In the more than two years since the end of the series, “Xena:Warrior Princess, I have written all the reviews of the shows, with my own warped sense of humor, and sometimes outright anger for what The Powers That Be did to such a fine show. I also wrote a series of skits( Indiana Shana) involving my editrix, Shana, who gave me the inspiration to continue in my reviews, even though the shows went downhill big-time from midway in Season 4 on.
What did the show mean to me? Well, when I first got a UHF station that carried it in the second half of Season 2, I watched it and really didn’t know what it was all about. I actually saw, due to poor programming, The Price, four weekends in a row, but I stuck with it. I next saw Girls Just Wanna Have Fun, then Return of Callisto, and Is There a Doctor In the House, all of these out of order, so I didn’t know who Gabby was, or whether to take Xena seriously, or even if Callisto was a regular on the show.
I saw Gabby in Remember Nothing next and really had no idea of the time-difference in this episode versus the “real-time” shows. Mainly, I stayed with it, since it was off-beat and interesting. I have always liked warrior-women (I have two tattoos of them) and I have many novels written by the late Poul Anderson, who featured strong females, mostly warriors, in his writings. So, this was the show for me.
When Season Three arrived, I saw The Furies, and saw Xena acting like the Three Stooges. I almost stopped watching, but I saw Ares, and this kept me interested, since I couldn’t remember if he was in any shows I did see.
Once I bought Seasons 1 and 2, I was able to get the references they always had to older shows and gradually was up-to-date with the entire series. Thankfully, I got a satellite dish and was able to get Seasons 4,5,and 6 with at least a good enough picture.
I was getting disappointed by the end of Season 3, when Gabby jumped into the lava pit with Hope. We should have seen Gabby alive and well in episode 1 in Season 4 WITH AN EXPLANATION OF HOW SHE CAME BACK, but this signaled for me the demise of the show. This one point alone is my biggest complaint…we were cheated by poor writing and awful attention to all the information we were given over the years.
The most important episode that everyone, including Xena, said “she’s dead” was just trashed by us not seeing Gabby at all until Season 4, episode 3. Later, we neither saw nor heard about Gabby in The Key to the Kingdom, which was a huge mistake. I mean, it was always “Xena and Gabby”, but not this time.
As my fellow writer Andrew said in his reviews and commentaries, Gabby was just trashed and made to look like a fool, enhancing Xena. Gabby was just a sidekick again, who acted stupid, per the writers.
Gone were the days of the fine Day in the Life, the best and most endearing comedy of the series.
I counted the hours in a week, 168, and literally wished the week away in hopes of seeing the next show, depending upon the weather, which scrambled the signal. I got others to tape the show when it was bad weather, just in case. I joined the Fan Club for the first three years---I was that dedicated. I was disappointed in that the fan club leader never responded to any letters or suggestions I sent. The fans never got a discount on XENA
items, so why stay in the club? Most of the newsletter was about “the baby” and the “feelings” of Lucy Lawless. I wanted her to address why the fans were leaving the show, since it would explain a lot if Lucy said she had a hand in the show’s final direction.
The FINALE was a tragedy, mostly for us fans. Read Shana’s fine essay on that. I agree completely, since I was a purist about the show as she is. I also had asked a lot of questions about the show which were never answered by the end of the series.
My biggest complaint was the lava pit escape (I still think Gabby died and was brought back by the grateful Greek gods). In Soul Possession I thought that at long last we would hear about this important question.
No. Ares says Gabby made a deal with him to save her and Hope in exchange for Gabby’s soul. Gawd! What a horrible premise. Did anyone think Gabby would not tell Xena this for three years and that Xena had to hear it from Ares (a known liar)?
Paradise Found was my favorite because of its simplicity and great camera work and music. The light and shadows were the finest and the story line was great. After that, nothing ever came close.
My favorite individual show with Gabby was Forget-Me-Not and One Against an
Army was my favorite Xena one.
In closing, I did 134 show reviews, 10 Indiana Shana skits, some point-counterpoint discussions with Shana, some opinion pieces, a bunch of doggerel poems, and a few essays.My main regret is that I had never gotten even one response from all my
writings. I met Shana, who is my friend, by answering her review on another site, when all she gave was an alias. I wrote to Andrew also in the same way and we are friends, too.
I count myself lucky in this regard. I will say this: I had a real love for the show and was determined to see it to the bitter end. I almost gave up after Ides of March, like Mil Toro and the great Xorys did, but I stayed with it in hopes of at least a great finale. Shana summed that one up for me.
I want to add my personal thanks to Shana, whose Scrolls are a sometimes-read for me. They are at least a continuation of Xena and Gabby’s exploits, but of a different nature.
I will always be grateful to Shana for her encouragement, plus the fact that when I suggested she get her own website, she actually considered it. I recognized her fine writing and sense of humor.
A swan song is usually the last work that someone does, but since I added the question mark, that means that if I see the series again (I cannot bear to watch it right now) I still may have an idea for another skit or opinion piece.
It is too bad nobody even disagreed with my reviews or opinions…it would have been fun to have a real discussion with fans, but as the time passes, most people never talk about the show, at least in my circle of friends, and I think it will fade into obscurity. RenPics ruined any chance of a spin-off series, and with the death of Kevin Smith, all hope of Ares making trouble is gone for good.
Best to all.
Gary.