Customer Reviews

Xena Warrior Princess - Season Three Video Set [VHS]

5 star:		(69)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I scouted around on Anchor Bay Entertainment's website to see what I could find out about this set. When I enlarge the photo of the Xena Warrior Princess - Season Three disc set, the box says: Deluxe Collector's Edition; Digitally Mastered * 5.1 Surround Sound * 9 Disc Set. Here are the scheduled extras:

* Interviews with the Actresses/Actors, Producers, Editors, Writers, and Set Designers: Donald Duncan, Robert Gillies, Lucy Lawless, Hudson Leick, Renee O'Connor, Ted Raimi; Oley Sassone, Steven L. Sears, R.J. Stewart, Alexandra Tydings
* Featurette: Retrospective on "Sacrifice" Parts 1 & 2 (30 minutes)
* Photo Gallery
* Never before seen footage of deleted, alternate and recently discovered scenes
* Video & Audio Commentaries from: Elizabeth Friedman, Lucy Lawless, Hudson Leick, Renee O'Connor, Ted Raimi, Steven L. Sears, R.J. Stewart, and Robert Tapert
* Blooper Reel
* CD-ROM with Actor, Director & Writer Bios, Series Trivia, Xena Chronicles, Original Production Designs & Sketches, and Director's Notes & Storyboards

As has already been said by several reviewers, Season Three was a great season. The last episode of the season was a real cliff-hanger. I couldn't believe which character was killed! Here's an episode guide, with a tiny description:

The Furies: Xena is punished for not avenging her father's death.
Been There, Done That: Joxer is killed.
The Dirty Half Dozen: Ares and his army possess armor and weapons that mortal weapons can't harm.
The Deliverer: Gabrielle is tricked into taking the life of an innocent.
Gabrielle's Hope: Gabrielle gives birth to a baby girl.
The Debt (1): Xena is summoned to kill the Green Dragon.
The Debt (2): Xena is imprisoned by the Green Dragon.
The King of Assassins: Jett, Joxer's lookalike brother, plots to kill Queen Cleopatra.
Warrior... Priestess... Tramp: Xena and Gabrielle meet a Xena-lookalike.
The Quill Is Mightier: Aphrodite casts a spell on Gabrielle's scroll

Maternal Instincts: Gabrielle's daughter tries to break up Gabrielle's and Xena's friendship.
The Bitter Suite: Xena and Gabrielle wake up in Illusia.
One Against An Army: Xena battles the Persian army alone.
Forgiven: A young girl wants to be Xena's partner.
King Con: Joxer is severely beaten.
When In Rome...: Xena gets involved with Roman politics
Forget Me Not: Gabrielle visits Mnemosyne's temple.
Fins, Femmes and Gems: Aphrodite casts spells on Xena, Gabrielle, and Joxer

Tsunami: A tsunami strikes a ship that Xena and Gabrielle are on.
Vanishing Act: Xena, Gabrielle, Autolycus work to recover a statue
Sacrifice (1): Seraphin wants to sacrifice herself to bring back a goddess
Sacrifice (2): Xena and Gabrielle want to stop Gabrielle's evil daughter.

This is my 2nd favorite season of the six; I couldn't love this show more...Xena (Lucy Lawless) and Gabrielle (Renee O'Connor) completely outdo themselves this season; Everything is an emotional rollercoaster, the episodes are surging with tearjerking revelations, rolling on the floor humor, illuminating the bonds of love and the power of brutal consequences, the triumpths of conquest, the soul-grinding pain of loss and betrayl, the hope to overcome...

You WILL NOT be disappointed! Not a chance!!

3rd SEASON HIGHLIGHTS:
The Furies
Ares enlists the aid of the Furies, who declare that the Warrior Princess has committed a terrible crime. Gabrielle investigates, and discovers that Xena had failed to avenge the murder of her father. That's news to Xena: she didn't know that her father had been murdered, much less the identity of the killer.

Been There, Done That
Xena realizes her day is repeating itself so she can break a cycle of death that hinges on two lovers' warring families.

Gabrielle's Hope
Gabrielle and Xena learn about the upcoming birth of evil Dahak's "daughter of darkness" which hits VERY close to home.

The Debt, Part I: Betrayal
As Xena and Gabrielle travel toward the Eastern kingdom of Chin, Xena recalls a kidnapping episode from her dark past involving two rival Chin clans.

The Debt, Part II
Flashbacks recall Xena's transformaton from evil to good. But in the present, the Green Dragon has captured Xena thanks to an unlikely betrayer.

The Bitter Suite
Xena and Gabrielle are bound by hatred in a dreamworld, where they must sing to be understood. Fans still go crazy for this episode...

One Against an Army
Xena must hold off an entire Persian army single-handed-and also tend to Gabrielle, who's been struck by a poison arrow. A fine tearjerker!

Forget Me Not
Gabrielle decides to lose her painful memories in the river of dreams but Joxer doesn't want her to do so because he thinks she will forget about him. (A clip show.)

Sacrifice (part II)
Evil Hope takes the form of her mother and joins forces with Ares to create a race of superbeings; Xena is forced to team up with Callisto (the beautiful Hudson Leick)

[Summary: 5 stars for terrific content & GREAT extras]

Note: This review contains NO SPOILERS; it's all about the DVD extras.

Xena: Warrior Princess Season Three DVD collection summary:
- 8 DVDs, with 3 episodes each except 1 in disc 8; 22 total episodes.
- Video: Very good throughout; less compression than 4 episodes/disc.
- Audio: 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround throughout.
- DVD Extras: Stills, audio and video commentary on 8 episodes (1/disc), an "interview" (featurette) on every episode, bloopers, plus much extra on "Sacrifice", the season ender. Season Two included 3 commentaries only. MUCH better!

Season Two was worth a bit over 4.5 stars; Season Three is nearly perfect (5 stars).

Disc 1: Picture of Xena on label
- "The Furies"
o Interview with:
R.J. Stewart, Co-Executive Producer
Lucy Lawless ("Xena")
Robert Gillies, Production Designer
Liz Friedman, Producer
Steven L. Sears, Supervising Producer
Robert Tapert, Executive Producer & Lucy Lawless & Renee O'Connor ("Gabrielle")
o Audio Commentary by Liz Friedman & Robert Tapert
o Video Commentary by Liz Friedman & Robert Tapert and R.J. Stewart (shot separately)
- "Been There, Done That"
o Interview with:
Lucy Lawless
Andrew Merrifield, Director
Ted Raimi ("Joxer")
Lucy Lawless & Renee O'Connor
Bernie Joyce, Post-Production Supervisor
- "The Dirty Half Dozen"
o Interview with:
Steven L. Sears
Robert Gillies
Disc Extras:
- Photo Gallery
- Weblink to www.xena.tv
- Credits

Disc 2: Picture of Gabrielle on label
- "The Deliverer"
o Interview with:
Oley Sassone, Director
R.J. Stewart
Steven L. Sears
Liz Friedman
Renee O'Connor
- "Gabrielle's Hope"
o Interview with:
R.J. Stewart
Steven L. Sears
Andrew Merrifield
- "The Debt" (part I)
o Interview with:
Oley Sassone
R.J. Stewart
Eric Gruendemann, Producer
Robert Tapert
John Cavill, Cinematographer
Robert Gillies
Lucy Lawless
Renee O'Connor & Lucy Lawless
o Audio Commentary by Robert Tapert & Lucy Lawless
o Video Commentary by Robert Tapert & Lucy Lawless

Disc 3: Picture of Autolycus on label
- "The Debt II"
o Interview with:
Robert Tapert
Eric Gruendemann
Oley Sassone
John Cavill
Robert Gillies
Lucy Lawless & Renee O'Connor
R.J. Stewart
- "The King of Assassins"
o Interview with:
Ted Raimi ("Joxer" & "Jett")
Robert Tapert & Lucy Lawless & Renee O'Connor
John Cavill
Donald Duncan, Cinematographer
Kay Foster & Adam Armus, Writers
o Audio Commentary by Ted Raimi
o Video Commentary by Ted Raimi
- "Warrior... Priestess... Tramp"
o Interview with:
Kay Foster & Adam Armus
Liz Friedman
Ted Raimi

Disc 4: Picture of Callisto on label
- "The Quill is Mightier..."
o Interview with:
Renee O'Connor
Ted Raimi
Andrew Merrifield
Alexandra Tydings ("Aphrodite")
- "Maternal Instincts"
o Interview with:
Steven L. Sears
Liz Friedman
Eric Gruendemann
Renee O'Connor
Hudson Leick ("Callisto")
Lucy Lawless
- "The Bitter Suite" (a musical!)
o Interview with:
Steven L. Sears
Robert Tapert
R.J. Stewart
Liz Friedman
Eric Gruendemann
Donald Duncan
Bernie Joyce
Lucy Lawless & Renee O'Connor
Robert Gillies
Hudson Leick
o Audio Commentary by Lucy Lawless & Renee O'Connor
o Video Commentary by Lucy Lawless & Renee O'Connor

Disc 5: Picture of Xena on label
- "One Against an Army"
o Interview with:
Steven L. Sears
Renee O'Connor
Eric Gruendemann
Lucy Lawless & Renee O'Connor
R.J. Stewart
o Audio Commentary by Lucy Lawless & Renee O'Connor
o Video Commentary by Lucy Lawless & Renee O'Connor
- "Forgiven"
o Interview with:
R.J. Stewart
Renee O'Connor
Liz Friedman
- "King Con"
o Interview with:
Donald Duncan
Ted Raimi
Liz Friedman

Disc 6: Picture of Joxer on label
- "When in Rome..."
o Interview with:
John Laing, Director
R.J. Stewart
Renee O'Connor
o Audio Commentary by Steven L. Sears, the writer
o Video Commentary by Steven L. Sears, the writer
- "Forget Me Not"
o Interview with:
Steven L. Sears
Renee O'Connor
Ted Raimi
- "Fins, Femmes & Gems"
o Interview with:
Lucy Lawless & Renee O'Connor
Robert Tapert
Kay Foster & Adam Armus
Liz Friedman
Alexandra Tydings

Disc 7: Picture of Xena on label
- "Tsunami"
o Interview with:
Donald Duncan
Robert Gillies
John Laing
Renee O'Connor & Lucy Lawless
- "Vanishing Act"
o Interview with:
Robert Tapert
Lucy Lawless & Renee O'Connor
Andrew Merrifield
- "Sacrifice" (part I)
o Interview with:
Steven L. Sears
Liz Friedman
Hudson Leick
Lucy Lawless
o Audio Commentary by Hudson Leick (only on some scenes; watch the video commentary instead)
o Video Commentary by Hudson Leick

Disc 8: Picture of Gabrielle on label
- "Sacrifice II"
o Interview with:
Liz Friedman
Steven L. Sears
Renee O'Connor
Ted Raimi
Robert Tapert
Hudson Leick
Lucy Lawless
o Audio Commentary by Hudson Leick (some scenes only)
o Video Commentary by Hudson Leick
Disc Extras:
- "Sacrifice II" Alternate Cuts
- "Sacrifice I & II: A Retrospective" featuring
Steven L. Sears
Paul Robert Coyle, Writer
Kym Taburn, Retrospective Producer/Interviewer
Rick Jacobson, Director
Hudson Leick
Rod Field, Editor
Jason Schmid, Sound Designer
- Bloopers
- Credits

Each video commentary contains a subset (about 40% typically) of the audio commentary, with shots of the commentator(s) watching the episode.

The typical "interview" segment is around seven minutes long, isn't actually an interview because there are no questions posed, and includes an intro from the episode plus bits of the video commentary where present. The "Retrospective" is an actual interview.

X:WP Season Three contains performances by the following recurring characters from the Hercules/Xena world:
- Ted Raimi as Joxer, bumbling would-be warrior; also as brother Jett
- Hudson Leick as Callisto, nemesis extraordinaire
- Kevin Smith as Ares, God of War
- Bruce Campbell as Autolycus, King of Thieves
- Alexandra Tydings as Aphrodite, Goddess of Love
- Karl Urban as Julius Caesar
- Danielle Cormack as Ephiny, Amazon warrior
- Marton Csokas as Borias, warlord; also as Khrafstar, acolyte of Dahak

Notable one-shot guest stars from Season Three included:
- Shiri Appleby as Tara, wannabe sidekick
- Jacqueline Kim as Lao Ma, creator of Taoism
- Jennifer Ward-Lealand as Boadicea
- The first pairing of Angela Dotchin and Bruce Campbell (in "Tsunami"), before they co-starred in "Jack of All Trades"

A great Xena collection, with truly outstanding extras. Get your copy now!

Xena exploded onto the scene and into many American homes during her 2nd season, with suprising plot twists, interesting charcters and amazing martial arts. The third season, however, took the Xena series to a whole new level. Both Gabrielle and Xena underwent some serious emotional tramua that led to great character developments and a stronger bond in their friendship.

Without giving too much away, I'll just say that the presence of the Olympians and the bumbling wannabe-warrior Joxer greatly increased in this season, as did the shaky and dangerous relationship btw Xena and Ares. Most people would tell you that the 2nd season of Xena was their favorite, but I'm telling you that the 3rd was mine. These characters went through so many twists and turns and the level of comedy reached such a better standard in this season that there's no reason not to love the 3rd season.

Without putting this off any more, here's the complete run down of each of the nine-disc of the 3rd season of Xena: Anchor Bay Home Entertainment now has the complete rundown:

Disc one contains the episodes 'The Furies' with a audio and video commentary by R.J. Stewart, Robert Tapert and Liz Friedman), the first hilarious comedy of the season with a 'ground-hog-dayish' effect 'Been There, Done That' and 'The Dirty Half Dozen';

Disk two has 'The Deliverer,' 'Gabrielle's Hope' and 'The Debt, Part 1' (with audio and video commentaries by Lucy Lawless and Robert Tapert);

Disk three has the episodes 'The Debt, Part 2,' 'The King of Assassins' (hint-you finally find out who Jace is!)(with audio and video commentary by Ted Raimi);

Disk four contains the hilarious epsiodes that spins Aphrodite and Ares out of balance in 'The Quill Is Mightier,' and it also has the episodes that solidfied the mistrust and hatred that Xena had for Gabrielle, and their eventual but slow return as friends in 'Maternal Instincts' and 'The Bitter Suite' (with audio and video commentary by Lucy Lawless and Renee O'Connor, you betcha!);

Disk five contains the epsiodes of Xena and gabrielle's attempt to reestablish their love for each other, and Xena's attempt to forgive Gabrille, and Gabrielle's own guilt constantly resurfacing as well with the epsiodes 'One Against Army' (with audio and video commentary by Lucy Lawless and Renee O'Connor), 'Forgiven' and 'King Con';

Disk six includes 'When In Rome', the episode that really explores Caesar (with audio and video commentary by Steve Sears), 'Forget Me Not' (gabrille's last guilt-ridden episode) and then 'Fins, Femmes & Gems';

Disk seven has two very different Autolycus-starred episodes 'Tsunami,' and 'Vanishing Act' one a drama and another a comedy, and the first part of the season finale 'Sacrifice, Part 1'(with audio and video commentary by Hudson Leick);

And disk eight has the 2nd part of the season finale 'Sacrifice, Part 2' (with audio and video commentary by Hudson Leick) as well as bonus interviews with the stars of xena and the makers of Xena such as Lucy Lawless, Rob Tapert, Renee O'Conner, Alex Tydings, and for us loyal and remembering fans, a tribute to Kevin Smith. There's also an indepth look into the making of the season finale.

The 9th disc is a a CD-Rom, you know for the computer. It reportedly has screen savers, the usual xena chronicles, quizzes, biographies and over 100 (maybe even 900) sketches of the xena series storyboards. Wow, I know, this dvd is soo freakin cool! It's busting out with dvd extras! Over nine hours of bonus footage-nine hours! Not to mention that this was the best season ever! Get it now, pre-order it or just go out and personally buy it from video stores (besides Best Buy, their version is slightly different), on February 10th, 2004!

Firstly, I agree with Viewer from Amphipolis that "A Day in the Life" was hilarious, but it was in SEASON TWO. <g>

Season three saw much depth added to both the plot lines and the characters. It started out with "The Furies," which would forever leave viewers guessing as to Xena's paternity, and also brought a lot of variety, from comedy, to drama, to the show's first musical episode, "The Bitter Suite," in which we got to hear Lucy Lawless, the dearly departed Kevin Smith, and several other cast members sing, and watched Xena and Gabrielle finally "come home" after the rift that almost destroyed a friendship. "The Bitter Suite" was quickly followed up by "One Against an Army," which brought one of the most kick-ass fight scenes ever, and established an eternal bond between Xena and Gabrielle. OAAA is one of the most-loved episodes of all by many Xena fans. The season ends on a highly dramatic note, with the two part finale, "Sacrifice."

Season 3 is not to be missed for any Xena fan.

I own XWP Years 1 and 2, and always felt a bit disappointed with the picture quality, sound, etc. But...simply put, Year 3, in terms of quality of each disc, content and "extras" is truly superb. This is XWP done right!!

Numerous reviews here have detailed the contents, etc., so I won't belabor the point. Of note, two things I found particularly interesting in the interviews and commentaries were the degree to which story lines were debated amongst writers, producers, actors...and in some cases, the network.

Interestingly, the directors and writers (of which there were several over the years) let Hudson Leick pretty much do her own interpretation of "Callisto" in that she clearly was more familiar with the character than the rotational pool of people working on individual episodes. She added and deleted dialogue...and developed several mannerisms of her own in fleshing out the evil "Callisto" character. Her excellent performaces, during several episodes, are featured during many discussions...as is the late Kevin Smith's similarly delightful performances as Ares, God of War.

Lucy Lawless and Renee O'Connor let several of the series regulars (cast and crew) have the majority of the "on-air" time in terms of commentaries, etc. A magnaminous gesture, and the larger pool of talent involved makes this year particularly rewarding and informative, and numerous interviewees explore in considerable detail the evolving relationship between Xena and Gabrielle.

Also, there are several references to locations and personnel (actors, costumers, etc.) that had significant impact on the planning and filming of Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings" trilogy; a particularly good discussion of XWP's impact on the New Zealand film industry and LOR is contained in the interviews conducted on "The Debt" episode.

Bottom Line: A top drawer production all the way around...and Anchor Bay and all the personnel involved in Year 3 are to be commended. This is certainly a MUST BUY for any XWP enthusiast!

This is an exceptional set of DVDs. Every single episode has an interview available to discuss background, important plot points and how this episode fits into the overall arc of character development and the season as a whole. Eight of the episodes have in-depth audio and video commentary from Lucy and Renee (Xena and Gabrielle), Rob Tapert (creator and executive producer), Steven L. Sears (writer and producer), Hudson Leick (Callisto), and Ted Raimi (Joxer) among others.

The Hudson's intense and hilarious discussion of the effect of Falling Rocks on Fluffy Bunny Hair and Hooker Boots alone is worth the price of admission.

The video and audio quality is very good to excellent. The third season blooper reel is included along with a lengthy interview and analysis of the Season Ender episodes, Sacrifice I and II.

The commentaries pull few punches, when the occational poor episode shows up, both cast and crew own up to it. Which makes the in-depth analysis of the many, many good to great episodes all the more enjoyable.

If you love Xena . . . , If you like Xena . . . , If you don't give a whit about Xena, but want to get a glimpse of how the complex creation of a technically sophisticated television series takes place, Get This Set.

Highly Recommended!

In my view, Season 3 was the best season of XENA. The quality of the show was at its pinnacle, sometimes achieving true brilliance (THE BITTER SUITE, for instance). The mix of drama, action and comedy was perfect -- this was the season that gave us some of the show's darkest and most tragic episodes (THE FURIES, THE DELIVERER, THE DEBT, MATERNAL INSTINCTS, WHEN IN ROME, SACRIFICE) as well as some of the most sparkling comedies (BEEN THERE DONE THAT, THE QUILL IS MIGHTIER..., FINS, FEMMES & GEMS). Epic drama in which gods battle each other and the fate of the world itself hangs in the balance blends effortlessly with the personal drama of friendship and maternal love.

As always, Lucy Lawless and Renee O'Connor are great as Xena and Gabrielle (with O'Connor very effective as Gabrielle's evil daughter Hope). The late Kevin Smith shines as Ares -- seductive and dangerous as the God of War, sexy and funny as the mortal Ares in THE QUILL... Hudson Leick gives some of her best performances here as Callisto (in MATERNAL INSTINCTS and SACRIFICE). Ted Raimi manages to be both funny and touching as Joxer (and excellent in a dual role as Joxer's twin brother Jett). There are also quite a few fine performances in the lesser supporting roles. A special mention goes to Marton Csokas, superb in dual roles as Borias (THE DEBT) and Khrafstar (THE DELIVERER). There's also Karl Urban as Caesar, Alexandra Tydings as the ditzy Valley Girl-ish Aphrodite, Darien Takle as Xena's mother Cyrene, the scarily excellent Amy Morison as the child Hope, Jacqueline Kim as Lao Ma, and Jennifer Ward-Leland as Boadicea.

A word about this DVD set: Third time's a charm -- finally, the extras are fantastic! I haven't seen them all yet, but the deleted/alternate footage from SACRIFICE II was a pleasure to watch (I just wish they'd added some deleted/alternate scenes from other episodes as well), and the interviews and commentary by actors, producers, directors, and other Xenastaff members are almost invariably interesting and informative. I particularly enjoyed watching Rob Tapert, Liz Friedman and RJ Stewart's commentary on THE FURIES.

If you are a Xena fan, this is a must. If you aren't, this DVD set just might convert you!

Season 3 - the introduction of betrayal into the relationship between Gabrielle and Xena; the birth of Hope; the re-introduction of Callisto after her seeming demise in season 2 in a quicksand pit.. all this and much more - a must have for any fan of Xena.

While continuing on from the setups in the previous 2 seasons, it is possible for anyone new to the (affectionately coined name) Xenaverse to pick up plot lines and immerse themselves in the myth that is Xena.

The season itself is jam packed of adventure; some laughs, some tears and guaranteed to suck you into their world.

As for the dvd box set itself, it is filled with extras on almost every episode - whether it be a 5 minute interview with writers or producers, or a full blown video commentary with Lucy Lawless, Renee O'Connor, Ted Raimi, Rob Tapert et al and even down to an almost 20minute long bloopers reel that is set to leave you in stitches of laughter - this is truly a wonderful gift for anyone, or a necessity for any Xena fan.

You won't be disappointed.

One of the most heartbreaking, amazing, unforgetable seasons in Xena: Warrior Princess gets an extra touch of fire with this amazing DVD set. The interviews give you more insight on the story, and on some plot and script details that even I missed on the first 300 times watching the episodes. I even got some confirmation through those interviews about some plot ideas I had during watching... I wasn't too far from the original sub-plot idea...
But I think the best feature in this set is watching Sacrifice 2 with the video commentary of Hudson Leick. We all know this episode to be a heartbreaking, and for me, a very difficult one to hold the tears through it... And then you have Hudson watching it, and you just can't stop laughing through it!!! And I believe more words on that will just reck a good watch through. Now you will have to see it for yourself!
This is sure one set you want in your DVD collection!!!