TV Zone #93

August 1997

XENA: WARRIOR PRINCESS is a rarity in genre television. With tongue stuck
firmly in cheek it stands alongside brother series Hercules: The Legendary
Journeys as an antidote to the conspiracies and doom-laden ongoing plots that
seem to be afflicting just about every other show currently on air.
Entertainment is to the fore, with a winning combination of fast paced
plots, outrageous action scenes plus a visual flair and eye for comedy that
is often sorely lacking in television Fantasy.

GIRL POWER
The decision to make both leads womenhas, whether by accident or design,
tapped into the current rise of girl power. Xena (Lucy Lawless) and her
travelling companion, Gabrielle (Renee O'Connor), are both strong characters,
well written with just the right amount of self-deprecating humour. They
have predictably been labelled 'role models', although the idea of a former
killer being a role model is somewhat disturbing to say the least. It is
practically guaranteed that the world will one day be taken over by
monosyllabic, karate-chopping, sword-wielding babes in leather bodices.
Actually, it doesn't sound so bad...

A LEGEND IS BORN
Producers Sam Raimi and Robert Tapert, not content to simply duplicate
the success of Hercules, have given Xena a darker side, opening up new
avenues for the series to explore. Xena's introduction (in the Hercules
episodes The Warrior Princess, The Gauntlet and Unchained Heart) charted her
fall and rise from all-conquering warmonger to lone warrior in search of her
identity. Lucy Lawless has said, "Xena's agenda is just to get through the
day without killing someone". Whereas Hercules is the perfect hero, Xena is
flawed. She can, and often does, kill and is not above making mistakes. Her
journey down the long and iffficult road to redemption provides the
foundation stone for the series.

The efforts to make Xena as different from Hercules as possible can also
be seen in the almost total absence of monsters. Instead, the writers must
content themselves by dealing with the monsters within Xena, the violent
urges she is constantly trying to suppress. It is a good decision, which
adds much needed depth to the show.

In the second episode, Chariots of War, she kills a warlord without the
slightest hint of remorse. By Season Two's Return of Callisto we are seeing
a very different character. Xena is no longer a heartless killer, and her
guilt over one act of vengeance has crucial consequences further down the
line.

Her struggles with her conscience manifest themselves almost
immediately. In the pilot, Sins of the Past, she is rejected by her mother
and stoned by the villagers of her hometown, Amphipolis. Eleven years
before, Xena had rallied them to defend the village against the warlord
Cortese. Many died, including her younger brother, Lyceus. She refuses to
defend herself against their wrath, knowing that they are right to blame her
for the tragedy which befell them. She is only saved by the arrival of
Gabrielle, who promptly talks - as she tends to do! - the warrior out of
trouble.

LIGHTS, CAMERA...ACTION
We are quickly shown, however, that this is not how Xena usually
extricates herself from sticky situations. She likes to fight. In fact, she
LOVES to fight. She's the kind of person you would definitely want on your
side. It is hard not to feel sorry for her opponents as she glares at them
with flashing eyes, smiles that wicked smile - and then flattens them with
her trademark split-kick. The bad guys may as well beam into the scene
wearing Starfleet security uniforms for all the chance they have of getting
out in one piece.

Fans of Raimi and Tapert's Evil Dead movies will feel instantly at home
with the knockabout humour. The action sequences are a giddying mix of quick
cuts, swooping cameras, hilarious stunts and exaggerated sound effects.
Xena's ability to pluck an arrow out of mid-air, to anticipate a blow before
it arrives, and the uncanny way in which her trusty Chakram always finds its
way back to her hand, all embellish her mythical nature. When she defies
gravity, running up trees and somersaulting through the air, it merely serves
as proof that the Force is not limited to a galaxy inhabited by Darth Vader
and Luke Skywalker. And as she breathes into the ear of her victim, after
paralysing him with her infamous pressure point attack, "I've just cut off
the flow of blood to your brain - you'll be dead in seconds unless I release
you" you have to believe her. They always tell her what she needs to know.

FRIENDS AND FOES
Xena: Warrior Princess features several recurring characters. Ares, God
of War (Kevin Smith), is Xena's biggest fan. Striding about in black
leather, his attempts to woo her back to a life of murder and mayhem are both
dramatic and amusing. Smith has appeared in several episodes and always
steals the show.

Ares isn't the only god on hand, with both Hades (Erik Thomson) and
Aphrodite (Alexandra Tydings) taking time out from their duties on Hercules.
Tydings, as always, is a delight, playing the Goddess of Love as a
self-absorbed Californian beach babe with attitude.

Other characters to look out for are the Amazons Ephiny (Danielle
Cormack) and Velasca (Melinda Clarke), Hercules regular Salmoneus (Robert
Trebor), and Autolycus, the King of Thieves (Raimi stalwart Bruce Campbell).
The appearance of Autolycus in The Royal Couple of Thieves provides one of
the comedic high points of the series, as he joins forces with Xena to try to
recover a stolen weapon. When he tricks Xena into posing as his concubine
you have to wonder about his sanity - and fear for his life.

Kevin Sorbo and Michael Hurst reprise their Hercules roles in
Prometheus, one of those rare crossover stories that actually works. Hurst
also makes cameo appearances in The Quest, as Iolaus, and Mortal Beloved, as
the whinging old ferryman Charon who gives Xena an amusing tour of the
underworld; "Looking to the left you will see the Caves of Despair. And
coming up on the right, the Hanging Gardens of Disgusting Diseases". Sounds
just like a Club 18-30 holiday...

Towards the end of the first year the producers changed the shows'
emphasis slightly. Xena's most interesting foes are those who can hold their
own against her, and the introduction of Callisto (Hudson Leick) was a
turning point. She is the embodiment of Xena's darker side, out to avenge
her family's deaths at the hands of the warrior's army. Leick is superb in
the role, conveying the madness she has been driven to with wild eyes, a
manic smile and a barely perceptible quiver in her voice. Callisto is also
the first character to make the leap from Xena to Hercules, in the episode
Surprise.

Last, but by no means least, is Joxer (Ted Raimi), a bumbling would-be
warrior who takes over the reins of comic relief from the maturing Gabrielle.
Raimi does a fine job in the role - which is no mean feat considering he is
beaten senseless with alarming regularity. "I cultivate this image", Joxer
says, "it let's me get the jump on people". Obviously the endless physical
abuse has had more effect than he cares to mention.

WARRIOR'S COMPANION
The importance of Gabrielle to the development of the series cannot be
under-estimated. The strong and believable friendship that grows between the
two women over the course of the first year is the heartbeat of the show.

Gabrielle is the series's moral centre, keeping Xena's wilder emotions
in check and effectively ensuring that our hero retains the viewer's
sympathy. This is beautifully illustrated during a campfire scene in
'Callisto'. When Xena wonders what the need for revenge might drive her to
should Callisto harm anyone dear to her, Gabrielle makes her promise that, no
matter what happens, she will not give in to the hatred that burns inside
her. It proves to be both a moving and pivotal scene, beautifully played,
and exemplifies the depth of character that has been woven over the course of
the first 22 episodes.

The most important event in Gabrielle's growth, however, occurs in one
of the first season's lesser instalments. Hooves and Harlots sees her, by a
bizarre twist of fate, become an Amazon princess. During the course of the
story she begins to learn how to use a staff. This fulfils the necessity for
the character to be able to fight at Xena's side - without killing anyone -
and also marks her transformation from sidekick to able companion.

These developments are handled deftly and consistently. Although it
comes as a shock when Gabrielle demands that her friend should teach her how
to use a sword in Return of Callisto it is a wholly believable change, born
out of the depths to which their enemy will plunge in order to torture Xena.
The scene is played with fierce conviction by O'Connor and Lawless in what
is undoubtedly the series' most intense story to date.

This episode also sees Xena and Gabrielle's first kiss, an event which
has been jumped upon by gay viewers. Whether or not this is justified is
open to debate, as it could be viewed as a simple declaration of the depth of
their friendship, but it is handled with an admirably light touch and adds
another facet to the series' growing back story. Maybe we'll find out one
day.

CHANGES OF PACE
The road Xena and Gabrielle travel is much like a pinball machine.
They have been hurled into adventures from legend (the siege of Troy in
Beware Greeks Bearing Gifts) and bounced into meetings with history (Julius
Caesar's appearance in Destiny). Then, when the ball gets stuck, the writers
tilt the table, throwing up comedies such as Warrior...Princess...Tramp, in
which Lucy Lawless is given the opportunity to play both Xena and her
remarkably coincidental twins Diana and Meg. In Here She Comes...Miss
Amphipolis, Xena is amusingly offended to be called in to help a group of
"under-dressed, over-developed bimbos" in the Miss Known World beauty
contest, despite her own scantily clad state. She wins the contest herself,
naturally.

The show isn't above lampooning itself either, as illustrated by The
Xena Scrolls, which ends in the present day with a young writer (Ted Raimi)
pitching the idea for the series to Robert Tapert, suggesting that it could
be made on the cheap in a Third World country using the locals as extras!
One imagines that went down well in New Zealand.

Looking beyond the action and humour, it is the underlying core of the
characters' respective 'journeys of the soul' that proves to be the most
satisfying aspect of the show. For Xena it is the rediscovery of her
humanity. Although we spend each episode rooting for her, it must be
remembered that she was once a brutal killer. It seems safe to say that,
when the character does find inner peace (of which she is given the briefest
glimpse at the end of Remember Nothing, Xena's answer to It's a Wonderful
Life), the series will draw to an end. For Gabrielle it is the voyage to
maturity. Considering this is a character who started out idolizing Xena and
hanging on her every word, it is a journey that has already come a long way.

RISING STARS
Both actresses have thus been given the scope to show considerable
acting ability. Lucy Lawless is a master of the sardonically raised eyebrow,
and her wonderfully expressive features allow her to speak volumes with just
one look. She has an unquestionable flair for comedy, and revels in the
series' dramatic moments (as shown by her marvellous performance in the
season one finale Is There A Doctor in the House?). It is also easy to
forget that her natural voice and New Zealand accent are quite different to
those that she gives the character. Along with her ability to handle the
physical demands of the series, she continually amazes with both the depth of
emotion she portrays and the conviction with which she carries this, her
first starring vehicle.

Renee O'Connor is also excellent, forcing the writers to abandon any
plans for Gabrielle to remain as mere comic relief - although she is still
not averse to the odd wisecrack ("You're not much for girl talk are you?" she
asks Xena in Prometheus). She has also had plenty of episodes in which to
shine. In The Greater Good, possibly the series' finest hour to date, Xena
is shot with a poisoned dart that gradually incapacitates her. O'Connor is a
revelation in the scene where Gabrielle returns to find Xena dead, silently
kneeling beside her friend's body and stroking the warrior's hair. Moments
later we see her expelling her rage and grief by furiously battering a tree
trunk with her staff. It is a sequence that is so simply shot and
wonderfully acted that it carries an immense emotional impact, something few
people would have thought a series such as this was capable of.

NEVER WORK WITH ANIMALS
On 8th October 1996, while filming a promotional sketch for The Tonight
Show, Lucy Lawless suffered multiple pelvic fractures when her horse fell.
Naturally, this had a dramatic impact on the filming of the second season
and the writers and producers had to dig deep in order to cover for her
absence. The ending of Intimate Stranger was changed to leave Xena's spirit
trapped in Callisto's body, allowing Hudson Leick to continue as Xena in Ten
Little Warlords. She does an impressive job, perfectly imitating Lawless's
phrasing and intonation. The biggest compliment to her is that it was as
though Lawless had never been away.

The running order was then re-shuffled and the end of Destiny altered so
that Xena 'dies' after taking a massive blow to the head, allowing the events
of The Quest to take place. In the end, a potentially damaging situation was
catered for with such inginuity that you might almost think it had been
planned. And, happily, Lucy had recovered enough by the end of November to
be able to return to work.

HIT OR MYTH?
Xena is currently a regular in the top three syndicated action shows in
America, even beating Hercules and Deep Space Nine to the top spot with its'
second season Hallowe'en episode Girls Just Wanna Have Fun. A long and
prosperous future seems assured. One thing is for certain; the series has
yet to rest on its laurels since hitting its stride midway through the first
season, and Raimi and Tapert do not seem like the kind of people who are
afraid to take chances in order to prevent format becoming formula. With
them at the helm it is possible that Xena's courage could indeed change the
world.

Written by Steve Damarell
 

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