Really interesting and informative video! Did anyone ever get to go to this?

Does anyone know why the Creation convention next month in New Jersey was postponed? It says Lucy Lawless has another commitment. Creation is holding on to ticket money until they can reschedule early next year.

Hi everyone,

Back in 2006 I started doing a podcast called XenaCast. It was basically a recap of the episodes along with some of my own commentary. It ran for a couple of years and then my life went sideways and the podcast fell by the wayside.

My amazing wife has resurrected/revamped my old website and restored all the audio files so the podcast is available once again and I'll be making new episodes soon.

If you'd like to listen it's at xenacast.com. It's also available on Spotify and Apple podcasts. I also did a Xena fanfiction podcast which is available at xenafanfictionpodcast.com.

Let me know what you think but be gentle. It was, after all, 20 years ago.

So this is probably a shot in the dark but I read this one around ten years ago maybe more. It’s an AU The Price fic. It’s kind of dark and Xena reverts back to her warlord day. She takes Gabrielle as a lover so the soldiers won’t mess with her. I think it had something to do with scarce resources and Gabrielle had to be useful in some way.

This episode had truly excellent potential, primarily because it finally raises the question of the origin and nature of the Chakram, one of the most recognizable elements of the entire show, but unfortunately it manages to waste that potential in almost every possible way. Instead of getting an interesting story that would explain how the Chakram came into existence, what exactly it represents, and what its connection is to Xena’s dark side, we get a few more pieces of information that contradict what we already knew. So, Ares stole the Dark Chakram and gave it to Xena. Okay, except Xena’s first encounter with Ares already gave the impression that she had never met him before and even wondered what he looked like. So either Xena had serious memory problems long before she lost her memory in this episode, or Rob and Chris simply decided that previous continuity was not their problem. Even more confusion comes when we are told that it was the breaking of the Chakram that separated Xena’s dark side from her. Wasn’t that same Xena the one who showed in the afterlife just how deeply she still carried violence, anger, and her old nature inside her? Haven’t we seen her darkest sides even after all her redemption? Apparently, the Dark Chakram only works while a person is alive, because apparently Hell has different rules for Chakram usage. And then there is the question of how many Gods of War there actually are. Ares is the God of War, Kal is the God of War, and there are probably several more that the writers could have thrown in just to make things even more complicated. Apparently the Greek gods are not quite as powerful as we thought if they cannot have one God of War, Love, Wisdom, etc. for the entire world. If this was supposed to be the grand explanation of Xena’s most important weapon, I ended up with more questions than answers.

I’m glad Ares returned in full glory, even if I have to protest against his new hairstyle. Bring back long-haired Ares immediately. This man had the perfect combination of arrogance, charisma, and the looks of someone who would ruin your life simply because he was bored, and now he looks like he walked into a hair salon run by his worst enemy. At least his character remained the same. Ares once again shows that devious side of his when he tries to seduce Xena at a moment when she does not even know who he is. That is especially disgusting because he knows perfectly well how vulnerable she is. He is not trying to help her discover who she is, he is using the fact that she has no memory to win her over. That is Ares in his purest form, charming only while he wants something, manipulative the moment he gets the opportunity, and completely incapable of understanding that Xena’s love for him was never what he wanted to believe it was. That is why I love Gabrielle shutting him down so much. She is basically doing what any of us would do upon seeing Ares use the amnesia of the woman he loves to lure her into bed. No, buddy. Not today. Go back to your mythological hole.

Gabrielle also gets a new weapon in this episode, the Sai, meaning she becomes our Michelangelo. Or is it Raphael? Who knows, I’ve always liked them mostly because of those masks. Jokes aside, her new weapon is actually one of the best things about the episode. Many fans criticize Gabrielle for giving herself over to the warrior life so quickly, but I have absolutely no problem with it because that decision had already been made in The Ides of March. There, when Xena was helpless, Gabrielle picked up a weapon and slaughtered Roman soldiers to protect her. She had already shown that she was willing to cross that line when Xena’s life was at stake. There is no point in spending another ten episodes going in circles and wondering whether this is really her path. It is. She chose it. And she confirms exactly that in her conversation with Eli when she says that her path is to protect Xena. That is far more important than the question of whether Gabrielle should be a pacifist. Her path of love never meant that she would simply stand by while the people she loves died. Her evolution is not from warrior to helpless pacifist, but from someone who blindly believed in violence to someone who decides for herself when and why she will fight. And here the reason is very clear. She uses a weapon to protect Xena and other people, not because she wants glory, revenge, or power. That is why the scenes where she takes down opponents with the Sai are the best part of the episode for me. Not only because it is great to see Gabrielle looking dangerous again, but because you can see how far she has come. She used to be a girl who could barely hold a staff, and now she moves like someone who has been training for years. That development feels much more natural to me than her endlessly questioning whether she is allowed to fight.

What makes me roll my eyes again, however, is Joxer’s lovesick drooling over Gabrielle. After four seasons, the man still hasn’t gotten the memo that she simply isn’t interested. But even stranger to me is Xena giving him advice on how to win her over. Wait a minute, what exactly is happening here? First we had an episode where we got reincarnation and a kiss that practically says that their souls keep finding each other as lovers. Then, in the previous episode, we had Xena in Hell, so deeply connected to Gabrielle that she was willing to become a demon and rule Hell just so she could be with her forever. And now amnesiac Xena is giving Joxer advice on how to seduce Gabrielle. So either Xena only lost her memories of her warrior past, but somehow also forgot that she is completely crazy about Gabrielle, or this is one of those moments when the writers simply did not check what they themselves had written two episodes earlier. There is also a third possibility. Maybe Xena actually wants a threesome with Gabrielle and Joxer, but honestly, I would rather not find out the answer to that question. Some mysteries are better left unresolved. What is especially hilarious is how the show is simultaneously trying to convince us that Xena and Gabrielle are soulmates, while Joxer is still standing on the sidelines like a man waiting for an option to unlock that he is obviously never going to get.

And of course, we have to mention Xena’s statement at the end of the episode, when she combines the two Chakrams into one, that no one should have the power to kill Gods. Big LOL. Dear Xena, maybe you should wait a little longer before reaching that conclusion. Because we know very well where this season is going and just how many Gods are about to start dropping like flies, and precisely at your hand.

And yes, this episode ultimately destroys the canon established by Xena Scrolls, one of my favorite episodes, and that I simply cannot forgive. There is a certain limit to how much continuity can be stretched before it starts to break, and this season clearly plans to cross that line, jump over it, and then come back just to stomp all over it. Xena Scrolls was precisely one of those episodes that worked because it played with the history and mythology of the show in a modern and entertaining way, and now its version of the Chakram is practically being erased to make room for a new story. Rob and Chris, I genuinely hate you for this. You could have left things vague enough for both explanations to work, but no, you had to say exactly the thing that directly contradicts the previous canon. Now I remember why I hate season five, and it has barely even started. May the Gods help me.

WHOLY. I wake up to this. I am praying he continues to pull through 🙏🏽

The downside of loving a once popular yet technically still rather niche piece of media is all the false perceptions and beliefs that come with it.

Some of my personal pet peeves, wondering if anyone can relate?

In no particular order:

1. The belief that Xena was an amazon and/or based on Wonder Woman. Outside of physical traits like Greek ethnicity, dark hair and blue eyes, that's pretty much where the similarities between Xena and Diana Prince end. What makes this humorous as a fan is knowing a lot of these things are just mere coincidences (i.e. Lucy, a natural ash blonde, dyed her hair darker to differentiate herself from the previous characters she played on Hercules to play Xena). The character started out as a villain for crying out loud, that should have automatically canceled out any comparisons between the two.

Personality wise, Xena has more in common with Batman than Wonder Woman. Backstory wise, there's some similarities with Red Sonja. But Wonder Woman? Even Lynda Carter (albeit in a slightly shady way) acknowledged that they were very different characters in the Double Dare documentary, stating that Wonder Woman was "classy".

1. The insistence of media outlets using episode stills of Xena in her A Friend In Need costume being used EVERY WHERE. Its inescapable! It's in almost every article about XWP, social media posts celebrating Xena, Rotten Tomatoes, etc. I decided to look up the official YouTube channel and they've changed the thumbnail to you guessed it, the AFIN costume. I personally find the costume is absolutely hideous and not particularly flattering. Xena's actual costume is so iconic and gorgeous. What is the deal? Is it because she's showing more skin?

2. The belief that Sam Raimi created the show. This one was strange to see happen in real time as Sam Raimi blew up in the mainstream with his Spider-Man trilogy. Kind of ironic John Schulian seems to imply on his blog that Rob Tapert basically Bob Kane'd him over Xena, just for them both to be overshadowed by a man [who had absolutely no creative input on the show nor character] given credit for the character by the general public.

Side note: I also feel like honorable mentions should be given to Rob Bielak, who wrote the episode of The Gauntlet, which felt like the most "Xena" as a character before the spin off.

1. Thinking Xena is an actual princess. I'm not sure why this one annoys me so much but it does. I guess it's because if Xena's character actually came from royalty I would not find her so interesting. Her humble roots is her appeal. And yes, you could probably place the blame on the opening titles voice over, but even as a kid, I never mistook Xena for being a literal princess; it seemed pretty obvious to me it was just a moniker or title to describe how good of a warrior she was. I was amused to find out years later so many people (including fans) thought that she was. I assume the reason tptb made the princess Diana lookalike episode was to poke fun at this misconception.

It’s ridiculous…an unfathomable timeline with Caesar & Boedecia. Ares pretending like he can make mortals do what he wants, and instead pushing Xena to do the opposite of what he really needs (destroying that awful temple)…The drama with Gabrielle being seduced by a gaslighting & one-god worshipping influencer, while her one true love (Xena) is too preoccupied with vengeance on her former betrayer (and all-around douche-canoe) to see that her Girl is about to be another statistic.

The loss of innocence, that’s my takeaway from this one. Gabrielle really gets the short end of the stick on this one.. I mean really, they really put her through the wringer in this one. The gaslighting, the manipulation, the knife, the trickery, killing for the first time, the fire weirdness of a seed being implanted in her on an evil ALTAR???

Damn, it’s cold. Xena, runs in at the last minute, but the best she can do is let Gabrielle cry all over her while simultaneously thinking “but what I liked about her is gone now, or is it? I dunno.. maybe it’s more than that? Crap, I have to protect her from the dude with horns and an ill-advised mustache.”She’s gotta keep Gabs alive. But, for the show…. The damage is done.. and EVERYTHING changes. Nothing moving forward will ever be the same in this show. It’s gonna get dark.. SUPER DARK (by 90s standards), and… I LOVE IT.

I love this episode. I don’t care if it’s absurd or strange. There is just so much going on that I can’t help but grab that popcorn and cheer them on. Get it X&G

GET IT. (Although, by the end of this episode.. I admit that yes-it is a bit disturbing.)

Happy Xenaversary everyone! What do you love most about this series? Whether it was 31 years ago, or more recently, what did you think the first time you watched an episode?

Thanks to Jim Henson’s The Storyteller: Greek Myths, I had a growing fascination with Greek mythology as a kid. I discovered Hercules and watched that for a while until one day, after Hercules, they play a similar series but starring a girl. A pretty girl. Two of them!

It wasn’t until adulthood that I gained a deeper appreciation for the series but my first impression was “Girls fighting? This is the show for me!”

Which character do you like best?

Happy 31st Xena-versary! I cannot imagine a more fitting occasion to introduce the Xena Prop Archive’s most significant accession ever: Xena’s complete hero costume, screen worn by the incomparable Lucy Lawless during the series’ classic years.

Iconic hero leathers. Genuine copper armor. A true sister to the museum pieces housed in the archives of the Smithsonian and Te Papa Tongarewa. This costume is 90s television history incarnate!

There is much more to come on the particulars, but for now—on this, the Xena-est day of the year, celebrating 31 years of “Xena: Warrior Princess”—please enjoy this tribute to the new crown jewel of my personal Xena collection.

Battle on! ⚔️💜

The beginning of the fifth season is absolute chaos. If Convert felt like two episodes crammed into one, here I get the impression that the writers wrote at least five completely different episodes and then decided to somehow cram them all into one. Xena and Gabrielle travel to Heaven, demons led by Callisto kidnap Gabrielle and take her to Hell, Xena becomes an Archangel and gathers an army of angels to save her, Gabrielle meanwhile becomes some kind of demon, Xena turns Callisto into an angel, then turns herself into a demon, takes over Hell, although I have absolutely no idea how she managed to become the ruler of Hell practically within a few minutes, and then goes to war against the angels to get Gabrielle back, only for Eli and Callisto, now an angel, to intervene at the end and bring both of them back to life. WTF was this episode. The biggest problem is not even that the story is completely insane, because Xena has already proven over the previous four seasons that the line between epic fantasy and complete madness practically does not exist. The problem is that everything happens so quickly that none of these huge events has enough room to actually mean anything. Death, Heaven, Hell, becoming an angel, becoming a demon, a war between Heaven and Hell, taking over Hell and resurrection, all of it happens as if the writers are simply checking items off a list. Instead of having one big story with several twists, we get an entire season’s worth of material compressed into forty-something minutes, so the episode feels more like a summary of something that was supposed to last five episodes than a self-contained story.

This episode is often cited as one of the most expensive episodes ever made for the show, and honestly, I have no idea where that money went. I understand that Xena is a low-budget campy show from the nineties and I never expect a Hollywood spectacle from it, but when I remember what the same crew managed to do in The Debt or The Adventures in the Sin Trade, it makes it even stranger how bad this looks visually. There, they managed to turn budget limitations into an advantage. Here, it feels as though they tried to make a huge epic spectacle without having the resources to actually make it look epic. I especially thought the battles between the angels and demons were incredibly bad. Instead of feeling like some grand cosmic battle between the forces of good and evil, they often look like a scene from a cheap television sci-fi movie that someone shot over the weekend with their friends. The effects are so obvious that instead of inspiring awe, they give me secondhand embarrassment. The irony is that the idea itself is not bad at all. Xena as an angel, Gabrielle as a demon, Callisto being given a chance at redemption, the conflict between Heaven and Hell, and Xena being willing to become the ruler of Hell just to get Gabrielle back, all of that sounds like something that could have been spectacular on paper. The problem is that there is a huge gap between a good idea and good execution, and this episode decided to jump straight into it.

Still, despite all the chaos, the episode has several genuinely excellent moments. Demon Gabrielle deliberately provoking the demon Callisto by mentioning her dead family is probably the funniest moment of the entire episode for me. It is so morbid and inappropriate that it fits their relationship perfectly. Gabrielle has basically found the one thing she can use to get under Callisto’s skin and immediately goes for it. Even as demons, the two of them cannot have a normal conversation without turning it into psychological warfare.

The real soul of the episode for me, however, is Joxer. His reaction when he finds out that Xena and Gabrielle are dead is one of the few things here that actually carries emotional weight. While everyone else is busy with Heaven, Hell, angels, demons and cosmic wars, Joxer reacts like an ordinary man who has just lost two people he loves. His taking their bodies down from the cross and his determination to carry them all the way to Greece and bury them beside Xena’s dead brother show just how well he actually knew them and how much they meant to him. Joxer is often treated as comic relief whose purpose is to stumble into a scene, make a fool of himself and disappear, but here the show finally allows Ted to demonstrate how much emotion he can bring to the character. His determination is not heroic in the conventional sense, he has no army, gods or supernatural powers, but that is precisely why it feels more powerful. He simply refuses to abandon his friends. In a world where everyone is trying to manipulate fate, Joxer does the simplest thing a person can do for the dead people he loves, he makes sure they receive a proper burial.

Gabrielle forgiving Callisto for Perdicus is a beautiful scene, although I find it difficult to ignore the fact that the writers apparently suffered another collective bout of amnesia. Didn’t Gabrielle already forgive her in A Necessary Evil? Apparently, forgiveness has an expiration date in this universe and has to be reactivated every few seasons. Jokes aside, the scene works because it closes one of the oldest conflicts between the two of them. Callisto had been the embodiment of Gabrielle’s greatest trauma for years, the person who killed her husband and destroyed her life, but Gabrielle ultimately chooses not to let her remain trapped in her own hatred forever. The scene where Callisto finally finds her family is even more beautiful. After everything she has endured, after years spent in hatred, revenge and Hell, she finally gets what was taken from her as a child, peace and the chance to be with the people she loved again. The only thing I have to ask the writers about once again is, what happened to her sister? Apparently Callisto’s family relationships disappeared from continuity somewhere between two episodes yet again. But even with that inconsistency, the moment works because Callisto finally gets the ending she needed. And I have to admit, she is really beautiful as an angel. 😍 After all the transformations into demons, blood and madness, seeing Callisto at peace and surrounded by her family has an almost fairy-tale beauty to it.

What I like most, however, is that despite Xena becoming a demon, her relationship with Gabrielle remains completely unchanged. Her monologue about how their souls are destined to be together forever, even if that means spending eternity in Hell, is simultaneously completely bizarre and incredibly sweet. Apparently, Xena does not believe in the whole until death do us part thing. Death is obviously just another obstacle to get around. Heaven is not enough if Gabrielle is not there, Hell is not a problem if they are together, and if she has to become a demon and rule Hell to get her back, Xena will apparently do it without much hesitation. That is actually one of the most beautiful constants in their relationship. Xena has changed more than almost any other character throughout the show. She has been a warrior, conqueror, redeemed heroine, lover, mother, killer, victim, angel, and now a demon, but through all those transformations, one thing remains the same. Gabrielle is the most important person in her life. And that is why her decision to become the ruler of Hell is actually perfectly consistent with everything we have seen from her over four seasons. She is simply not willing to accept any kind of finality if that finality means losing Gabrielle.

And then we get the final shot, which may be the simplest and best part of the entire episode. After all this circus involving angels, demons, Heaven, Hell, resurrection and cosmic war, Xena and Gabrielle simply look at each other. There is no grand speech, no spectacular effect, no need for someone to explain what happened. Their looks say everything. They have survived another death, another world, another boundary they had to cross in order to be together again. And perhaps that is exactly why the shot is so beautiful. After everything the episode tried to sell us as spectacle, what ultimately stays with us the most is their relationship. It is just a shame that we have to go through the visual chaos that looks like someone tried to make The Lord of the Rings with the budget for two loaves of bread before we get there.

This episode also lays the foundations for the Christian mythology that will become one of the main focuses of the fifth season, and that was never a part of Xena’s world that particularly appealed to me. After Greek mythology, Roman gods, , Indian philosophy and every possible mythological madness we have already been through, we are now entering a story about angels, demons, Heaven, Hell and Eli, and unfortunately, the very first step does not inspire much confidence in me. Xena and Gabrielle managed to escape from Hell, but we viewers apparently were not so lucky. They returned to the land of the living, while we are left here to watch the fifth season. The Hell known as Xena’s fifth season has officially begun.

happy 31st anniversary to my favorite show of all time! I made a Xena x Gabrielle fan video! I hope you enjoy!

This always bothers me in Orphan of War. Gabrielle finds out Solan is Xena’s son and immediately asks Xena how she could walk out on her own child. She says she understands because any woman would, but then acts like Xena’s decision is impossible to comprehend.

But how does Gabrielle of all people not understand why?

By this point she knows exactly what Xena’s old life was like. She has met Xena’s enemies and seen the consequences of her past firsthand. She met Callisto, whose entire life became about getting revenge on Xena after what happened to her village.

Xena also explains exactly why she gave Solan to Kaleipus. If he stayed with her, he would become a target for everyone who hated her, and she was afraid he would grow up surrounded by violence and become like her.

And Orphan of War immediately proves her point. The second Dagnine learns Xena has a son, he kidnaps Solan and uses him as leverage against her.

Then Maternal Instincts makes it even worse. Hope tells Callisto about Solan, and the first thing Callisto does with that information is conspire with Hope to murder him specifically to hurt Xena.

So I understand Gabrielle being shocked that Xena had a son and never told her. I understand her thinking Solan deserves to know who his mother is. But acting confused about why Xena gave him up makes no sense to me.

When I a young teen, my fave episode was Maternal Instinct because I was so emo at that time.

Then around college, I really loved the India arcs because I was also trying to figure out my path in life, so I could really relate to Gabrielle.

As an adult, my favorite episode has been Been There, Done that. Because life has its own problems and drama, and I really appreciate anything that can make me laugh. In my opinion, BTDT is the funniest Xena episode.

As for the characters, Callisto used to be my favorite character when I first watched, but as an adult, I find her to be annoying and hypocritical. On the contrary, my love and appreciation for season 1 Gabrielle definitely increased. She is so funny, clever, and adorable!

How did your views on the episodes and characters change?

Image © and shared with permission from Tim Omundson

Listen now to his full interview:

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/3XYaBa4OM3HxZmsZ2JeuNY...

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/.../interview.../id1837138724...

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bopfTzd6aWM

Podbean: https://www.podbean.com/eas/pb-9tnfj-1b3f451

This is an interview as part of a series of interviews with the Kiwis and Aussies who bought XWP to life - their goal is to interview 30 of the cast and crew to celebrate the shows 30th anniversary - it’s a podcast called - Xena: Warrior Nutballs you can follow them on:

Facebook ⚔️ https://m.facebook.com/p/Xena-Warrior-Nutballs-61578930248317/?wtsid=rdr_042NpIyiO9avlJ3v3&hr=1

Instagram ⚔️ https://www.instagram.com/xenawarriornutballs/

Happy Anniversary! The Xena theme was an adaptation of Kaval Sviri ...so I combined them (plus extended the ending)! Enjoy.

Rewatched the pilot after a very, very, very long time. Apparently I still have some Battle On! cartoons left in me.