Xena: Warrior Princess is an action, adventure, fantasy, and supernatural television series that John Schulian and Robert Tapert created. The production team further included the brilliant minds of R. J. Stewart and Sam Raimi. The television series ran from September 4th, 1995, to the 18th of June 2001, producing six seasons and 134 episodes overall.
The filming for Xena: Warrior Princess occurred in New Zealand by Renaissance Pictures. The television series stars Lucy Lawless as the main protagonist, Xena, a notorious warrior on her path to salvation from the transgressions of her past. Then, Renee O’ Connor starred as Gabrielle, who started as a naive farm girl before transforming into an Amazon warrior and Xena’s sidekick.
The Creation of Xena: Warrior Princess
Xena: Warrior Princess started as a spin-off of the popular television series Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, where Xena featured as a recurring character for about three episodes. Xena’s limited time on screen was enough for her character to become appealing to the viewers.
Instead of killing off the character, the producers of Hercules: The Legendary Journeys decide to create a spin-off television show that would show the adventures of Xena as a great warrior on the path of redemption. Xena: Warrior Princess was a commercial success, passing Hercules: The Legendary Journeys in popularity and financial returns. The television show’s success spawned many products, including books, novels, comics, video games, and other products.
With every new episode, Xena and her sidekick, Gabrielle, helped the innocents and those who could not stand up for themselves and fight against their oppressors. Throughout the television series, Xena and Gabrielle have fought against numerous adversaries.
These enemies included Eve, who Adrienne Wilkinson played, Xena’s daughter. Then there was Ares, the Greek God of War and Xena’s former lover. There was also Callisto, who Hudson Leick played, a psychopath created by Xena’s past atrocities. Past these, there were many other villainous characters including gods, creatures, and even monsters.
Fan following
Xena: Warrior Princess created cult-like followers owing to the way Lucy Lawless handled her Xena character, especially in the gay and lesbian community. As Xena’s relationship with her sidekick Gabrielle evolved, the two characters displayed sexual attitudes towards each other.
The Xena character is extremely popular amongst women. She is also a model for feminism because of her strength and bravery. Despite her strength, she also often displayed fierce compassion and tender feelings. Xena was a proper model of who a woman should be. That made the character and the television immensely popular among women across different ages and cultures.
With the series intro, “In a time of ancient gods, warlords, and kings, a land in turmoil cried out for a hero. She was Xena, a mighty princess forged in the heat of battle. The power, the passion, the danger. Her courage will change the world” …
Join us as we delve into each season of the Xena: Warrior Princess television series:
Season One
The first season of Xena: Warrior Princess aired from the 4th of September 1995 to the 29th of July 1996. The season aimed to introduce the television series characters and their stories.
The first episode of the season opens with Xena fighting off the warlord Draco while trying to save a small village from his grasp. Xena’s heroic caught the attention of a young farm girl who lives in the village, Gabrielle, and she implores Xena so she could join in on her adventure. Xena reluctantly accepts her, and they set off.
Their journey had barely begun when they encountered the vengeful Draco. After defeating Draco, Xena and Gabrielle became separated after Xena’s injury from an arrow while trying to defend another village. This marked the beginning of their trials and tribulations.
In the first season, Xena and Gabrielle meet the likes of Morpheus, the god of dreams, who abducted Gabrielle and put her in a dreamscape. They also encountered Ares, the god of war. Later, they teamed up with Hercules to liberate Prometheus. The pair also fought Sisyphus. With a twist in events, Gabrielle became an Amazon Princess. Xena also faced an old adversary in Cortese, the warlord that murdered her brother.
Season Two
The second season of Xena: Warrior Princess aired from the 30th of September 1996 to the 12th of May 1997. The season aimed to further deepen the roles of the characters and build on the storyline from the first season.
The season opens with Xena and Gabrielle battle against the Centaurs and Dagnine. There was also a recounting of the biblical story of David and Goliath. In the show, Goliath was an old friend of Xena before turning to evil ways after the death of his loved ones.
Later, Xena’s old adversary Callisto manages to steal her body by swapping bodies with Xena. Thus, Xena took a lot of effort to defeat Callisto and return to her body. The second season also threatens us with the events that transpired after a life-threatening injury sent Xena into a coma and how Xena navigated the spirit world in her unconscious state.
The series rounds up with a tragicomedy that involves the love triangle of Xena, Gabrielle, and Draco. This love triangle only occurred after Bliss, Cupid’s son, stole his father’s magical bow and arrow before shooting each of them. Thus, the god of love’s son caused the trio to inadvertently display love toward each other.
Season Three
The third season of Xena: Warrior Princess aired from the 29th of September 1997 to the 19th of May 1998. The season aimed majorly around Dahak, Hope, and the Rift.
The season opens with Gabrielle still accompanying Xena on her way to redemption as she continues to fight for the helpless and innocent. The duo set out to Brittania to stop the advancing troop of Julius Caesar.
The season’s storyline picked up when Xena and Gabrielle met the evil god, Dahak, who was determined to conquer and rule Earth. Dahak sexually harassed Gabrielle, and she became pregnant from the act, giving birth in only a matter of days after conceiving. Against Xena’s advice, Gabrielle kept the child and named her Hope.
Gabrielle also faked the child’s death to protect her from Xena thus betraying Xena’s trust. The season then showed Hope freeing Callisto from her prison and killing Xena’s son, Solan, in the process. This incident seriously destroyed the relationship between Xena and Gabrielle.
Solan eventually fixed Xena and Gabrielle’s relationship, and they continued to fight side by side against the Persian Army, Dahak, Callisto, and a host of other evil villains.
Season Four
The fourth season of Xena: Warrior Princess aired from the 28th of September 1998 to the 17th of May 1999. The season aimed at Gabrielle’s efforts to figure out her destiny and on a vision Xena had.
The season follows events from the third season after Xena thought she had lost Gabrielle. So, she journeyed to Siberia and the Amazon land of the dead with the hope of seeing Gabrielle again. While she does not get to meet Gabrielle there, she met her old mentor Alti. Alti showed Xena a vision of hers and Gabrielle’s crucifixion by the Romans, which only proved to Xena that Gabrielle is still among the living. Xena finally reunited with Gabrielle in Potidaea, where they defeated Hope and the Destroyer together.
Xena and Gabrielle continued their adventures and their fight against the evils in the world. Still, Xena’s vision began to become a reality after she and Gabrielle successfully killed Pompey. Thus, the Romans crucified the pair and left them for dead.
Season Five
The fifth season of Xena: Warrior Princess aired from the 27th of September 1999 to the 15th of May 2000. The main storyline in the series was about Xena getting pregnant and birthing a child called Eve and the repercussions of her birth.
The season opens with both Xena and Gabrielle as celestial beings after their deaths in season four. Their arrival heralded a war between angels and demons, where Callisto transformed into a force of good. Thus, Eli, the god of the universe, resurrected Xena and Gabrielle.
Xena soon discovered she was carrying a child who has been destined to bring about the twilight of the gods. Xena’s child, Eve, became a target for all the Olympians who aim to kill her because of her destiny. To protect Eve, Xena and Gabrielle plotted a scheme to fake their death, but the scheme backfired. Thus, Xena and Gabriel were hibernated in ice for 25 years.
Meanwhile, the Romans raised Eve to become a cruel Roman Commander. After Xena and Gabrielle awoke, they reached out to Eve and tried to realign her back to the predestined path. Xena also gained superhuman abilities to protect her child against the Olympian gods.
Season Six
The sixth and final season of Xena: Warrior Princess aired from the 2nd of October 2000 to the 18th of June 2001. The season aimed at closing all the open storylines in the series.
The final season of the Xena: Warrior Princess began with Xena and Gabrielle contending with the aftermath of the Twilight of the Gods and dealing with an insane Ares. Xena also must deal with the knowledge of the destruction of her once peaceful village. In this season, Xena had to fight against villains like Mephistopheles, Grindl, and others.
Conclusion
Xena: Warrior Princess is one of those typical television series that you wish could go on forever. However, after the fifth season finale and early in the sixth season, Xena had successfully triumphed over all her adversaries. So, there were no grander battles to fight. Thus, the television series drew to a curtain close. Xena: Warrior Princess ended as one of the greatest television series ever.
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About the author
Author: Chris Ingledue
Contact: email
Bio: I am the founder and owner of Wheeljack’s Lab pop Culture and Toy Shop. My vision has always been to reunite customers with their favorite childhood toys and pop culture, triggering fond memories, and reigniting their imaginations. Every day, I work in the “lab” where it’s Christmas 365 days a year. I scour the internet, like when we had the Sears Catalog of yesteryear, for the next great treasure. Then, I await the arrival of the postman as if he were Santa Claus himself and helping collectors worldwide with their own versions of Christmas. Every day as a vintage toy buyer is an absolute joy!