“In a time of ancient gods, warlords, and kings, a land in turmoil cried out for a hero. She was Xena, a mighty princess forged in the heat of battle. The power. The passion. The danger. Her courage will change the world.”
If you don’t recognize the above, you’ve been in a distant land since at least 1995, and this review isn’t really for you. But you should buy this collection immediately, because you’re in for an entirely novel treat.
Xena: Warrior Princess is a spin-off series from “Hercules: The Legendary Journeys”, which followed 5 “Action Pack” (don’t ask) Hercules movies. The Hercules and Xena stories are revisionist tales of antiquity. Most of the names are right (”Hercules” instead of “Herakles”, and the Roman “Cupid” instead of Greek “Eros” are notable exceptions), but anachronisms abound. We first see Xena sitting on her horse, complete with stirrups (1000 years before their invention) and saddle horn (2000 years early). Xena’s sword is bronze, but steel implements abound in an era when Indian Wootz steel was a commodity valued above gold. The wet countryside of New Zealand doubles for the dry Mediterranean clime of Greece. And barbarian warriors look suspiciously like Maori. Obviously the emphasis is on entertainment rather than historical accuracy. It’s a good thing, too, because the entertainment value is outstanding.
The premise of the series is that Xena was a teenager living in the Greek village of Amphipolis when it was attacked. She rallied her neighbors to mount a successful defense. Then she took the surrounding towns to have a defensive perimeter. One thing led to another, and Xena was a warlord terrorizing the countryside. But, true to her original intent, she spared defenseless women and children. When her underlings thought that made her soft she broke from them, and began an epic quest for redemption. Soon after this she met Gabrielle, a young villager whose community is raided. With ambitions exceeding her small town’s reach Gabrielle decides to follow Xena on her travels.
Xena is a mythic hero. Lacking the godly strength of Hercules, she nevertheless matches him in battle by virtue of superhuman agility. Plus, as she says, “I have many skills” — including tactics, strategy, eastern martial arts, horsemanship, medicine, and singing. Xena is at the top of her form when we first see her. In sharp contrast to this we watch Gabrielle as she transforms from quick-witted but unsophisticated villager to wannabe bard to reluctant warrior.
Lucy Lawless got an early entry into the Hercules/Xena universe; she played Lysia in “Hercules and the Amazon Women”, the very first of the movies that preceded the “Hercules” series. In fact this earlier role was a strike against her when trying out for the part of Xena in the “Hercules” series. But hair dye, boots with lifts, and skin bronzer transformed Lucy Lawless (5′ 10 1/2″, light brown hair, pale skin) to Xena (6′ tall, brown-black hair, olive complexion). Add in a passable American accent, and this native New Zealander carried off the role of an Americanized Greek mythic hero with aplomb. When you see Xena riding at the gallop or trading blows with a foe that’s really Lucy Lawless; when Xena is tumbling through the air it’s a stunt performer.
Renee O’Connor also got an early start; she played an earlier version of Deianeira, Hercules’ wife, in “Hercules and the Lost Kingdom”, the second Hercules movie, before landing the role of Gabrielle. In the first season of X:WP O’Connor is listed as “also starring”, after the title; only Lawless gets “starring” billing.
Various continuing characters from “Hercules” appear in Season One of X:WP:
- Kevin Smith as Ares, God of War
- Kevin Sorbo as Hercules
- Michael Hurst as Iolaus (Hercules’ sidekick); also as Charon
- Robert Trebor as Salmoneus, mercurial merchant
- Bruce Campbell as Autolycus, King of Thieves
- Erik Thomson as Hades, God of the Underworld
Season One of Xena introduced a number of new faces that would become familiar:
- Danielle Cormack as Ephiny, Amazon warrior
- Paul Norell as Falafel, food stand vendor
- Karl Urban, who would appear again in seasons 2+ as Julius Caesar
- Hudson Leick as Callisto, nemesis extraordinaire
- Ted Raimi as Joxer, bumbling would-be warrior
More notable one-shot guest stars from Season One included:
- Kate Hodge as Celesta, Goddess of Death
- Galyn G”rg as Helen of Troy
- Tim Thomerson as Meleager the Mighty
- Peter McCauley as Talmodeus
Season One of X:WP was shot on 16mm film to keep production costs down, so the DVD video transfer is no better than you’d expect. The audio is quite a bit better, including outstanding music by Joseph LoDuca. The Xena theme, in particular, is a wonderful mix of bouzouki, french horns, and strings to mix traditional Greek sounds with the stirring European classical melodies we’ve come to associate with inspirational themes.
The 7-disc Season One collection is remarkable mostly for what it DOESN’T have. There are NO extras in the Season One DVDs AT ALL. Each of the 24 episodes is 44 minutes 15 seconds or less. There are no DVD or CC captions. There are no extra chapter stops; each episode has 5 or 6 chapters. The 7th disc is a CD-ROM, with rather unremarkable content. There are no printed guides in the set.
6 DVDs, with 4 episodes each; 24 total episodes
1 CD-ROM:
- Screensaver
- Cast & Director bios
- “Scrolls” – episode cast lists, guest stars (”mortals” and “gods”), search through the scrolls text
- Season One trivia game
Xena: Warrior Princess is a fun, butt-kicking action series. It’s a shame that the DVD collection of Season One is both low on extra content and high on price.
The 1st Season of Xena was addictive, mindblowing and, like all beginnings, had some kinks to be worked out. The casting of Lucy Lawless and Renee O’Connor was phenomenal from day one; Lawless (as most of you probably know) plays a profound, regretful, blue eyed, powerful former warlord who, thanks to help from Hercules, sets out to thoughtfully atone for her past reign of terror.
“Nothing you can do can erase the shame you’ve brought onto your kinsmen,” Xena’s mother exclaims. “Probably not,” Xena admits sadly, eyes dropping, “but I’m going to spend the right of my life trying.” And does she ever! In one of her first attempts at being “good”, the warrior princess lays eyes on Gabrielle, a spirited and selfless village girl who, after seeing Xena’s heroics, wants to “join up with Xena” and “wants to be a warrior like her” As all fans know, Gabrielle is instrumental in reforming Xena by sharing her unconditional love & showing her how much good there is to be done. Xena, of course, has a renewed purpose & reason to live while gladly ready to die for Gab. Like most 1st seasons, the characters are a little shaky, the acting is new & unsual, & the plots are somewhat undefined & experimental & therefore not as soul pinching, action packed and heartpounding as the seasons that so bravely followed. Also, while X & G’s relationship grew dramatically over the years, it was only “friendly” at this stage of the game. At least they wised up in the 2nd season.
Still, it holds a special place in the hearts of all Xena fans as the noble beginning of a timeless legend of pursuing the things that matter: love, sacrifice, the greater good, nobility, triumpth, loss, life.
There are 24 great episodes but HIGHLIGHTS include:
“Sins Of The Past” -pilot episode
Xena journeys homeward determined to atone for the sins of her past, but her efforts to begin a new life are challenged by the vengeful warlord Draco. A betrothed village girl, Gabrielle, takes to the warrior princess immediately.
“Dreamworker”
Xena must enter the magical realm of the Dreamscape to rescue Gabrielle after she is kidnapped by an unlikely god.
“Altared States”
Xena & Gab intervene to save young boy from being sacrificed to a “one God” by his own father
“The Greater Good”
When Xena is hit with a poisoned dart, Gab must disguise herself as the warrior princess in a plan to save Salmoneous and a town from an evil warlord
“Callisto”
Xena must battle the fierce woman warrior Callisto, who is bent on revenge for the burning death of her family by evil Xena years ago. One of my top ten faves of all times…
“Is There A Doctor In The House?”
Xena attempts to end the Mitoan-Thessalian War while trying to use her medical knowledge to save the lives of numerous casualties, including the critically wounded Gabrielle
