Many thanks to Bridget Petrella for contributing
this article to The AUSXIP News Archive
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'Xena' Star 'Lucy Lawless'— To Guest Star On 'X-Files'
by Bridget Petrella with additional editing by John Mundazio
A huge favorite here at the Tube File,
actress Lucy Lawless, known internationally for her astounding portrayal of Xena on 'Xena
Warrior Princess,' has officially signed on for a story arc/guest role on the popular Fox
Sci Fi drama 'The X-Files,' appearing in the first two episodes of the show's ninth
season, with additional episodes yet to be determined. Commenting briefly on the casting
of Lawless, Frank Spotnitz made the following statement, "We're thrilled to have an
opportunity to work with Lucy, whose work we've admired for a long time. We think we've
found an interesting and unexpected way to have her join The X-Files family." New
Zealand native Lawless' breakout role of Lysia in Hercules and the Amazon Women led to her
signature role of Xena in three episodes of 'Hercules: The Legendary Journeys'. It wasn't
long before those episodes led to her own spin-off series, 'Xena: Warrior Princess,' a
ground-breaking show which aired internationally for six years and indeed went out amid a
blaze of candid observations. As diehard fans continue to deliberate and debate Xena's
ultimate demise, Lawless is aggressively moving forward— a smart move by an extremely
talented actress. Lawless' other television credits have included various guest roles on
'The Simpsons' and 'Just Shoot Me'. She has also been one of the more colorful hosts of
NBC's 'Saturday Night Live'. In recent years, Lawless has been named by People Magazine as
one of the '50 Most Beautiful People in the World,' one of 'TV's 40 Most Fascinating
Stars' and one of the '25 Most Intriguing People of the Year.' The feminist, superhero
character, and soon-to-be icon, 'Xena' was also (deservedly so we might add) named by our
pals over at TV Guide as one of the '50 greatest characters' ever on television.
Far be it for those of us at the Tube File to speculate, but, well... you know
us... we couldn't resist— First of all, this is an excellent opportunity for Lawless
to finally prove, once and for all, to all of her would-be skeptics (those annoyingly
thoughtless journalists who can't seem to see past the oval office at the 'West Wing'),
that she can and WILL proceed to astonish us all with her intensely rich performances.
Trust us folks— the woman is truly a prodigious performer... Okay... so second of
all— her character does arrive as a bit of a mystery— keep in mind, however,
that Annabeth Gish's character, Agent Monica Reyes, raised several eyebrows during a scene
with Agent Scully in the season finale. Several critics, including those of us who happen
to pay attention to the layered details— easily arrived at the conclusion that Reyes
may indeed be a lesbian, or quite possibly a bisexual. 'X-Files' producers have stated
both off the record and on the record that a lesbian relationship may not be in the
cards... exactly. But then, they didn't flat out deny the possibility either. "We've
talked about it," executive producer John Shiban told TV Guide last week, regarding
the exploration of Agent Reyes' sexual orientation. "But we have [ultimately decided]
that it's the kind of baggage we didn't want to deal with— with this kind of
character right now. We had other ideas that we were more excited about. I can see where
they got the idea, but our intention was that it is non-sexual." However, he went on
to tap dance a bit more and say, "On 'The X-Files,' anything can happen. So I don't
want to discount anything. Life is complicated." (Boy— that's an understatement,
just ask any 'Xena' fan)...
We, on the other hand, think it's highly possible that Reyes' sexual
orientation could be explored even further— given Lawless' devout lesbian following
from her recent days as the sword-toting action hero with far more substance and depth
than most... On the flip side of all of this (just to be the devil's advocate here), if
Lawless' character does turn out to be heterosexual, it would certainly put a stop the
short-sighted casting process of "pigeon-holing" her into specific types of
roles. But of course, as we all know, it's really anyone's guess as to whether or not Fox
will actually have the "cojones" to take their highly coveted 'X-Files'
characters into uncharted sexual territory, regardless of how interesting that territory
may turn out to be. One thing is certain though, this time around, Lawless' character gets
to keep her head exactly where it belongs. UB
The series is currently scheduled to begin it's
9th season run on November 4th, be sure to check your local listings for dates and times
in your area.
Museum Photo © 2001 Ellen Filler
Bridget Petrella is the Publisher and Editor in Chief of UPBEAT Entertainment News Online.
At this point in her life, she's seriously contemplating a complete and unbridled
abandonment of " typical" network television... opting instead for The Cartoon
Network, Xena Warrior Princess, V.I.P., WWF Wrestling, Nick At Nite's TV Land, All HBO
Original Programming and of course... TNN's Roller Jam.
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