Thanks for the article Cathy. I didn't see all the Xena episodes but the one that I think is the most powerful was the final episode. Many fans were upset at how it ended but I think that final scene with Gabrielle heartbroken standing alone on the ship headed back to Grecce is haunting and beautifully filmed. It's about life isn't it. People we love leave us, they pass on, but we still have to continue the journey.
Cathy - thank you for this lovely article celebrating Zena in-depth. A very welcome respite from our political nightmare. I am so envious that you actually talked to Lucy Lawless!
Wow, thanks Cathy, I did not see this coming. The great Lucy Lawless is a Bulwark fan! I agreed the first seasons were great and the last three were a bit incoherent at best. Another line of the opening credits is “Her courage will change the world”. We sure need a warrior who is also human and empathetic.
Wow, I had no idea when I signed up for The Bulwark that I would find here an article about Xena! This show was the reason I got an internet-able computer in the late 90's, so I could find the message boards with other fans. I started out rather abusing my workplace computer access.
I first ran across the show sometime in the 2nd season, and it was "The Price" that really hooked me. It showed real conflict between the world view of the 2 main characters which brought about the solution to a deadly siege.
If I wasn't already a longtime XWP fan this article would have made me very Xena-curious.
I was so excited to find the 24/7 Xena Channel on Roku and Prime. It's reminded me all over again why I fell in love with this show over 20 years ago. From dark drama one week to comedy the next, XWP was the only syndicated series that ever really threaded the needle on that.
And may the gods bless Vanessa Angel for dropping out of playing Xena at the last minute so that we got Lucy. I don't think that show would have been half as iconic without Lucy, or without the Lucy/Renee lightening in a bottle chemistry.
And I just realized I'm such a Xena dork that just from the screengrabs used in the article I know exactly which episodes they came from, even that last one that's a close up of Lawless ;-).
I had a roommate who was a truck driver when Xena first aired. I would tape it (yes, with a VCR!) and we would watch it when he got home from the road. We never missed an episode. I agree, the last seasons were not as good as the first, and I hated the finale - but it was a great show.
Still have my staff (which we called Gabwhackers), made by a fellow fan, adorned with pictures and trinkets. It was a remarkable show and fandom. The show's writers were some of the best TV ever offered. Themes were thoroughly and deliberately explored (often uncomfortably) and brilliantly brought to the screen by Lucy, Renee and the frequent cast members. Wonderful piece, Cathy. Thank you.
Man, I just showed this show to my daughter for the first time a week or so ago. I was a big fan back in the day.
What struck me was how SLOW it was. It's a 1-hour show (if made today, it would absolutely be a half hour) that is absolutely stuffed with B-roll footage of riding horses in majestic New Zealand landscapes over soaring music. And the dialog is filled with long dramatic pauses and lots of glaring at one another. This isn't a criticism; it's just striking to realize how different attention spans were in the 90s.
Xena still rules, but oof, it's a tough watch in the age of smart phones.
I named my Australian cattle dog Xena. She lives up to her name.
Wow, the usual Cathy Young depth on a fun run down memory lane. Thank you for this, Cathy.
Thanks for the article Cathy. I didn't see all the Xena episodes but the one that I think is the most powerful was the final episode. Many fans were upset at how it ended but I think that final scene with Gabrielle heartbroken standing alone on the ship headed back to Grecce is haunting and beautifully filmed. It's about life isn't it. People we love leave us, they pass on, but we still have to continue the journey.
Cathy - thank you for this lovely article celebrating Zena in-depth. A very welcome respite from our political nightmare. I am so envious that you actually talked to Lucy Lawless!
Wow, thanks Cathy, I did not see this coming. The great Lucy Lawless is a Bulwark fan! I agreed the first seasons were great and the last three were a bit incoherent at best. Another line of the opening credits is “Her courage will change the world”. We sure need a warrior who is also human and empathetic.
I have the first three seasons on DVD. Sarah L. has always reminded me a bit of Gabrielle ...
But Sarah also has a heart of a warrior.
There is NO denying that!
Honestly an incredible series. The height of '90s fantasy tv camp.
I never watched the show (I was busy in the 90s) and I have no idea what prompted you to write about it, but what a terrific article!
Wow, I had no idea when I signed up for The Bulwark that I would find here an article about Xena! This show was the reason I got an internet-able computer in the late 90's, so I could find the message boards with other fans. I started out rather abusing my workplace computer access.
I first ran across the show sometime in the 2nd season, and it was "The Price" that really hooked me. It showed real conflict between the world view of the 2 main characters which brought about the solution to a deadly siege.
If I wasn't already a longtime XWP fan this article would have made me very Xena-curious.
I was so excited to find the 24/7 Xena Channel on Roku and Prime. It's reminded me all over again why I fell in love with this show over 20 years ago. From dark drama one week to comedy the next, XWP was the only syndicated series that ever really threaded the needle on that.
And may the gods bless Vanessa Angel for dropping out of playing Xena at the last minute so that we got Lucy. I don't think that show would have been half as iconic without Lucy, or without the Lucy/Renee lightening in a bottle chemistry.
And I just realized I'm such a Xena dork that just from the screengrabs used in the article I know exactly which episodes they came from, even that last one that's a close up of Lawless ;-).
I had a roommate who was a truck driver when Xena first aired. I would tape it (yes, with a VCR!) and we would watch it when he got home from the road. We never missed an episode. I agree, the last seasons were not as good as the first, and I hated the finale - but it was a great show.
Thank you for this article 🥰
It's a wonderfully refreshing escape from the trials and tribulations of today.
PS I still have my Xena T shirt, still going strong and unfaded after after all these years!
Kevin who?
Yes, glad to see Xena on the side of virtue even if Hercules is not.
I know, first Hercules and now Superman, un-godly arrogance and super stupidity!
Still have my staff (which we called Gabwhackers), made by a fellow fan, adorned with pictures and trinkets. It was a remarkable show and fandom. The show's writers were some of the best TV ever offered. Themes were thoroughly and deliberately explored (often uncomfortably) and brilliantly brought to the screen by Lucy, Renee and the frequent cast members. Wonderful piece, Cathy. Thank you.
Man, I just showed this show to my daughter for the first time a week or so ago. I was a big fan back in the day.
What struck me was how SLOW it was. It's a 1-hour show (if made today, it would absolutely be a half hour) that is absolutely stuffed with B-roll footage of riding horses in majestic New Zealand landscapes over soaring music. And the dialog is filled with long dramatic pauses and lots of glaring at one another. This isn't a criticism; it's just striking to realize how different attention spans were in the 90s.
Xena still rules, but oof, it's a tough watch in the age of smart phones.