Customer Reviews

Xena Warrior Princess - Season Two Video Set [VHS]

5 star:		(43)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

[Summary: Just over 4.5 stars; a big step up from Season One's DVD collection]

Note: Just in case you haven't already watched X:WP Season Two, this review contains NO SPOILERS.

Xena: Warrior Princess Season Two DVD collection summary:
- 6 DVDs, with 4 episodes each except for 2 in the last; 22 total episodes.
- 1 CD-ROM, with largely useless content.
- Video: MUCH better than the grainy 16mm film transfer of Season One.
- Audio: Dolby Digital throughout (a big step up from the Dolby Stereo of Season Two).
- DVD Extras: Good-quality stills, plus audio and video commentary on three episodes. Season One included zip - nada - bupkus. MUCH better!
- CD-ROM: Same old junk as was included for Season One. Why?
- Price: Lower than Season One, for better quality. Yay!
- Episodes: 22. Season One had 24. The only comparative downside.

Season One rated just over 3.5 stars. Season Two is worth a bit over 4.5 stars -- a major step up.

Disc 1: Portrait of Gabrielle on label
- Orphan of War
- Remember Nothing
- The Giant Killer
- Girls Just Wanna Have Fun
Disc Extras:
- Still Gallery
- Weblink to www.xenadvd.com

Disc 2: Portrait of Joxer on label
- Return of Callisto
"Return of Callisto" extras: Audio and video commentary by Lucy Lawless and Renee O'Connor
- Warrior ... Princess ... Tramp
- Intimate Strangers
- Ten Little Warlords

Disc 3: Picture of Xena on label
- A Solstice Carol
- The Xena Scrolls
- Here She Comes ... Miss Amphipolis
- Destiny
"Destiny" extras: Audio and video commentary by Rob Tapert

Disc 4: Picture of Xena (as "Miss Amphipolis") on label
- The Quest
- A Necessary Evil
- A Day in the Life
"A Day in the Life" extras: Audio and video commentary by Lucy Lawless, Renee O'Connor, and Rob Tapert
- For Him the Bell Tolls

Disc 5: Picture of Xena and Draco on label
- The Execution
- Blind Faith
- Ulysses
- The Price
(No extras.)

Disc 6: Picture of Cupid on label
- Lost Mariner
- A Comedy of Eros
(No extras.)

Disc 7 (CD-ROM): Picture of Xena and Gabrielle on label
- Screensaver
- Cast & Director bios
- "Scrolls" - episode cast lists, guest stars ("mortals" and "gods"), search through the scrolls text
- Season Two trivia game

The audio commentaries are the usual option, easily available through the menu for each of the three episodes. The video commentaries are a subset (about 40% in each case) of the audio commentaries, with images of the commentators sitting in front of a wide-screen TV watching the episodes. The same set (except for number of chairs) is used in all three video commentaries.

X:WP Season Two contains performances by the following recurring characters from the Hercules/Xena world:
- Ted Raimi as Joxer, bumbling would-be warrior
- Hudson Leick as Callisto, nemesis extraordinaire
- Kevin Smith as Ares, God of War
- Robert Trebor as Salmoneus, mercurial merchant
- Bruce Campbell as Autolycus, King of Thieves
- Danielle Cormack as Ephiny, Amazon warrior
- Michael Hurst as Iolaus (Hercules' sidekick)
- Tim Thomerson as Meleager the Mighty
- Alexandra Tydings as Aphrodite, Goddess of Love
- Karl Urban as both Julius Caesar and Cupid (son of Aphrodite) ) (should actually be "Eros"; "Cupid" is his Roman name)
- Jay Laga'aia as Draco

More notable one-shot guest stars from Season Two included:
- Lisa Zane as Miss Skiros
- Mindy Clarke as Velasca
- Rachel Blakely as Penelope
- Tony Todd as Cecrops

More butt-kicking fun in the Hercules/Xena world. Get your copy, make some popcorn, and have a party!

Like most of the above reviewers, I too thoroughly enjoyed Season Two's episodes. The introductory scene in "The Return of Callisto" may be the best six minutes of female "kick butt" ever seen on television; I was surprised by its violence when I first saw it...and still am. "Charlie's Angels...," and "Laura Croft...," to say nothing of Jennifer Garner's character in "Alias," have ABSOLUTELY NOTHING on Hudson Leick as Callisto in this episode. When she is BAD, she is REALLY BAD!!

Still, the Xena series DVDs have a ways to go to match the sound and picture quality of other TV series. For example, the "La Femme Nikita" Year 1, recently purchased, is far superior in terms of both color rendition and sound, particularly in color(blues and reds)and stereo separation and bass reproduction. As a Xena fan since the first year, I'm still waiting for the DVD quality to match the quality of the acting, scenery and storylines.

Of note, I purchased the final Xena episode DVD more than a year ago, and its quality is top drawer, so I don't think it has to do with any of the series production values.

Regardless, the Warrior Princess truly rocks!...and I'm still buying Year 2 (again), but hoping for better quality in years 3-6.

Update as of 03 Sep 03. Had the oportunity to watch four episodes and the interview with Tapert, Lawless and O'Conner on the new (02 Sep) Anchor Bay release. Agree with tgsbch's comments regarding audio and video quality and thinness of the DVDs themselves.

I would add that while the interviews contained nothing particularly "new" if you are a long time fan of XWP and have the numrous books that have been written about the series, the audio and video commentary options on two particular episodes, "A Day in the Life," and "Return of Callisto," are particularly rewarding.

Each option is edited differently. With the "audio" commentary you see the entire episode, with Lucy and Renee commenting (voiced over) on particular scenes. With the "video" commentary selected, you see a significantly edited episode, cutting to visuals of Lucy and Renee sitting in director's chairs (along with Tapert in "A Day...") and commenting. Lots of interesting observations by all three, including discussion of the lesbian subtext issue, "comedic" versus "violent" episodes, (Lucy prefers the former, Renee the latter--it's clear she's the athlete of this pair!),the skills of particular directors, cameramen and stunt personnel, the real skill of Hudson Leick (Callisto)with a sword, Leick's adlibbing some of her dialogue to create the memorable character of Callisto (Lucy notes that to have a really good hero requires a villan that is REALLY bad, and Leick's Callisto fit the bill!),Gabby's change in clothes, bust, weight, etc. throughout the years. Lots of comments and discussion transcend just Year Two and reflect on all six years of the series. I found these two episodes, particularly with "video" commentary selected, to be particularly interesting, and worth purchasing the Anchor Bay edition even if you had already purchased the previous Year 2 issue.

Season Two of Xena is one of my favorites. The first season was a little 'bleh' as it was busy getting it's feat wet. Season Two was well worth the wait. The actual quality of the dvd set is much better than the first one. Even though the first group of episodes in S2 were still shot in 16mm, the season two set does a better job of cleaning up the film grain. The coolest thing about this set besides the episodes, is the audio and video commentary tracks with Lucy Lawless(Xena), Renee O'Connor(Gabrielle) and Rob Tapert(writer,producer,director). Lucy and Renee are just too funny as they tend to go the Mystery Science Theatre 3000 route and just make fun of themeselves.The Rob Tapert commentary is a little frustrating,as the guy only talks about how he wishes he could have done this better and that different (The same problem with the FIN dvd). He doesn't seem to be very happy with his eps, oh well, I like em. My favorite things in S2 are Hudson Leick(Callisto)'s brilliant performance as Xena's arch nemesis. Renee(Gabrielle)'s growth as an actress (The Quest) and introduction of the comedy episodes (Warrior...Princess...Tramp, A Day In The Life).

You can get info on other things in the other good reviews. Here's the info I always want and can never find:

D1: Orphan of War, Remember Nothing, The Giant Killer, Girls Just Wanna Have Fun, Photo Gallery (about 45 fairly HighRes photos, all apparently from the show footage)
D2: Return of Callisto (A/V Commentary by Lawless, O'Connor), Warrior ... Princess ... Tramp, Intimate Strangers, Ten Little Warlords
D3: The Solstice Carol, The Xena Scrolls, Here She Comes ... Miss Amphipolis, Destiny (A/V Commentary by Tapert)
D4: The Quest, A Necessary Evil, A Day in the Life (A/V Commentary by Lawless, O'Connor, Tapert), For Him the Bell Tolls
D5: The Execution, Blind Faith, Ulysses, The Price
D6: Lost Mariner, A Comedy Of Eros
D7: The Xena Chronicles, Trivia, Actor/Director Bios

First off let me say I have had none of the technical problems that some of the other reviewers had and it would be a shame if someone who is a fan didn't buy this set because of it. (Yes, the picture quality could be better but it is still far and away better than the VHS version)
When I saw this was being released on my birthday I took it as a good sign... and boy, was it. I forgot how much I loved this season; so many great episodes. "A day in the Life", Callisto", "The Price", "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" and many more. The best part of this DVD set for me was the commentaries... like the one for "Callisto" done by LL and ROC. They both don't like to watch their own work when its finished, so when they see their interaction after Gabrielle's wedding it was just priceless to hear them "get" what the "subtext" fervor was all about. All the commentaries were enjoyable.
Lastly, the 1/2 hour commentary by RT, LL and ROC was neat not only for their respective insights but the MUSIC! I really love Joe LaDuca's stuff for this series and was extremely disapointed when the dance music from "Girls Just wanna Have Fun" didn't make it to the sound track (Or M'lila singing about her homeland on "Destiny")but, iti is in the commentary...
I recieved 3 sets for my b-day and concidered keeping them all! ...hope this was helpful...Peej

I believe that the local TV stations where I live owe me an apology. For years I heard about Xena. Who didn't? But every ad I saw for the show portrayed it as a mindless "juggle" show and thus I had no interest in watching it. As much as I might admire the female form, it does not induce me to watch a show ONLY about that.

Then one day I found the last episode of the series on DVD and, priced at $1.99, how could I resist finding out what all the fuss was about. Well, what I watched on that DVD was no "jiggle" show. I was blown away and picked up Season Two to see if the rest of the show could live up to the finale.

I was not disappointed.

Xena: Warrior Princess is one of the best TV shows I've ever seen. Period. It's a show all about fun. Pick any episode from this incredible season and let yourself be entertained. It's clear the creators of the show wanted each episode, regardless of plot, to be fun. Oh sure, it's campy, over the top and about as historically accurate as Meet The Spartans. But they just throw everything, including the kitchen sink, into every episode. And when I say fun, I don't mean mindless fun. The shows are well-written, well-acted and they mix comedy, action, history, myth, drama and characterization deftly. The final result cannot be classified as any one of these elements. But the mix makes for great entertainment.

Although a little light on the special features, this season does have some good commentaries both audio and video and there's a nice behind the scenes featurette with interviews from cast and crew.

I thoroughly enjoyed this season and have since picked up ALL the others. Xena is truly a unique viewing experience. I highly recommend it. And, TV station, I'm awaiting my apology for forcing me to wait this long to see it. But that's the beauty of DVD. Xena is a winner!

Ok, I threw out my Season Two video tapes that I had taped off the tv when I heard that Season Two was releasing on DVD. Now I wish I hadn't. I already own Season One DVD's that were released by a different company other than Anchor Bay and I was dissapointed with the technical quality of the set. Specifically, the audio simply sucks. I was anxious to buy Season Two which was authored by Anchor Bay because I was hoping that the audio quality would be much better. Unfortunately, that is not the case.

The major problem with the audio is that the sound waivers constantly. Basically it sounds as if the mixer sat on the volume button and just kept turning it up and down constantly. I'm a professional sound mixer/editor and so I probably pay more attention to sound then the average consumer. However, the mix is so bad that most of the time, if there is music in the scene, you can't even hear the dialog because the music just overpowers it. These two problems are the EXACT problems that I had with the first season. I've tried the DVD's on different players and the problems are still there. I hope they fire whomever mixed the "surround sound" on these DVD's.

The picture quality is not too great either. At one point, one of the discs just froze for about two seconds and then started playing again. I have purchased other boxed sets of TV shows and haven't seen any that look and sound as cheaply authored as the two Xena Seasons. It upsets me because I do really love the show and it's actually painful to see how they treated the DVD transfer. I'm not sure why they decided to ruin the DVD's, but I guess they had their rea$on$.

Another quick criticism: there are no bloopers on the DVD's and I know they exist because the Xena Fan Club sells them for each season. I don't get why they would leave something like that off the bonus materials unless it's because they think they can make more $ selling the blooper reels on VHS through the fan club.

Overall, I don't think I would buy any more DVD's that are released from Anchor Bay. That is, until they fire their mixer and hire me.

The DVD is EXCELLENT; however there are two episodes that are supposed to have ''(audio and Video Commentary)'' but they don't.
.Destiny
.A Day In The Life.

I forgot how much I loved this season! I purchased Season 1 on DVD for a hundred bucks when it came out. I was expecting this to be the same but it was so much cheaper! The quality is much better and wow! I spent all day reliving my favorite memories from season 2! It's such a beautiful, diverse season! There is a lot of emotional conflict with Xena and Gabrielle. Especially in The Execution when Gabrielle is trying to save a friend's life while Xena thinks he's gulity. Then you get to The Price when Gabrielle finally sees how Xena is in war. She starts to see pieces of Xena's past. But she lives through it and stays by her side. This is a remarkable season which helps solidify the bond between Xena and Gabrielle!

I love Xena Warrior Princess and Hercules Legendary Journeys, and season 2 is Xena at her best. Destiny is one of the five best episodes of Xena ever; it reveals what made Xena into the Warrior Princess rather than just another petty warlord, and it has that great Gaelic song. I didn't pay much attention to Remember Nothing when it aired on television, but after watching it twice on dvd, I've realized how important it is to the series. However, the quality of the dvd did not match the quality of the show. It's very grainy; actually, it's the poorest quality of any dvd I've ever seen.