Emily Skopov Movies

Created by John Schulian and Robert Tapert, the New Zealand-filmed Xena: Warrior Princess was a spin-off of the tongue-in-cheek "sword and sorcery" series Hercules: The Legendary Journeys. As introduced on Hercules, Xena (Lucy Lawless) was a fierce and formidable villainess, the leader of a vast army bent on destruction and devastation. There was some justification for this: As a child, Xena had witnessed the destruction of her home village and the brutal murder of her brother at the hands of a despotic warlord. At first forming her army to protect other peasants like herself, she became consumed with a lust for power and was soon conquering for the sake of being the conqueror. But through her association with the virtuous Hercules, Xena experienced an epiphany, casting off her former evil ways and devoting the rest of her life to making amends to her victims and protecting the innocent -- a task complicated by the many enemies she had made during her Warrior Princess years, who neither forgave nor forgot, and by the unsavory alliances she had forged during those same years. No sooner had Xena "seen the light" than she rescued the citizens of a village besieged by yet another evil warlord. Among those saved was young and beautiful Gabrielle (Renee O'Connor), an aspiring "bard" (writer and artist) who became Xena's constant companion, first because she idolized the former warrior princess and was eager to experience adventure first-hand, but ultimately because she was Xena's devoted friend and confidant.
In the course of the series' six seasons, Xena and Gabrielle journeyed through Greece, Italy, Scandanavia, Africa, India, and China, with side trips to the Underworld -- ruled by Xena's erstwhile crony Hades -- and to the future, in which the two heroines found themselves in reincarnated form. Predicated on the theory that anything is possible in a fantasy series, both Xena and Gabrielle were "killed" and "resurrected" on several occasions, and both bore children who grew up to become their nemeses: Xena's daughter Eve (Adrienne Wilkinson) reached adulthood as the much-feared warrior queen Livia, the lover of war god Ares (Kevin Smith), while Gabrielle's offspring Hope (Amy Morrison), whose father was "force of darkness" Dahak, would have to be killed at her mother's hand in order to save Mankind (Xena also had reason to despise Hope; it was she who killed Xena's long-estranged son, Solon). In one memorable instance, Xena briefly assumed the form of another woman -- a metamorphosis necessitated by a real-life accident which sidelined Lucy Lawless for several weeks. Lest this all sound a bit grim and morbid, it must be noted that the series, like its predecessor, Hercules, had a healthy, irreverent sense of humor, as encapsulated by the light-hearted "disclaimers" which appeared at the end of each episode. There was also time to spoof such modern-day phenomena as beauty contests, spaghetti Westerns, Danny Kaye films, theme parks, pro wrestling, Broadway musicals, and even such TV shows as You Are There and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. There was also a cheerily contemptuous disregard for the time line of "real" history, with Xena and Gabrielle crossing the paths of Julius Caesar, Ulysses, Genghis Khan, Cleopatra, David and Goliath, Brunnhilde, and many other past "celebrities," both genuine and imaginary. Generally, the series' jocular treatment of Myth, Mysticism, Religion, and Reality was accepted in the spirit in which it was intended; but on one occasion, an angry protest from a Hindu extremist group obliged the producers to remove the fourth season episode "The Way" from the series' rerun package.
Of Xena's many recurring characters, the best known and most often seen included Xena and Gabrielle's clumsy, wannabe warrior friend Joxer (Ted Raimi); Xena's mortal enemy, the blonde female warrior Callisto (Hudson Leick); troublesome traveling salesman Salmoneus (Robert Trebor); self-proclaimed king of thieves Autolycus (Bruce Campbell); Amazon princess Ephiny (Danielle Cormack), who enabled Gabrielle to join her all-female tribe; teenaged Amazon Amarice (Jennifer Sky), who became to Gabrielle what Gabrielle was to Xena; healer and shaman Eli (Timothy Omundson), Gabrielle's spiritual mentor; and an impressive array of "immortals," including the aforementioned Ares and Hades, goddess of love Aphrodite (Alexandra Tydings), sea deity Poseidon (Charles Siebert, who also directed several episodes), and the puckish Cupid (Karl Urban, who also played Julius Caesar). And, of course, the star of Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, Kevin Sorbo, made a few courtesy calls on Xena. Syndicated in the U.S. beginning September 15, 1995, Xena: Warrior Princess was subsequently telecast in practically every English-speaking country in the world, then went on to virtually every other country where television existed. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Season two of Xena: Warrior Princess is noteworthy for several reasons, though two of these stand out above all the rest. The first was the promotion to full "regular" status of the series' principal comedy-relief character, a bumbling wannabe warrior named Joxer (Ted Raimi), who had previously shown up in the first-season installment "Callisto." The second occurred during the two-part adventure "Destiny"/"The Quest," in which heroine Xena (Lucy Lawless) actually died and was brought back to life -- one of several termination-resurrection scenarios which would proliferate in the seasons to come. A potential series-threatening crisis occurred in October 1996, when star Lucy Lawless fell from a horse during a publicity stunt staged for The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Suffering a broken pelvis, the actress was forced to sit out several weeks of shooting, necessitating the hastily written episodes "Intimate Stranger" and "Ten Little Warlords," in which Xena's mind and soul was briefly "possessed" by the body of her arch-enemy Callisto (Hudson Leick). Deftly balancing dead-serious episodes (especially those wherein the usually pacifistic Gabrielle [Renee O'Connor] would toy with the notion of learning how to kill her enemies) with delightful excursions into comedy and whimsy (notably "Here She Comes? Miss Amphipolis" and "A Comedy of Eros"), Xena: Warrior Princess wrapped up its second season with 22 highly-rated installments. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Season three of Xena: Warrior Princess ended on a tragic note, with Gabrielle (Renee O'Connor), friend and chronicler of reformed warrior Xena (Lucy Lawless), sacrificing her life so that her daughter, Hope -- the incarnation of pure evil -- would not be resurrected. Given the series' mythological zeitgeist, however, viewers could take comfort in the fact that Gabrielle would ultimately be restored to life thanks to the diligence of the faithful Xena, thereby launching a fourth season of fanciful sword-and-sorcery adventures. As usual, quite a lot was packed into the season's 22 hour-long episodes. The death of Amazon Queen Ephiny placed the wide-eyed Gabrielle (Renee O'Connor) on her predecessor's throne, thereby introducing a new character: rebellious teenaged Amazon Amarice (Jennifer Sky), whose relationship with Gabrielle was nearly a carbon copy of Gabrielle's relationship with Xena. Also seen for the first time during season four is Eli (Timothy Omundson), a Messianic shaman whom the ladies met during a journey to India. Eli will ultimately emerge as Gabrielle's spiritual mentor -- not to mention the figurehead in a pacifistic, monotheistic cult that will in later seasons bring down the literal wrath of the Gods. And just as Amarice and Eli were making themselves at home, the series bade farewell to Bruce Campbell as Autolycus, self-proclaimed King of Thieves. The more suspenseful and terrifying episodes of season four were offset with excursions into pure comedy. One of the more noteworthy lighter installments was the season's final episode, in which we were introduced to mixed-up modern-day incarnations of Xena, Gabrielle, and warrior wannabe Joxer (Ted Raimi). Withal, however, an ominous pall hung over the entire season, thanks to the grim prognostications of Xena's old nemesis, the evil shamaness Alti (Claire Stansfield). With her dying breath, Alti conjured up a horrific vision of Xena and Gabrielle's grisly execution and the hands of the hated Romans -- a prediction that not only came true, but also provided the "cliffhanger" which assured that loyal (and very worried) Xena fans would return for season five. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Picking up where season five of Xena: Warrior Princess left off, season six begins with Xena (Lucy Lawless) handily defeating the combined forces of the Olympian Gods, who had hoped to forestall their prophesied demise by killing both Xena and her reformed warrior-princess daughter, Eve (Adrienne Wilkinson). The end of Olympia left but a few survivors, among them Xena's old nemesis Ares (Kevin Smith), the God of War -- now rather comically reduced to pathetic mortal-hood. Together with her traveling companion, Gabrielle (Renee O'Connor), and the ladies' new cohort, Virgil (William Gregory Lee), the son of their late friend Joxer, Xena embarks upon a whole new series of globetrotting adventures, taking her to Africa and to the Land of Norse, where she finds herself smack-dab in a Wagnerian "Ring Cycle" (mostly of her own making). Xena also does her best to avoid the prognostications of the Heavens Above that she is next in line to the Throne of Hell upon the "retirement" of reigning demon Mephistopheles. Occasionally digressing from the standard Xena format, a handful of episodes were set in the Present -- that is, the 21st century A.D. One of these was a satirical spoof of the old radio and TV series You Are There, while others dealt with the misadventures of Xena's contemporary fans and the familiar cast members' modern-day, lookalike descendants. The season ends with a two-parter set in faraway Japan, where Xena is voluntarily slain so that she may do battle in the Afterlife with the ghost of a malevolent samurai. Gabrielle's efforts to revive Xena, so often so successful in the past, come a cropper this time, and it looks as though Xena: Warrior Princess is definitely, permanently over and done with. However, hope is held out that a sequel or a spin-off may still be in the works, so stay tuned. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Upon learning that she may inherit the throne of Hell from Mephistopheles, Xena (Lucy Lawless) vows to do everything she can to avoid this "honor." Alas, she is already taking on demonic characteristics, and her heart is growing harder with each passing day. Will the devilishly handsome angel who calls himself Lucifer (Alex Mendoza) be able to talk Xena into fulfilling her destiny? And why has Virgil (William Gregory Lee), sweet-tempered son of Joxer, suddenly turned so sour? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Trance (Laura Bertram) agrees to act as emissary for the Commonwealth on the war-ravaged planet Inisi. Immediately upon arrival, she is kidnapped by Professor Logitch, played by X-Files' inimitable "Cigarette Smoking Man" William B. Davis. The Professor subjects Trance to an intense interrogation, determined to prove that she and her race are on a mission to destroy Inisi in a civil war -- and, surprisingly, he just may be right. Meanwhile, Dylan Hunt (Kevin Sorbo) tries to find out who is attacking Inisian cargo ships, and why. "Pitiless As the Sun" originally aired in Canada on October 20, 2001, and in the U.S. on October 22. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Moya is guided to the planet Khurtanan for some desperately needed repairs, but none of the planet's mechanics will cooperate unless corrupt local doctor Tumii (Bruce Spence) gives Moya's crew a clean bill of health. Instead, Tumii poisons the crew with the deadly Qatal Mollusk, holding out the antidote unless he is given an enormous bribe. The "good" doctor also strongarms Crichton and Rygel (Jonathan Hardy) into stealing a huge cache of Qatals which are being stored as weapons by a group of resistance fighters. Somehow all this intrigue leads to an incredible sequence wherein the two most aggressively male members of Moya's crew dress up in female drag. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Former cast member Brent Stait makes a guest appearance in his familiar role as religious zealous Rev Bem, who has sent out a distress call from a ship bound for a doomed planet. In trying to save their old comrade, the Andromeda crew is startled by the changes undergone by Bem since last they saw him. Also startling is the fact that Bem may not be rescuable at all, thanks to something called the "Path of the Devine." Flashbacks from earlier episodes highlight this "retro" Andromeda entry. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide