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Xena: Warrior Princess Season 1: Difference between revisions
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|epnum = 104 | |epnum = 104 | ||
|epname = Cradle of Hope | |epname = Cradle of Hope | ||
|epdate = 1995- | |epdate = 1995-09-25 | ||
|firstwatched = 2025-04-07 | |firstwatched = 2025-04-07 | ||
|thoughts = Taking place during/near the time of origin myths makes the world... a bit goofy. In this episode we meet Pandora, granddaughter of the ''famous'' Pandora, a story everybody in the world seems to know. So uhhh are they trying to say that as recently as two generations back, mankind didn't have any of the problems that escaped from the box? I'm gonna call bullshit on that one. Also, what a lousy box if it's so easy for them to accidentally open by knocking over. | |thoughts = Taking place during/near the time of origin myths makes the world... a bit goofy. In this episode we meet Pandora, granddaughter of the ''famous'' Pandora, a story everybody in the world seems to know. So uhhh are they trying to say that as recently as two generations back, mankind didn't have any of the problems that escaped from the box? I'm gonna call bullshit on that one. Also, what a lousy box if it's so easy for them to accidentally open by knocking over. | ||
| Line 45: | Line 45: | ||
|epnum = 105 | |epnum = 105 | ||
|epname = The Path Not Taken | |epname = The Path Not Taken | ||
|epdate = 1995-10- | |epdate = 1995-10-02 | ||
|firstwatched = 2025-04-15 | |firstwatched = 2025-04-15 | ||
|thoughts = So as part of a rescue mission, Xena goes back to a meeting place for scum that old bad Xena used to go to. People there have heard rumors of her changing, but she is able to wash away (most) suspicions. This is a kind of story they can really only do now. Three seasons in, NOBODY is gonna be fooled. | |thoughts = So as part of a rescue mission, Xena goes back to a meeting place for scum that old bad Xena used to go to. People there have heard rumors of her changing, but she is able to wash away (most) suspicions. This is a kind of story they can really only do now. Three seasons in, NOBODY is gonna be fooled. | ||
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|epnum = 109 | |epnum = 109 | ||
|epname = Death in Chains | |epname = Death in Chains | ||
|epdate = 1995-11- | |epdate = 1995-11-13 | ||
|firstwatched = 2025-06-24 | |firstwatched = 2025-06-24 | ||
|thoughts = The gods... sometimes seem pretty weak. The goddess of death gets tied up and can do nothing about it. Can some other god go free her? Nah, they'll just drop in on Xena and ask her to take care of it. | |thoughts = The gods... sometimes seem pretty weak. The goddess of death gets tied up and can do nothing about it. Can some other god go free her? Nah, they'll just drop in on Xena and ask her to take care of it. | ||
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|epnum = 110 | |epnum = 110 | ||
|epname = Hooves and Harlots | |epname = Hooves and Harlots | ||
|epdate = 1995- | |epdate = 1995-11-20 | ||
|firstwatched = 2025-06-29 | |firstwatched = 2025-06-29 | ||
|thoughts = I thought they were going to play with the fact that Lucy Lawless's first character in the franchise was an Amazon, but nope, different group of them.}} | |thoughts = I thought they were going to play with the fact that Lucy Lawless's first character in the franchise was an Amazon, but nope, different group of them.}} | ||
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|epname = Athens City Academy of the Performing Bards | |epname = Athens City Academy of the Performing Bards | ||
|epdate = 1996-01-22 | |epdate = 1996-01-22 | ||
|firstwatched = | |firstwatched = 2025-07-11 | ||
|thoughts = }} | |thoughts = Bad: A clip show, just halfway into the first season? Good: Amusing that when people other than Gabrielle are telling stories, the clips are from old movies. Including, of all things, Spartacus. | ||
Euripedes was played very much like a Vulcan.}} | |||
{{episodelist-info | {{episodelist-info | ||
|epnum = 114 | |epnum = 114 | ||
|epname = A Fistful of Dinars | |epname = A Fistful of Dinars | ||
|epdate = 1996-01-29 | |epdate = 1996-01-29 | ||
|firstwatched = | |firstwatched = 2025-07-13 | ||
|thoughts = }} | |thoughts = Sometimes we meet some old friend of Xena's. Like here, for about a minute until he dies. But... wasn't Xena a murderous asshole until about a year ago? When was she getting decent friends that would still count in her present condition? And murderous asshole Xena wasn't interested in the powers of a god?}} | ||
{{episodelist-info | {{episodelist-info | ||
|epnum = 115 | |epnum = 115 | ||
|epname = Warrior... Princess | |epname = Warrior... Princess | ||
|epdate = 1996-02-05 | |epdate = 1996-02-05 | ||
|firstwatched = | |firstwatched = 2025-07-14 | ||
|thoughts = }} | |thoughts = Lucy Lawless had already played two roles before being Xena, and now they've added a fourth. Really leaning into her being one of the default player model choices when you start the game.}} | ||
{{episodelist-info | {{episodelist-info | ||
|epnum = 116 | |epnum = 116 | ||
|epname = Mortal Beloved | |epname = Mortal Beloved | ||
|epdate = 1996-02-12 | |epdate = 1996-02-12 | ||
|firstwatched = | |firstwatched = 2025-07-19 | ||
|thoughts = }} | |thoughts = A few episodes back I was wondering why Hades had to come to Xena for help. Here they make it more explicit: without his fancy helmet that lets him be invisible, he's almost useless. Come oooon. They're gods, they've got to have a little more going on than that! Even in this specific instance, we saw him take on Hercules and fight him to a standstill, which is a little more than nothing. | ||
Someone only getting one judgment on death, but being able to be temporarily re-alived so they can die again and get a new judgment... if this was a game I think we'd say this was an exploit. | |||
The Harpies CG was much more in line with the lower level of CG I expect from these shows than the recent skeletons on Hercules. | |||
Charon spinoff when?}} | |||
{{episodelist-info | {{episodelist-info | ||
|epnum = 117 | |epnum = 117 | ||
|epname = The Royal Couple of Thieves | |epname = The Royal Couple of Thieves | ||
|epdate = 1996-02-19 | |epdate = 1996-02-19 | ||
|firstwatched = | |firstwatched = 2025-07-21 | ||
|thoughts = }} | |thoughts = Autolycus is back. I think it will always be a fun time when Bruce Campbell shows up. Autolycus and Xena haven't met before, but Hercules is brought up a lot because he's their mutual connection who brought them together. Though I'm a bit fuzzy on exactly how that happened. Did Autolycus just come up during discussions one of the times we know they were together? Or prior to this episode did Xena track down Hercules and ask if he knew any good thieves, but Hercules himself was too busy to help? | ||
Sinteres was a silly looking but effective villain. I should've been expecting the guy Autolycus was impersonating to show up, but it surprised me. Then his real strength is knowledge of pressure points, so he and Xena have a goofy-looking fight where they're essentially poking at each other. | |||
Double subverted expectations at the end. I was thinking the thing in the chest seemed a lot like the Ark of the Covenant from [[Raiders of the Lost Ark]] except backwards, in that you _want_ to stare at it to survive. And then... it straight up IS the Ark of the Covenant after all.}} | |||
{{episodelist-info | {{episodelist-info | ||
|epnum = 118 | |epnum = 118 | ||
|epname = The Prodigal | |epname = The Prodigal | ||
|epdate = 1996-03-04 | |epdate = 1996-03-04 | ||
|firstwatched = | |firstwatched = 2025-07-25 | ||
|thoughts = }} | |thoughts = Feels kind of silly that Gabrielle goes from a moment of uncertainty to deciding to leave Xena and go home for an indefinite amount of time within a couple minute... now that's making a quick decision! However, good premise to show how much she's changed and has to offer even without Xena. But uhhh... didn't she have family other than her sister? They sure never appeared on screen. | ||
By this point Hercules has gone full cartoon, and Xena has been lagging behind a bit. But when a thrown spear catches a guy and throws him back a few dozen feet... yeah, it's getting there.}} | |||
{{episodelist-info | {{episodelist-info | ||
|epnum = 119 | |epnum = 119 | ||
|epname = Altared States | |epname = Altared States | ||
|epdate = 1996-04-22 | |epdate = 1996-04-22 | ||
|firstwatched = | |firstwatched = 2025-07-28 | ||
|thoughts = }} | |thoughts = Another story dealing with thinly veiled Abrahamic religion. Obvious parallels to the story of Abraham and Isaac, but they don't want it to match 100% so instead it's Anteus and Ikus. I find it kind of hard to see how the talk of "one true god" can really fit in, on a show where multiple gods have made themselves present this season alone. Unless in this franchise's case, it's meant to express: "Those other gods suck ass, I'm the real boss." | ||
Young [[Karl Urban]] is the biggest thing differentiating it from the Biblical story, in that he is manipulating events to try and get his younger brother sacrificed so he can be the next leader. His "god machine" setup seems kind of lame, though. He's drugging people which helps, sure, but he's just banging on metal to fake thunder and speaking through a cone to amplify his voice... this would really only be effective when a person is in a very specific area.}} | |||
{{episodelist-info | {{episodelist-info | ||
|epnum = 120 | |epnum = 120 | ||
|epname = Ties That Bind | |epname = Ties That Bind | ||
|epdate = 1996-04-29 | |epdate = 1996-04-29 | ||
|firstwatched = | |firstwatched = 2025-07-29 | ||
|thoughts = }} | |thoughts = Xena's long-lost father shows up, seems to be genuine... but it's a faaaake! Ares is a little too much the typical villain here. His plan is going well, then he just overdoes it at the end so much that Xena can't take him seriously. | ||
And uhhh, Xena, it sure was a bit easy for you to fall back into "Kill all the villagers!" Like falling off a wagon. It was almost played as if she was under Ares's influence, but if it was that simple Ares wouldn't be jumping through so many hoops to manipulate her. Strong move on Gabrielle's part to straight up attack Xena when this was happening.}} | |||
{{episodelist-info | {{episodelist-info | ||
|epnum = 121 | |epnum = 121 | ||
|epname = The Greater Good | |epname = The Greater Good | ||
|epdate = 1996-05-06 | |epdate = 1996-05-06 | ||
|firstwatched = | |firstwatched = 2025-08-02 | ||
|thoughts = }} | |thoughts = "Lord Seltzer" may be Salmoneus's best name yet. | ||
So both Xena and Hercules lately have done some pretty good "let the sidekicks lead" episodes, and this is somewhat another. Xena is poisoned and Gabrielle and to a lesser extent Salmoneus have to pick up the slack. It's worth noting, though, in this case their plans _didn't_ work. So if Xena hadn't come back from her apparent death, they'd have been totally boned. | |||
At one point Gabrielle's plan is to ride for a few days to where she thinks Iolaus can be found. So not only is Hercules constantly joining and splitting from him, but Xena and Gabrielle know his itinerary too? | |||
We don't learn who shot Xena with the poison dart. Unusual for these shows, they haven't (so far) usually left something open like that.}} | |||
{{episodelist-info | {{episodelist-info | ||
|epnum = 122 | |epnum = 122 | ||
|epname = Callisto | |epname = Callisto | ||
|epdate = 1996-05-13 | |epdate = 1996-05-13 | ||
|firstwatched = | |firstwatched = 2025-08-05 | ||
|thoughts = }} | |thoughts = Well, they didn't leave it an open mystery for long. Callisto may be a result of Xena's earlier awful days, but now she's being just as awful. Maybe she was sympathetic once, but now destroying entire towns just to tarnish someone else's name... hard to see her as anything but just awful. | ||
[[Ted Raimi]] playing a very Ted Raimi character.}} | |||
{{episodelist-info | {{episodelist-info | ||
|epnum = 123 | |epnum = 123 | ||
|epname = Death Mask | |epname = Death Mask | ||
|epdate = 1996-06-03 | |epdate = 1996-06-03 | ||
|firstwatched = | |firstwatched = 2025-08-10 | ||
|thoughts = }} | |thoughts = Goes unstated, but has to be intentional that immediately after the "Here's a woman Xena turned crazy by being a warlord" episode, this is a "Here's the warlord who turned Xena crazy" episode. | ||
So now it's her previously unknown older brother who shows up. They've gotta be running out of family surprise episodes by now? | |||
So the main gist of this episode's bad guy is he's both the king and the bandit, so he can manipulate his subjects into being willing to pay more in taxes. The "kingdoms" in Hercules/Xena don't seem all that large, really. How much more is he getting in taxes that makes up for keeping an operation of dozens of bandits running?}} | |||
{{episodelist-info | {{episodelist-info | ||
|end = 1 | |end = 1 | ||
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|epname = Is There a Doctor in the House? | |epname = Is There a Doctor in the House? | ||
|epdate = 1996-07-29 | |epdate = 1996-07-29 | ||
|firstwatched = | |firstwatched = 2025-08-12 | ||
|thoughts = }} | |thoughts = After Xena announced her plan to stop a war I was wondering how playing doctor for half an episode was going to make that happen, but I guess it worked. | ||
They said this was a civil war, but... if they've got different names, territories, and gods; how is their war any different than any two neighboring groups at war?}} | |||
[[Xena: Warrior Princess Season 2]] | [[Xena: Warrior Princess Season 2]] | ||
[[Category:Xena: Warrior Princess Seasons]] | [[Category:Xena: Warrior Princess Seasons]] | ||
[[Category:1995 Television Seasons]] | |||
[[Category:1996 Television Seasons]] | |||