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.
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