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Who would have
thought that a minor character that had
three-episode appearance on a popular syndicated
TV series would go on to become a huge cultural
icon? Well, that’s exactly what happened
back in 1995 when Xena appeared on the hit
TV series “Hercules, The Legendary
Journeys.” Initially she was depicted
as a villain who was out for blood on a
vicious vendetta. Through the course of
these episodes, Xena saw the error of her
ways and spun off that same year into an
incredibly popular series of her own that
would last six seasons. The series has since
spawned fan clubs, websites and conventions,
with more fans that you could possibly imagine.
I’ve always been a huge fan of any
project that had Sam Raimi’s name
on it. Whether it was as the director of
movies like the “Evil Dead”
series, “Darkman”, and “The
Quick and the Dead” (to name a few),
cameo appearances in Stephen King’s
TV “The Stand” and “The
Shining”, or his full-fledged comedic
acting turn in “Indian Summer”…
I have to watch.
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So when the new “Action Pack” series
of TV movies that he produced back in 1994 premiered,
you know I was there. This series marked the birth
of the long-running “Hercules”, and
eventually “Xena.”
Raimi’s style has always been that of inventive
cinematography, extreme camera shots and borderline
cheesy material. But I’m not talking bad
cheesy, I’m talking intelligent cheese ball.
His earlier works were almost parodies on popular
genres, taking every stereotype to the extreme.
His style is unmistakable. Some people get it,
others… well, I feel sorry for those who
miss out. Now that he’s made a name with
mainstream audiences by directing “Spider-Man”,
perhaps they’ll start checking it out.
Well, now that I’ve admitted my admiration
for Raimi’s work, I can admit that though
I originally caught the Action Pack, I didn’t
continue to watch once “Hercules”,
and later “Xena”, became regular TV
series. I know, I know… some of you don’t
care, but there are going to be those hardcore
fans who will shake their heads in sadness, believing
me to be ignorant of the some of Raimi’s
most popular creations. To you I say, “Be
sad for me no longer.”
Thanks to the folks at Anchor Bay Entertainment,
those of us who are “Xena” deprived
have had the chance to make up for the sin of
not watching. They’ve been releasing all
full season sets of the series on DVD, starting
off in 2003 with (appropriately enough) Season
1. And you know with Anchor Bay the quality is
going to be top-notch. That first DVD set was
a massive 7-disc collection, offering up all 24
episodes of the 1st Season. Since that time they
have released all 6 seasons in equally impressive
sets.
My wife and I were pretty excited when we first
sat down to start watching the series. Being Raimi
fans and having some familiarity with the show,
we felt we knew what to expect. We made late night
of it and shot thorugh through several episodes
getting exactly what we hoped for. “Xena”
is extremely cheesy (but that good kind of cheesy),
full of anachronistic dialogue, over-the top action,
and weekend Renaissance Faire costuming. But we
loved every minute of it. It was pure entertainment.
I will say that the very first episode, “Sins
of the Past” was the hardest one to get
through. Like most first episodes of really creative
shows, they sometimes need to get their footing.
Not that there was anything wrong with it, but
not having really taken the time to watch the
show before, this was where we had to get into
the “Xena” mind set. You know, the
‘seeing two people fight while standing
on other people’s heads’ type of mind
set. (You’ll understand it when you see
it!)
The show did get it’s footing quickly however,
as we noticed improvement which each subsequent
episode. The stories rapidly got better, and we
really started getting into the show. The more
we watched, we started to see why it was so wildly
popular. It was well produced, and utilized a
colorful fantasy element full of mythology and
legend. “Xena” also became the heroine
that TV really lacked. She is strong, powerful
and doesn’t take guff from anyone. She is
by no means meek. Seeing her strength, women viewers
could feel empowered, and some I imagine could
live a life of adventure vicariously through her.
(Boy I sound like a psychoanalyst.) Aside from
that, the show’s just pretty darn fun.
I would be remiss if I failed to point out Lucy
Lawless’ performance as “Xena.”
She does a wonderful job of taking this tortured
character, and putting her through the paces of
her redemption. Though she is working hard to
be good, there always seems to be an undercurrent
of emotions just beneath the surface. You can
sometimes see her fighting to keep it in check.
Lawless’ ability to play this emotion within
the confines of a series that doesn’t take
itself too seriously is a credit to her talent.
One should also pay attention to Renee O’Connor,
who plays Xena’s best friend Gabrielle.
In the 1st season, you could see she was a little
green in the acting department, but as the character
has grown each season so has her talent. The relationship
the two share onscreen is incredibly strong, and
as the series continued, just got stronger. I
understand that the two had become heroines of
a sort for Gay and Lesbian groups around the world
and that is all well and fine, but I think it’s
a little wacky. I think more is read into their
relationship that is intended by the representation
of the characters. I don’t ‘read between
the lines’, because doing so you open it
to your own personal interpretation. And by pigeonholing
the character’s relationship, I think you
lessen its impact. The relationship between the
two transcends any label put on it.
To celebrate the 10th Anniversary of “Xena,
Warrior Princess”, Anchor Bay is now releasing
a special set that collects 16 favorite episodes
from all six seasons (as voted on by fans) into
one big 7-disc set. I’ve listed the episodes
that were chosen below, and while I agree that
the selections offer up a great cross section
of stories that will give even those unfamiliar
with the series a good overview, thee are other
episodes I personally might have picked.
The main thing these selections lacked was a particular
character. Autolycus. Why is this disappointing?
Autolycus was played by none other than Bruce
Campbell. (If you’re asking yourself who
that is right now… shame on you). Throngs
of Campbell fans flocked to the series, wanting
to see their hero from the aforementioned “Evil
Dead” series. He is a cult figure to thousands
of fans worldwide (myself included) for his stature
in the B-Movie industry. He is simply, the BEST
B-Movie actor in the business, though it’s
not necessarily fair to pigeonhole him in that
acting arena. He’s actually had roles in
numerous mainstream TV shows like “Ellen”
and “Homicide”, was the lead in the
unfortunately short-lived “Adventures in
Briscoe County” and “Jack of All Trades”,
and has done a bit of directing (including some
episodes of “Xena”). And to top it
all off, he’s an all around nice guy. Fortunately,
to make up for this terrible oversight, the set
DOES include a nice little featurette, “B
is for Bruce”, that does give a nice overview
of his career including what he brought to “Xena.”
Speaking of featurettes, this is where Anchor
Bay once again leaves other studios in the dust
in terms of sheer quantity. Granted, most of these
extra features are for the hard core fans (because
some of them include the hard core fans), but
they add a tremendous value to the set. First
off, they carried over a lot of the interviews
and commentaries that were available on the episodes
as they appeared on previous sets. This in itself
is great, if you never plan on buying the whole
series (though you really should). But added to
this, there is first time interview with actor
Robert Trevor (Salmonius), as well as with Alex
Tydings. Tydings played Aphrodite in both “Hercules”
and “Xena” and her she (as well as
other cast members) talk about her character and
how she relates to the Mythological goddess. Stunt
woman Zoe Bell is also given an opportunity to
talk about her experiences on the series, which
are quite enlightening.
You’ll also find a bit of a discussion with
the show’s creators Ro b Tapert, Liz Friedman,
David Pollison and Doug Lefler about how the style
of the series was so heavily influenced by the
old Hong Kong chop-socky films. There is a brief
documentary on what it’s like to be an extra
on the series. I’ve done a bit of extra
work, so I can relate to the long hours spent
waiting… and waiting… and waiting.
Finally, the fans get to have their say in which
we get to see a fan submitted tape on why they
are the biggest fan, as well as favorite moments
from the series as reenacted by the fans. These
last two are quite… interesting, if not
a little bit frightening.
“The Xena 10th Anniversary Set” offers
fans a prefect way to introduce their friends
to the series, without having them sit through
an entire season. Again, most of the choices were
dead on perfect (with the exception of the lack
of Autolycus), and should serve to turn the uninitiated
into fans themelves. I will add that the box is
quite handsome, having a black textured cover
with silver embossing. If you pick up the set,
you’ll also find a coupon that will let
you order a ‘free’ “Xena 10th
Anniversary” leather jewelry box (of course
with a $4.95 shipping charge – but still
a pretty good deal).
I’ve mentioned before that shows like “Xena”,
“Hercules” or even “Highlander”
won’t appeal to everyone, and it’s
true. These shows are so steeped in mythology,
and try to maintain a high entertainment level
using a lot of camp humor that only those with
a lot of imagination seem to enjoy them. I used
to worry about this hurting the popularity of
these shows, but I’ve been pleased to see
that these shows were huge successes because there
were actually enough imaginative people out there.
Episodes:
Sins of the Past (from Season 1)
Callisto (from Season 1)
Is There A Doctor In The House (from Season 1)
A Day In The Life (from Season 2)
Been There Done That (from Season 3)
The Bitter Suite (from Season 3)
One Against An Army (from Season 3)
The Ides Of March (from Season 4)
Fallen Angel (from Season 5)
Lyre, Lyre, Hearts On Fire (from Season 5)
Amphipolis Under Siege (from Season 5)
Motherhood (from Season 5)
Old Ares Had A Farm (from Season 6)
When Fates Collide (from Season 6)
Many Happy Returns (from Season 6)
A Friend In Need Parts 1 and 2 (the finale from
Season 6)
Starring: Lucy Lawless, Renee O’Connor
Extras: Interviews with Lucy Lawless and other
cast and crew members, Audio commentaries with:
Lucy Lawless, Renee O'Connor, Robert Tapert, Eric
Gruendemann, and RJ Stewart
Featurettes: 2005 10th Anniversary Xena Convention,
Fan Contests, Comic Relief - First Time interview
with actor Robert Trebor, Xena's Hong Kong Origins,
Mythology vs. Xena, Seeing Double, "Extras"
A Documentary, "B" is for Bruce - A
look at the career of Bruce Campbell
Specifications: Full Screen, Dolby Digital 5.1
Surround Sound
Studio: Anchor Bay Entertainment
Release Date: 7/26/2005
Region 1
MPAA Rating: NR
Website
We'll give Xena: 10th Annniversary Edition a
B.
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