Big Mood.
Tag: xena warrior princess
“Go home! There are thousands more like me!”
Brilliant episode and lesson in how to write a tight drama in a small space and still have plenty of emotion and action.
22 Years Ago… To The Day
25 Villains We Love to Hate from the last 25 years
Posts like this never fail to annoy because they always leave someone out, in this case they should have added Callisto from Xena: Warrior Princess.
Callisto is one of the great ones. As a child, her village and family were destroyed by Xena and her army (back in her evil warlord days) and Callisto grew up to vow revenge. Her purpose became twisted with her admiration/obsession with Xena and she proved to be a character of integrity – one Xena couldn’t easily dismiss or dispose of – a living embodiment of her guilt.
As portrayed by Hudson Leick, Callisto was a cunning, single-minded psychopath determined to destroy all Xena held dear. Like The Joker to Batman, Callisto was born to vex Xena at every turn, mocking her turn to good (Callisto felt that, as a villain, Xena was awesome, but as a hero – pathetic), doing all she could to twist her closest relationships (namely with Gabrielle) and destroy the warrior princess from the inside out.
Callisto had a myriad of ups and downs – she was never really able to ‘defeat’ Xena – but she had some fantastic moments (see her introduction and her life as a literal demon in hell) and she was a character who never compromised. A skilled warrior (second only to Xena herself – Callisto is one of the few who could wield the Chakram), unphased by love or a desire for power (she may have led an army for a time, but Callisto’s desires were never for conquest – just destruction), Callisto was Xena’s dark mirror – charismatic, brilliant, witty – and cracked right down the middle.
Hi Doc i’m commiserating over the no Xena reboot too it’s such a shame and I hate it so much because this time right now is like the BEST time to do it. If they wait like another five years it won’t be the same. We’ll be burned out with Wonder Woman or whatever they give us. This is IT and they’ve thrwn it away. So I wanna ask like they want to KNOW, so how would YOU do it? If you had the job how would it get done?
This isn’t at ALL an alarming ask, so I’ve had to have a think.
There’s a need for resolve from the original ending, to please everyone and to reaffirm the importance of Xena and Gabrielle’s relationship. It’s the heart of the show, so start there. I would have liked to see a six-episode mini-series: set 15 years after Xena’s death, we see how Gabrielle fared, what her life is like, etc. I like the idea of her returning to the Amazons to rebuild the nation. Nero is the evil emperor this time around. SOMETHING HAPPENS and Xena returns and the first two of the six episodes are about this reunion, with a happy conclusion. Lucy and Renee returning, of course.
The following four episodes would reiterate the soulmate theme as we move through the centuries, basically creating ‘uber’ stories (like the Xena Scrolls episode). Visit them in the 19th century. The 1920s, maybe. Visit Janice and Mel again, in the 50s, this time. Each of these episodes though, has to have a tie-in theme that will set us up for the new series. The easiest thing I can think of is the chakram, how it disappears, reappears, etc. Lucy and Renee play all these versions as well.
The final episode is set in a post-apocalyptic future, roughly two hundred years before the start of the new series, but in the same timeline. This episode jump starts us into the new series, to take place in a society that isn’t the usual dystopian P-A, but a world that is rebuilding – so we have a ‘new’ Amazon nation, a ‘new’ Rome, etc – and a new Xena and Gabrielle. The ‘look’ doesn’t have to be some wildly sci-fi business, but a mix of what we have seen before.
So, there is it, my take. I’d like to read what others would have done.
RIP, Openly Gay Xena: Warrior Princess Reboot
😦
The cancellation also comes at a time when the world needs strong female and LGBTQ representation more than ever. Xena, like Wonder Woman, is much more than a sexy, sword-wielding heroine. The original show was beloved for its emphasis on female strength and friendship. While it did receive criticism for unwillingness to be open about the nature of Xena and Gabrielle’s relationship, 2017’s reboot was expected to be out and proud.
Lucy Lawless was never going to return as a regular Xena. She was only ever willing to do a one-shot. It would have been nice to see – but it would only have been a brief moment, then gone. A sentimental send-off, at best.
A reboot would have given us a new cast and, if JGM had his way, a strong, queer romance to centre the action. Something that might last. He knew how important this was and was willing to go there, even discussing hiring queer writers.
But it seems it was this very queer adaptation that put an end to it. NBC wouldn’t go there.
This isn’t some triumph for those who didn’t want to see a version without Lucy. This is a loss of a potentially great project that would have brought an iconic queer character back to the screen and there are so few of them now and we’ve lost so many in just the last year alone.
What part of that is hard to figure out? A new Xena could have spearheaded a new generation of queer characterisation and representation.
We need showrunners and studios willing to produce queer-centric programmes. If they keep getting shot down (no pun intended), and those like Bruce Campbell and anyone who supports his narrow point of view applaud this and are applauded for praising it – what can we parse from this? Xena’s past success and iconic status should have made her a shoo-in for a major return and, being well-known, would have given the project a lot of needed light.
This was never about Lucy and she knew it, too.
A dead reboot is another opportunity at potentially great representation shut down.
Says the man whose franchise got a return.
But this sounds disingenuous – as if he is leading a comment on how they all feel – they being Tapert and Co.
Trouble is, a show like Xena is the rarest of the rare – she is still the standard-bearer for how to do Queer programming, and she was one of the most successful female-lead programmes, ever. If you ask someone who has never seen Xena who she was, they’ll still know. She’s part of our cultural fabric.
And she is absolutely queer af.
Programmes that feature straight male leads get reboots all the bloody time. They get film versions, even. Do we see that many with female-led heroes?
It took forty years to bring Diana Prince to the big screen – and in no small part with thanks due to the success of shows like Xena.
But leave her be, I guess.
I don’t trust for one moment that they have any intention of ever bringing her back – the only way to do it is to embrace her queerness and her relationship with Gabrielle, and if they’ve not the guts for it, any other version would fail upon arrival. They’re not stupid, they know it.
Let’s have another Thor flick or another Spiderman or Batman or Wolverine – I mean, all these icons, right? They’ve stood the test of time and, yet – we keep getting more of them. No one wants to leave them be.
But Xena – well.
I guess only the straight white male icons get to return again and again. Queer icons? The dustbin.
Rest in peace, I guess.
NBC’s openly gay Xena reboot is dead
Well this just sucks! I really wanted to see an updated version of the Amazon Nation
sad but unsurprising since Javi left 😦
In a statement, NBC Entertainment president Jennifer Salke said, “nothing is happening on that right now,” and after looking at “some material,” the network decided that Xena “didn’t warrant the reboot.” She suggests that NBC might come back to it eventually, “because it’s such a beloved title,” but the version that was in the works up until now “is dead.” Based on some comments from back when he left the project, it sounds like Grillo-Marxuach was concerned that NBC didn’t want to emphasize the romance angle as much as he did.
They didn’t even want to try. They’re cowards.
Didn’t ‘warrant the reboot?’ Twenty years of fan conventions and grassroots campaigning, the emergence of female-led programming, including Wonder Woman – a precursor to Xena and a benefactor of her success – but it didn’t warrant a return?
The fact that they won’t license ANYTHING new (not even for the 20th, which they let pass without notice) suggests this is queer kryptonite for this studio and they won’t touch it at all. One of the queerest – and most successful – programmes ever made – and they won’t do it again?
Cowards.
They need to be called out in the worst sort of way. Can Tapert sell it elsewhere? He works with Starz on Ash vs. The Evil Dead – would they take it on? Would anyone? I’m sure these are not new ideas, and it’s frustrating to know the rights might be wrapped up so tightly, no one can touch it, ever – but all the more reason to speak out, louder than ever.
If they won’t even take on Xena again – a known quantity, a known success – would they ever offer us any meaningful representation? American networks are insanely wealthy – but they’re run by cowards.
Much like the rest of the world, really.
Recs of active Xena blogs, please?
Unfortunately, the Xena tag is distracting me with stuff I don’t care about, including the ocasional porn and people’s pets, as usual.
Anyone?
Signal boost!
Hardcore Xena blog here 🙋🏼
👋🏻
check out @athenatheamazon @unemployedandbored @xenasmanyskills @brifigy @9r7g5h @dagninexgf aaahhh there’s more of us, too! we exist. trust us.
@sunset-in-santa-fe “hardcore xenite”!
Report in, Xenites.
The Doctor Is Out 