When Xena first showed up as a character on
"Hercules: The Legendary Journeys," there was no way anyone could have predicted
that audiences would still be talking about her decades later. How did this
spin-off become such a phenomenon? Well, here’s everything you need to know
about “Xena: Warrior Princess.” The character of Xena made her first
appearance on "Hercules: The Legendary Journeys" as a villainous warlord, out to kill
Kevin Sorbo's Hercules. Her arc was supposed to end with her death. Instead, the character
proved so popular that she earned a spin-off. In the "Hercules" episode "The Warrior Princess,"
Xena's fighting prowess is on full display, though her outfit is not yet the iconic one worn
in her series. Xena's goal is to seduce Michael Hurst's Iolaus, Hercules' best bud, in order to
get close enough to Herc to kill him. In her next episode, "The Gauntlet," she finally gets close to
Hercules, but in the final episode of her trilogy, "Unchained Heart," Xena reforms herself and goes
off to make amends for her treacherous past. This wasn't Lucy Lawless' first time on the show,
believe it or not. She'd already appeared in a smaller role as Lyla, the wife of a centaur,
in the Season 1 episode "As Darkness Falls." Before that, she'd popped up as
Lysia in the 1994 pilot movie, "Hercules and the Amazon Women". When
the actress originally cast as Xena, Vanessa Angel, became ill, Lawless got
the part. The rest is television history. Like "Hercules," its parent show, "Xena: Warrior
Princess" is steeped in Greek mythology. Though it's never said outright, it's certainly
implied that Xena might be a demi-goddess. Her mother, Cyrene, shares a name with
a legendary water nymph. Moreover, it's hinted in "The Furies" that Xena's
father is Ares, the Greek god of war. Considering the often-flirtatious nature of
Ares and Xena's interactions, that would be, um, not great by current standards,
but totally in line with Greek myth. Xena being a demi-goddess would certainly
explain her beyond-human fighting feats. Granted, cutting through dozens of soldiers with
apparent ease may merely mean Xena is super-agile, and has a skilled fighting style. However,
Xena's ability to hold her own against the various gods and goddesses she encounters and
frequently defeats puts her on par with the fully-powered Hercules. Some godly parentage
would make that a whole lot more plausible. "Xena: Warrior Princess" began with a lot
of promise, having been spun-off from a popular action-fantasy show which was
already solidly established. “Hercules” managed to head off competition from "Star
Trek: Deep Space Nine," and even topped "Baywatch." Even still, it didn't take
long for "Xena" to start surpassing it. "Xena" eventually joined "Hercules" in beating
out "Baywatch" in 1996. Besting "Hercules" was something "Xena" kept doing, hitting a ratings
high of 7.8 the week of February 23rd,1997. Eventually, "Xena" even managed to
wrestle the top syndication spot away from the ratings behemoth that
was "Star Trek: The Next Generation." As reported in “The Daily Universe,”
executive producer Rob Tapert told "TV Guide", "Our initial goal was to bump off
'Baywatch' as the No. 2 show. This is something I never expected to accomplish." Like many shows, "Xena: Warrior Princess"
had its ups and downs in the ratings. But it continued to maintain its
popularity over "Hercules". Not only did it last longer, its series
finale also scored higher ratings. Lucy Lawless met Rob Tapert, an executive
producer on "Hercules" and "Xena" after she was cast. The two were wed in 1998. But Lawless
and Tapert did not date right away; it took a couple of years before they were even officially
an item. Still, Lawless told “People Magazine,” “[Tapert] is the finest man I've ever known." The pair have two sons, Julius and Judah.
The couple continues to collaborate on projects. Lawless had roles in two
of Tapert's other television shows, "Spartacus: Blood and Sand"
and "Ash vs. Evil Dead." "Xena: Warrior Princess" features plenty of
then-small-time actors who have gone on to do big things. If you had to narrow the list down
to the two biggest actors to guest on "Xena: Warrior Princess," you would most certainly end
up with Bruce Campbell, who played Autolycus, and Karl Urban, who played several roles
on the show, including Julius Caesar. Campbell, who is internationally renowned as
Ash Williams of the "Evil Dead" franchise, had a role in one of the most important scenes in the
show's history: Autolycus kisses Gabrielle while he's possessed by Xena. Campbell spoke fondly of
his time as Autolycus on the "Xena 25" podcast, and expressed the belief that the show had more
of an impact than "Hercules" because of its complexity. He expressed delight at seeing fans
dressed as Autolycus so many years later, saying, "Anything that has resonance decades
later [...] means it was worth doing." Karl Urban has gone far since his early
days on "Xena:" He's beloved for his work on "The Boys," and major franchises
including the “Marvel Cinematic Universe,” "The Lord of the Rings," and "Star
Trek." Urban told “Whoosh.org” in 1998 that he enjoyed working on "Xena" and "Hercules"
due to the shows' environments, saying, "You get on set there and we
have fun. It's like a family." When "Xena" began airing, fan
conventions were still fairly niche. So when “Creation Entertainment,” which has
been hosting fan conventions since 1971, held a small event in 1997 dedicated to
"Xena" and "Hercules," it was a big deal. When it was promoted to a "full scale touring
convention" in 1999, it was an even bigger deal. Guests at the first event included Lucy Lawless, Kevin Sorbo, and Renée O'Connor. The
first two events proved so popular that “Creation” had to expand the convention to
larger venues to accommodate fan demand. “We do make a good team.” As “The Los Angeles Times” reported in 1998,
"Hercules" fans were scarce compared to the "Xenites," a fan-created term for "Xena"
lovers. Still, a good time was had by all. Among those at these events was
a then-unknown Ryan Gosling, there to promote "Young Hercules,"
and Karl Urban covering The Beatles. “Creation” alone could not satisfy the Xenites'
enthusiasm; several other "Xena" conventions and events popped up across the United States,
everywhere from Las Vegas to New York City. Xena and Gabrielle's subtextual love story is a
big part of why "Xena" became such a sensation. Though nothing was ever made irrefutably
explicit, that didn't stop the LGBTQ+ community from embracing the show wholeheartedly.
Even still, as “Pacific Standard” notes, “[Some fans] were disappointed that the Xena and
Gabrielle characters were never openly queer." Still, it can't be denied that
"Xena" blazed a major trail. Though the show doesn't make Xena and
Gabrielle's romantic relationship canonical, the current comic book series
has no such restraints. There, Xena and Gabrielle are portrayed as
being in a long-term relationship. “You are the most dear thing to me in the world.” Lawless herself described
Xena as gay as early as 2003, even deeming the pair to be essentially
married. For her part, Lawless has always expressed delight at being considered a
gay icon. She told "Out Magazine" in 2003, "I've always been grateful to
[lesbian fans] for picking up on my show first. I feel they made it hip." Renée O'Connor might be best known as Gabrielle,
but in fact, she's a Jill of all trades. She directed two episodes of "Xena:" 1999's "Deja
Vu All Over Again" and 2001's "Dangerous Prey." Since her days on the show came to an end, she's
tapped into other talents, including producing, stage acting, teaching, podcasting,
and art. Most prominently, O'Connor has her own company, “ROC Productions,”
which provides video production services and has produced films including 2017's
"Watch the Sky" and 2016's "The Usual." O'Connor has quite a bit of
experience performing on stage, taking on such meaty roles as Lady Macbeth. She
also teaches classes on Shakespeare's monologues and on Sanford Meisner 's acting techniques.
Teaching has had to take a backseat recently, however, as O'Connor has focused on producing
a podcast on the culture of 1960s Austin. On top of all of this, O'Connor is also a painter. Even with all that under her
belt, O'Connor has said she'd play Gabrielle again if the show was ever
revived. In 2017, she told "Fox News", "I would love to revisit these characters
again. [...] Obviously, it would be a completely different experience, but I think
it would be really interesting if that came up, [and] if we could actually
play the same characters." Xena's costume is a big part of what makes
her instantly recognizable. It's so iconic, in fact, that it's displayed in two museums. One costume was donated in 2001 to the
Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, while Lawless donated the other to the Smithsonian
Institution's National Museum of American History. Xena's legendary look is detailed and
intricate, incorporating materials like leather, mother of pearl, and brass. Barbara Darragh, the
costume's designer, says she took inspiration from art nouveau, among other movements and
eras. One of the more interesting details of the costume is the size of the boots. Does Xena
have huge feet? Not exactly. The boots actually contain running shoes to allow Lawless more
comfort and freedom of movement. Hopefully, this made up for the boning in the corset, which
was tight enough to make Lawless uncomfortable. Though she's proficient
with just about everything, Xena's favorite weapon is her chakram . She
gains multiple chakram throughout the series, including the Balanced Chakram, which
can break into two halves to be used separately. Though Xena's magical weapon is
fictional, the chakram is actually a real South Asian weapon. It’s said to be wielded
by Vishnu, one of Hinduism's major deities. In “Entertainment Weekly's”
oral "herstory" of the show, Rob Tapert recalled director Doug Lefler coming up
with the signature weapon rather casually, saying, "[Lefler] said, 'Hey, this is the object she
should have when we find her in 'Hercules.' This round throwing object that shocked them.
This should be the Warrior Princess' weapon.'" Although the show's chakram were mostly
harmless props, often made of rubber, to be more easily tossed around, one metal
chakram prop was actually dangerous. Its inlaid stones were made of abalone,
which emits a toxic dust when ground. Real world chakram may not fly as magically as
they do on the show, but they sure can still kill a person if they're made of abalone and
assembled in an area without proper ventilation! A whole lot of care went into the
development of Xena's character, from what she wears to who she loves
to her unforgettable battle cry. As Lucy Lawless told “PeopleTV,” her future
husband, Rob Tapert, decided that Xena needed a, quote, “signature call, like Tarzan." Right around
then, Lawless saw a funeral on TV where Arab women were ululating: a type of trilling howl used
to express strong emotion. In Xena's case, it's used as a clear and intimidating war-cry.
Lawless couldn't quite mimic what she saw on TV, so she tweaked it into her own thing. Thus,
Xena gained her very own Tarzan-style howl. The ululation Lawless heard that fateful
day has a name. It's called the zaghrouta, and can be heard throughout the Middle East.
It isn't restricted to funerals, and can be heard during happy occasions including weddings,
graduations. It was even used by pop star Shakira, who introduced much of the world to the zaghrouta
during the 2020 Super Bowl halftime show. Check out one of our newest
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Aww, the little girl at 5:25 was so cute
that was awesome, thanks for sharing!