Customer Reviews

Xena Warrior Princess - Season Six

5 star:		(38)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I've been an unconditional Xena fan from day one & I'm convinced there will never be another show as noble, profound, rare and all encompassing as Xena: Warrior Princess was. With that, I own all 6 box sets & this season, hands down, is my FAVORITE for more reasons that I can express. The chemistry between Xena (Lucy Lawless) & Gabrielle (the brilliant Renee O'Connor) was always unsurpassed but they both just ILLUMINATED every adventure, every script, and every moment of this season like it was nothing. The acting was immeasurable and flawless, the plots were salted with idealism, stories of retribution and forgiveness, everlasting love, inexplicable sacrifice and unrelenting bravery, the profound depths of one's being exposed...EVERYTHING was touched upon this season. The special effects were top notch, the sets were lush and rich, the guest stars were excellent, the dialogue consisting of nothing but the best & their devotion to one another the strongest it ever was.

6th SEASON FAVES INCLUDE:

Who's Gurkhan?
When Gabrielle learns that her niece has been captured by the vicious raider Gurkhan, she sets sail for North Africa on a rescue mission with Xena, Eve, and Virgil.

Legacy
Xena and Gabrielle intervene to help two tribes unite against their Roman enemies in the North African desert.

The Abyss
Xena and Gabrielle are forced into a deadly confrontation with cannibals when they go in search of Virgil. Contains the famous cave scene where Xena embraces the very hypothermic Gab

The Rheingold
Xena embarks on a deadly mission involving her dark past when the Norse warrior Beowulf approaches her for help.

The Ring
Xena must battle a monster of her own making to recover the destructive Rheingold ring she forged in her evil Xena days.

Return of the Valkyrie
Xena battles to regain her memory and reverse the curse of the Rheingold ring.

You Are There
In an ancient world meets modern-day satire, a tabloid TV reporter stalks Xena and Gabrielle, determined to get a juicy scoop on the Warrior Princess.

When Fates Collide- BEST EPISODE EVER
Xena finds herself empress of Rome when Caesar chains the three Fates and cuts the strands of time. Mad surprises await....

To Helicon and Back
When the Amazon Queen Varia is kidnapped by a masked warrior, Gabrielle leads the Amazons to Helicon on a bloody rescue mission.

Many Happy Returns
On Gab's birthday, the two prevent a group of religious fanatics from sacrificing a virgin and teach her the ways of the world along with Aphrodite. Features the BEAUTIFUL Sappho poem written for Gabrielle.

Soul Possession
When an ancient scroll chronicling the life of Xena surfaces in the present, conflicts arise among the reincarnations of Xena, Gabrielle, Ares and Joxer. (also has clips)

Season 6 would have ranked in the top two seasons for me with episodes like: Old Ares Had A Farm, To Helicon And Back and the wonderful When Fates Collide. The downside was having to endure the two-part series finale, A Friend In Need. If you haven't seen the last season and you're looking for a happy ending, DON'T watch the two-part finale, it will disappoint and possibly disgust you. It's a gory, pointless schlockfest which introduces Xena fans to a new character, complete with a time consuming backstory revolving around a character you can neither like nor justify the sacrifices made on her behalf. A sad ending to an otherwise wonderful series.

Xena can only be described as one of the most pivotal characters in television history - whether you loved or hated the show, she became a cultural phenomenon, the first true action hero that was a fully realized person with a sense of humor, flaws, and a sense of noble purpose. The show built from a rather schlocky Hercules knock-off into a full-fledged original, and that's doing quite something.

As always in this series, shows are character-driven much more than plot-driven. So while there's an over-arching story and mythology, if a story seems to illuminate or use a character to good effect, the story is presented. Best episodes this season were "Who's Gurkhan?", the (creepy) cannibal story, "The Abyss", the excellent "Rheingold" arc (sort of a loose 3-parter), the very amusing and quite unexpectedly touching "Old Ares Had a Farm," the amazing "When Fates Collide," and the lovely, light "Many Happy Returns." These episodes contain a lot of really wonderful moments between characters, and some in surprising ways. "Old Ares" is a funny look at country life with the girls as they help a de-powered Ares hide from angry villagers - it is very entertaining. And "Many Happy Returns" is the last fun moment of the series - Xena tries to get tickets to take Gabrielle to a Sappho concert for her birthday, and mayhem ensues, of course. This episode contains the reading of a beautiful, authentic poem actually written by Sappho (or at least attributed to her), and while there's a bunch of silly stuff in the episode, the emotions are quite real here, a preview of what is about to happen in the finale.

"A Friend in Need." This one is very hard for me to even discuss. Over the course of the six seasons the show ran, these characters sort of took on a life of their own for me. I know they traveled all over the world, but having the series end in Jappa (Japan) was weird. It was like the ending of Monty Python and the Holy Grail, in a way. You know how it was about King Arthur and Camelot, and in the end, there are police cars and modern people all milling about with the knights. Bizarre. I would have much preferred to see this end in Greece, where it ostensibly began, so that it felt a little more like home. I don't think I will be spoiling anything by saying that the death of Xena was painful to me; although I don't mind that she died, I would have liked to see Gabrielle go with her. The need for her to remain dead rang a bit hollow to me, and I really didn't get that. Still, the production values in this episode are gorgeous, and Xena is resplendent in her golden armor, although what it was shielding I'm not sure (the entire midriff and legs are bare - looks hot but not really very effective).

Overall, this season is just loaded with some great tv, and it is highly recommended. The finale, while shocking and sad, at least does provide a fitting end to the Warrior Princess. Xena and Gabrielle broke barriers in every episode, and for that alone, the show should be highly commended. How clairvoyant were those writers to say "...her courage will change the world." ? Because the truth is, it did - Xena paved the way for Buffy the Vampire Slayer, for Kill Bill, and for so many other great female lead roles. At last, a strong woman who actually feels like a strong woman (and I include Gabrielle and the Amazons in this). Too often, men writing women's roles seem to equate bitchy with strength, and it's just awful to listen to these shrill, emasculating bitches. Once Xena came along, I think most writers collectively went, "Ohhhhh... I get it now." So thank God for Xena! Long may she live in syndication and on DVD!

Xena:Warrior Princess is the best fantasy TV show EVER. I though Hercules with Kevin Sorbo would be but Xena was a LOT more tough, gritty, and VI-O-LLLLENT. One woman you do NOT want to get angry with you, EVER. Xena was the ultimate warrior in this series and often hinted at being related possibly to some deity biologically but which one was never revealed. She was an Amazon(that sounds like a familiar name), Valkyrie, and warlord rolled into one BAAAAAAAAD girl. Superhuman fighting skills and powers. A lot of characters from Hercules also appeared on Xena. The war with Dahak was literally Biblical and EPIC with Michael the Archangel and the Four Horsemen(not Ric Flair's version in past NWA wrestling days) helping to fight Dahak, a "Satan" like being bent on Earth's destruction. Action, action, action, action is Xena personified. If you like Beastmaster, Conan, Hercules, Legend(my all-time favorite with Beastmaster a tie), you will LOVE Xena. One other thing too although not quite as professional. The women on this series are GORGEOUS, especially Aphrodite. Why this woman is not seen more on TV is a low down, dirty, rotten shame. Easily the sexiest woman on TV in the last two decades. A good choice for the "goddess of love". Xena is a must-have for action/adventure/fantasy/martial arts fans of all ages. Highest recommendation possible!!!

This season was fabulous, as all characters that we know from the previous 5 seasons, that are alive, are given great maturing depth. And then the finale hits. And all is completely lost, in a panic from the staff that you can almost feel oozing from the screen as you watch this complete meltdown of "HOW TO FINISH THE SERIES"!!!?? First, they take a show of SIX seasons, and take it to unfamiliar territory, with unfamiliar characters. Then, they SEPARATE all known characters. And in a quick flash, kill a character...but NOT with any sort of excitement or surprise that let's say, for example, Anya was killed in Buffy the Vampire Slayer. This was just plain POOR direction from a usually GOOD director, who will not admit to it... except to claim excuses of budget problems because of a musical canceled, blah blah. Arrogance at it's WORST.

I've watched Xena since the very beginning. Season 6 is probably my second favorite season (season 4 holds the top place).

The relationship between Gabrielle and Xena is as strong as ever. Our ladies are TRUE warriors in every sense of the word. From fighting various gods, monsters to just regular baddies, the Warrior Princess &
the Amazon Queen continue to fight for the Greater Good.

Lucy Lawless and Renee O'Connor were in top form during this season. The beautiful story lines were back, and visually this season was great.

As far as the relationship goes, to all those who think TPTB (The Powers that Be)catered to the 'lesbian' crowd with season 6....

First, not everyone who is a subtexter/maintexter (someone who believes that Xena and Gabrielle are in love) is a lesbian. Many of us are male, some are gay, some are straight.

Second, maybe it was TPTB that was catering to the 'shipper' crowd during season 5.

I feel TPTB finally got things back on the right track with season 6.

I happen to got all the seasons, and this one is no different. The colors are good, (People are saying there bad) Maybe it's the tv, because the colors are great. There has been some audio troubles with my dvd set, such has the voices start to get fuzzy when they talk loud. I've seen more than half the season and it's a great season. If your fan of Xena you shouldn't have to wonder about getting this or not. All the epsiodes are good, besides "You are there" I think there running out of ideas for episodes. I haven't had the time to explore the bonus materials, but will get to it. This season is no different than Season's one through five. If were lucky we will get a movie. We need a movie desperatley. Let's keep going at it, and it will happen. Buy this DVD set to finish of the series. It's no different. Believe me. I got the set for the episodes not the bonus material. It's worth the money.

This season has several good episodes (When Fates Collide is one of my all time favorites) and the DVD includes a lot more Cast and Crew interviews than any other, almost one for each episode, which I enjoy watching as a die-hard Xena fan; it's like talking about your best friends with others who like them, too.

The director's cut of the last episode is nicely done, plays like a movie. However, the blooper reel is totally disappointing because there are only a few bloopers shown and all are from previous seasons; that the actors were so professional by the end that they made no mistakes, seems highly unlikely.

Xena and Gabrielle have as many fun adventures as ever, I wish it didn't end. I agree with the Kid (who reviewed the Director's Cut), I like to imagine that Xena and Gabrielle walked off into the sunset to new adventures and stories.

The last season of Xena (season 6) was in 2000, concluding in early 2001. Six years since 1995, the adventures of Xena and her protege Gabrielle come to an end. All 6 seasons are available on DVD and a collection package containing all episodes is due to arrive commercially on March 8th.

Xena was a larger than life character and the final episodes bring out the more spiritual and cosmic elements of the drama. The ending was meant to be extremely serious and nearly religious. Spiritual matters had been the theme in several previous episodes, among them biblical themes and world religions, among then Hinduism. The character of Eli, a prophet and healer in India, became a mentor for Gabrielle. For Xena, her best mentor was Lou Ming, a Chinese/Zen woman healer. Everything Lou Ming had taught Xena comes full circle when Xena must confront a powerful demon who has captured innocent souls. I'm sorry to make a spoiler here, but in the end Xena must give up her life and die in order to "save the world" basically. She is still able to enter the spirit world inhabited by the likes of Lou Ma and is able to protect and overlook Gabrielle's progress. Gabrielle has now been assigned by Xena to be the next Warrior Princess. The mantle of heroism has been passed on to Gabrielle, who sails away into the horizon and to new adventures.

Some fans/audiences found the final episode to be somewhat of a disappointment. It was very hard for some to believe that Xena had died. Actually, during the course of the series, Xena had died numerous times but always came back to life in one way or another. So when she died yet again, it was not entirely powerful in its effect. But I felt that the finale was satisfying. I see it this way. Xena has died one more time but this time it's for good. She must remain dead and in the spiritual "other side" in order to maintain balance and harmony in the cosmos. For the greater good, she must not come back to life. Now it's up to Gabrielle to finish what she had started. The episodes are packed with action and intense drama. I really loved the series and miss it a lot. Thanks Lucy Lawless and Renee O Connor for providing the world with a great perspective on powerful women who are also best friends. Also, a special tribute goes to actor Kevin Smith who portrayed Ares, God of War. After his final appearance on Xena, he began to make a sci-fi/fantasy movie in Canada (or Australia) in which he had to do his own stunt. He fell from a great height and died. His death is still mourned by his fans. The show had a lot of heart, and it was not at all lesbian in its theme. It was about best friends. It was also about fighting for what was right. Few shows thrill as Xena did back in the 90's. She even eclipsed Hercules The Legendary Journeys. I remember more people talking about Xena than Hercules.

Xena season 6 is one of the top seasons of all. Effects, colors, action, suspense,..... everything!!!! Very sad to see it go when it did, but it seemed to cover all ground and end appropriately.In other words it ran a beautiful course.

The manner of ending the series was without a doubt, the best avenue of the times they were portraying and it was great to see an illustrated (yet fictional) view of how things may have went on back then. To be honest, this season started my path in Spirituality and the Paranormal.

As far as other negative reviews in regard to Christianty,... I feel it is probably very close to what really happened. Christianity wasnt always the top religion and scenes dipicting that seem to be in line with that. As a very spiritual person I found it more interesting than insulting and just shows how this religion has endured over the centuries.

This series if definately for most people across the board and is perfect for individuals with different viewing tastes to come together via a show like this.

People into: Action/Martial Arts, Different Cultures,Mythology, Paranormal, Religion/Spirituality, Suspense and simply,..... beautiful people, can come together for a season/show like this.

This has been another Dragonfly Kingdom review. Enjoy!!