TV Series: Xena Warrior Princess

"Xena: Warrior Princess" is undoubtedly one of the greatest television series of all time. Quentin Tarantino says that it's the best series ever made. I don't agree with him, but it's certainly up there with the best. It was first broadcast as a spin-off of "Hercules: The Legendary Journeys", but "Xena" soon surpassed "Hercules" in popularity. (I'll shorten the names of the two series from now on, using quote marks to show that I'm talking about the series and not the characters). The two series take part in the same world, they often feature the same supporting characters, and the main characters even guest star in one another's episodes, but they are very different series. It would be fair to say that "Hercules" is a program for younger viewers, while "Xena" is a program for adults. To prove my point, just look at the fight scenes in the two series. Hercules used his fists and makeshift implements to fight, but even when he used a sword he never killed anybody. Xena, on the other hand, never hesitated to kick a soldier in the balls, then plunge a sword through his heart while he was off balance. There have been arguments in forums about how many people Xena has killed, the estimates ranging from 400 to 100,000 depending on whether the off-screen killings are included or not.

The series alternated between serious and comedy episodes, in a ratio of about 3:1. I personally prefer the serious stories, but the comedy episodes are good as well. Joxer was a character that I greatly admired. Despite all the criticism he really was a brave warrior, but he lacked the skills to put his bravery into action. Autolycus is a powerful character, but be honest, who doesn't like Bruce Campbell? Salmoneus annoyed me when I first watched "Xena", but now he's grown on me.

In my opinion – and I welcome discussions from other fans – "Xena" reached its peak at the end of the fourth season, in the episodes "Endgame" and "Ides of March". In general, the episodes with Caesar and Callisto were the best, but to see them as allies was astounding. The first time I saw "Ides of March" I was shocked by Gabrielle's killing spree, when she killed eight Roman soldiers to protect Xena. Okay, so the cheesy after-death experience at the end of "Ides of March" did slightly spoil it. I found "Deja Vu all over again" out of place as the last episode of season four. Its placement was probably deliberate, to give viewers hope after Xena's death in "Ides of March" by seeing her reborn in the distant future in Joxer's body, but I still think it would have been more suitable to air this standalone episode earlier in the season, maybe directly before "Endgame".

Until the fourth season the Weltanschauung of the Xenaverse (I love that word!) was fairly simple. If you live a good life you go to the Elysian Fields after death, if you live a bad life you go to Tartarus. There were hints that where you went after death depended on where you lived, because each country had its own Gods who determined what to do with mortals after death. Okay, I can accept that as a logical possibility. But then in season four everything became more complicated. In the India tetralogy (episodes 13 to 16) we find out that Xena will follow a path of rebirth based on the Hindu laws of Karma, because she has done too much evil in her life to be accepted into the Elysian Fields. Ah ha, so Xena will be judged by the laws (and Gods?) of India's religion, even though she lives in Greece? Also in these episodes we see the man Eli who is obviously a picture of Jesus Christ, despite being an Indian. And then comes episode 21, "Ides of March", in which we find Callisto in a place called Hell where people go who are "too bad for Tartarus". The unnamed Master of this place is obviously the Devil. This mixes the Greek, Indian and Jewish religions together, claiming that they are equally valid. That makes my head hurt.

There's much more that can be said about this great series, and I'll probably come back to it in a later post, but that's all I'll write for now. If you live in England you can buy the complete Xena collection on DVD for only £42.50 from Amazon UK. There's no excuse for not buying it. In America it costs $109.99. Oh well, everything costs more in America.

Bitch Slap (4 Stars)

Three beautiful girls are in the desert looking for something. For most of the film it's not made clear what it is. Money? Treasure? Weapons? Various clues are given, but the question isn't answered till the end. The women are working together, but are far from being friends, and argue with one another throughout the film.

The film is the love child of Rick Jacobson, with assistance from Eric Gruendemann. It was his dream to make a film exactly how he wanted it, without interference from company executives who, in his opinion, have no idea about film quality and are only interested in making money. Jacobson financed the film himself, forcing him to make a low-budget movie, but he didn't want it to have a low-budget look. He did this by locating the film in the desert to keep the overhead costs low, and he filmed in the daylight to save costs on lighting. Smart. He wanted to make the film popular by giving the audience what they want, namely girls and guns, while keeping the story quality high. And he did a good job.

Watch out for appearances by Jacobson and Gruendemann's old friends from their work on the tv series "Hercules" and "Xena". Michael Hurst has a major role, while Kevin Sorbo, Lucy Lawless and Renee O'Connor appear in smaller roles.

While the film has a sensible plot, that isn't the point. It's all about the action. It's as exaggerated and over-the-top as the (admittedly limited) budget allows. Watch the trailer and decide if it's the right film for you. You'll either love it or hate it. Me? I loved it.

Click here to watch the trailer.