Adrienne Wilkinson

An invisible, shape-shifting extraterrestrial has invaded a Russian nuclear power plant with the aim of causing international chaos, and now the only hope for the human race lies in one tough soldier. When Lieutenant Sean Lamber (Oliver Gruner) learns that the alien's aim is to bring about a devastating nuclear winter, he makes it his personal mission to prevent the extraterrestrial menace from executing its diabolical plan. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Having stolen the "god-hood" of Aphrodite (Alexandra Tydings), the mad Roman emperor Caligula (Alexis Arquette) is now immortal. Under orders from the Archangel Michael (Charles Mesure), Xena (Lucy Lawless) attempts to end Caligula's rampage of terror, and to find some way of revoking his immortality. Such an undertaking requires a disguise -- which is why Xena ends up posing as famed female gladiator Mosca, with Gabrielle (Renee O'Connor) as Mosca's advance person, Cynda of Thrace. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Still trying to make up for past misdeeds, Xena's daughter, Eve (Adrienne Wilkinson), has become a disciple of the messianic, peace-loving shaman Eli. For her troubles, Eve is captured and condemned to death by Amazon ruler Varia (Tsianina Joelson), whose judgment has been clouded by her lust for power. Xena (Lucy Lawless) and Gabrielle (Renee O'Connor) must find a way to save Eve before it is too late. This episode closes with a traditional humorous disclaimer -- about the traditional humorous disclaimer! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Thawed out from the block of ice that has imprisoned them for 25 years, Xena (Lucy Lawless) and Gabrielle (Renee O'Connor) embark upon a search for Xena's daughter, Eve. Alas, the world that Xena and Gabrielle once knew has changed, and not for the better. For one thing, the land is in the thrall of war god Ares (Kevin Smith) and his current lover -- warrior princess Livia (Adrienne Wilkinson), the Bitch of Rome. William Gregory Lee makes his first series appearance as Virgil, the son of wannabe warrior Joxer (Ted Raimi) ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

En route to her home town of Amphipolis in the company of her daughter, Eve (Adrienne Wilkinson), and her friend Gabrielle (Renee O'Connor), Xena finds that it has become literally a ghost town, populated by corpses, wraiths, and ghouls. In trying to find out what had happened, Xena and her friends are besieged by all manner of horrors, not the least of which is a swarm of flesh-eating maggots. Meanwhile, watching from their heavenly perch, two archangels observe Xena dispassionately and discuss what may become her ultimate destiny -- ascending to the hellish throne of Mephistopheles. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Xena (Lucy Lawless) squares off against the Olympian gods in a battle to the death, with the survival of both sides in the balance. At the same time, Gabrielle (Renee O'Connor) swears to avenge the death of Joxer (Ted Raimi) at the hands of Xena's daughter, Eve, and never mind that Eve has cast off her evil former identity as Livia, the Bitch of Rome. And Gabrielle's own departed daughter, Hope, makes an appearance -- in a manner of speaking. This was the final episode of Xena: Warrior Princess' fifth season. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Gabrielle (Renee O'Connor) heads off to the North African land of Poteidaia, there to rescue her kidnapped niece, Sarah (Tandie Wright), from the warlord Gurkhan (Calvin Tuteao). Unfortunately, Gurkhan is something of an archaic Saddam Hussein: Not only has he managed to elude everyone who's ever tried to nab him, but no one is certain what he looks like, or even if those who claim to be Gurkhan are telling the truth. Figuring that the cards are stacked against Gabrielle, Xena (Lucy Lawless) slips her a mickey and attempts to track down Gurkhan herself. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

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