Happy birthday Xena

[gina_r_snape]

So apparently this weekend marks the 15th anniversary of the first airing of Xena: Warrior PrincessXena was my very first fandom, and a part of me still "lives" there. I made friends and acquaintances and one of them is even on my flist now, though we don't interact much these days. Those two got me through my Masters program. I read my first

Comments

[xo_oldgreggory]

I can still visualize the opening intro in my head XD

[gina_r_snape]

Ha ha ha. IKR? So iconic.

[gina_r_snape]

Aw, thanksss!

[fredneil]

That was my first fandom, too. The first thing I did online was join a Xena mailing list, I started the first Salmoneous mailing list, I saw Lucy Lawless at a convention and I have an article or two on the Woosh website. Or did ten years ago. It was probably the first fan fiction that I read, as well, though that might have been The Monkees. Sometime during the second season was the start of the decline, where the serious episodes aspired to the mythic and the comic episodes aspired to Mad Magazine, but I stayed with it until the end, though my passion for the show was dissipating during the last couple of seasons.

The series never gets credit for this, but it was probably responsible for making multi-episode story arcs a standard part of television outside of soap operas. Before Xena, it was all standalone episodes.

[gina_r_snape]

Oh that's so awesome. The whoosh site is still up, you know.

What mailing lists did you belong to?

I thought the series started picking up towards the end of the first season and I was a rabid fan right up until the end of season 3. After that it started to decline. The last two seasons were almost like a different show, but I stuck with it. The finale was HORRIBLE. Simply horrible. I was so angry with the way Tapert chose to end things. I vividly recall going to the Pride Parade the next day and we stood as a group and cried before things got started.

Interesting that you say they influenced multi-episode story arcs. That would be very interesting to research.

[fredneil]

I just found the Whoosh site. I really wish I had believed in second drafts back then.

Let's see. Chakram was the main one. There was a Callisto one that didn't last long and there was the Sal list. Too bad there aren't any archives of them around. I seem to remember some good snark in my episode reviews on Chakram.

With you on the finale. Xena dies and goes to heaven to atone for a group of deaths she caused, even though she didn't have to die to atone for any other deaths she had caused, and Gabrielle ends up with a ghost for a girlfriend.

[gina_r_snape]

Aaaah.

Yeah, well, we all learn about posting in trial by fire.

I belonged to a subtext list on yahoo that got a little nasty so I started my own called xena subtext warriors.

Yahoo is great for archiving old posts.

I also belonged to a group called Xxxenalist that was deleted. I printed and saved all those old stories, though!

Gabrielle left to wander the earth talking to herself is SO WRONG. Xena didn't have to die to atone. And in fact, she did die once already. I will never understand the logic behind that decision.

[cuddlebunni3]

Hey, I used to go watch Xena at Meow Mix! Maybe we met back then... but I think I would have remembered ~grin~

[gina_r_snape]

OMG OMG OMG! Yah, I was very active from the beginning and actually hooked up with Camille (Brown Betty) for a short while. I only participated in a couple of skits, though. And I lost the yi yi yi yi Xena battle cry competition. I won a lot of stuff in the trivia contests, though. And I came up with some of the ideas for the drinking game.

I'm sure we must have talked. The bar just wasn't that big!

[valis2]

How awesome! The irst fandom is such a special thing, isn't it? :) *hugs* Great pic!!

[gina_r_snape]

It truly is. :)