X is for Xena: Warrior Princess

OK,
I have already done Xena: Warrior Kitten, and Xena the planet. I guess it is time to cover the inspiration behind them.

I admit, I was not a fan of "Xena: Warrior Princess" when it first aired on TV in 1995. My preconceptions were that, as a syndicated show, it would not have the same "quality" as a network show. I also pictured it as a dumb, exploitative, cartoonish action show, that probably demeaned women, men and anyone with a whit of intelligence.

I probably would have been more open to viewing it if I had known at the time that X:WP was the brainchild of Rob Tapert and Sam Raimi. They were involved in some quirky TV and movie productions that I very much enjoyed: the outstanding "American Gothic", "Mantis", the "Darkman" movies, and others. Later, I became familiar with their other projects: the "Evil Dead" series, "The Gift", "A Simple Plan", and of course, the "Spiderman" franchise.

Anyway, when I finally did stumble upon this show while channel surfing, I was surprised by its humor, its characters, and the way it mixed ancient mythology with modern sensibilities. The first episode I caught was a riff on the "Groundhog Day" movie with Xena repeating the same day over and over. Soon after came "The Bitter Suite", a cross between opera and thirties musicals. This was followed by "One Against an Army", where Xena repelled the entire Persian on their way to Athens, while protecting her friend and companion, Gabrielle. I was hooked.

This show's stories ranged from melodrama, to farce, to action, to epic - while always staying true to the characters and their relationships. The writers and producers kept their tongues firmly in their cheeks, adding the trademark "whoosh" sound to every flick of a sword, a finger, or turn of head. They even pulled off a Jerry Springer style documentary, with reporters following Xena and Gabrielle with hand held cameras, doing ambush interviews, trying to expose the "true" relationship between the warrior princess and her faithful sidekick.

"You Are There!"

The lesbian community quickly embraced the show, although the relationship between the main characters was never explicitly defined as a sexual one. But, how many shows - how many action/adventure shows, could feature a full hour of gritty sword fighting good-against-evil action with out a single male character. Xena did this several times, with female villains as deliciously evil as any male outlaw.

Of course, besides the writers and producers, Lucy Lawless's portrayal of Xena, and Renee O'Connor's Gabrielle made the show something special. Before Xena became a do-gooder, she was very, very bad, and Lucy always had a playful glint in her eye when bad Xena would slit a throat or betray a friend. Strangely, good Xena had that same look when she went fishing. Another wonderful twist in a wonderful show.