Xena: Warrior Princess

Xena: Warrior Princess
Opening sequence logo
Genre	Supernatural, Fantasy, Action
Created by	John Schulian Robert Tapert
Starring	Lucy Lawless Reneé O'Connor
Country of origin	New Zealand  United States
No. of seasons	6
No. of episodes	134 (List of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)	Robert Tapert, Sam Raimi
Running time	41-44 min. (excluding commercials)
Broadcast
Original channel	first-run syndication
Picture format	NTSC 480i, 576i (SDTV)
Audio format	Stereo
Original run	September 4, 1995 – May 21, 2001
Chronology
Related shows	Hercules: The Legendary Journeys Hercules and Xena - The Animated Movie: The Battle for Mount Olympus

Xena: Warrior Princess is an American television cult series, a supernatural fantasy adventure that aired from September 4, 1995 until May 21, 2001.^[1] The series was created in 1995 by writer-director-producer Robert Tapert under his production tag, Renaissance Pictures with later co-executive producers being John Schulian, R. J. Stewart and Sam Raimi. The series narrative follows Xena (played by Lucy Lawless), a warrior in a quest to seek redemption for her past sins as a ruthless warlord by using her formidable fighting skills to help people. Xena is accompanied by Gabrielle (played by Renee O'Connor), that during the series changes from a simple farm girl into an amazon warrior and Xena's greatest ally; her initial naïveté helps to balance Xena and assists her in recognizing and pursuing the "greater good".

The show is a spin-off off the television series Hercules: The Legendary Journeys;^[2] in fact, the saga began with three episodes in Hercules where Xena was a recurring character originally scheduled to die in her third appearance. Aware that the character of Xena had been very successful among the public, the producers of the series decided to create a spin-off series based around her adventures. Xena was a successful show aired in more than 108 countries around the world since 1998, ranked #10 on TV Guide's Top 30 Cult TV Shows of All Time^[3] and #100 on Bravo's 100 Greatest TV Characters.^[4] Xena's success has led to hundreds of tie-in products, including, comics, books, video games and conventions, realized annually since 1998 at Pasadena and London.^[5]

The series has received attention in fandom (including fan films), parody, and academia, and has influenced the direction of other television series.

Theme music

The theme music, composed by Joseph LoDuca, who also co-wrote the lyrics for the songs in "The Bitter Suite", was developed from the traditional Bulgarian folk song "Kaval Sviri", and was sung by Le Mystere des Voix Bulgares. In the Hercules: The Legendary Journeys episode, "Unchained Heart", the original "Kaval Sviri" is the music used to announce Xena racing into battle. Indeed, the musical track of Xena: Warrior Princess was very well composed, and gave an Emmy to Joseph LoDuca for the song With the Angels in 1999. The vast majority of songs were made available over the course of the series on CDs - 6 volumes in all. There were also 2 musical episodes in the series; one in the third season, and another in the fifth season, each with its own CD released.

Cast

Xena: Warrior Princess starred Lucy Lawless and Reneé O'Connor, in the roles of Xena and Gabrielle. The original choice to interpret Xena was the British actress Vanessa Angel^[6], but an illness prevented her from travelling, so the role was offered to another four actresses before being given to Lucy. For Gabrielle, Sunny Doench was chosen, but she did not want to leave her boyfriend in the United States and Reneé was chosen. During the series, several names were being aggregated to cast, most of them natives of New Zealand. Actor Ted Raimi became an active actor in the second season onwards, in his role as Joxer. The late actor Kevin Tod Smith became popular in the cast from the third season as Ares. Other actors and actresses that were very popular among fans of the series are Hudson Leick in her role as Callisto (and occasionally Xena^[7]), Karl Urban, who played a variety of roles, including Cupid, and most notably as Caesar, Jennifer Sky as Amarice, Bruce Campbell as Autolycus, with Claire Stansfield as Alti, along with Adrienne Wilkinson as Eve, and Alexandra Tydings as Aphrodite.

Setting

Xena Warrior Princess is set primarily in a mythological fantasy version of ancient Greece and was filmed in New Zealand. Some filming locations are confidential, but many scenes were recorded in places such as the Waitakere Ranges Regional Park, part of the Auckland Regional parks often credited at the end of the episodes.^{[citation needed]}

Xena – the main character of the show – was born at the city of Amphipolis. Xena and her comrade in arms, Gabrielle, made frequent trips to Amphipolis. The city became a breeding ground for demons when the duo came back after twenty five years of being trapped in ice. Mephistopheles, the king of hell, had captured the soul of Cyrene of Amphipolis, Xena's mother, and tortured her. Xena was able to defeat Mephistopheles and rescue the trapped souls, releasing them to rest in the Elysian Fields.

Gabrielle was born in Potidaea.

Joxer lived in Athens in his childhood. He tries to help Xena and Gabrielle but his clumsy efforts usually hinder the two.

Callisto is from Cirra. Xena's army torched the village when Callisto was a child, causing the death of most of her family. Callisto vowed revenge on Xena and fights her throughout most of the series.

Plot summary

Xena is a historical fantasy set primarily in ancient Greece, although it has a flexible time setting and occasionally features Oriental,^[8] Egyptian^[9] and Medieval^[10] elements. The flexible fantasy framework of the show accommodates a considerable range of theatrical styles, from high melodrama to slapstick comedy, from whimsical and musical^[11] to all-out action and adventure. While the show is typically set in ancient times, its themes are essentially modern and it investigates the ideas of taking responsibility for past misdeeds, the value of human life, personal liberty and sacrifice, and friendship. The show often addresses ethical dilemmas, such as the morality of pacifism; however, the storylines rarely seek to provide unequivocal solutions.

Xena freely borrows names and themes from various mythologies around the world, primarily the Greek, anachronistically adapting them to suit the demands of the storyline. Historical figures and events from a number of different historical eras and myths make numerous appearances, and the main characters are often credited with resolving important historical situations. These include an encounter with Homer before he was famous, in which Gabrielle encourages his storytelling aspirations;^[12] the fall of Troy;^[13] and the capture of Caesar by pirates, with Xena cast as the pirate leader. This quirky mix of timelines and the amalgamation of historical and mythological elements fueled the rise of the show to cult status during the 1990s and early 2000s. It was one of the first shows to tap into its Internet following, allowing fans from all over the world to discuss and suggest things related to the show. The Xena fandom is still an active community today.

In addition to Xena and Gabrielle, the show also features a wide assortment of recurring characters, including adversaries Ares (Kevin Tod Smith), Alti (Claire Stansfield) and Callisto (Hudson Leick), and trusted friends Salmoneus (Robert Trebor), Virgil (William Gregory Lee), Autolycus (Bruce Campbell), Eli (Tim Omundson) and Joxer (Ted Raimi).

Characters

• Xena, played by Lucy Lawless
• Gabrielle, played by Reneé O'Connor

Spin-offs

There have been numerous Xena spin-offs into various media including films, books, comics and video games.

Movies

In August 1997 Hercules and Xena: The Battle For Mount Olympus a DTV animated movie was released, featuring the voices of a number of actors from both Hercules: The Legendary Journeys and Xena: Warrior Princess. The movie plot involves Hercules' mother being kidnapped by Zeus and the release of the Titans. Xena and Gabrielle have supporting roles in the movie, and at one point Xena even bursts into song.

Since the end of the series rumors have circulated that a feature length movie was in the works. In 2003 screenwriter Katherine Fugate was approached for the project, and was quoted saying that she expects the start of production to be three to five years away, which suggests a release sometime between 2006 and 2009.^[14] Actress Lucy Lawless has been quoted in several interviews saying she would be interested in participating in a Xena film as well.^[15]

In April 2009, however, Rob Tapert stated firmly there is no hope of a live-action Xena feature film, at least not any time soon or starring Lucy Lawless or Renee O'Connor. “It’s something that just won’t happen....In twenty years or ten years, in some amount of years, like McGuyver, like Charlie’s Angels, it [could] happen like that [with other actresses].”^[16]

Books

Books have been released as tie-ins, including Xena Warrior Princess: Complete Illustrated Companion.^[17] There have also been a number of novelizations by authors like Martin H. Greenberg.

A book was also released in 1998, XENA: All I Need to Know I Learned From the Warrior Princess,^[18] allegedly written by Gabrielle, Bard of Poteidaia, and was "translated" by Josepha Sherman.^[19] It contains Gabrielle's viewpoint on many of the adventures she and Xena embarked on, and also includes eight pages of black-and-white photographs from the show. The book is basically Gabrielle talking about her view of the world on many different subjects. For example, in one of the chapters, "Anything can be a weapon- Anything!", she instructs the reader on fighting without traditional weapons, such as a sword or a staff, and in another, "Nobody Likes a Winer", she laments on the perils of alcohol.

It also launched the The Official Guide to the Xenaverse, by Robert Weisbrot, with photographs in color and black and white, a complete and detailed episode guide to the first two seasons, a look behind the scenes, the intriguing story of the origin of Xena: Warrior Princess, biographies of cast and crew and trivia about the show.

There are also some fictional books: The Empty Throne, The Huntress and The Sphinx, The Thief Of Hermes, and Prophecy of Darkness.

List of books

Informational (1990-1999)

• Princess In Profile (1996). By Kerry Milliron.
• The Official Guide to the Xenaverse (1998). by Robert Weisbrot.
• All I Need To Know I Learned From Xena (1998). by "Gabreille".
• Xena & Hercules: The Official Companion (1998). by James Van Hise.
• Battle On!: An Unauthorized, Irreverent Look at Xena: Warrior Princess (1998) by Greg Cox.
• Life Lessons From Xena: Happiness, Success And Body Armor (1999). by Chris Kreski.
• The Xena: Warrior Princess Internet Guide (1999). by Ashley Harper.

Informational (2000-)

• The Xena: Warrior Princess Episode Guide For Season Two (2001). by Ashley Harper.
• Xena: Warrior Princess: An Independent Internet Guide (2002). by Beth Michium.
• How Xena Changed Our Lives - True Stories By Fans For Fans (2002). by Nikki Stafford.
• Xena: Warrior Princess: The Complete Illustrated Companion (2003). by K. Stoddard Hayes.
• The Xena: Warrior Princess Episode Guide For Season One (2004). by Ashley Harper.
• A Case Study On Xena: A Warrior And Her Fans (2005). by K Lawrence.
• Her Courage Will Change the World: An Appraisal of Xena (2007). by Wim Tigges.
• I Have Many Skills: Additional Papers on Xena: Warrior Princess (2008). by Wim Tigges.

Fiction

• Dreamworker (1997). By Renassiance Pictures, 50pp.
• The Huntress And The Sphinx (1997). By Ace Books.
• The Thief Of Hermes (1997). By Ace Books.
• Prophecy Of Darkness (1997). By Ace Books.
• Booster (1998). By Renassiance Pictures, 50pp.
• Queen Of Amazons (1998).
• Xena: Warrior Princess (1998). By Chronicle Books, 320pp.
• Go Quest Young Man (1999). By Ace Books.
• The Magic Arrow Of Myx (1999). By Hunter Kennedy.
• How The Quest Was Won (2000). By Ace Books.
• Questward, Ho! (2000). By Ace Books.
• The Empty Throne (2000). By Ace Books.
• Prophecy Of Darkness (2001). By Ace Books.
• The Further Adventures Of Xena (2001). By Ace Books, 320pp.

Graphic Novels

• Xena: Warrior Princess (1998). By Roy Thomas.
• The Xena Scrolls (1998). By HarperCollins.
• Tooth And Claw (1999). By Roy Thomas.
• The Warrior Way Of Death (2000). By John Wagner.
• Slave (2000). By John Wagner.
• Blood And Shadows (2001). By John Wagner.
• Darkness Falls (2001). By Ian Eddington.
• Xena: Warrior Princess: Annual (2006). By Keith Champagne.
• Contest Of Pantheons (2008). By John Layman.
• Dark Xena (2008). By John Layman.

Comics

There have been a number of comic adaptations. The earliest ones were released by Dark Horse Comics and written by Ian Edginton and John Wagner. More recently the license has moved to Dynamite Entertainment.^[20]

Video games

• Simutronics Corporation created a MMORPG under license called Hercules & Xena: Alliance of Heroes, based on both Xena: Warrior Princess and Hercules: The Legendary Journeys. In subsequent years Simutronics relinquished the license, removed trademarked material and rebranded the game, which still exists, as Alliance of Heroes.
• Electronic Arts published Xena: Warrior Princess for the PS1 in 1999. Played from a third-person perspective, the game play involves slashing, jumping, and kicking through a variety of primitive 3D environments. Xena can also find and use power-ups and her trademark chakram. Once thrown, the chakram becomes a first-person weapon to guide toward enemies.
• Saffire published Xena: Warrior Princess: The Talisman of Fate for the Nintendo 64 console in 1999.
• Xena: Warrior Princess for the Game Boy Color was developed and released by Titus Software in 2000.
• Xena: Warrior Princess: Death in Chains, a multi-path video game for the PC adapted from and expanding upon the television episode of the same name, although none of the original actors provide their voices.
• Xena: Warrior Princess: Girls Just Wanna Have Fun, another multi-path video game for the PC, again adapted from and expanding upon the television episode of the same name, again without the original voice actors.
• Xena: Warrior Princess for the PS2 only released in Europe.

Series information

Awards

DVD releases

Anchor Bay Entertainment has released all 6 Seasons as well as the 10th Anniversary Collection of Xena: Warrior Princess on DVD in Region 1 for the first time. The series has also been released on DVD in Region 2 & Region 4.

Reception

Xena: Warrior Princess has been referred to as a pop cultural phenomenon and feminist icon.^[27][28][29] The television series, which employed pop culture references as a frequent humorous device, has itself become a frequent pop culture reference in video games, comics and television shows, and has been frequently parodied and spoofed.

Xena: Warrior Princess has been credited by many, including Buffy the Vampire Slayer creator Joss Whedon, with blazing the trail for a new generation of female action heroes such as Buffy, Max of Dark Angel, Sydney Bristow of Alias, the Charmed Ones of Charmed and the Bride in Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill.^[30]

Xena and Gabrielle's relationship (see Influence on the lesbian community) has been cited as one of the reasons for the series' enduring popularity, along with the ambiguity of that relationship while the series was running.^[31] Former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has been nicknamed "Warrior Princess" by her staff.^[32]

U.S. ratings

Influence on the lesbian community

Xena kissing Gabrielle.

Xena has enjoyed a particular cult status in the lesbian community. Some of the lesbian fan base see Xena and Gabrielle as a couple and have embraced them as role models and lesbian icons.^[34] A group called The Marching Xenas has participated in many gay and lesbian pride parades.^[35]

A subject of much interest and debate among viewers is the question of whether Xena and Gabrielle are lovers.^[30][36] The issue is left deliberately ambiguous by the writers during most of the show. Jokes, innuendo, and other subtle evidence of a romantic relationship between Xena and Gabrielle is referred to as "lesbian subtext" or simply "subtext" by fans.^[36] The issue of the true nature of the Xena/Gabrielle relationship caused intense shipping debates in the fandom, which turned especially impassioned due to spillover from real-life debates about same-sex sexuality and gay rights.^[30]

Many fans felt that the sexual nature of Xena and Gabrielle's relationship was cemented by an interview given by Lucy Lawless to Lesbian News magazine in 2003. Lawless stated that after the series finale, where Gabrielle revives Xena with a mouth-to-mouth water transfer filmed to look like a full kiss, she had come to believe that Xena and Gabrielle's relationship was "definitely gay... there was always a 'well, she might be or she might not be' but when there was that drip of water passing between their lips in the very final scene, that cemented it for me. Now it wasn't just that Xena was bisexual and kinda liked her gal pal and they kind of fooled around sometimes, it was 'Nope, they're married, man'."^[37]

The Xena fandom also popularized the term Altfic (from "alternative fiction") to refer to same-sex romantic fan fiction.^[38] Many fans felt the term slash fiction carried the connotation of being about male/male couples only and was not a good description for romantic fan fiction about Xena and Gabrielle.

Costume donation

In 2006, Lucy Lawless donated her personal Xena costume to the Museum of American History.^[39] In an interview the same year with Smithsonian magazine, she was asked the question "Was the Warrior Princess outfit comfortable?" and she responded:

Not at first, because they would put boning in the corset. It would cover up those little floating ribs that are so important for breathing, so I'd feel like I was having panic attacks. But it just became a second skin after a while. It was very functional, once I got over the modesty factor. I admit to being a little bit embarrassed the first couple weeks because I'd never worn anything so short.

—Lucy Lawless,  Smithsonian, November 2006, page 44

Uberfic

Uberfic is a kind of alternative universe fan fiction in which characters or events are portrayed somewhat closely to original canon but usually in a different time period, many times featuring the ancestors, descendants or reincarnations of canon characters. The term originated in Xena fandom. This sort of story was used by the series itself, beginning with the second season episode "The Xena Scrolls".^[40]

References

External links

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Xena: Warrior Princess

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Xena: Warrior Princess

• Xena: Warrior Princess at the Internet Movie Database
• Xena: Warrior Princess at TV.com