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Xena - Warrior Princess - Series 1 - Part 1 [1995]


RRP: £35.99
Our Price: £10.50 (subject to change)

Editorial
Amazon.co.uk Review

Xena--you gotta love her: after all, she could snap your neck just by straightening her knees. She sprang fully armed from producer Sam Raimi's head in March 1995, to flesh out an otherwise routine episode of the television series Hercules, a high-kicking, horse-riding, chakram-throwing ancient-Greek-warrior princess, who mustered armies the way some women shop for shoes, turning heroes against one another as gleefully as she laid waste to sweet little villages.

Except that somewhere beneath that straight dark fringe and hard-boiled leather breastplate lurks doubts, feelings, even a soul. She was so popular on Hercules her spin-off was an instant certainty--and pretty soon the subtext of her own series was unfolding. Xena is on a journey from evil to good, but this can only be enabled by the companionship of bossy redhead scribe/bard, Gabrielle, her constant friend. Set in a lush New Zealand doubling for the pagan Mediterranean, as misruled by Ares, Aphrodite, Poseidon and the rest of the Mount Olympus gang, Xena: Warrior Princess recounts these exploits, as the duo confronts gods, monsters, warlords, idiots and anachronisms, as well as their own flaws and desires, at the hilarious and sometimes unsettling mythological crossroads where touchy-feely Californian feminism meets high-camp chop-socky pantheism seasoned with the Way of Peplum Tao.

In the second series (first aired US 1996-97) Xena and Gabrielle (plus goofy sidekick the Joxer) meet the Fates, the (surprisingly Gothic) Bacchae, Ulysses, Cupid, Goliath, Santa Claus and (perhaps) the baby Jesus, as well as full-on Xena foe Julius Caesar and her former healer-mentor M'Lila. While filming this series, Xena actress Lucy Lawless was thrown by a horse on Tonight with Jay Leno, and injured: hence a sudden slew of swapped-body stories (Callisto, Autolycus and Gabrielle each have to mimic Xena for an episode), while domestic comedy and/or parody stories contribute to the medically advisable action-lite plotlines. Meanwhile, Callisto murders Gabrielle's hubby-to-be, and the narrative tension deepens. --Honey Glass


Good start to the Series
Review date: 2006-09-09 Rating: 6 out of 10

Amazingly I have a box set that does have the right episodes in the right order, but then my part 2 set duplicates seven episodes, so I would urge you to buy Region 1 discs if possible to avoid this mess. The discs do not have any extras which is disapointing.

SPOILER ALERT! I came to Xena late and mid way through series 3 so it was good to catch up on the start. The series starts well in "Sins of the Past" with Xena and Gabrielle being introduced and Xena allowing Gabrielle to travel with her. I have to admit some of the early episodes are forgetable as the characters are developing their friendship, although "Dreamworker" stands out and introduces Gabrielle's blood innocence. "Prometheus" is a crossover episode, with Hercules and Iolaus appearing and in "Hooves and Harlots" the Amazons are introduced and Gabrielle gets her staff and learns to fight. None of these 12 episodes will ever make my favourites list but it is great to see the friendship and on screen chemistry develop, and marvel at far Xena and in particular Gabrielle changed through the series. But please be warned if you buy this disc, you could end with them in the right order as my purchase or the wrong order as others. Take my advice and buy Region 1 if you can.

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Reviews


DO NOT BUY THIS DISC!
Review date: 2006-09-09 Rating: 4 out of 10

Please do not waste your money on this DVD. I am a big Xena fan and made the mistake of buying this disc to complement the first part of series 1. But there are only FIVE NEW episodes on it, the other 7 are from Part 1! That means by buying both parts you are missing 7 episodes. Scandalous. If possible buy Region 1 version, I certainly will be doing that.

Now for the episodes themselves. The reason I have given the disc 2 stars is that of the 5 new episodes, 4 are corkers. SPOILER ALERT! "Ties that bind" introduces the question of Xena's paternity, we see the lovely Kevin Smith again as Ares and are given a taster of Evil Xena with Gabrielle standing up to her. "The Greater Good" sees Xena incapacitated and the episode move seamlessly from humour of Gabrielle dressing as Xena to fool a warlord to her grief when she believes Xena to be dead. "Callisto" introduces us to two characters that would have huge impact in the Xenaverse, Callisto and Joxer. The ladder fight and campfire scenes are both powerful, and Callisto would become a mighty foe in subsequent series. And in "Is there a Doctor in the House?" Xena, Ephiny and Gabrielle are flung in a MASH like situation in the middle of a war, with Ephiny due to give birth and Gabrielle critically injured. This is a wonderful episode as Xena's guilt and grief take over and she can barely think of anything else apart from her stricken friend, culminating in THAT resuscitation scene. Lucy Lawless says it was her favourite scene, and she really lets it all go-enjoy it! But on DVD that contains all the episodes. Don't make the mistake that many of us have made.

xena series 1 part2
Review date: 2006-06-05 Rating: 6 out of 10

i brought this when i first brought part 1 and wasnt pleased to see only 2 different episodes and the rest from part 1!!!!!! what the hell is going on?

Box set repeats Part 1!
Review date: 2006-03-25 Rating: 2 out of 10

While the first few episodes are typical Xena, from half way through the second disk it repeats part 1!

Be aware that you are only getting 5 new episodes, therefore - making this a big disappointment

Buy these episodes on VHS...
Review date: 2006-03-01 Rating: 4 out of 10

Xena is great as always but the missing 7 episodes takes the fun out of it. Especially if you already have part 1. I was very dissapointed to find out that episodes 3- 9 are on dvds instead of episodes 13-19.

Product Details/Specifications


Actor(s):
Adrienne Broadbent
Mary Drinkwater
Dave Wilbur
Steve Lerud
Terra Allen

Creators:
Terra Allen (Primary Contributor)
Dave Wilbur (Primary Contributor)
Aaron Morton (Cinematographer)
Gary Stark (Producer)
Sam Clifford (Producer)
Scott Evans (Producer)

Recording label: Playback
Manufacturer: Playback
EAN: 0044007866429
Binding: DVD
Number of items: 3
Format: PAL,
Release date: 2001-09-17
Universal product code (UPC): 044007866429
Number of discs: 2
Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
Audience rating: Suitable for 12 years and over
Region code: 2
Running time: 507 minutes
Theatrical release date: 1995
Language: English (Original Language)

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