Philadelphia Daily News
27 June 2001Hell hath no fury . . .
. . .as a Xena fan scorned.
After witnessing the beheading of their beloved sword-swinging heroine Xena in last weekend's series finale of "Xena: Warrior Princess," fans are just mad. And they're not going to take it anymore.
E!Online reports that Internet message boards are overflowing with notes from grief-stricken devotees.
"It was just awful," one fan lamented about the two-hour finale.
Xena, as played by actress Lucy Lawless, was shot with arrows and beheaded by Japanese soldiers in an act of martyrdom. Hey, what's not to like?
Rob Tapert, co-creator and executive producer of the series as well as hubbo to Lawless, says the reaction is "exactly what we thought it would be."
Xena fans don't seem to like the finality of the act. So, that means no future movies or TV specials.
But, this is Hollywood, and anything can happen, baby.
Fans, meanwhile, have already launched a "Bring Back Xena to the Xenaverse" petition, asking producers to revive Xena because "our hearts need to mend along with [Xena galpal] Gabrielle's."
Yes, they actually said "Xenaverse."
Tapert isn't worried. "This is about the fifth time that Xena has died in the series, so I'm not worried about the franchise ending."