Amazon.com: Xena Warrior Princess - Season Two Video Set [VHS]: Lucy Lawless, Renee O'Connor, Anson Williams: Video

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!

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19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Season Two--Getting Better, But..., July 28, 2003

By	Richard Wright "Rail Enthusiast" (Burke, VA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Xena Warrior Princess - Season Two (DVD)

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.

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13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the Best, September 4, 2003

By	B. Cox "bellerophon07" (USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Xena Warrior Princess - Season Two (DVD)

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).