The Xena/Hercules Appreciation Thread

[Primal Slayer]

You know what, we’re all bastards – we’re guys.”
You mentioned the Xena spin-off. “Yeah, the lesbian spin-off.” Did you get along with the Warrior Princess? “She was okay, but you know…” Wait, she’s gay? “I don’t know. She’d never admit one way or another, trust me. She didn’t wanna lose that crowd. She did end up marrying the executive producer, which I think is how she got the role. They had another actress slated for the part.”

Kevin Sorbo is not one to hold a grudge. Still, he admits he’s a little bitter about the fact that he has received not one single work call from executive producer Sam Raimi since the end of their very successful TV series collaboration Hercules. Especially since right around the end of Xena: Princess Warrior, the companion series also produced by Raimi, star Lucy Lawless was given a small part in Spider-Man. “I think Lucy got a small part in it because she’s married to Sam Raimi’s partner, Rob Tapert,” Sorbo tells FilmStew. “She started having an affair with him down in New Zealand. She left her husband and he left his wife of 15 years. So that’s how that whole thing got together.”
http://www.filmstew.com/showArticle.aspx?ContentID=15501

He never says anything outright mean about her but you can tell he isn't her biggest fan. Mainly due to a hurt ego.

I wouldn't mind a sort of reboot of Xena/Hercules with a tighter and more serious storyline tbh.

 

[Teelie]

What he says might be true but the way he says it makes it clear he's very bitter and angry about it. There's no mistaking he didn't get asked because he has a big axe to grind with Lucy Lawless. I guess it's a good thing he played Hercules judging by the size of that axe too (he'd need the strength to lift it).

 

[Marvin]

He and her did so well on screen together though, very warm. They even had that gnarly animated film.

That's so tragic that he felt that way.

 

[Pink Ranger]

Sorbo comes across as a bitter man on many counts. It's kind of sad.

 

[Thundarr]

He and her did so well on screen together though, very warm. They even had that gnarly animated film.

That's so tragic that he felt that way.

Agreed.

 

[haephestus]

He never says anything outright mean about her but you can tell he isn't her biggest fan. Mainly due to a hurt ego.

I don't know. I think there has been other statements, but even those statements quoted suggest:

- Lucy Lawless is a lesbian who entered into a marriage with Rob Tapert solely to enhance her career prospects;
- Lucy Lawless was only cast as "Xena" because she slept with Rob Tapert (at a time when she was married and Rob Tapert was in a long-term relationship); and
- Lucy Lawless only gets work after Xena: Warrior Princess because of her husband and her husband's connections.

All of which is pretty obviously untrue and defamatory. If Lucy Lawless was a lesbian, then I'm sure she would have come out by now. She may not be a billionaire, but I'm sure she has enough money to retire comfortably in New Zealand if she was only staying in the closet because of concerns about her career prospects.

Lucy Lawless had already been cast twice as other characters on Hercules (once as an Amazon in one of the Hercules TV movies and once as a centaur-loving bad girl in the Hercules TV series). Lucy Lawless was only cast as "Xena" because Vanessa Angel (who was originally cast as a cross-promotion exercise with "Weird Science") got "sick" (aka started an affair with Richard Gere) and didn't want to travel to New Zealand. TPTB tried to find another American actress to play the role, but it was pilot season in the US and no American actress was foolish enough to abandon LA during pilot season. At the time, Lucy Lawless' marriage was already breaking down and she'd taken herself and her daughter on an extended camping trip to figure out what to do about the future. TPTB contacted her agent/manager who then contacted various family members before finding one who knew where she was camping and got in contact with her.

Even once she was cast, at that time Xena was to be killed off in her third appearance (especially as Vanessa Angel was obviously unable to commit to the role with any degree of permanence). It was only after the first of the three episodes with "Xena" was screened in the US that people started to seriously consider a spin-off with the character of Xena. Even then, Lucy Lawless has admitted that she didn't think anything would happen. And, from memory, Lucy Lawless first met Rob Tapert at some kind of promotional event for "Xena" at which she spent most of the evening crying in a corner about the breakdown of her marriage and feeling the pressure of suddenly being the star of a TV series.

As for Lucy Lawless' "role" in Spider-man, it was a miniscule cameo in which she was unrecognizable. And, from memory, it was a last minute idea when Lucy Lawless visited Sam Raimi on set. Any other appearances in Raimi/Tapert productions has generally been due to laziness on Rob Tapert's part (i.e. they couldn't find the right actor, so just used Lucy Lawless) or has been at the insistence of someone else involved in the production (e.g. her role on Spartacus for which Rob Tapert didn't want her to be cast). And none of those appearances, with the exception of Spartacus, were particularly career defining or impressive.

 

[Thundarr]

So if they were to reboot the series, or perhaps do a theatrical Xena movie, who would you like to see star in which roles? As much as I'd love to see Lucy Lawless reprise the role of Xena, I'm afraid she's getting a little too old for the part. And Ares has to be recast due to the tragic, untimely death of Kevin Smith.

I'm just kinda spitballing here, but I'm thinking Marena Baccarin (Firefly, Serenity, V) as Xena. Maybe Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, as Ares. Not too sure who should take over as Gabrielle. Maybe Summer Glau? Maybe an unknown?

What are your thoughts?

 

[Primal Slayer]

I honestly have no idea who I want to see take over any of the roles. But I think they could do a good Xena reboot with the right team. Get it on Starz, give it 10-13 episode seasons.

 

[haephestus]

If they recast Xena, I'd like to see Rachel Nichols.

There have been so many times when I've been watching Continuum and for a split second though Lucy Lawless was on screen. It's just the way she holds herself or maybe just a certain camera angle, but there is a certain something there which makes them very similar to me. And she probably has the right amount of experience for the role. Not so big that she'd over-shadow the role, but not an unknown either (although Lucy Lawless was an unknown and look how that turned out).

If not Rachel Nichols, then ... I have no idea. If I was being lazy, perhaps Katrina Law or Ellen Hollman. Or, if I went for gold, then Emily Blunt or Charlize Theron.

I'm not sure about Gabrielle. Maybe Ksenia Solo (with blonde hair and a fringe/bangs). Or Brie Larson. Or Becca Tobin.

But, if they did reboot, I'd like to see them include Lucy Lawless and Renee O'Connor in some way. Given the varied and bizarre story-lines on Xena: Warrior Princess, I don't think it would be too hard or too implausible to include them while also introducing a new "Warrior Princess" to carry on the mantle in future films.

They could "adopt" some sole survivor Amazon and teach her not allow vengeance to consume her heart. Or some god could pull some time-travelling shenanigans and being a younger version of Xena into the future (or send old Xena and Gabrielle into the past, where they have to assume new identities to prevent erasing themselves from the timeline). Or they could brush off the old, original "Be Deviled" script and introduce Callisto's sister (as long as they ignored the 25 year leap).

I've long had a complicated story-line rattling around in my head involving the Egyptian gods which not only resurrects Xena (after her death in the final episode), but also sets up a new set of adventures with a younger version of Xena.

 

[p4poetic]

Lucy Lawless created Xena. Any recast would just be an actor doing an imitation of her.

I don't know. I think there has been other statements, but even those statements quoted suggest:

- Lucy Lawless is a lesbian who entered into a marriage with Rob Tapert solely to enhance her career prospects;
- Lucy Lawless was only cast as "Xena" because she slept with Rob Tapert (at a time when she was married and Rob Tapert was in a long-term relationship); and
- Lucy Lawless only gets work after Xena: Warrior Princess because of her husband and her husband's connections.

All of which is pretty obviously untrue and defamatory. If Lucy Lawless was a lesbian, then I'm sure she would have come out by now. She may not be a billionaire, but I'm sure she has enough money to retire comfortably in New Zealand if she was only staying in the closet because of concerns about her career prospects.

Lucy Lawless had already been cast twice as other characters on Hercules (once as an Amazon in one of the Hercules TV movies and once as a centaur-loving bad girl in the Hercules TV series). Lucy Lawless was only cast as "Xena" because Vanessa Angel (who was originally cast as a cross-promotion exercise with "Weird Science") got "sick" (aka started an affair with Richard Gere) and didn't want to travel to New Zealand. TPTB tried to find another American actress to play the role, but it was pilot season in the US and no American actress was foolish enough to abandon LA during pilot season. At the time, Lucy Lawless' marriage was already breaking down and she'd taken herself and her daughter on an extended camping trip to figure out what to do about the future. TPTB contacted her agent/manager who then contacted various family members before finding one who knew where she was camping and got in contact with her.

Even once she was cast, at that time Xena was to be killed off in her third appearance (especially as Vanessa Angel was obviously unable to commit to the role with any degree of permanence). It was only after the first of the three episodes with "Xena" was screened in the US that people started to seriously consider a spin-off with the character of Xena. Even then, Lucy Lawless has admitted that she didn't think anything would happen. And, from memory, Lucy Lawless first met Rob Tapert at some kind of promotional event for "Xena" at which she spent most of the evening crying in a corner about the breakdown of her marriage and feeling the pressure of suddenly being the star of a TV series.

As for Lucy Lawless' "role" in Spider-man, it was a miniscule cameo in which she was unrecognizable. And, from memory, it was a last minute idea when Lucy Lawless visited Sam Raimi on set. Any other appearances in Raimi/Tapert productions has generally been due to laziness on Rob Tapert's part (i.e. they couldn't find the right actor, so just used Lucy Lawless) or has been at the insistence of someone else involved in the production (e.g. her role on Spartacus for which Rob Tapert didn't want her to be cast). And none of those appearances, with the exception of Spartacus, were particularly career defining or impressive.

Sorbo's inability to hide his envy is always funny. He always comes out with a rant every other year it seems.

 

[Thundarr]

If they recast Xena, I'd like to see Rachel Nichols.

There have been so many times when I've been watching Continuum and for a split second though Lucy Lawless was on screen. It's just the way she holds herself or maybe just a certain camera angle, but there is a certain something there which makes them very similar to me. And she probably has the right amount of experience for the role. Not so big that she'd over-shadow the role, but not an unknown either (although Lucy Lawless was an unknown and look how that turned out).

If not Rachel Nichols, then ... I have no idea. If I was being lazy, perhaps Katrina Law or Ellen Hollman. Or, if I went for gold, then Emily Blunt or Charlize Theron.

I'm not sure about Gabrielle. Maybe Ksenia Solo (with blonde hair and a fringe/bangs). Or Brie Larson. Or Becca Tobin.

But, if they did reboot, I'd like to see them include Lucy Lawless and Renee O'Connor in some way. Given the varied and bizarre story-lines on Xena: Warrior Princess, I don't think it would be too hard or too implausible to include them while also introducing a new "Warrior Princess" to carry on the mantle in future films.

They could "adopt" some sole survivor Amazon and teach her not allow vengeance to consume her heart. Or some god could pull some time-travelling shenanigans and being a younger version of Xena into the future (or send old Xena and Gabrielle into the past, where they have to assume new identities to prevent erasing themselves from the timeline). Or they could brush off the old, original "Be Deviled" script and introduce Callisto's sister (as long as they ignored the 25 year leap).

I've long had a complicated story-line rattling around in my head involving the Egyptian gods which not only resurrects Xena (after her death in the final episode), but also sets up a new set of adventures with a younger version of Xena.

I'm actually working on a Xena/Hercules/Thundarr triple crossover fan fiction called "Thundarr The Barbarian & The Kronos Stone". The defeated wizard Vashtar finds a hidden stash of Ambrosia and consumes it before Thundarr, Ariel, and Ookla could stop him. Then he uses his new godly powers to send the three heroes back in time to ancient Greece. There they meet up with Hercules, Iolaus, Xena, and Gabrielle. They need to find The Kronos Stone in order to return to their own time. Only problem is, this takes place AFTER the episode where Hercules smashed the artifact into bits. So they have to find as many shards of the stone as they can so that Ariel can use them to boost her magic and send her, Thundarr, and Ookla back to their own time. Its a pretty long and complicated storyline too. I'm currently working on Chapter 11.

One of my readers on www.fanfiction.net suggested that the story could be made into a made for TV/direct to DVD movie, similar to "Hercules & Xena: The Fight For Mount Olympus. Of course, I would prefer if the artwork and animation were to be done by Koko Enterprises in Korea, because they did such a kickass job on the 2002 reboot of He-Man & The Masters Of The Universe.

 

[Thundarr]

Lucy Lawless created Xena. Any recast would just be an actor doing an imitation of her.



Sorbo's inability to hide his envy is always funny. He always comes out with a rant every other year it seems.

They said the same thing about William Shatner and Captain Kirk. Then came the JJ Abrams Star Trek movies.

 

[Pink Ranger]

I'm actually working on a Xena/Hercules/Thundarr triple crossover fan fiction called "Thundarr The Barbarian & The Kronos Stone". The defeated wizard Vashtar finds a hidden stash of Ambrosia and consumes it before Thundarr, Ariel, and Ookla could stop him. Then he uses his new godly powers to send the three heroes back in time to ancient Greece. There they meet up with Hercules, Iolaus, Xena, and Gabrielle. They need to find The Kronos Stone in order to return to their own time. Only problem is, this takes place AFTER the episode where Hercules smashed the artifact into bits. So they have to find as many shards of the stone as they can so that Ariel can use them to boost her magic and send her, Thundarr, and Ookla back to their own time. Its a pretty long and complicated storyline too. I'm currently working on Chapter 11.

One of my readers on www.fanfiction.net suggested that the story could be made into a made for TV/direct to DVD movie, similar to "Hercules & Xena: The Fight For Mount Olympus. Of course, I would prefer if the artwork and animation were to be done by Koko Enterprises in Korea, because they did such a kickass job on the 2002 reboot of He-Man & The Masters Of The Universe.

Interesting idea, but you'd have to deal with the question as to why Thundarr would want to go back to his time. If you're a mighty warrior, where would you rather spend your life: in ancient Greece, or in a burned-out Earth ravaged by nuclear war?

 

[blksuperman2]

Not to derail the topic but if Princess Ariel says she wants to go back to her time, Thundarr would surely go back. No question.

 

[Pink Ranger]

Not to derail the topic but if Princess Ariel says she wants to go back to her time, Thundarr would surely go back. No question.

Maybe at first, until Thundarr realizes how plentiful half-naked sorceresses are in the Xena/Hercules timeline. t:

 

[p4poetic]

They said the same thing about William Shatner and Captain Kirk. Then came the JJ Abrams Star Trek movies.

Sorry but nope, not the same thing. But I haven't seen either in in its entirety, so I can't quite make that analogy.

 

[Thundarr]

Interesting idea, but you'd have to deal with the question as to why Thundarr would want to go back to his time. If you're a mighty warrior, where would you rather spend your life: in ancient Greece, or in a burned-out Earth ravaged by nuclear war?

First, Earth was ravaged by a natural disaster, not a nuclear war.

Second, while he may be a barbarian, Thundarr is also a man with a conscience. Do you really think a hero like Thundarr would allow a mad wizard (who has eaten Ambrosia and is now a mad god) to run rampant back home? Nope. He'd go back and stop him if he can.

Besides, there's also a subplot about Vashtar's newfound godhood throwing the cosmos out of balance. But you'd have to read the story to get that.

 

[Thundarr]

Sorry but nope, not the same thing. But I haven't seen either in in its entirety, so I can't quite make that analogy.

I've seen the first one, and while Chris Pine certainly pays homage to Shatner's original performance as Kirk, he does manage to take the role and make it his own. If the producers were to cast the right actress as Xena, then she'd likely do the same thing (of course, the wrong actress would likely be doing a bad Lucy Lawless impression, so it all depends on casting).

 

[Thundarr]

Maybe at first, until Thundarr realizes how plentiful half-naked sorceresses are in the Xena/Hercules timeline. t:

Actually, after six years of Xena and five years of Hercules, I don't think they've ever come across an actual sorcerer in either entire series (half naked or otherwise). They've been mentioned a few times, but I can't recall one ever being encountered. Half naked Amazons, warrior princesses, harlots, and gods, sure. But never a sorcerer.

Actually, there was that ONE episode where a young Merlin asks Hercules to rescue Britannia from the evil tyrant Arthur Pendragon. One episode out of six years on two shows. Wow.

 

[krycek]

Wasn't one of the recurring villains a sorceress? The drag queen-ish one with heavy eyeliner and husky witch voice.

 

[Thundarr]

Wasn't one of the recurring villains a sorceress? The drag queen-ish one with heavy eyeliner and husky witch voice.

Right! Alti! Although technically she was a shamaness, but she did wield magic so I guess that counts.

One might also describe Lao Mei (the woman who healed Xena's broken legs when she was a warlord) as a sorceress. Although I'm not sure her powers were technically magical. I think it was a power of the spirit or something.

 

[haephestus]

I'd classify Alti's abilities as "spiritual" as well, although her powers changed in almost every appearance she made.

But, they were generally tied to her ability to "see" people's souls and from that to see the full extent of their current lives (including their "future" death and then make them live it in the present) and their past and future lives (based on the idea of reincarnation). Then again, in her first appearance she was into blood/human sacrifices, so I guess that's commonly associated with a dark form of magic.

Of course, when she suddenly gained super-strength and super-speed in the later episodes, it was a bit hard to understand the basis for her powers.

And to be fair, I believe that in her later appearances, Alti was meant to be completely naked, but someone stepped up on Claire Stansfield's behalf (possibly Lucy Lawless) and said that she should have an actual costume.

I can't recall any other "magic" based villain on Xena. There were plenty of gods, demons, etc but "magic" seemed to be generally avoided.

 

[Thundarr]

I'd classify Alti's abilities as "spiritual" as well, although her powers changed in almost every appearance she made.

But, they were generally tied to her ability to "see" people's souls and from that to see the full extent of their current lives (including their "future" death and then make them live it in the present) and their past and future lives (based on the idea of reincarnation). Then again, in her first appearance she was into blood/human sacrifices, so I guess that's commonly associated with a dark form of magic.

Of course, when she suddenly gained super-strength and super-speed in the later episodes, it was a bit hard to understand the basis for her powers.

And to be fair, I believe that in her later appearances, Alti was meant to be completely naked, but someone stepped up on Claire Stansfield's behalf (possibly Lucy Lawless) and said that she should have an actual costume.

I can't recall any other "magic" based villain on Xena. There were plenty of gods, demons, etc but "magic" seemed to be generally avoided.

Which is kind of odd if you think about it. After all, I'm pretty sure there were sorcerers, witches, and other magic wielding type people in Greek mythology, so why not in a TV series loosely based on Greek mythology.

 

[haephestus]

It was a bit odd.

Maybe they wanted to differentiate themselves from their knock-offs (e.g. Sinbad, Beast-Master, etc) which, from memory, did use quite a lot of magic, wizards, witches, warlocks, sorcerers, etc?

Also, with the various gods, demons, etc perhaps they thought that since those beings basically had "magical" powers, there was no need to introduce a separate form or source of powers/abilities with true "magic"?

 

[Thundarr]

Thing is, they mention sorcerers in the series, talking about them as though they actually existed (insinuating that they do, in fact, exist). In the episode where Gabrielle is captured by priests of Morpheus, Xena asks her if she had visited a sorcerer to enhance herself somehow. Then in the episode where King Sisifus captures Hades' sister Silesta (not too sure about the spelling there), she says "I wasn't informed you were a sorcerer!" So sorcerers DID exist within the context of the story. They were just never really used in any of the episodes.