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20 Tributes
From: MaryD
Email: ausxip@optushome.com.au
Sent: Wednesday, May 16, 2001
I've sat in front of my monitor now for some time trying to
come up with thewords that would explain how I feel about this show. It's been like no
other I've ever encountered in my 37 years. I once dismissed this show as "Wonder
Woman Rehash" (yes I did say those words to a few friends who tried to get me to
watch). I wish I could say I was there from the beginning...actually TECHNICALLY I was.
Let me explain. For months on end my very good and persistent friend Xero told me about
this show. I was quite happy in my Star Trek: Deep Space Nine fandom thank you very much,
didn't need a Wonder Woman Rehash show with no brains to waste my time.
I was way above that <snigger> After alot of "go
on and have a see" I finally got to see two episodes (which also happen to be my
least favourite episodes of the whole show!). It was a warm December evening in 1996 when
I sat down to tape Xena: Warrior Princess that was going to be shown in Australia for the
very first time. My friend Xero didn't have a good copy of the episode and would I mind
taping it for her. I said "sure". I sat down to watch it just in case I made a
mistake with the taping. Now how often do you know the precise moment in your life when
something changes you? I can pinpoint it to the minute. December 12, 1996 at 7:45 pm on a
Saturday night.
That night changed everything.
No that isn't an exaggeration. I had finally found a show
where a woman was in the lead, who a was strong character. I fell in love with the
show as soon as Xena started kicking Draco's men around. Hooked and I'm still hooked. My
personal life changed and as I sit back and think, I see it changing for the better and
where I am today, I would not have been if it
hadn't been for this show.
This show is more than two women traipsing around the Known World kicking butt. It's much
deeper than that. It's about finding yourself and trusting in others to help. It's about a
friendship that knows no bounds. It's about camaraderie. It's about hope (and I don't mean
THAT Hope <g>) This show and this fandom has given me something I will long
remember. I
have laughed, I have cried and I've gone to hell and back but it's been worth every single
minute. This is much much more than a show - it means more to me than I can express.
Technically I was there from the beginning and I will be there when the last credits roll.
To Lucy, Renee, Rob, RJ, Steve Sears and to the many people behind the scenes, I applaud
you and thank you for changing my life. Xena and Gabrielle will never die. They will live
on in my heart and in my mind.
From: Randi Mogul
Sent: Wednesday, May 16, 2001
Email: randim@em.cortland.edu
It was so wonderful to finally see a strong woman on TV who
didn't need men around to get her out of a tough position, I loved the strong relationship
between the two wondeful leads, and I love any show that can make me laugh and cry at the
same time. There will never be another show like Xena, if I could have dreamed up the
perfect show myself, this would have been it, there was everything there.
From: Robin Boze
Sent: Wednesday, May 16, 2001
Email: Robin.Boze@bi.com
The day I started watching this show, it changed my life
forever. Now that it is ending, I feel I have lost a friend. I know that I will continue
to watch the videos and talk to other xenites, but nothing can take away the feelings that
I got from the new episodes each week. This is the best show I have ever seen and I'm
going to miss it deeply. Thank you Rob, Lucy and Renee for touching my heart and soul with
your beauty and your talent.
From: Rosa M. Moran
Sent: Wednesday, May 16, 2001
Email: stswnut@aol.com
URL: http://hometown.aol.com/stswnut/index.htm
What stands out about Xena? Two strong women roles as the
stars of a TV show. The love and friendship between lead characters. The fight scenes, the
comedic scenes, the entertaining plots... there wasn't a week of the series that I didn't
enjoy watching the show. Some weeks were bad others were great, but I always stuck around
to watch.
From "Cindy"
Email: Strongwoman66@hotmail.com
Sent: Thursday, May 17, 2001
Finally, my favorite TV show comes to the end - Xena: Warrior
Princess. It is unbelievable that it has been six years since I watched the first episode
of XWP. Before XWP, I was clueless about my sexuality and the strength of women in our
society. Through these years, I have learnt to accept who I am and to have more faith in
my ability to accomplish my goals. The love of Xena for Gabrielle and their desire to help
people make me believe that any of us would be Gabrielle or Xena. I do not really know how
to express my feelings toward the characters. The only thing I would say is that Lucy and
Renee are beautiful and wonderful people though I was unable to meet them in person due to
my busy schedule. I hope Lucy and Renee will continue enlightening us with their stunning
acting skills.
From emily r hampson
Email: mly19_00@juno.com
Sent: Thursday, May 17, 2001
I wish I could say that I was a fan from the beginning, but I
wasn't. The first time I saw Xena was during the second season in the summertime and I
just so happen to stumble upon one of the best episodes ever which was Destiny. I remember
sitting there completely in awe because I have never seen a show quite like this. From
then on I was hooked. Don't get me wrong I have watched plenty of t.v. shows in my day,
but I have never taped every episode of any show in my life until I saw Xena.
This show totally stole my heart and I seriously think it
changed my life forever. There is something about that it just completely took my breath
away. The show wasn't about some woman kicking some serious butt, even though I did get a
kick out of Xena's fights, but it was about two women who were trying to find who they
really are, but instead they found each other. I wish I had a powerful friendship like
Xena and Gabrielle had. I really don't care how the show ends, but all I know is that Xena
was the best show ever put on television. In closing let me just say that I am a 20 year
old college student trying to find my way through life and I think watching this show from
the time I began has really helped me make choices. I know I sound crazy for saying that,
but that's how I feel. Xena will always have a place in my heart I will continue to watch
my tapes for along time to come. I will never love a another television show as much I
loved this one. Thank you for the memories. :)
Emily H.:)
From: Akazukin Chacha
Email: webmaster@european-xenaverse.com
Sent: May 17, 2001
http://www.european-xenaverse.com
Tribute: Sorry to write in french but I couldn't find the
exact word in english ;) Xena a été une révélation ! Je dirais même qu'elle m'a
"sauvé" la vie par le fait que je m'y suis accrochée grâce à elle, grâce à
son style de vie, grâce à sa personnalité. Je l'admire énormément et je prends
régulièrement appui sur son mode de pensée que j'espère avoir pu appréhender durant
les 5 (6 ?) saisons que j'ai eu le bonheur de voir. La série n'a été qu'en
s'améliorant et je remercie du fond du coeur les producteurs, les acteurs et les
scénaristes ainsi que tout ceux qui ont permis à la série de se perpétuer durant 6
saisons ! Xena et Gabrielle sont des modèles pour chacun(e)s de nous. Je n'avais jamais
trouvé une série qui me touchait autant. Espérons que ce ne soit pas la fin d'un temps.
From: nancy
Email: ironlady2000@uptomail.com
Sent: Wednesday, May 16, 2001
bedankt,dat jullie er waren voor iedereen, ook voor de
lesbiennes.ook onder zware druk van heel wat conservatiefdenkende mensen, jullie hielden
stand.BEDANKT
From: A. J. W.
Email: MurphyCG881@aol.com
Sent: Wednesday, May 16, 2001
Thank you for six years of a positive female role model.
Thank you for all the laughs, joys, frustrations, and tears. Thanks for bringing so many
together in a common goal. We pray, help, love/laugh and petition. The show will never
end! Not as far as I'm concerned.
Battle on! Murphy!
From: Erika AKA TalkAttack
Email: Talkattack14@aol.com
Sent: Wednesday, May 16, 2001
URL: http://www.geocities.com/talkattack14
I started watching X:WP one night because there was nothing
else on and I couldn't sleep. I obviously didn't know what I was getting myself into. I
slowly began to change as a person the more I watched Xena. I am so much more bold,
social, out going, and my life is the best I could ever imagine it being. I have made alot
of friends and met alot of wonderful people. I have never seen such a show bring so many
people together and effect them in the ways that Xena: Warrior Princess did! It's a
beautiful thing and I am proud to be a part of it! The show has opened alot of doors for
me and sparked new interests. X:WP helped make me the person I am today! The reason I
think I kept watching and keep watching to this day is because it gives me something to
look forward to and it's so orginal. Rob Tapert, R.J. Stewart, Lucy, Renee, and cast &
crew are spectacular in every sense of the word. Thank you for the best years of my life
and for all the memories.
From: annick baillieu
Email: annick.baillieu@pi.be
From: Wednesday, May 16, 2001
What can I possible say? I never tought I would ever be
shanted by a television serie like Xena. Yes, it opened my eyes and gave me a overwhelming
sence of joy, thanks for all the goodies. Even good things come to an end; that's the way
it should be, To all the Xenites who created an global connection, even now the power of
amazones lives through, must have been something truthfull about the Myth?
From: Astraea
Email: astraea88@hotmail.com
Sent: Wednesday, May 16, 2001
Wow, it's hard to believe that the show is almost over. I was
just eleven years old when I started watching Xena. In some ways, I think it helped shape
my life. Watching Xena and Gabrielle struggle against adversity made my own problems
somewhat easier to bear. I think it is important for young girls to have a strong female
role model to look up to. Aside from my grandmothers, Xena was that for me. The show has
had its ups and downs but it will eternally remain one of my most beloved television
shows. And so I would like to thank all the actors and actresses, producers and
executives, and the writers for creating a show that will forever be engrained in the
female consciousness. You have changed lives, and I most humbly thank you from the bottom
of my heart. I think a quote from Salmoneus in The Greater Good sums it up my feelings,
"Proud warrioress-- I will miss you."
From: Libby
Email: LHendr9802@aol.com
Sent: Thursday, May 17, 2001
Sorry to see Xena is gone. Xena show brought me out of a 3 yr
depression after the death of my mother. I was a couch tater b4 my mother died but after I
only had the tv for noise But happening on to beautiful women joking around I had to find
out about the show and what the names on these two women. While trying to find some more
out about the show I found some really fabulous (xenites) friends on the internet. Lucy
Lawless and Renee OConnor are beautiful women. And I hope they do lots more things in the
future. Movies,TV, and the stage. I can wait to see them do more lots more. Best of luck
ladies.
Thank you Libby
///////////////////////////////\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\
Also thanks to all the fan writers that wrote on the internet xena stories. When my
grandmother died years ago I got over my depression with Star Trek stories. But since my
mother helped me collect all those ST novels to read when my mom died I couldnt read one
word of ST nor watch the show. After discovering XENA and having to find out about the
show I happening onto those fanfiction which filled all my hours Keeping my loneliness at
bay. I thank all of u. Battle On my friends. You have all made my life less lonely.
From: "nancy"
Email: nancy.steenssens@skynet.be
Sent: Thursday, May 17, 2001
Ik ben al jaren een xena/gabrielle fan, en dat zal altijd zo
blijven. Een heleboel jonge en oudere mensen zien een voorbeeld in deze twee sterke
vrouwen.Heel wat lesbiennes zijn deze vrouwen dankbaar, en hebben hierdoor hun ware aard
onder ogen gezien.Ik ben ook Lucy en Renee heel dankbaar, dat ze de druk hebben doorstaan
van heel wat conservatiefdenkende mensen. Ze zijn er altijd geweest voor ons lesbiennes
From: Ruth M. Sprague
Email: twanda@twanda.org
Sent: Thursday, May 17, 2001
Xena is truly one of the best thing that has happened for
women in a long time. She has truly changed our world.
From: Joan Seaman
Email: surmonde@optonline.net
Sent: Thursday, May 17, 2001
There's a lot of cool things about Xena: Warrior Princess and
I don't usually see them get acknowledged . . .
1. Unlike most other shows, the two main characters not only
don't have men in some "higher" authority over them, they don't put up with it
(not even from gods or God), they rebel against it and "make their own destiny."
There's no fatherly advice raining down on them from any direction.
2. The seriousness with which the producers and actresses
have taken the subtext takes people's thinking out of the "bedroom" and away
from dirty little jokes. The problem with being an out lesbian is that gay or straight,
everyone's first thought is of what we do in bed. By keeping the focus on the relationship
and not just the sexual component, XWP has done a greater service to gays and lesbians
than even most of us realize. Its certainly worth more than a thousand on screen gay
kisses.
I've always said, its not important 'what' you love but 'who'
you love. Now, I add, its even more important 'how well' you love. Thank you for that.
3. Finally, by not being overt with the subtext, there's an
excellent message to straight women that yells - two women can love each other without
going to bed together. We are taught from an early age we are rivals to one another. We
compare our weights, our hairstyles, our features to each other before we even bat an eye,
. . . or become friends. It comes out of old feminist theory, but it still holds true. And
its no joke either if you've ever spoken to an anorexic or bulimic girl or woman . . . its
all they do . . . compare, compare, compare. That alone, gay or straight perspective,
should get a large standing ovation.
4. They even explored alternatives to violence as conflict
resolution . . .
I don't know if Xena could change the world if she was real .
. . but the producers, cast and crew made damn good headway.
On behalf of my family (we haven't missed an episode in three
years, except for the Fishsticks rerun) thank you for everything you've done, what you
haven't done and all your efforts.
Sincerely, Joan Seaman
From: Kathleen Fox
Email: happykt@attglobal.net
Sent: Thursday, May 17, 2001
Xena Warrior Princess has changed my life and where I see
myself in the world. This tv show has single-handly made me believe that dreams can come
true, women can love each other without guilt or recrimination, and that yes, women can be
a hero's.
What a remarkable, subversive, inspired and divine creation
Mr. Tapert and compnay have woven for all the world to see and wonder over . . .
As for me, there will never be a show like Xena Warrior
Princess . . . There will never be a tv or movie that I love so passionately and follow
with fanatical devotion.
Last of all, I want to thank and pay tribute to two wonderful
women Lucy Lawless and Renee O'Connor for making me believe in true love and lesbian fairy
tales. God bless you.
Kathleen Fox
From: Laura Naselli
Email: l.naselli@worldnet.att.net
Sent: Thursday, May 17, 2001
I wonder as I write this what my tribute to this show should
say. I'm not really sure that I can put into words how this show has affected me. I would
make jokes about people who I thought had better things to do than wrap their whole world
around a television show of all things (and look at me now <G). I have never in my life
continuously watched a show or even kept a constant vigile on 'anything' as I have this
show. I can remember when I first saw Hercules come on in those two hour shows and how it
set off the series. I didn't know that the 'stupid, corny show' (and yes those were my
exact words) that I kept on for noise while studying in my dorm room would lead to
something spectacular.
I clearly remeber watching as Xena seducded Ialous and tried
to kill Hercules. In 1995 I sat in that same dorm room where I called Hercules 'corny' and
watched the first run of Xena: Warrior Princess and I thought 'yes! this is it, this is a
great show'. It was a show that was warm, had a story to tell, action packed, not too
serious, and yes could even be corny at times but what an hour it was. Every week for the
last six years (reruns too!) I can always find myself in front of the TV for an hour
watching the latest aired episode and praying that next week there would be another new
one. I have fifty some odd tapes that have every episode since the beginning that I
carefully taped from the TV.
It's been a roller coaster ride through my life the last six
years. I have fought with changing of careers and going through depression and the only
true constant has been Xena. Then I have talked and met with some great people because of
the Xenaverse and have even taken up to writing again after reading some great stories on
the internet. This show has helped see me through some trying times and so have all the
people who've had a hand in putting the show together...from the camera men and make-up
artists all the way to the actors and producers. So I guess what I'm trying to say is that
the show is ending but it really is just the beginning of the end. Xena will live on and
so will the spirit and soul that has lived through each and every person touched by the
show. So thank you Lucy Lawless and Renee O'Connor for giving the world characters that we
will cherish always and your time and talent that we hope to see in the future. And thank
you cast and crew of Xena who've shared with us your labor of love for so many years and
so many years to come.
From: christiane muller
Email: mullerchristiane@hotmail.com
Sent: Thursday, May 17, 2001
Bonjour,
Xena et Gabrielle je ne vous oublierais jamais, vous avez
changé ma vie en nous rappelant ce merveilleux message d’amour de Jésus, car
effectivement c’est la seule voie pour ce monde si perdu en quête de paix.
Merci pour ce magnifique cadeau.
----------------------------------
Hello,
Xena and Gabrielle I would never forget you, you changed my
life by calling back(reminding) us this magnificent message of love of Jesus, because
effectively it is the only way for this world so lost in search of peace.
Thank you for this magnificent present.
From: Wendy
Email: xena1wp1@email.msn.com
Sent: Wednesday, May 16, 2001
Mere words cannot express how heavy my heart is at this time.
Xena Warrior Princess has become a part of my life. (a shrine in my home qualifies as
"part of my life.") It almost feels like losing a friend. We've become so
attached to our heroes Xena and Gabrielle that the thought of no new episodes is
incomprehensible at this moment. I suppose with therapy this too shall pass. Seriously, I
want to thank the cast and crew for 6 fantastic seasons of the greatest program ever
produced for television. We have never seen characters like Xena and Gabrielle before XWP
and I doubt we'll ever see anything like them again.
The love they have for each other can never be duplicated.
The writers and producers of XWP deserve our appreciation for having the balls to air a
program about two women that love each other. Two female characters that would die for
each other. Two female characters that weren't afraid to express their love for each
other. Women that could fight any battle for the greater good. XWP started as a fantasy
program geared toward entertainment which ultimately became an educational program that
taught us a lesson about life each week. Through Xena and Gabrielle I personally evolved
as a person. I can't name a single television program that has effected me in this manner.
Hence my heavy heart. I guess this is like graduation. We take everything we've learned
from our teachers and start experiencing life. I'll never forget the lessons I've learned
from Xena and Gabrielle. The most important lesson Xena taught me is to be whoever I am
and follow my heart.
I hope in the future Rob and Lucy find a way to produce 2
hour XWP films for either cable or the big screen. I believe there is life after the
television series because "we" the fans will keep the faith. Thank you Rob for
co-creating XWP. Thank you Lucy and Renee for giving 110% each week for 6 years. We will
never forget you.
Battle on!
Wendy/San Diego,CA
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