Xena: Warrior Princess
It's essay-/midterm-writing time, so naturally I have been procrastinating very badly. Actually, I've been procrastinating the past few weeks by watching Xena: Warrior Princess. XWP's six-year run ended in 2000 and I remembered catching episodes on the WB when I was younger (this is taking me back to memories of PA now, too). I wasn't old enough to understand the concept of subtext then but when I heard about there being subtext between Xena and Gabrielle, I easily believed it.
But... nothing really prepared me for the reality of the subtext. Good lord. I've been watching an episode in this season, an episode in that season, but good lord... By seasons five and six, the arguments for Xena/Gabby are pretty strong and sometimes almost blatant, I'd say. Plus, Xena totally messes with all mythology and all timelines to the point that you really can't reconcile it. (Did you know that Xena inspired Hippocrates, helped Helen of Troy, knew Caesar (and possibly helped his ass get killed), also knew and helped Ulysses, killed Grendel (yes, that Grendel--and managed to redeem his mother rather than slay her!), and has been to Tartarus, the Elysian Fields and a Christian Heaven? I mean, she's even met Michael! And corrupted Lucifer! Shocking, I know.)
So if you're feeling nostalgic, I believe YouTube actually has all the Xena episodes (and Hercules, which I also watched back in the day but don't have so much an interest in watching these days). Here's a list of the ones I really like so far:
1.01 Sins of the Past (not b/c it's great, but because you have to see the beginning--I really miss the gabbing Gabby of the first few seasons)
1.10 Hooves and Harlots (the Amazons!--completely ahistorical Amazons, but hey, it's XWP--none of the myth-playing and the timelines make sense)
1.18 The Prodigal (because Gabby is cute)
1.21 The Greater Good (... how many times did Xena manage to die throughout six years?)
2.10 The Xena Scrolls (... ridiculous on so many levels, but the role reversal was really amusing)
2.12 Destiny
2.13 The Quest ("Destiny" and "The Quest" are classic--I totally remember these from when I was younger... but I didn't remember the psuedo-kiss b/w Xena and Gabrielle... oh, you crazy writers)
2.15 A Day in the Life (one of my all-time favorite episodes! Fun, funny, and cute)
3.01 The Furies (this episode is just fun for Xena's victory laugh at the end =D)
3.02 Been There, Done That (ahahahahahaha... gets a little repetitive, but fun for the most part... and the hickey line? =D)
3.13 One Against an Army (... companion piece to "The Greater Good"?)
3.18 Fins, Femmes, and Gems (speaking of subtext...)
4.13 Paradise Found (or Lost! Actually, I haven't properly watched this one yet... but the massage scene... I totally want a massage now)
6.03 Heart of Darkness (ok, I haven't watched this one properly either--and it probably would not make my top favorites--but the subtext is pretty out of control in this episode)
6.04 Who's Gurkhan? (I watched the second half of this episode... and the dancing was enough to keep me blinking at the screen... it seems like the writers in season 6, knowing it was going to end, pulled out all the stops)
6.18 When Fates Collide (the romantic in me liked this episode D:)
6.19 Many Happy Returns (so... gay)
I've gravitated towards more of the lighthearted episodes and, because of it, many of the subtextual episodes have been left out of this list. Let's see: 1.19 Altared States (the Gabby line: "By the gods, you are beautiful!"); 1.24 Is There a Doctor in the House? (a little too gruesome and gory for me); 2.02 Remember Nothing; 4.15 Between the Lines; 4.21 Ides of March; 6.06 The Abyss; 6.07-6.09 The Norse Arc; 6.21-6.22 Friend in Need (series finale--although, it kind of depends who you ask). Then again, people have found subtext everywhere, which actually isn't that hard to do.
I've also managed to avoid almost all the big story arcs, like 3.06-3.07 The Debt; the whole Hope deal (season 3) leading up to 3.12 The Bitter Suite--which is apparently also subtext heaven; watching the series finale properly >_>;.
Anywho, there are tons of episode guides if you want to watch XWP, but I use the one at the Australian Xena Information Page. I've also been distracting myself reading fanfic. The ones I like?:
Ella Quince's Altered Stories - pretty much anything here; I especially like "Deja Vu All Over Again".
Temora's works: Fighting the Good Fight (hilarious parody), Quality Dying Time (good enough to make me ignore pet peeve grammar mistakes I saw), This is a First Time Story (=D), A Once and Future Journey (post series finale... bittersweet)
Castaway - Funny. So funny.
Della Street has some very fun fanfics over at the Pink Rabbit Consortium.
Jim's The High Pass really makes me wish he had written more.
There are a ton of Xena fanfic review sites. I've looked at Blurb and Lunacy's Fan Fiction Reviews. Tons of fanfic, period, at The Royal Academy of Bards or The Bard's Corner at Ausxip.com.
And there's more! Some fun music videos: Sweet Surrender (if even only for the awesomeness of the song), Massage (mmmm... massages...), It's Gettin' Hot in Here (just so you can see how crazy XWP can get). I ended up clicking on these and really just wanting to see where certain clips came from, which generally resulted in fruitless episode browsing. Although, there were some gems: Joxer the Mighty gets his own song... and so does Gabrielle. =D
Now you, too, can waste your time! (And maybe be nostalgic!) You know, I had no idea that Lucy Lawless had a Kiwi accent but it's really cute to hear it come out in the bloopers.
But... nothing really prepared me for the reality of the subtext. Good lord. I've been watching an episode in this season, an episode in that season, but good lord... By seasons five and six, the arguments for Xena/Gabby are pretty strong and sometimes almost blatant, I'd say. Plus, Xena totally messes with all mythology and all timelines to the point that you really can't reconcile it. (Did you know that Xena inspired Hippocrates, helped Helen of Troy, knew Caesar (and possibly helped his ass get killed), also knew and helped Ulysses, killed Grendel (yes, that Grendel--and managed to redeem his mother rather than slay her!), and has been to Tartarus, the Elysian Fields and a Christian Heaven? I mean, she's even met Michael! And corrupted Lucifer! Shocking, I know.)
So if you're feeling nostalgic, I believe YouTube actually has all the Xena episodes (and Hercules, which I also watched back in the day but don't have so much an interest in watching these days). Here's a list of the ones I really like so far:
1.01 Sins of the Past (not b/c it's great, but because you have to see the beginning--I really miss the gabbing Gabby of the first few seasons)
1.10 Hooves and Harlots (the Amazons!--completely ahistorical Amazons, but hey, it's XWP--none of the myth-playing and the timelines make sense)
1.18 The Prodigal (because Gabby is cute)
1.21 The Greater Good (... how many times did Xena manage to die throughout six years?)
2.10 The Xena Scrolls (... ridiculous on so many levels, but the role reversal was really amusing)
2.12 Destiny
2.13 The Quest ("Destiny" and "The Quest" are classic--I totally remember these from when I was younger... but I didn't remember the psuedo-kiss b/w Xena and Gabrielle... oh, you crazy writers)
2.15 A Day in the Life (one of my all-time favorite episodes! Fun, funny, and cute)
3.01 The Furies (this episode is just fun for Xena's victory laugh at the end =D)
3.02 Been There, Done That (ahahahahahaha... gets a little repetitive, but fun for the most part... and the hickey line? =D)
3.13 One Against an Army (... companion piece to "The Greater Good"?)
3.18 Fins, Femmes, and Gems (speaking of subtext...)
4.13 Paradise Found (or Lost! Actually, I haven't properly watched this one yet... but the massage scene... I totally want a massage now)
6.03 Heart of Darkness (ok, I haven't watched this one properly either--and it probably would not make my top favorites--but the subtext is pretty out of control in this episode)
6.04 Who's Gurkhan? (I watched the second half of this episode... and the dancing was enough to keep me blinking at the screen... it seems like the writers in season 6, knowing it was going to end, pulled out all the stops)
6.18 When Fates Collide (the romantic in me liked this episode D:)
6.19 Many Happy Returns (so... gay)
I've gravitated towards more of the lighthearted episodes and, because of it, many of the subtextual episodes have been left out of this list. Let's see: 1.19 Altared States (the Gabby line: "By the gods, you are beautiful!"); 1.24 Is There a Doctor in the House? (a little too gruesome and gory for me); 2.02 Remember Nothing; 4.15 Between the Lines; 4.21 Ides of March; 6.06 The Abyss; 6.07-6.09 The Norse Arc; 6.21-6.22 Friend in Need (series finale--although, it kind of depends who you ask). Then again, people have found subtext everywhere, which actually isn't that hard to do.
I've also managed to avoid almost all the big story arcs, like 3.06-3.07 The Debt; the whole Hope deal (season 3) leading up to 3.12 The Bitter Suite--which is apparently also subtext heaven; watching the series finale properly >_>;.
Anywho, there are tons of episode guides if you want to watch XWP, but I use the one at the Australian Xena Information Page. I've also been distracting myself reading fanfic. The ones I like?:
Ella Quince's Altered Stories - pretty much anything here; I especially like "Deja Vu All Over Again".
Temora's works: Fighting the Good Fight (hilarious parody), Quality Dying Time (good enough to make me ignore pet peeve grammar mistakes I saw), This is a First Time Story (=D), A Once and Future Journey (post series finale... bittersweet)
Castaway - Funny. So funny.
Della Street has some very fun fanfics over at the Pink Rabbit Consortium.
Jim's The High Pass really makes me wish he had written more.
There are a ton of Xena fanfic review sites. I've looked at Blurb and Lunacy's Fan Fiction Reviews. Tons of fanfic, period, at The Royal Academy of Bards or The Bard's Corner at Ausxip.com.
And there's more! Some fun music videos: Sweet Surrender (if even only for the awesomeness of the song), Massage (mmmm... massages...), It's Gettin' Hot in Here (just so you can see how crazy XWP can get). I ended up clicking on these and really just wanting to see where certain clips came from, which generally resulted in fruitless episode browsing. Although, there were some gems: Joxer the Mighty gets his own song... and so does Gabrielle. =D
Now you, too, can waste your time! (And maybe be nostalgic!) You know, I had no idea that Lucy Lawless had a Kiwi accent but it's really cute to hear it come out in the bloopers.