Xena: Warrior Princess

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Xena: Warrior Princess
Lucy Lawless as Xena
Genre	Supernatural Drama
Creator(s)	John Schulian Robert Tapert
Starring	Lucy Lawless Renee O'Connor
Country of origin	United States
No. of episodes	134, plus 3 pilot episodes (The Xena Trilogy)
Production
Running time	41-44 min.
Broadcast
Original channel	Syndication
Original run	September 4, 1995 – May 21, 2001
Chronology
Related shows	Hercules: The Legendary Journeys Hercules and Xena - The Animated Movie: The Battle for Mount Olympus
Links
IMDb profile
TV.com summary

Xena: Warrior Princess is an American television series filmed in New Zealand by Pacific Renaissance Pictures Ltd (the local production arm of Universal Studios). Xena aired from 1995 to 2001. It was a spin-off from Hercules: The Legendary Journeys.

Contents 1 Description 2 Characters 2.1 Main 2.2 Supporting 3 Story arcs 3.1 Xena's backstory 3.2 The Amazons 3.3 The Dahak arc & The Rift 3.4 Birth of Eve, Twilight of the Gods 4 Influence 4.1 References in TV shows 4.2 Astronomy 4.3 Fandom 5 Episodes 6 International broadcast history 7 DVD releases 8 Movies 9 Video games 10 See also 11 References 12 External links

[edit] Description

A historical fantasy set in ancient Greece, the series told the adventures of former Hercules villain Xena (Lucy Lawless), a reformed warlord on a quest to redeem her past sins. Xena was accompanied on her travels by Gabrielle (Renee O'Connor), a young woman who became her best friend and most trusted ally. The series was filmed in New Zealand.

The show freely borrowed names and themes from various mythologies around the world, primarily Greek mythology, adapting them to suit the demands of the storyline. Historical figures and events made numerous appearances, and the main characters are often credited with resolving important historical situations. These included an encounter with Homer (before he was famous), in which Gabrielle encouraged his storytelling aspirations; the fall of Troy; and the capture of Caesar by pirates, with Xena cast as the pirate leader. This quirky mix of timelines and the amalgamation of historical and mythological elements fueled the rise of the show to cult status during the 1990s.

The show was a mixture of styles, ranging from high melodrama in one episode to slapstick comedy in another. Although ostensibly set in ancient times, the themes of the show were essentially modern: taking responsibility for past misdeeds, the value of human life, personal liberty and sacrifice, and friendship. The flexible fantasy framework of the show accommodated a considerable range of styles, including an original musical episode, The Bitter Suite. Although the show often addressed ethical dilemmas such as the morality of pacifism, the storylines rarely sought to provide unequivocal solutions.

In addition to Xena and Gabrielle, the show also featured a wide assortment of recurring characters, including adversaries Ares (Kevin Smith), Alti (Claire Stansfield) and Callisto (Hudson Leick), and trusted friends Virgil (William Gregory Lee), Autolycus (Bruce Campbell), Eli (Tim Omundson) and Joxer (Ted Raimi).

[edit] Characters

[edit] Main

• Xena, played by Actor/Singer Lucy Lawless
• Gabrielle, played by Renee O'Connor

[edit] Supporting

• Alti, outcast Amazon shaman, played by Claire Stansfield
• Amarice, young Amazon, played by Jennifer Sky
• Aphrodite, goddess of love, played by Alexandra Tydings
• Ares, the god of war, played by Kevin Smith
• Autolycus, the self-styled King of Thieves, played by Bruce Campbell
• Borias Xena's ex-lover and the father of Xena's son, Solan, played by Marton Csokas
• Brutus, right hand man of Caesar, played in seasons 2 and 3 by Grant Triplow and in seasons 4, 5 and 6 by David Franklin
• Julius Caesar, love/hate interest for Xena, played by Karl Urban
• Callisto, Xena's nemesis, played by Hudson Leick
• Cyrene, Xena's mother, played by Darien Takle
• Discord, Goddess of Retribution, played by Meighan Desmond
• Draco, warlord and former friend to Xena, played by Jay Laga'aia
• Eli, healer and teacher, played by Tim Omundson
• Ephiny, queen regent of the Amazons, played by Danielle Cormack
• Eve, Xena's daughter, played by Adrienne Wilkinson; also called Livia
• Hecuba, Gabrielle's mother, played by Linda Jones and Lisa Crittenden
• Hercules, the man credited with turning Xena from evil to good, played by Kevin Sorbo
• Herodotus, Gabrielle's father, played by Geoff Snell
• Iolaus, Hercules' best friend, played by Michael Hurst
• Joxer, the warrior wannabe, played by Ted Raimi

• Jet, one of Joxer's identical triplet brothers, an accomplished assassin
• Jace, a flamboyant singer/dancer and the other of Joxer's identical triplet brothers

• Lila, Gabrielle's sister, played by Willa O'Neill
• Marcus, one of Xena's former love interests, played by Bobby Hosea
• Mephistopheles, the King of Hell, played by Anthony Ray Parker
• Michael the Archangel, played by Charles Mesure
• Minya, good friend of Xena and Gabrielle, played by Alison Wall
• Varia, young queen of the Amazons, played by Tsianina Joelson
• Velasca, rogue Amazon who became goddess of chaos after eating Ambrosia, played by Melinda Clarke
• Virgil, the poet/warrior son of Joxer who shares a close friendship with Gabrielle, played by William Gregory Lee

[edit] Story arcs

Through the early seasons the show's episodes were stand-alones where the conflict of the week was usually resolved by the end of the episode. Season 2 marked a change in atmosphere when the show started adopting multi-part episodes and broader story arcs that could span a season or more.

[edit] Xena's backstory

The Season 2 episode Destiny was the first in a series of episodes filled with flashbacks to Xena's past. Although her earliest history was established in the introductory Xena Trilogy on Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, there was a gap of about a decade between the time that Xena initially leaves her village to form an army and the crucial moment when she crosses paths with Hercules and becomes good. The flashback episodes reveal various journeys or milestones in Xena's past that define the woman that she becomes. (See Xena.)

[edit] The Amazons

With her independent lifestyle and fighting skills, Xena bears a striking resemblance to many of the Amazon tribes scattered throughout the world. But she is careful to emphasize that she is not an Amazon, nor has she any wish to become one. She has turned down offers to join the tribes. The series reveals that certain Amazons do not trust Xena from atrocities she committed against them in her past, although most respect her abilities as a warrior.

Gabrielle, on the other hand, during her first encounter with an Amazon tribe (1.10 Hooves and Harlots) threw herself over an Amazon named Terreis to protect her from falling arrows. Although Terreis was already dying, she was impressed by Gabrielle's bravery and gave her the Right of Caste. Terreis was the next in line to rule over her tribe, and by giving Gabrielle the Right of Caste, Gabrielle was effectively an Amazon Princess.

This chance encounter leads to Gabrielle's acceptance into the Amazons, along with all the complications that come with it. Although Gabrielle decides to continue to follow Xena on her adventures, she is occasionally called by her Amazon sisters in times of need or to fulfill her duties as princess. The tribes also value Xena as an experienced ally, and often request her assistance whenever their paths cross.

[edit] The Dahak arc & The Rift

The first lengthy story arc in the show involved the evil god Dahak, a villain based loosely on the mythological Zahhak. In the Season 3 episode The Deliverer, Gabrielle meets a group of religious disciples that worship "The One True God". Attracted by their apparent piety, Gabrielle follows them to their temple, but her curiosity leads to tragedy when she discovers that this god is Dahak and his religion is built on death and destruction. Gabrielle was lured there because of her innocence, and when she is tricked into murdering another, she completes a dark ritual that leads to her supernatural impregnation with the child of Dahak.

Gabrielle's ensuing pregnancy (3.05 Gabrielle's Hope) progresses with unnatural speed. She gives birth within a matter of days. Xena recognises the child for what it is and insists that it be killed as soon as it is born. Gabrielle, however, is overcome with motherly instincts and names the child Hope because she believes that is what her child represents. After giving birth, Gabrielle tricks Xena into believing that she dropped Hope off a cliff, when in fact she has placed Hope in a basket and set her down a river. This betrayal of trust starts what many fans call The Rift, a crucial period in Xena and Gabrielle's relationship where an emotional chasm starts to form between them.

Eventually Xena and Gabrielle cross paths again with Hope (3.11 Maternal Instincts), though due to her supernatural genealogy, she's already grown into a pre-teen. Hope's manipulations cause Xena and Gabrielle to turn against each other, culminating in the death of Xena's only son, Solan. Gabrielle eventually realizes Hope's true intentions and poisons her, but the damage has been done.

The Rift is resolved in the surreal musical episode 3.12 The Bitter Suite that features a number of main characters bursting into song and dance in a dream-like world. The Dahak arc, however, continues over the Season 3 finale (Sacrifice I and II) and the early Season 4 episode A Family Affair where Hope finally meets her demise.

Although it is Xena and Gabrielle that cause the start of the Dahak arc, the problem is only completely resolved in the show's brother series Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, where the main characters of that show have to face and defeat Dahak himself.

[edit] Birth of Eve, Twilight of the Gods

An ongoing plot throughout the fifth season dealt with Xena's pregnancy (coinciding with Lucy Lawless's pregnancy). After Xena and Gabrielle's return from the dead in the Season 5 opener Fallen Angel, the subsequent episodes revealed that Xena was mysteriously pregnant with a child who did not have a father. In episode 5.09 Seeds of Faith it was revealed that the pregnancy was a gift from the redeemed Callisto, who was due to be reborn in the world and chose Xena to be her mother.

In was later decreed that Xena's child would herald the end of the Olympian Gods. Subsequent episodes showed various members of the divine pantheon forming pre-emptive strikes against the pregnant Xena, and though each failed they continued even after the child was born. Episode 5.19 Looking Death in the Eye marked a significant change in the series when Xena and Gabrielle faked their deaths and the series timeline jumped to 25 years later when Xena's daughter, Eve, has grown up into a powerful warrior. The later episodes of the season dealt with Xena and Gabrielle coping with the 25-year-gap, Eve accepting her purpose and the death of various major gods of the series.

[edit] Influence

Xena: Warrior Princess has been credited by many, including Buffy the Vampire Slayer creator Joss Whedon, with blazing the trail for a new generation of female action heroes such as Buffy, Max of Dark Angel, Sydney Bristow of Alias, and the Bride in Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill. Tarantino is an enthusiastic Xena fan^[1].

"Xena" has become a synonym for "tough, warrior-like woman" and is commonly used in magazine articles and film reviews. For instance, Guinevere in the 2004 film King Arthur was compared to Xena in a number of reviews.^{[2] [3] [4]} Also in 2005, a Chicago Daily Herald review of a production of Shakespeare's Henry IV in which most of the male roles were played by women was titled "Shakespeare Meets Xena". The reviewer noted that today's audiences can easily accept the feminization of the play's power struggles and battle scenes because of "familiarity with battling babes like Xena^[1]. Negatively, after the release of Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, many Tolkien fans showed their disapproval of the expanded warrior role Jackson gave Arwen, a background figure in the books, by calling her film version "XenArwen."

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has been nicknamed "Warrior Princess" by her staff^[5].

Rachel, a beautiful adolescent girl character from the science fiction book series Animorphs, was also nicknamed "Xena, Warrior Princess," because of her sometimes reckless bravery and "Take no prisoners" attitude^[6].

Xena has enjoyed a particular cult status in the lesbian community. Some of the lesbian fan base sees Xena and Gabrielle as a couple and has embraced them as role models and lesbian icons^[7]. A group called The Marching Xenas has participated in many gay and lesbian pride parades^[8].

The Animaniacs comic book series parodied the show, casting Minerva Mink as "Minerxa: Warrior Princess." in issue #34.

[edit] References in TV shows

• The finale of Seinfeld (1998) featured a conversation between Jerry Seinfeld and his father in which the father says that the only program he watched was Xena: Warrior Princess and remarked that Xena must be 6'6" tall. Mr. Seinfeld asks Jerry if he watches the show as well, and Jerry says "Yeah, it's pretty good."
• In an episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer ("Halloween", 2x06), Willow says about Buffy's costume: "She couldn't have dressed up like Xena?"
• On Roseanne ("Pampered to a Pulp," October 22, 1996), past-life regression therapy caused Roseanne Barr to have a dream in which she was a Xena-like figure.
• The Simpsons references Xena in three episodes: "Mayored to the Mob" (10 x 09) in which a woman in a Xena costume is seen at a sci-fi convention; "Tree House of Horror" (11 x 04), in which one of the storylines features Lucy Lawless; and "Children of a Lesser God" (12 x 20), in which a Xena poster is seen on a wall.
• The Canadian sketch comedy series This Hour Has 22 Minutes featured a recurring segment in which character Marg Delahunty (Mary Walsh) accosted real-life Canadian politicians while dressed in a Xena-like outfit as "Marg: Warrior Princess".
• On March 13, 2006, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno featured a Xena-related skit using a clip of President Bush and First Lady Laura Bush. In the news clip, Mrs. Bush talks about how proud she is that President supports strong women and has strong women in his cabinet. In the skit, a bubble showing Bush's thoughts appears on the screen with clips of Xena fighting bad guys along with a voiceover of Bush saying that he wished he could get "that Xena woman" in his cabinet because she's the strongest woman he knows, and watching her kick the butt of "evil-doers" makes him tingly.
• In an episode of Entourage ("I Love You Too"), Vanessa Angel makes an appearance as a Xena parody, whose show overshadowed the program it spun-off of, Johnny Chase's Viking Quest. This is a reference to Xena becoming a bigger cultural icon than Hercules: the Legendary Journeys. The use of Angel in this role is also a reference to the fact that Angel was originally slated to play Xena. She fell ill and was unable to make the trip to New Zealand for filming, and the role went to Lucy Lawless.
• In the Dexter's Laboratory episode Momdark Dexter's mom leaps through a window doing Xena's battlecry.
• Through seasons 2 and 3 of the WB drama series 7th Heaven, Ruthie (played by Mackenzie Rosman) often plays make believe that she is Xena.
• In Will & Grace, Will breaks up a brawl between Grace and another woman, referring to them as, while he pulls them apart, "Xena and Gabrielle."
• The animated series The Oblongs featured a popular television show called "Velva The Warrior". This parody took Xena's ambiguous sexuality a step further with many characters and objects in the show named similarly to parts of the female anatomy.
• In MTV's animated series Downtown, one of the recurring characters "Goat" is a fan of Xena: Warrior Princess. In the first episode he asks the main character for his Xena life-sized cardboard cutout, and at a later episode he makes several different Xena references.
• In the first episode of Cyberchase The kids first see Motherboard the Ruler of Cyberspace. After she introduces herself, Inez jokes:Right, and I'm Xena:warrior princess.
• In the Dark Angel series (2000-2002), Max played by Jessica Alba, has a lesbian friend, Original Cindy, played by Valarie Rae Miller. When Max and Original Cindy move in together, Original Cindy attaches a large Xena: Warrior Princess poster to the wall over her bed.
• In Charmed:
  • In the fifth season two part finale episode "Oh My Goddess (Part 2)", Phoebe asks Paige "Are you going to miss being Xena: Warrior Princess?".
  • In the season six two part premiere episode "Valhalley of the Dolls (Part 2)", while Piper is with the Valkyries in the city, a biker comes out of an alley and sees the way they are dressed and asks "What is this, a Xena convention?"

[edit] Astronomy

In 2005, the team that discovered the dwarf planet 2003 UB₃₁₃ nicknamed it "Xena" in honor of the TV character. On October 1, 2005, the team announced that 2003 UB₃₁₃ had a moon, which they had nicknamed "Gabrielle". The objects were officially named Eris and Dysnomia by the International Astronomical Union on September 13, 2006. Although the official names have legitimate roots in Greek mythology, Dysnomia is also Greek for "lawlessness", perpetuating the link with Lucy Lawless.

[edit] Fandom

A subject of much interest and debate among viewers was the question of whether Xena and Gabrielle were lovers.^{[9] [10]} This issue was left deliberately ambiguous by the show's writers. Jokes, innuendo, and other subtle evidence of a romantic relationship between Xena and Gabrielle was referred to as "lesbian subtext" or simply "subtext" by fans.^[9] The issue of the true nature of the Xena/Gabrielle relationship caused intense shipping debates in the fandom, which turned especially impassioned due to spillover from real-life debates about same-sex sexuality and gay rights.^[11]

Some fans felt that the sexual nature of Xena and Gabrielle's relationship was cemented by an interview given by Lucy Lawless to Lesbian News magazine in 2003. Lawless stated that after the series finale (in which Gabrielle revived Xena with a mouth-to-mouth water transfer filmed to look like a full kiss), she had come to believe that Xena and Gabrielle's relationship was "definitely gay... there was always a 'well, she might be or she might not be' but when there was that drip of water passing between their lips in the very final scene, that cemented it for me. Now it wasn't just that Xena was bisexual and kinda liked her gal pal and they kind of fooled around sometimes, it was 'Nope, they're married, man^[12]." However, in the interviews and commentaries on the DVD sets released in 2003-2005, the actors, writers and producers continued to stress the ambiguity of the relationship, and Ares was also considered at least as a potential love interest for Xena.^[10]

The Xena fandom also popularized the term Altfic (from "alternative fiction") to refer to same-sex romantic fan fiction^{[citation needed]}. Many fans felt the term slash fiction carried the connotation of being about male/male couples only and was not a good description for romantic fan fiction about Xena and Gabrielle.

Another special fandom term is "Uber", in 1997 by Kym Taborn of fan website Whoosh.org, sometimes used with a character's name ("UberXena") and sometimes used as a name for a fan fiction subgenre ("Uberfic"). In Xena Uberfic, Xena, Gabrielle, and other characters are appear in different cultures at different times, from the prehistoric to the far future, through reincarnation or supernatural means. Stories of this kind were first inspired by the episode "The Xena Scrolls", which featured look-alike descendants of Xena and Gabrielle living in the 1940s. Later episodes of the show also showed different future incarnations of Xena and Gabrielle in both India and the United States.

After the series ended, several fan-created virtual seasons were launched on the Internet, continuing the storyline past the series finale (and resurrecting Xena from her death in the finale). They include the "Xena: Warrior Princess Virtual Seasons, the "Xena: Warrior Princess Subtext Virtual Seasons" (in which Xena and Gabrielle are openly shown as a couple and have an Amazon wedding), and the "Xena: Warrior Princess Shipper Seasons" (which develops Xena's relationship with Ares).

[edit] Episodes

Main article: List of Xena: Warrior Princess Episodes

[edit] International broadcast history

• In Brazil, the show was previously shown on SBT, and reruns are currently being shown on Rede Record.
• In Bulgaria, the second season airs on GTV.
• In Colombia, the show was shown on RCN.
• In Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Estonia, the show was shown on TV3 (Viasat). In Denmark it is currently being shown on Kanal 5 (Denmark).
• In Egypt, the show was previously shown on El Kana Thania (Channel 2).
• In France, the show was shown on TF1.
• In Hungary, the show was shown on TV2.
• In Italy, the show was previously shown on ITALIA 1.
• In Mexico, the show was shown on the Mexican USA Network.
• In Croatia, the show was shown on HRT.
• In Peru, the show was shown on Frecuencia Latina.
• In Poland, the show was shown on Polsat.
• In Portugal, the show was shown on SIC
• In Spain, Xena was first broadcast in the public TV station TVE, and it started to be shown in regional channels in 2005.
• In the United Kingdom, the series was first shown by Sky, and was also shown on terrestrial television by Channel 5, although they abruptly stopped running it mid-way through the fourth season, leaving the remaining episodes - to date - unbroadcast, despite it being one of their most popular programmes. It is currently shown by Satellite / Cable channel Bravo.
• In Venezuela, the show was shown on Televen.
• In Belgium, the show is still being shown on Kanaal Twee.
• In Dominican Republic, the show was shown on Telesistema 11 and its female-oriented brother channel, Coral 39.
• In Greece, the show was shown on Star Channel.

[edit] DVD releases

Anchor Bay Entertainment has released all 6 Seasons as well as the 10th Anniversary Collection of Xena: Warrior Princess on DVD in Region 1 for the very first time. The series has also been released on DVD in Region 2 & Region 4.

Note: Only Region 1 DVD's contain special features, Regions 2/3/4 do not have any bonus material on them.

Season	Release Date
	Australia	Canada/US	The Netherlands	Norway/Sweden	UK	New Zealand
1	October 12, 2005	April 23, 2003	April 4, 2005	April 27, 2005	June 6, 2005	June 23, 2005
2	October 12, 2005	September 2, 2003	June 16, 2005	August 31, 2005	August 1, 2005	August 24, 2005
3	December 10, 2005	February 10, 2004	September 22, 2005	October 26, 2005	October 3, 2005	September 22, 2005
4	December 10, 2005	June 15, 2004	November 24, 2005	January 11, 2006	November 21, 2005	November 17, 2005
5	December 10, 2005	October 19, 2004	February 23, 2006	March 22, 2006	TBA, TBA	TBA, TBA
6	December 10, 2005	March 8, 2005	April 6, 2006	May 25, 2006	April 3, 2006	April/May/June?, 2006
10th Anniversary Collection	TBA	July 26, 2005	TBA	TBA	June 5, 2006	TBA

Note: The Region 2 releases of Season 1 contain the episodes out of order, creating a number of continuity problems when watching them in the order in which they are presented. The order on these DVD's is episode 1, then episodes 10 through 19, then episode 2, then episodes 21 through 24, and finally episodes 3 through 9.

[edit] Movies

In August 1997 Hercules and Xena: The Battle For Mount Olympus an DTV animated movie was released, featuring the voices of a number of actors from both Hercules: The Legendary Journeys and Xena: Warrior Princess. The movie plot involves Hercules' mother being kidnapped by Zeus and the release of the titans. Xena and Gabrielle have supporting roles in the movie, and at one point Xena even bursts into song.

Since the end of the series rumors circulated that a feature length movie was in the works. In 2003 Screenwriter Katherine Fugate was approached for the project, and was quoted saying that she expects the start of production to be three to five years away, which suggests a release sometime between 2006 and 2009^[13]. Actress Lucy Lawless has been quoted in several interviews as saying she would be interested in participating in a Xena film as well^[14].

[edit] Video games

• Electronic Arts published Xena: Warrior Princess for the PSone in 1999. Played from a third-person perspective, the game play involves slashing, jumping, and kicking through a variety of primitive 3D environments. Xena can also find and use power-ups and her trademark chakram. Once thrown, the chakram becomes a first-person weapon to guide toward enemies.

• Saffire published Xena: Talisman of Fate for the Nintendo 64 console in 1999.
  

  

  Xena Warrior Princess: Talisman of Fate for Nintendo 64
  Talisman of Fate focuses on straight one-on-one weapons-based fighting along the lines of the Soul Blade series.

• Xena: Warrior Princess for the Game Boy Color was developed and released by Titus Software in 2000.

• Xena: Warrior Princess: Death In Chains; a multi-path video game for the PC adapted from and expanding upon the television episode of the same name (although none of the original actors provide their voices).

• Xena: Warrior Princess: Girls Just Wanna Have Fun, another multi-path video game for the PC, again adapted from and expanding upon the television episode of the same name (again without the original voice actors).

• Xena: Warrior Princess for the PS2 only released in Europe

[edit] See also

• Hercules: The Legendary Journeys
• Hrólfs saga Gautrekssonar for the legend of a Viking warrior princess.
• West End Games published a Hercules & Xena role playing game.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Whoosh.org
• Xena Online Resources
• Australian Xena Information Page
• Xena: Warrior Princess at the Internet Movie Database
• Xena Online
• The Xena Museum
• h2g2 Xena: Warrior Princess Edited Guide Entry