Xena the... bewildering.

[The Vorpal Tribble]

I've been pretty sick of late and have just been sitting around most of the day trying not to cough myself into a coma. Well, over on YouTube I found that someone has posted every episode of Xena the Warrior Princess. Now years back I caught a show every now and again and never really saw enough to understand what was going on so was curious.

I am now halfway through season two and I have to say I've never been this conflicted on a series before. Some episodes I'm thinking to myself, 'MAN was that great...' great plot and very imaginative. Others are hardly more than saturday morning cartoons in quality and plot. I've forced myself halfway through and then just had to cut it off before my head imploded.

Honestly, there is utterly no consistency. Some are fantastically well acted and written. A couple, such as when Xena thought Gabby had died nearly moved me to tears. Others were so DUMB I wanted to cut off the flow of blood to my brain.

I STILL can't figure out if I even like the series. Too many conflicting emotions and opinions from one show to the next.

[pestilenceawaits]

I watched that show a lot I had sisters and a mom that liked it and it is exactly as you describe it for the entire run of the show. I think the episodes with Bruce Campbell as Autolocus (sp) king of thieves are the best.

[EmeraldRose]

Well, I never watched them in any order, but many of them gave me the same reaction- almost tearing up with the emotion involved. And then there are the song and dance numbers, and the fluff episodes. Some of the were so stupid they were not worth watching.

Hercules was marginally better, by the way, if you can find them, the writing was more consistent.

[Matthew]

The quality is very variable. I usually expect it to be rubbish (and I have watched a lot of Xena and Hercules over the years, much to my shame). It makes it all the better when a good episode comes along...

[EmeraldRose]

I think the best part was Aries honestly. He was a pretty good actor. Now that I think about it, the absolute worst episodes were the ones in the "future" with all the characters being other people. Those were horrible!

[nifty>>virago<<]

never really grew to love the show because of the fact that they do vary alot and some are so far fetched its hard to watch.... I used to watch them more when I was younger but that was before I noticed how phony they seemed

[Matthew]

They are an excercise in suspending your disbelief, that's for sure...

[The Vorpal Tribble]

Now that I think about it, the absolute worst episodes were the ones in the "future" with all the characters being other people. Those were horrible!
Absolutely. I've yet to see one I can sit through.

[CaptainSam]

The outtakes are the best. There's one where Kevin Sorbo runs onto the Xena set, does a double take, says,

"Sorry, wrong show," and runs off.

Hercules Bloopers (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kMkOQE6o4cE)
And some Xena ones (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zPgqBRCHCZQ)

Just youtube it, there's loads!

[WampaX]

Absolutely. I've yet to see one I can sit through.

There were two I thought were unique enough to record.
The musical and the one where whatever was written on the scroll became reality. The latter for the comedy . . . the former because, well, I like musicals.

[bosssmiley]

You, VT, are experiencing the first pangs of Guilty TV Pleasure Syndrome. Having suffered many such "godly genius! <==> why do I watch this cr*p?" swings in my time as a devout worshipper of the electric fishtank I can sympathise with your predicament.

As you seem to be deep in the throes of trash TV addiction I judge a curative intervention would cause more harm than good, and offer you this advice on managing the addiction:

Avoid bad stash - watch for the Director and Scriptwriter's names at the start of an episode, and learn who writes the stuff you hate. Avoid it in future.
Demand only the best - try to feed the monkey only with episodes that you know in advance will rock. Anything with Bruce Campbell in it fits the "will rock" category. :smallwink:
Avoid developing a tolerance - your tolerance for kitsch will increase over time. Avoid this at all costs. That way public fandom and ultimately the horror of cosplay lie.
Avoid the company of other addicts - they will only enable your self-abuse in an attempt to normalise their own addiction.
Switch dependencies - if the shame of your Xenaphilia becomes too great, then go cold turkey and watch other series en masse instead.
Avoid other 'soapy' shows - 'chasing the soap' with more than one focus can lead to overdosing and permanent dependency. Try to avoid anything with character arcs ("Buffy", "Angel", "Bones", "CSI", late series "Star Trek", "Lost", "Andromeda", etc.). Heed this warning, or be lost forever to "Sex and the City", "The L Word", "Always Sunny in Philadelphia" or "Desperate Housewives".

Bless you VT, and may you walk in the blessed fields of *quality* trash TV soon. If the worst comes to the worst I'll strap you into a chair and make you watch "Top Gear" marathons until your televisual emasculation is reversed.

[The Vorpal Tribble]

Addiction? Xenaphilia? Whaaaaa?

Anyways, Heroes and Supernatural aren't having any new shows till January and thats about the only shows I know of that I can stomach. Ain't got anything better to watch while sick as a dog in other words.

That is unless anyone knows of a link to any Star Trek episodes not of the original series...


Heed this warning, or be lost forever to "Sex and the City", "The L Word", "Always Sunny in Philadelphia" or "Desperate Housewives".
No worries, I would turn to seppuku before watching any of those.

[Grey Knight]

If the worst comes to the worst I'll strap you into a chair and make you watch "Top Gear" marathons until your televisual emasculation is reversed.

Wait, that's supposed to remasculate him? :smallconfused:

[AtomicKitKat]

I actually like watching Xena's "modern" episodes. Go figure. Anyways, episodes with Kevin Smith, Bruce Campbell, or Ted Raimi, in any combination, tend to be decently done. Any with Alexondra Lee, Alexandra Sky, and a few others who play the various "A" Goddesses(Artemis, Athena, Aphrodite) tend to be fairly weak, only useful for the T&A to retain the viewers till the next story episode. Hudson Leick as Callisto was good, but after she lost her Godhood, her character pretty much jumped the shark.

[bosssmiley]

Wait, that's supposed to remasculate him? :smallconfused:

I refer you to the one magical episode with not only the Aston Martin DB9 drive to Monte Carlo, but also the Lotus Exige vs. the Apache. What was your question again? :smallwink:

"That there's TV to put hair on yer chest boy!"

[Matthew]

I feel your TV pain, Boss Smiley, but you forgot about Law and Order, Cold Case and probably Star Gate... or did you? Too many shows sucking at my brain and the Internet is even worse...

I also enjoyed the modern day episodes of Xena and Hercules. If I remember rightly, the final episode of Xena is a modern day affair. I always viewed them as a bit of a break from the regular pace... and I particularly liked the Xena Musical Episode, but then I liked the Buffy Musical Episode, as well... not forgetting the one where they lose their voices...

[AtomicKitKat]

I just realised there's a bit of overlap between Elan and Joxer.

Elan's Parents: Warlord and Singing Barmaid
Joxer's Parents: Warlord and Singer

Elan's Siblings: Twin brother who is a warlord. He himself is a bard.
Joxer's Siblings: Older brother who's a warlord. His twin brother Jace is a flamboyant bard. He himself is a bungling warrior ala Xander(Buffy), Ron Stoppable(Kim Possible), etc.

Coincidence?

[The Vorpal Tribble]

"That there's TV to put hair on yer chest boy!"
Gah, then I can assure you I will be avoiding them like the plague. I already just about have to use a lawnmower.



I just realised there's a bit of overlap between Elan and Joxer.
*sigh*

I've figured out that if an episode brings Joxer in then its going to be a 'comedic' show. I've only seen two 'comedic' shows that actually made me laugh instead of wanting to decapitate myself.

[Grey Knight]

Gah, then I can assure you I will be avoiding them like the plague. I already just about have to use a lawnmower.

You shave it? :smallconfused: Heresy!

[Shikton]

I used to watch both Xena and Hercules too, and I enjoyed both. There were a lot of episodes that were utter crap though, but I sat through them since I had nothing better to do... Gotta say, I agree with Hercules being a better show. More consistent goodness. But you gotta love the spark between Xena and Gabrielle too. Hmmm
Didya know the actor who plays Ares is dead?

[Matthew]

That is sad news of which I was not aware. He appears to have died from a fall in 2003.

Kevin Smith (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0808963/bio)

[The Vorpal Tribble]

I've found out that there is not a single time up to season five so far that can have more than 4 serious episodes. You have super serious, then super dumb and 'comedic', rinse, wash repeat. OVER AND OVER.

Is this show supposed to be a drama or a comedy? Mixing the two up like this just doesn't work.

I mean, going from the Hope business one episode and the very next slapstick, nyuk-nyuk-nyuk comedy makes for a very difficult transition. Thing is, the writers then go and occassionally stick something serious in the midst of it all that may be important in future episodes so you can't really skip to the next show for fear of losing the storyline. GAAAAH.

This show can only be taken on an episode by episode basis. I 'still' cannot say if I like or dislike it as a whole. Its like two different shows that just happen to have the same actors in the same costumes.

[Midnight Son]

See, the genius of both Xena and Hercules was that they never actually took themselves seriously. Even when they were being all melodromatic, they knew exactly what they were, a cheesy slapstick schtick. I always felt that their ability to make the unintentional comedy intentional was just brilliant.

[Dhavaer]

"The L Word"

Hey! I like the L Word.

[Matthew]

Different strokes for different folks...

[Tweekinator]

I watched both series, and have seen pretty much every episode. The ones with Hope and later on Xena's flashbacks, where for some reason they decided to try to go all serious were, to me, subpar compared to the comedy and swashbuckling/adventure episodes. I remember the disappointment on turning the TV to WGN on Saturday afternoons to see an episode featuring Hope and the emotional struggles and drama she led to. Although, Hope was so much better than end of the last season, where Gabrielle decided to get ninja-y and use sais(sp?) and all that. All in all, though, I liked Xena and Hercules. AND Always Sunny in Philadelphia. What's wrong with that show?

[The Vorpal Tribble]

I dunno, there are maybe two comedy-based episodes that I've been able to stomach. The rest are just stupid, not to mention usually the worst acted. You can have funny without resorting to infantile.

[Tweekinator]

Maybe I'm just remembering them from the eyes of a 13 year old. Now that I know they're on youtube, I'll have to see about re-watching them.

[Matthew]

I hated it when I was first subjected to it, but after a while I came to enjoy it, mainly after I had disassociated from anything remotely resembling fantasy adventure and begun to compare it to more conventional soaps and series. It falls into my "so bad, it's good" category, a bit like Hawk the Slayer...

[The Vorpal Tribble]

Well, I have come to realize a few things that will allow you to know the show is going to be idiotic.

#1. Great Scott!
Any show that takes place in the future, usually via 'reincarnation', is going to make you want to scream. Only exception is the one in india, but their reincarnation is only a few years down the road and completely different than the others.

#2. Gruff and Tough
If the show begins with some guy's gruff voice/voices the show is going to be a piece of crap. Every. Single. One that has a guy with a gravely voice turns out to be horribly acted, and every show thats horribly acted is always supposed to be a 'comedic' episode. Its somehow just supposed to be hillarious to have a bunch of overly-tough guys getting whooped, when they don't even sound tough, just with a touch of cancer of the throat.

#3. Like, duh!
If you have Aphro in it, its going to be dumber than mud. This use to be the same with Joxer, but though it took till almost season five, he actually appeared in serious and well-done episodes. However, if its supposed to be 'funny' he still shows up.

#4. Double, Triple, Quadruple Trouble
Two words... Xena lookalike(s).

[The Vorpal Tribble]

Man but gods die easy. You'd think they would know how to teleport away in times of crises, but nooo, we sit and scream.

[Matthew]

Ah, Vorpal Tribble, you hate the show and yet you cannot stop watching it. Welcome to the club. I still watch Hercules on a Saturday morning on Channel 5. Eventually they will show Xena again and I will probably watch that too. Just like Star Trek and Star Gate, these are comfort shows. You know they're bad for you, but you still watch them.

I try not to watch Next Generation, Voyager or Enterprise anymore, but as soon as they put Deep Space Nine back on, rest assured I will be watching... The Original Series is a different animal.

[The Vorpal Tribble]

No, don't hate the show. Rather enjoy it... except when I don't. As I've said before, it has to be taken one episode at a time.

[Matthew]

Hmmn. Hate can be such a strong word. What I meant is that you appear to have a love / hate issue with the show, though maybe you would best describe it as like / dislike.

[Logic]

Hmmn. Hate can be such a strong word. What I meant is that you appear to have a love / hate issue with the show, though maybe you would best describe it as like / dislike.
Despise>Hate>Dislike

At least, in my personal opinion. I only use despise when I actually want the person place or thing erased from existance.
Hate is not all that bad compared to my opinion of despise.
Funny too, since at one point my mother added "hate" to the list of four letter words her children were not allowed to say. to get around her stupid little rule, I began to use "despise."

Back on Topic:
I liked Xena, at least, what I saw of it more than a decade ago.
I am sure if I were to go back and watch it, I would not enjoy it nearly as much as I did then.

[Matthew]

What about loathe? More severe or less severe than despise, do you think?

[Logic]

Despise>Loathe>Hate>Dislike

[Shadow of the Sun]

I would say Loathe>Despise. And hate is just love with its back turned.