Aside #4...
The commentaries were quite lively during the Caesar/Alti/Xena/Brutus balcony scene. Lucy calling from the peanut gallery... "Oh NEVER WAIT!" when Xena delayed Alti's execution in favor of a public one before the forum. Rob and Renee then did a few riffs on James Bond movies to explain why waiting was never "good". (Gives Bond time to get away!)
Lucy loved the complexity of the wordless scenes that soon followed, and the fact that no-one (except Caesar) seemed to understand everything that was going on.
As Gabrielle was being led away by the Roman guards... Rob pointed out the silent centurion that watched her pass by... "TED!" was Renee's happy reply.
This is where its GOOD to have an executive producer with foresight.
8 days before principle filming was to begin, Rob realized that "this little role" would be perfect for Ted Raimi (AKA Joxer). I LOVED it, especially the way they will use him as the show goes on. There's nothing of Joxer in this character... but his presence will provide us with another (if unintended) bookend at the end of this story.
The peanut gallery was very active during this first prison scene between Gabrielle and Xena.
"If Gabrielle had never met Xena... would she have left home and become a playwright?" Lucy to Renee as they watched this scene, and Renee's quick reply? "Sure."
I liked Renee's take on Gabrielle, that the adventurous soul would have found a way to follow her dreams even if Xena wasn't there to lead her astray/away. Rob seemed to think Gabrielle would have just settled for Perdicus and the "expected" life of a woman in ancient Greece.
Interestingly... the first draft of "When Fates Collide" had Gabrielle as a happily married woman, living among the vineyards of Greece with her children at her side. TPTB then realized that Gabrielle wouldn't have been able to "leave" that life behind. Rob doesn't spell out what he means by "leave"... as in "leave Greece to travel to Rome with the Theater company." or... "leave home to follow this new Romanized Xena."
Later, he does clarify that TPTB wanted Gabrielle's life to be "unfullfilled" despite her success as a playwright. Just as we have seen thus far that Xena's life is lacking, despite her success as Empress of Rome. [ "...all of Rome talks about you. The country thrives. The people adore you. They say that the army would follow you through the gates of Hades."]
I find that plan, that thesis to be quite shocking, given TPTB's long time contention that these two were "just" friends.
Getting back to the woman in the rag dress last seen in "Ides of March"...
I love this first prison scene for a variety of reasons, one being the realization that (like Xena) THIS Gabrielle is NOT our Gabrielle. She's never harmed anyone in her life, thus far. By this time (The Debts) in our universe, Gabrielle had already killed Meridien, not to mention cracked more than a few skulls with her fighting staff in the last 2 1/3 years.
She's not a fighter... and yet she's not a lover either. She's unmarried, and given her confusion over the connection these two are obviously feeling towards one another, she's probably not evolving into a current day Sappho. (Sappho will appear in the Xenaverse in "another" 29 years).
"That's what we all dream about, isn't it? Someone who looks so deeply into our soul that they'd find something worth dying for."
Gabrielle hasn't yet found that love, hasn't yet found those eyes that can search her soul for meaning... and the striking thing, as Xena turns back to look at Gabrielle once more before she finally quits the cell... the striking thing is that neither one has an INKLING yet as to why they are so drawn to one another.
The commentaries were quite lively during the Caesar/Alti/Xena/Brutus balcony scene. Lucy calling from the peanut gallery... "Oh NEVER WAIT!" when Xena delayed Alti's execution in favor of a public one before the forum. Rob and Renee then did a few riffs on James Bond movies to explain why waiting was never "good". (Gives Bond time to get away!)
Lucy loved the complexity of the wordless scenes that soon followed, and the fact that no-one (except Caesar) seemed to understand everything that was going on.
As Gabrielle was being led away by the Roman guards... Rob pointed out the silent centurion that watched her pass by... "TED!" was Renee's happy reply.
This is where its GOOD to have an executive producer with foresight.
8 days before principle filming was to begin, Rob realized that "this little role" would be perfect for Ted Raimi (AKA Joxer). I LOVED it, especially the way they will use him as the show goes on. There's nothing of Joxer in this character... but his presence will provide us with another (if unintended) bookend at the end of this story.
The peanut gallery was very active during this first prison scene between Gabrielle and Xena.
"If Gabrielle had never met Xena... would she have left home and become a playwright?" Lucy to Renee as they watched this scene, and Renee's quick reply? "Sure."
I liked Renee's take on Gabrielle, that the adventurous soul would have found a way to follow her dreams even if Xena wasn't there to lead her astray/away. Rob seemed to think Gabrielle would have just settled for Perdicus and the "expected" life of a woman in ancient Greece.
Interestingly... the first draft of "When Fates Collide" had Gabrielle as a happily married woman, living among the vineyards of Greece with her children at her side. TPTB then realized that Gabrielle wouldn't have been able to "leave" that life behind. Rob doesn't spell out what he means by "leave"... as in "leave Greece to travel to Rome with the Theater company." or... "leave home to follow this new Romanized Xena."
Later, he does clarify that TPTB wanted Gabrielle's life to be "unfullfilled" despite her success as a playwright. Just as we have seen thus far that Xena's life is lacking, despite her success as Empress of Rome. [ "...all of Rome talks about you. The country thrives. The people adore you. They say that the army would follow you through the gates of Hades."]
I find that plan, that thesis to be quite shocking, given TPTB's long time contention that these two were "just" friends.
Getting back to the woman in the rag dress last seen in "Ides of March"...
I love this first prison scene for a variety of reasons, one being the realization that (like Xena) THIS Gabrielle is NOT our Gabrielle. She's never harmed anyone in her life, thus far. By this time (The Debts) in our universe, Gabrielle had already killed Meridien, not to mention cracked more than a few skulls with her fighting staff in the last 2 1/3 years.
She's not a fighter... and yet she's not a lover either. She's unmarried, and given her confusion over the connection these two are obviously feeling towards one another, she's probably not evolving into a current day Sappho. (Sappho will appear in the Xenaverse in "another" 29 years).
"That's what we all dream about, isn't it? Someone who looks so deeply into our soul that they'd find something worth dying for."
Gabrielle hasn't yet found that love, hasn't yet found those eyes that can search her soul for meaning... and the striking thing, as Xena turns back to look at Gabrielle once more before she finally quits the cell... the striking thing is that neither one has an INKLING yet as to why they are so drawn to one another.
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All the more reason to thank you JanewayRulz for giving some insight into what I've missed.
