Back in the nineties, fantasy TV was a little different. The adult-oriented adventures of Game of Thrones and Outlander were a long way off, with the genre dominated by syndicated hour-long adventure shows. The king of this genre was Kevin Sorbo’s Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, but its popularity was soon eclipsed by its spin-off, Xena: Warrior Princess, which starred the great Lucy Lawless in the title role.
This ultra-popular show became a pop culture phenomenon, paving the way for the ass-kicking heroines, while Lawless herself would become a beloved figure. In this episode, we take a look back at the show’s making and pay tribute to Lawless and some of her co-stars, including Renee O’Connor, Ted Raimi, the late Kevin Tod Smith, and more.
What was it about Xena that’s given it the staying power than many of its fellow syndicated shows don’t have? People rarely talk about Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, but Xena has stuck around in the pop culture. Part of this may be due to the fact that Lawless has had an exceptional career in the twenty years since the show ended, having important roles on many other genre TV staples like Battlestar Galactica and Ash vs Evil Dead. Another part of it may be due to it being ahead of its time regarding LGTBQ representation, with fans often debating just how close Xena and Gabrielle (Renee O’Connor) really were.
It also just might be that the show, as goofy as it was, is still a ton of fun, with creative action sequences, tongue-in-cheek performances and more. So join us as we venture back to Ancient Greece and meet the titular warrior princess, who tries to make up for past misdeeds by doing good and fighting the forces of evil on this episode of Gone But Not Forgotten!