Rick's Studio

Yes, I've been away at a family wedding, so I'm sending in this review late. Seems like the show has been much discussed in my absence--I was wondering when everyone would get chatty again. I have a question for anyone who might know: there is a girl named Monica McSwain listed in the beginning credits. Which character was she? The flashback pre-Amazon tribe leader? And was Claudia Black the present-day Cyane? Even Whoosh! doesn't seem to know! So, if anyone still needs spoiler space at this late date:

Well, let me begin by addressing a couple of issues brought up in previous discussions. Some people wondered why Xena would want Eve to even be an Amazon, and why Xena does not become an Amazon herself if it's so cool. I think Xena and Gabrielle both know they lead dangerous lives, and the idea was that if anything ever happened to them, Eve would always have an extended family to fall back on in times of trouble. Xena doesn't become an Amazon (and I believe she's been approached by the Amazons to join a couple of times) simply because Xena's her own boss. She doesn't get into following rituals and orders in general unless that's what SHE wants to do in the first place! But that doesn't mean she doesn't appreciate the Amazons as friends and allies, and obviously for what they can do for her child.

I guess the other big issue deals with Amazon High. I did a little internet research on the subject, and I discovered that the original pilot was two hours (I'm assuming that inclues 20 or so minutes of commercials). What we saw here was maybe about a quarter of that. My biggest objection to the use of the old footage is they chopped so much out, not much was left except in a very superficial way (ie, we see what the characters do, but not why they do it). The most interesting aspect is virtually ignored: who's this girl from the future? Sure, the shaman or whoever conjures her out of the future, but who was she? I'm sure there are some scenes of her in our present that explain the character and are now on the cutting room floor (or waiting for distribution as a collectable videotape or DVD--"The Lost Tapert Movie"). She obviously rode horses and could swim, but her personality? How did she fit in with the Amazons after coming from the future? That would've been an interesting thing which again is probably on the cutting room floor. None of the Amazons had much personality. Future Girl was just "Hey, I'm from the future and dress funny". Samsara was the bitchy soldier. Perhaps FG was originally the stripper that Cleo 2525 became, and that was too similar to the new series to leave in. They should've done what they did on Star Trek when they incorporated the lost pilot into "The Menagerie": make it a two part episode! It would've given more time for X&G to do stuff as well as given us a better feeling for the flashbacks. Too bad, since what they showed only wets our appetite for what could have been, and we're left with a rather unfulfilled feeling after the show. XWP excells in creating memorable characters, and I think we just missed meeting a few!

First off, there is a glaring hole in the plot here. X&G were back in Greece last time we saw them, so what are they doing with the "Northern Amazons"? Why not go to Gab's tree-climbing tribe where Ephiny came from since it's closer and Gab's home turf? But I don't think it mattered which tribe was they used, since it was Gabrielle's right of cast to give away. They just needed some Amazons for the official ceremony. Probably it was just because the landscapes and stuff from Amazon High were more similar to those used in the Northern Amazon stories.

OK, what the heck was Yakut doing leading the defense against the Nomad attack? Wasn't she a shamaness, not a warrior? If she'd been home casting spells on the enemy like a good shamaness, she'd still be alive! (And, given the prominent role Yakut has as a spirit here, why is Kate Elliot not mentioned in the opening credits with the other major guests?) Anyway, I hate to see her die since she was so cute, if a bit bland perhaps. Are they going to kill off all the good guys but Joxer before the end of the series?

And they killed off Amarice?! Hey, I liked her! She could kick Cleo's butt around the planet. But I notice we never see her body. They give the bracelet to Gabrielle, but they never say they removed it from her body. She could've lost it on the battlefield or left it home to keep from getting lost. Yes, she could be a captive of the Nomads. Let's hope that loop hole gets taken advantage of later. Are there any good guys but Joxer left anywhere in the Xenaverse? Auto, but what are the odds of him reappearing? Salmoneus, but he's been scarce for a long time now. Hmmm....

More kudos for baby Eve! She once again shows herself to be a natural scene-stealer. Notice in the opening how she holds Xena's breastplate as they walk along. How many people have tried that and been knocked silly? And when X&G learn of Amarice's (possible?) death, Eve is playing with one of Gabrielle's sais and drops it (with the sound guys adding a nice ka-chunk as it hits the ground). The following grin and gurgle are priceless! It was hard to follow the dialogue since I was watching what the baby would do next! And kudos to the crew for keeping with the live baby and not using dolls and such trickery. I know that's difficult to do on a TV set.

The whole bit introducing the Amazon flashbacks was OK, but due to all the Amazon High cuts, most of the story was told in voiceover. That had the unfortunate effect of making the show a bit wordy and hard to follow, I thought. It was a bit easier to follow the plot on second viewing with some familiarity. Interesting how they cut Gabrielle on the shoulder like they did Future Girl. I don't remember her having to bleed when she returned to her original Amazon tribe and took over the Queen's role (and from dialogue near the end, neither did she!). But it looked good in this episode and helped tie the (Xena) present with the past stuff (the music also does a good job of this).

They build it up that Xena's retrieval of the Utma Dagger from the netherworld is going to be really rough, with Xena possibly getting sucked into the netherworld (now that would've been some riveting TV!), but that actually seemed to be quite easy for her. She just grabbed it hard, gritted her teeth, and gave a good yank. Well, maybe she'll get bigger challenges later on!

So now we also have Karl Urban on. I've always liked him as Caesar and Cupid, but here, his dim-witted (but handsome) cannibal act seemed like a waste of talent. Give this man some lines! It was interesting to see him actually fight, however. Cupid's a lover, not a fighter (to paraphrase Ares), and Caesar usually had someone else fight his battles (he did handle a sword well in the underground cave in "A Good Day" though).

So, what are we left with here? Not much for Xena to do but hold a dagger in the air and make ominous faces. Not much for Gabrielle to do but hold Eve or sway around a bit. Not really enough of Amazon High to do much but make us wonder what the original product was like (I have to admit, I was impressed by the fragments we did see). I guess it was good to see some Northern Amazon back history, or the series semi-regulars in new roles, and I'm glad the nice sacrificial horse didn't bite it, but overall, I was left feeling like it didn't add up to much. Overall, I'd grade this episode as slightly below average, but given the constraints of working with the Amazon High footage, they probably did the best they could. From the sneak peak at next week's episode, it looks like our dynamic duo will be staying in Amazon land for a bit longer (an Amazon story arc?), and the story of Joxer committing some Amazon crime sounds interesting.