking her village and killing her younger brother, her Mother disowning her over the death of her youngest child, the upstart Caesar betraying her and crucifying her on the beach, the slave M'lila worming her way into Xena's heart before she died defending her, the crippled legs tormenting her, the beautiful Lao Ma who tantalyzed her with an option she could not yet accept, the love of her life Borias growing away from her and dying in an attempt to see his newborn son, the realization that to save said son she must give him up and never see him again, the temptation of the Rhinegold and the loss of same...
Yes its easy to blame everything in her past on "outside" circumstances. But the funny thing about "outside" circumstances, they can be for evil or they can be for good.
A story about said outside influences from Xena's past, told during season 1's "A Royal Couple of Thieves"...
Xena: “There was a time, when I was young, I was wounded in battle and those people found me. They dressed my wounds and fed me, though they had nothing to spare. And then, when the enemy came to find me, one of them died protecting me. However, I can’t expect that you would understand that.”
Another story of Xena's past and those outside influences, told during season 2's "Giant Killer"
Gabrielle: “Xena? Thunder keeping you up?”
Xena: “No, just thinking.”
Gabrielle: “About tomorrow?”
Xena: “About ten years ago when Goliath and I fought in a
campaign against Gareth and his army. We were caught off-guard one morning. Goliath was taking his wife and children to safety when I was surrounded and badly injured. I yelled at him to get back but he wouldn’t. He refused to leave me.”
Gabrielle: “He left his family?”
Xena: “While he was saving me, Gareth killed them all. I owe him much more than my life.”
A story from her past, when the influences weren't so positive, from season 3's "Forgiven"
Gabrielle: “Oh, no. I knew you were evil, but you were obnoxious, too?”
Xena: “When I was young, before my village was attacked, I used to hang with the young bucks in Amphipolis. I was pretty wild. If somebody had’a given me a little guidance, then maybe I would’ve been better equiped to handle what lay ahead. Here’s the deal. Let’s see how it goes as far as the hideout, and if she gives you any more guff, I will straighten her out. OK?”
Another hint from season 4 of a positive influence in Xena's past, "If the Shoe Fits"
Xena: "This child's name is Alesia, Princess Alesia of Cyra. Her father and I have been friends for years. Alesia, how did you get here? Did you run away from home?"
And probably the biggest positive influence in Xena's "preGabrielle" history... is retold in season 5's "Purity".
Xena: "Your mother helped me find a kind of peace that I'd never known before-- and when she died, it died with her."
And much later, in the same ep...
Xena: "There are people you meet, who move in and out of your life, like ghosts-- and after they're gone, you find that they've left a part of themselves with you. It's as if, in some small way that their spirit helps define who you are or what you wanna bring to the world."
Kao Sin: "Then it seems that my mother is still alive in us both."
Xena: "Your mother taught me compassion. It's a lesson that I wanna pass on to this child. But, you, how did you learn that without the benefit of her love?"
Kao Sin: "Every day that passes in Ch'in without bloodshed, passes because my mother played a part in the destiny of our own homeland. Just look around, Xena, her lesson is her legacy. She speaks to me even now, through the whispering wind. You wish to know where I learned compassion? All you have to do is listen."
Then, there was the story told in season 6 that set the Norse trilogy in motion, a story from Xena's past that was filled with both positive and negative influences.
Odin: "I am Odin, king of the Norse gods. It is my duty to bring peace to the Norse country. Yet as I sit in Valhalla, and watch the bitter struggle called life on this Earth I ask,`Are we doomed to live in a constant state of endless conflict?!'"
Xena: "Damn straight! That's what makes life so worth living. You know, every day I wake up and I feel pumped by the knowledge that there is always someone around the next corner, someone for me to challenge, to fight, and to conquer."
Odin: "Someday, someone may conquer you."
Xena: "Precisely, which is why I don't have time to waste chatting with a god who doesn't know what to do with his immortality. (To her horse) Chk-chk."
Odin: "Wait who are you?"
Xena: "The name's Xena. You know, you can't escape the struggle, Odin. Ya gotta embrace it."
Brunhilda's Voice: "Xena brought Odin out of his despair by sharing with him her lust for life. He, in turn, made her a Valkyrie."
Guilt.
Season 6 reminded us frequently why Xena felt guilty.
Xena: [Whispers over her Mother's crypt] "Mother. Oh! What did they do to you? They've taken everything. Now you can't rest. And where was I? Oh, Mother. I will find you. Wherever you are, I will find you. I'll make it right. I'll make this right."
Guilt, over what she's done.. and over what she failed to do.
She saved so many strangers, but when push came to shove, she wasn't there to save her Mother from death by burning at the stake.
And you wonder why she can't forgive herself?
She spelled the reasons out pretty plainly to Beowulf as they approached his army's last stand.
Despite the love she's received over the years, from Gabrielle, Cyrene, Eve and even Joxer... in truth, deep down, this is how Xena sees herself.
Beowulf: "The people up here think of you as a demon."
Xena: "So they should."
(And why... you might ask.)
Beowulf: "You know this monster pretty well."
Xena: "I should. I created it.
She created the monster known as Grindl... AND that even bigger monster known as XENA: DESTROYER OF NATIONS.
And once created, the guilt that monster gave birth to was itself hard to slay. Just ask Eve at the end of "Path of Vengeance".
Xena: "They've (The Amazons) forgiven you, Eve. Maybe you should think about forgiving yourself."
Eve: "Have you? Forgiven yourself, Mother?"
No... she hasn't, and she admits as much, which also explains her reaction at the end of the next ep. Xena isn't just spouting platitudes at the end of season 6's "To Helicon and Back" when she says...
Xena: "War's tough on the soul, Gabrielle."
Now, even I know YOU don't think the entire 6th season was simply about "guilt".
Right?
Mao once said, "The journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step." But even Mao assumes that eventually there WILL be an end to the journey.
But... what if that isn't true?
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The first step on Xena's thousand mile journey.
http://miroirdarc.com/hercules/s1/wp/herc_wp_dArc_027.jpg
HERCULES: THE LEGENDARY JOURNEYS season 1 episode #9
"WARRIOR PRINCESS"
(Aside: Not enough of THIS kind of eye candy in XWP
)
TEASER, SCENE 1:
The scene opens in a blacksmith's forge.
http://www.mikes-images.com/eps/warrior/pages/warrior mq 002ati.htm
A new short sword is being hammered on the anvil, between various thrusts into the red hot coals to make the metal pliable. The man hammering it into shape is tall, muscular, and very sweaty.
http://www.mikes-images.com/eps/warrior/pages/warrior mq 009ati.htm
Next to him a much shorter but equally sweaty man is pulling on the bellows, in an attempt to heat up the forge to sufficent power to do the job.
http://www.mikes-images.com/eps/warrior/pages/warrior mq 006ati.htm
Finally, the tall man hands the now cooled blade to his friend for inspection.
IOLAUS: It sure is a beauty.
HERCULES: It's all yours, Iolaus.
IOLAUS: What are you talking about? We both worked on it.
HERCULES: No, I'll get the next one we make. How's that sound?
IOLAUS: Well, to tell you the truth, it's the best idea you ever had.
http://www.mikes-images.com/eps/warrior/pages/warrior mq 011ati.htm
SCENE 2:
http://www.mikes-images.com/eps/warrior/pages/warrior mq 019ati.htm
(Outside, Iolaus is throwing his short sword at a red fruit hanging from a pillar on someone's house.)
HERCULES: That was pretty good.
IOLAUS: Thanks. You know all it takes is a little practice, nerves of steel, and a knife so perfectly forged...
(Iolaus tosses knife and it sticks in a house)
SERENA: What in the name of Hades do you think you're doing?
IOLAUS: Serena?
SERENA: Iolaus? Did you do that?
IOLAUS: Yeah, I was, uh, practicing with my new knife. Hercules and I...
SERENA: This is my house.
IOLAUS: Your house? I thought it was abandoned.
http://www.mikes-images.com/eps/warrior/pages/warrior mq 020ati.htm
SERENA: We moved in yesterday.
IOLAUS: We?
SERENA: You haven't heard? I'm married now.
IOLAUS: Oh great. Who's the lucky guy?
SERENA: Tremulous.
TREMULOUS voice: Serena, are you gonna help me or not?
SERENA: I gotta go. He's so cute when he needs me. Bye, Iolaus. Just take it easy on my house, okay?
IOLAUS: Maybe I should use this knife to slit my wrists.
HERCULES: Come on. Haven't you heard the old saying? There's plenty of fish in the sea.
http://www.mikes-images.com/eps/warrior/pages/warrior mq 022ati.htm
IOLAUS: Yeah. (You can hear the voices in his head saying, "there are if your name is Hercules)
HERCULES: Somewhere, the perfect woman is waiting for you.
SCENE 3:
(Cut to village scene. Woman carrying water bucket goes towards a well)
http://miroirdarc.com/hercules/s1/wp/herc_wp_dArc_094.jpg
XENA: [Humming]
http://miroirdarc.com/hercules/s1/wp/herc_wp_dArc_087.jpg
SOLDIER: There she is. That's her. Let's go. Let's do it.
(They attack her and a fight ensues. It ends when she has successfully beaten up everyone in the camp).
http://www.mikes-images.com/eps/warrior/pages/warrior mq 043ati.htm
XENA: Pathetic! If you can't learn to fight better than
that, then you're never gonna defeat Hercules. And I want him dead.
http://miroirdarc.com/hercules/s1/wp/herc_wp_dArc_171.jpg
ETA:
Alas the video has since been deleted, here's a replacement.
http://miroirdarc.com/hercules/s1/wp/herc_wp_dArc_027.jpg
HERCULES: THE LEGENDARY JOURNEYS season 1 episode #9
"WARRIOR PRINCESS"
(Aside: Not enough of THIS kind of eye candy in XWP
)TEASER, SCENE 1:
The scene opens in a blacksmith's forge.
http://www.mikes-images.com/eps/warrior/pages/warrior mq 002ati.htm
A new short sword is being hammered on the anvil, between various thrusts into the red hot coals to make the metal pliable. The man hammering it into shape is tall, muscular, and very sweaty.
http://www.mikes-images.com/eps/warrior/pages/warrior mq 009ati.htm
Next to him a much shorter but equally sweaty man is pulling on the bellows, in an attempt to heat up the forge to sufficent power to do the job.
http://www.mikes-images.com/eps/warrior/pages/warrior mq 006ati.htm
Finally, the tall man hands the now cooled blade to his friend for inspection.
IOLAUS: It sure is a beauty.
HERCULES: It's all yours, Iolaus.
IOLAUS: What are you talking about? We both worked on it.
HERCULES: No, I'll get the next one we make. How's that sound?
IOLAUS: Well, to tell you the truth, it's the best idea you ever had.
http://www.mikes-images.com/eps/warrior/pages/warrior mq 011ati.htm
SCENE 2:
http://www.mikes-images.com/eps/warrior/pages/warrior mq 019ati.htm
(Outside, Iolaus is throwing his short sword at a red fruit hanging from a pillar on someone's house.)
HERCULES: That was pretty good.
IOLAUS: Thanks. You know all it takes is a little practice, nerves of steel, and a knife so perfectly forged...
(Iolaus tosses knife and it sticks in a house)
SERENA: What in the name of Hades do you think you're doing?
IOLAUS: Serena?
SERENA: Iolaus? Did you do that?
IOLAUS: Yeah, I was, uh, practicing with my new knife. Hercules and I...
SERENA: This is my house.
IOLAUS: Your house? I thought it was abandoned.
http://www.mikes-images.com/eps/warrior/pages/warrior mq 020ati.htm
SERENA: We moved in yesterday.
IOLAUS: We?
SERENA: You haven't heard? I'm married now.
IOLAUS: Oh great. Who's the lucky guy?
SERENA: Tremulous.
TREMULOUS voice: Serena, are you gonna help me or not?
SERENA: I gotta go. He's so cute when he needs me. Bye, Iolaus. Just take it easy on my house, okay?
IOLAUS: Maybe I should use this knife to slit my wrists.
HERCULES: Come on. Haven't you heard the old saying? There's plenty of fish in the sea.
http://www.mikes-images.com/eps/warrior/pages/warrior mq 022ati.htm
IOLAUS: Yeah. (You can hear the voices in his head saying, "there are if your name is Hercules)
HERCULES: Somewhere, the perfect woman is waiting for you.
SCENE 3:
(Cut to village scene. Woman carrying water bucket goes towards a well)
http://miroirdarc.com/hercules/s1/wp/herc_wp_dArc_094.jpg
XENA: [Humming]
http://miroirdarc.com/hercules/s1/wp/herc_wp_dArc_087.jpg
SOLDIER: There she is. That's her. Let's go. Let's do it.
(They attack her and a fight ensues. It ends when she has successfully beaten up everyone in the camp).
http://www.mikes-images.com/eps/warrior/pages/warrior mq 043ati.htm
XENA: Pathetic! If you can't learn to fight better than
that, then you're never gonna defeat Hercules. And I want him dead.
http://miroirdarc.com/hercules/s1/wp/herc_wp_dArc_171.jpg
ETA:
Alas the video has since been deleted, here's a replacement.
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HERCULES: THE LEGENDARY JOURNEYS season 1 episode #9
"WARRIOR PRINCESS"
[yt]
ACT 1, SCENE 1:
(Hercules is building a wall at his mother's house.
)http://miroirdarc.com/hercules/s1/wp/herc_wp_dArc_188.jpg
ALCMENE: Hercules. Hercules, you're working too hard.
HERCULES: Mother, I've got to do something to make up for never being around here.
ALCMENE: Well, how about stopping long enough for a
picnic? I'd rather have your company than this wall you want to build.
HERCULES: Well, what if I give you both?
ALCMENE: Oh, you certainly know how to make your mother happy. [Laughs] I really do think you spend too much time worrying about me. I mean the wall ...
HERCULES: If it keeps you from being hurt or robbed just
once, it's worth every drop of sweat I put into it.
ALCMENE: I still don't think the world is that bad a place,
Hercules. Besides, Iolaus looks in on me whenever he can.
HERCULES: Well, he is a good man.
ALCMENE: But a lonely one, I'm afraid.
http://miroirdarc.com/hercules/s1/wp/herc_wp_dArc_207.jpg
HERCULES: Hmm, you see it too?
ALCMENE: It's his eyes that touch my heart. There's no joy in them.
HERCULES: So you think he needs a woman in his life?
http://miroirdarc.com/hercules/s1/wp/herc_wp_dArc_208.jpg
ALCMENE: Do you disagree?
HERCULES: With you? No, I'm too smart for that. (And too hungry) So what did you bring me?
SCENE 2:
(Cut to Xena and Theodorus on horseback along a wooded trail. She has just hopped off.)
THEODORUS: I won't be far away, Xena.
XENA: Do you doubt that I can take care of myself?
THEODORUS: No, of course not. But what if ...
XENA: You'll know when I need you Theodorus. I don't want to see you before then.
THEODORUS: Very well.
http://www.mikes-images.com/eps/warrior/pages/warrior mq 060ati.htm
(Xena bends down and hits her horse's leg with a club. NO... its NOT Argo! Scene then switches, Xena is now tending to the horse's hoof as Iolaus appears down the trail.)
http://www.mikes-images.com/eps/warrior/pages/warrior mq 062ati.htm
XENA: (Softly... to the horse) There, there, it's not so bad. You'll be okay.
IOLAUS: Need any help? (He hopefully asks the beautiful woman in the red leather outfit, traveling alone.)
XENA: Stay away. (she spins about, looking quite frightened.)
http://miroirdarc.com/hercules/s1/wp/herc_wp_dArc_243.jpg
IOLAUS: Hey, take it easy.
XENA: Give me a reason to. (She's pulled her dagger from her belt, but she's just in a defensive posture.)
http://miroirdarc.com/hercules/s1/wp/herc_wp_dArc_249.jpg
IOLAUS: Come on. Do I look dangerous?
http://www.mikes-images.com/eps/warrior/pages/warrior mq 067ati.htm
XENA: Looks can be very deceiving. (ain't that the truth!)
IOLAUS: If you want to stay here and threaten every good
Samaritan who comes along, be my guest. But I'll be glad to help you get to the village. (Just remember, THAT parable hasn't actually been told yet, so where he got it is anyone's bet!)
XENA: Are you sure that's what you really want to do?
(Take a good look at her locket)
http://miroirdarc.com/hercules/s1/wp/herc_wp_dArc_253.jpg
IOLAUS: Put down the knife, and I'll be glad to. (Its hard to believe this is the actor who played Nigel in "And You are There")
http://miroirdarc.com/hercules/s1/wp/herc_wp_dArc_269.jpg
XENA: (She looks down at the dagger in her hand and appears embarrassed as she quickly puts it away.) Oh-- sorry.
http://miroirdarc.com/hercules/s1/wp/herc_wp_dArc_281.jpg
(Hook, line and SINKER!)
SCENE 3:
(Cut to tavern. Hercules is wading through the crowd, looking for a familiar face.)
VILLAGER: What's the matter Hercules? Running out of
monsters to slay?
HERCULES: Not if my mother's wall counts.
VILLAGER: Is it tougher than the Nemean Lion?
HERCULES: Well, the blisters on my hands say it is.
(Hercules sees Iolaus at the bar. He's getting some drinks.)
IOLAUS: (to bartender) Yeah, thanks a lot. (Goes to table
where Xena is sitting, his back is to Hercules.) All right. Here you go. Say, how about a toast to fate for
bringing us together, huh?
(Hercules walks up to the table, tapping his friend on the right shoulder as he slips to the left. Iolaus piroutes right, then left before jumping up.)
HERCULES: (Interrupting) Excuse me.
http://www.mikes-images.com/eps/warrior/pages/warrior mq 082ati.htm
IOLAUS: Uh-huh, look what the cat dragged in.
HERCULES: I thought you were gonna help me with my mother's wall today?
IOLAUS: (Looks embarrassed at his "forgetfulness") Oh, yeah.
http://miroirdarc.com/hercules/s1/wp/herc_wp_dArc_327.jpg
HERCULES: Uh-huh?
IOLAUS: I'm sorry. I forgot. Something came up.
HERCULES: I'm sure it did. (He tries not to look at Xena when he says this, but she won't be ignored.)
http://miroirdarc.com/hercules/s1/wp/herc_wp_dArc_311.jpg
XENA: I'm Xena. (She extends a hand and a smile)
HERCULES: Hello, Xena. I'm ...
IOLAUS: This is my best friend in all the world, that's who
he is.
XENA: (Still smiling sweetly) But does he have a name?
IOLAUS: What? Oh, yeah, yeah. This is Hercules.
XENA: Is everyone you know so famous?
IOLAUS: Famous? Him? What are you talking about?
http://www.mikes-images.com/eps/warrior/pages/warrior mq 088ati.htm
XENA: (I wonder when her face will crack with all this smiling!) Iolaus, you're such a comedian.
http://www.mikes-images.com/eps/warrior/pages/warrior mq 092ati.htm
HERCULES: He certainly is. Until it's time to get down to
business, and then I wouldn't want anyone else on my side.
XENA: I had a feeling he was like that. My horse had gone
lame out in the countryside when Iolaus found me, and he made sure I got here without anyone else bothering me.
http://miroirdarc.com/hercules/s1/wp/herc_wp_dArc_353.jpg
HERCULES: "Uh-huh." (What's Herc's beef here?
Don't you guys have a code that says when a woman that looks like Xena comes along, all previous committments to build walls are moot?) "He never lets you down."http://miroirdarc.com/hercules/s1/wp/herc_wp_dArc_382.jpg
XENA: I'll have to remember that.
HERCULES: Don't worry, he won't let you forget.
http://miroirdarc.com/hercules/s1/wp/herc_wp_dArc_348.jpg
IOLAUS: Hey.
HERCULES: So, uh... if he is gonna talk about himself all
night, should we do it over a nice dinner? Are you interested? (Speaking of codes... isn't inviting yourself out on a first date with your best friend and "someone who looks like Xena" ALSO against some guy code???
)IOLAUS: Yeah.
XENA: Oh, I think I'd be better off trying to look for a
soft, warm bed. (To Iolaus) Think you could help me... one last time?
http://miroirdarc.com/hercules/s1/wp/herc_wp_dArc_392.jpg
(Love the look that goes between Herc and Iolaus... a look that says "So... long... its been good to know ya"...
)IOLAUS: Well, yeah, uh... I think that can be arranged. See
ya.
HERCULES: Uh-huh.
http://miroirdarc.com/hercules/s1/wp/herc_wp_dArc_398.jpg
SCENE 4:
(Next scene, Hercules is back working on ALCMENE's wall, with his damned shirt ON this time.
) HERCULES: The last time I saw him, he was walking out of the inn with a big dumb smile on his face. That was a week ago. What's he doing anyway?
ALCMENE: (I love this line!
) Hercules, you fathered three children. You shouldn't have to ask.HERCULES: Mother, that's not what I'm talking about. It's
just that I don't get to see much of Iolaus except when we're in life-and-death situations. I was hoping we could do something more normal this time. You know, like ... I don't know, hunt, fish, whatever, talk.
ALCMENE: I know how much you enjoy spending time with
Iolaus, but where love and humans are involved, you never know what to expect.
http://www.mikes-images.com/eps/warrior/pages/warrior mq 055ati.htm (I recycled the image since neither of my usual donor sites screencapped this scene. Why bother? He's got his shirt on again!!!
)HERCULES: But, Iolaus doesn't know anything about this Xena. I mean, what if she's got a jealous husband? (Yeah, RIGHT!
) ALCMENE: What if she's the best possible cure for his
loneliness? ( Yeah, RIGHT!
) I think, until you find out otherwise, you should just be happy for him.HERCULES: Okay, okay. You're right... again. I'll just be
here building the wall, by myself.
ACT I continues:
(Xena is scattered throughout this one... just pretend you don't recognize Gabrielle when she shows up. Oh my... Zoe Washburn, what ARE you doing!)
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Who needs great acting when Kevin Sorbo takes off his shirt?
http://www.mikes-images.com/eps/warrior/pages/warrior mq 009ati.htm
I don't recall where I made this comment (Trekkbbs or elsewhere) but it was noticable how Xena's "voice" was "unreliable" in the first season... as if the actress was still trying to find the right mix of command/power and vulnerability.
After hearing what Lucy sounds like in her native accent, I "forgave" the initial missteps as a woman simply trying to develop not just her character but to hide her "native" inflections.
Needless to say, both my fav "power women" (Janeway and Xena) had voice issues in their first season, and both got over them without significant pain. Though, to be honest... I do admit after 6 seasons of XWP and 7 of STV... I still tend to think "Janeway Rulz" in the voice department.
KM 1996
LL 1996
As for the acting... IIRC, Lucy had only been in the biz a year or 2, and was actually hired away from a travel show. I think what really pales is the writing in this first season of Herc, or at least in these first few eps. Not just the writing, but the mere fact that TPTB were still unsure what was going to become of Xena. When they were doing the first ep, "Warrior Princess"... they were still thinking of killing her off at the end of the third ep "Unchained Heart". I always wondered about that statement when I read articles about HTLJ and XWP, but evidently wiser heads prevailed and they kept her alive to do her own show.
HUZZAH!
The Story of Xena I vid was deleted, so here's a substitute.
The Story of Xena II was also deleted...
http://www.mikes-images.com/eps/warrior/pages/warrior mq 009ati.htm
I don't recall where I made this comment (Trekkbbs or elsewhere) but it was noticable how Xena's "voice" was "unreliable" in the first season... as if the actress was still trying to find the right mix of command/power and vulnerability.
After hearing what Lucy sounds like in her native accent, I "forgave" the initial missteps as a woman simply trying to develop not just her character but to hide her "native" inflections.
Needless to say, both my fav "power women" (Janeway and Xena) had voice issues in their first season, and both got over them without significant pain. Though, to be honest... I do admit after 6 seasons of XWP and 7 of STV... I still tend to think "Janeway Rulz" in the voice department.
KM 1996
LL 1996
As for the acting... IIRC, Lucy had only been in the biz a year or 2, and was actually hired away from a travel show. I think what really pales is the writing in this first season of Herc, or at least in these first few eps. Not just the writing, but the mere fact that TPTB were still unsure what was going to become of Xena. When they were doing the first ep, "Warrior Princess"... they were still thinking of killing her off at the end of the third ep "Unchained Heart". I always wondered about that statement when I read articles about HTLJ and XWP, but evidently wiser heads prevailed and they kept her alive to do her own show.
HUZZAH!
The Story of Xena I vid was deleted, so here's a substitute.
The Story of Xena II was also deleted...
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^^ Tim... I think you get that AND MORE in "Spartacus".
Tim, I think you just have a thing for those Texas women!
http://www.rocamora.org/images/Reneepic.jpg
http://beyondthefartheststar.com/blog/cast-interview-renee-oconnor/
ETA you've seen this webisode series of hers, right? http://www.hulu.com/watch/166176/ark-episode-1#s-p2-so-i0
http://www.rocamora.org/images/Reneepic.jpg
http://beyondthefartheststar.com/blog/cast-interview-renee-oconnor/
ETA you've seen this webisode series of hers, right? http://www.hulu.com/watch/166176/ark-episode-1#s-p2-so-i0
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