XENA MEDIA REVIEW #29 (11/03/97) Borg 5 of 5 ============== CUT HERE ===================== [531] 09-30-96 ORPHAN OF WAR. Episode no. 25 (201). First release. GUEST STARS: David Taylor (Solon). CAST: Mark Ferguson (Dagnine), Paul Gittins (Kaleipus), Alexander Campbell (Meklan), Stephen Papps (See'er), Peter Tait (Daylon), Richard Adams (Warrior). CREDITS: Written by Steven L. Sears. Directed by Charles Siebert TV GUIDE DESCRIPTION. Xena comes to the aid of a community of centaurs menaced by a member of her former band, and upon her arrival is reunited with the young son whom she left in their care nine years earlier. Solon: David Taylor. Dagnine: Mark Ferguson. Kaleipus: Paul Gittins. AIRING AND RATING INFORMATION. 1st RELEASE: 09-30-96. An AA average of 5.3. Competition from Syndicated Action Dramas: (1) STAR TREK: DS9 ranked 8th with 5.8; (2) HERCULES ranked 9th with 5.6; (3) XENA ranked 11th with 5.3; (4) BAYWATCH ranked 15th with 4.2; (5) BABYLON 5 tied with OUTER LIMITS and ranked 19th with 3.6. 2nd RELEASE: 11-25-96. An AA average of 5.3. Competition from Syndicated Action Dramas: (1) STAR TREK: DS9 ranked 10th with 6.0; (2) HERCULES ranked 11th with 5.5; (3) XENA ranked 12th with 5.3; (4) BAYWATCH ranked 17th with 4.3; (5) OUTER LIMITS ranked 20th with 3.9. SYNOPSIS #1: Synopsis #1 is brought to you by guest synopser, Tricia Murphy, the original administrator and original designer of the IAXS Webpage (panthera@ix.netxom.com). The Story: Part 1. This episode opens with Xena and Gabrielle entering the outskirts of a village, a gloomy area adorned with Centaur totems. Xena sees that a battle has already taken place there between the centaurs and Dagnine. This sleazy warlord, who used to serve in her army, has headed for the same village in search of the magical evil-centaur-spirit-holding "Ixion Stone". Before too long, Dagnine's evil goons attack the duo and it is here that we first see just how good Gabby's getting with that staff of hers. The attack thwarted, the two notice the arrival of Kaleipus, leader of the centaurs, who is understandably wary of Xena's arrival. (First, Xena was one bad apple last time he saw her. Second, Xena had promised to never return.) Xena explains that she is not there for anything or 'anybody', but merely wishes to aid them in the fight against Dagnine. "Anybody?" Gabrielle asks her, quizzically. A yell comes from the trees above and we see a young boy jump down, ready to attack. This stout ten-year-old believes Xena to be the murderer of his father 'Borias'. With Borias' sword in hand, he immediately voices his hatred for her. "I want to kill her, Uncle," he says to Kaleipus, then says to Xena, "You have just met your greatest enemy." Kaleipus keeps him in check and Gabby asks Xena, "Do you know him?" Xena gazes at the child, and replies, "He's my son." The group heads for the village. Background: Ten years prior, together with Dagnine and Borias, Xena had led her fierce army against the village. For reasons which are not disclosed in this episode, Borias "the man who betrayed Xena to become the greatest friend of the Centaurs" decided that the centaurs should be spared and took sides with them. Xena, obviously having had some feelings for him, ordered that he merely be captured. Unfortunately, Borias got killed instead. Our Xena, the "always-a-likely-scapegoat-for-those-who-need-to-divert blame-from-themselves" Warrior Princess, got pegged for the murder. But, wait! It seems that Xena and Borias were a bit closer than anyone had imagined. The result- Solon. Knowing that her son would become a likely target for her vindictive enemies, Xena placed the infant in the worthy hands of Kaleipus, leader of the centaurs. Kaleipus, obviously holding the deceased Borias in high regard, agreed to raise the boy as his own. The army having been dispersed and the attack canceled, Xena stumbled away into the forest, leaving her child behind. The Story: Part 2. On a distant hill Dagnine and his wizard buddy spy on the village, all the while trying to read Xena's lips through a medieval telescope. It seems that Dagnine is a bit power hungry and can't wait to get his grubby little hands on that Ixion stone. ("Ixion" was the father of the Centaurs. When he had the choice of making them "wicked" or "noble", he chose "noble". This legendary gem is said to hold the spirit of centaur evilness that was created and not used, promising that anyone who possesses the stone and drinks of it's elixir will BECOME the wicked centaur.) Dagnine knows that the Ixion Cavern where the stone is kept is somewhere nearby and hopes to get Xena out of his way. Down in the village, Gabrielle confronts Xena over her past actions and her decision to leave her son and never tell him who she really is. Xena storms away to discuss with Kaleipus in his hut her wishes for Solon to NOT become a warrior like her, after which she encounters Gabrielle again outside. It seems Gabby still isn't very understanding of Xena's decision to not tell her son who she is. Gabby is told, basically, to "mind her own business". Back up on the hill, via a good lip-reading session, Dagnine then learns of Solon's existence and makes plans to kidnap him. Gabrielle approaches Solon in the forest, wishing to speak with him. The boy is still hesitant as he knows she is Xena's friend. Gabby tells him that Xena is not the same merciless warrior she used to be, that Xena has changed. That she, like Gabby, is his friend. Still wary, Solon proudly brandishes his father's sword, evidently planning to be a great warrior someday, and asks her curiously why she carries a staff instead. Gabby begins to explain why staffs are better than swords when Dagnine's goonies make their next appearance. Gabby does some good thumping on the bad guys, all the while yelling for Solon to "run!". The boy ignores her advice and stands his ground. Next thing we know our beloved sidekick gets THWAPPED on the back of the head and knocked out. Solon, of course, gets hauled off to the enemy camp. Once she regains consciousness, Gabby informs Xena that the boy has been captured. Xena goes after her son, first by sneaking into Dagnine's tent and knocking him for a loop, then by climbing a tree and snagging the cage her son is being kept in with her whip and throwing him the key. Solon grabs for his father's sword which is stuck in the ground nearby. Unfortunately, they get spotted and the cage drops before the boy can get out. The ground collapses and the cage falls through. Xena jumps down and catches the hand of her son, who miraculously did manage to unlock the door. She wraps the whip again around the tree and begins to pull them up. As the archers are ready to skewer them both, Xena looks at Solon and says "Do you trust me?". Solon nervously nods "Yes". Xena lets go of the whip and they fall into the cavern below. By an uncanny stroke of luck the cavern they fall into just happens to be the Ixion Cavern. They approach the shrine of the stone only to discover that it is empty! Apparently, Borias had taken it long ago and hidden it for protection. Solon sees that the handprints of his father are still distinguishable in the dust and places his hand on them in wonder. In need of a quick escape before the bad guys get there, Xena breaks off a nearby root hanging from the wall and blows into it, creating a horn-like sound. Uptop, Gabby and the centaurs hear the call and come running. Dagnine also soon arrives with his gang in tow. Eventually, Xena and Solon scamper up the rope their rescuers have lowered for them before they can be pulverized by the baddies. And just when we thought that all was well, Solon drops the sword of Borias and it falls back down the hole.... where a good-sized emerald dislodges from it's handle. Lo and behold, it is the Ixion Stone! Dagnine grabs it and holds it triumphantly. Conclusion: "I'll kill Xena! I'll kill Hercules! I'll take Athens!" Dagnine says, "I've got so much to do, I'll have to make a list!" He gets his sorcerer buddy to whip him up an Ixion cocktail, dry iced, and viola!... he transforms into one UGLY centaur. Back at the village, Xena and the gang are preparing for the new Industrial Strength Dagnine. They set up a giant crossbow on a launcher and make their plans. Before too long the evil centaur himself makes his ominous appearance, Borias' sword in hand, while his bad guys attack from behind. (Here we see Gabby again do some excellent staff wielding and a nifty little flip.) After doing in some good guys, Ixion-Dagnine grabs Kaleipus by the throat, which earns him a nice swift acupuncture thwack with her fingers below the pony tail by our Warrior Princess. After a little chit-chat with her, he manages to grab Xena by the throat as he explains that it was HE who really killed the revered Borias. Xena does a quick move and escapes his grasp, sending her sword flying to cut the rope on the launcher. The giant arrow hits its mark and Dagnine falls to the ground. The crowd begins to chant "Xena, Xena, Xena...". Final Moments. In a touching scene by a lake, Xena sits next to her son as he gazes out to the water. She struggles with telling him who she really is, yet decides against it. "We'll always be friends," she tells him, "don't you ever forget that." Solon tosses the sword out into the water and announces that he no longer wishes to be a warrior. Xena tells him that his mother would have been proud. In the end, Xena walks away, fighting back the tears as she once again must leave him behind. (Just as a side historical note; the real "SOLON" was an Athenian lawgiver and poet, one of the Seven Sages. Elected "archon" (government leader) of Athens in 594 BC, he repealed the repressive laws of DRACO and freed those enslaved for debt. Source: The New American Desk Encyclopedia: 1989 Edition.) SYNOPSIS #2: Synopsis #2 is brought to you by guest synopser, Bluesong@aol.com. Xena and Gabrielle are in an area of centaurs, an area that Xena's army once conquered. However, she negotiated a settlement with the centaurs, telling Gabrielle that she told the centaurs she'd never come back to that area. But now an evil warlord named Dagnine was after the Ixion stone, a stone which holds all of the wickedness of the centaurs in it. Apparently long ago someone was given a choice with the centaurs -- they could chose wicked strength or nobility; the choice was nobility, and the rest was placed in this stone. Xena and Gabrielle are jumped by Dagnine's henchmen, but they beat them, but not before the centaurs show up also. Xena throws down her weapons and tells the one-eyed centaur that she's not there for anything ... or anybody, only to stop the evil Dagnine. A small boy named Solon jumps from a tree and attacks Xena, saying she killed his father, and he is her greatest enemy. One-eye looks at Xena and nods as the boy runs off. Xena says "he's my son." Gabrielle of course is a bit shocked but there is no further explanation. However, apparently a man named Borias was Xena's lover and Xena bore his child about 9 years ago; he turned "good" before Xena did, though, and he died keeping her army away from this evil Ixion stone. (It's never clear if this is a man or a centaur.) They all go to the centaurs village and Xena watches Solon; Gabrielle thinks Xena should tell the boy she's his mother, Xena gets mad at Gabrielle and pushes her away (physically). Xena has a "flashback" -- she gave the boy to the one-eyed centaur to raise in an effort to make a deal and to keep the child safe. Back to the present. Someone spies on them with a crude telescope; Xena even senses this (she is so GOOD!). This person finally does enough lip-reading to understand that Solon is Xena's son, hidden all this time to keep her enemies from getting him. So the evil Dagnine decides to take the boy. Xena talks to the boy at his "parents" grave -- he's been told both his mother and father are dead. Later, Solon and Gabrielle are attacked by about 6 men; Gabrielle valiantly fights them off but gets clubbed in the head anyway, and Solon is taken. The evil Dagnine puts Solon in a cage. Gabrielle finds Xena and Xena goes to get Solon. Xena talks to Dagnine, who was one of her soldiers, once, and then punches him out. She tries to get Solon, but ultimately they end up falling through thin ground into a cavern. Solon breaks his arm. Xena sets it. They get out of the cave but Dagnine has the Ixion stone. Back at the village, Xena and Gabrielle have a tender friendship-defining moment where Gabrielle feels she failed Xena by arguing with her when Xena is obviously in emotional turmoil over Solon. She wants to be there for Xena. "Always. Always." Xena says. Dagnine eats the stone and he turns into this hulking evil centaur. Xena sets a trap for him; he comes to the centaur village to get her. His henchman come in the village the backway; Gabrielle fights them off, and while Xena's fighting Dagnine, she sees Gabrielle in trouble & saves her with a toss of the chakram. Then finally Dagnine is killed, but before he dies he admits that he's the one who killed Solon's father (and Xena's lover). Xena later finds Solon by a lake; they talk briefly. Solon throws his sword in the water and says he doesn't want to be a warrior; Xena says his mother would be very proud. She walks away. The end. COMMENTARY: The commentary is brought to you by guest commentator, Tricia Murphy, the original administrator and original designer of the IAXS Webpage (panthera@ix.netcom.com). The characters of Dagnine and his goons were just so darn funny, in a twisted kind of way. The kind of guys who make bad boys fun to watch. This episode seemed a bit more violent than most. However, in true XWP tradition, swords were never bloody after having been used. And the chakram, which ended up buried in some unfortunate bad guy's chest, wasn't either. My conclusions. First, this was an unnerving display of understandable emotional weakness and turmoil for Xena, yet it showed us the down-to-earth side of her. Like the soft, penetrable part of a mighty dragon's armor that every knight aims for, this tough-skinned warrior has a woundable heart. And that is what makes her, for us, human. Second, Gabrielle gets quite harsh with Xena as they argue over how a mother could ever give up a child. In return, Xena treats her as if she will never understand, how could she... or anyone else who had never been faced with that decision? In an instant, this seemed to place their friendship on some pretty shaky ground. Though, later on Gabby apologizes for her questioning Xena's actions, she states that she isn't saying she agrees with her decision, but will always be there for her. While this difference of opinion could set them up for a real emotional falling apart in the future, it's hard to say if the producers will ever follow through with this branch of the plotline. (Though I could just be making a mountain out of a molehill, I would still like to see this resolved at some point.) Third, though Gabby got knocked out in one scene, I saw a real improvement in her fighting skills. Renee O' Connor has definitely been practicing! Things to watch for: (1) Keep an eye on Xena's costume. To us, it seemed the design had changed a bit from last season; (2) The scene with Xena riding on Kaleipus' back was well done, though they ran by in somewhat of a blur. I plan on watching this episode again on tape, as I swear there is one scene where a horse is standing with it's head down and the man is standing at just the right camera angle to look like a centaur. Hmm... HIGHLIGHTS: The highlights are brought to you by guest highlighter, Tricia Murphy, the original administrator and original designer of the IAXS Webpage (panthera@ix.netcom.com). This episode is a "must-see" and gets a definite "grab-the-tissue-and-get-ready" rating. For those who have children, or are just the caring sort, the scenes between Xena and Solon as she struggles with keeping her relation to him a secret are emotionally torturous. Perhaps in the future he'll learn of his true identity. I have little doubt that we haven't seen the last of Xena's Solon. Especially if any of Dagnine's goonies survived to get the word out of his location. The centaurs themselves are one of my favorite entities in the series. I can't get enough of them! What must it be like to say your lines with a straight face, all the while stepping side-to-side like a horse while you speak? And who the heck is doing all that whinnying, neighing, and other horse noise in the background? I love it! I also enjoyed the little scene with the young centaur engaging in some horse-play with Solon and the other children as they kicked around a ball. One line from this episode that I found memorable was during that short scene; "Hey! No high-hoofing!" DISCLAIMER: No sleezy warlords who deem it necessary to drink elixirs that turn them into scary creatures were harmed during the production of this motion picture. [KT] [532] 09-30-96 ELECTRONIC MEDIA. Page 3. 707 words. "'Rosie' Rules as Summer First-run" COMMENTARY: According to Nielsen Media Research's Cassandra Ranking Report for July 1996, the action line-up ranked as follows: ST:DS9 (4.0/5, No. 16); HTLJ (3.9/6, tie for No. 17); XWP (3.8/6, No. 20); and Baywatch (3.4/6, tie for No. 27). The July book is generally considered the least relevant of the year because of (1) reruns, (2) lower television viewership and, at least this summer, (3) the unusual competition of the Olympic Games. [KT] EXCERPT: ''The Rosie O'Donnell Show'' was the summer savior in the world of syndication, which had struggled all season to produce a new first-run hit. According to Nielsen Media Research's Cassandra Ranking Report for July 1996, the Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution talker hosted by Rosie O'Donnell averaged a 4.9 rating (percentage of TV homes) and 16 share (percentage of sets in use) in households, good enough for 11th place among all syndicated fare. That landed it far ahead of the season's other freshman first-run series, including the previous top-ranked new show, ''Xena: Warrior Princess,'' which managed a 3.8/6 and landed in a tie for the No. 20 spot... In daytime, where a majority of ''Rosie O'Donnell's'' markets are cleared, ''Rosie'' came in first with women 18-49, women 25-54, men 25-54 and second place with men 18-49. Overall in households, however, ''Regis and Kathy Lee'' still beat ''Rosie'' by a tenth of a ratings point. The July book is generally considered the least relevant of the year-because of reruns, lower television viewership and, at least this summer, the unusual competition of the Olympic Games. This sweeps period, for example, offered no real surprises. Following the pretty consistent trend of recent times, the one-two-three punch of King World's ''Wheel of Fortune'' (11.7/21), ''Jeopardy'' (9.4/20) and ''Oprah Winfrey Show'' (8.0/21) led the pack in July. Those numbers were off from May sweeps when ''Wheel of Fortune'' pulled a 13.5/25, ''Jeopardy'' handled a 11/23, and ''Oprah'' did a 9/24. Besides ''Rosie O'Donnell'' and ''Xena,'' new first-run performers from the 1995-96 season had more trouble attracting viewers. Eyemark Entertainment's ''Day and Date,'' which has moved to a single-host format, pulled a 2.5/8, placing it within a tie at No. 50. Behind that was All American Television's ''Baywatch Nights,'' which has been retooled for its second season this fall, with a 2.4/4 (tie for No. 57). In the talk show category, lining up behind ''Oprah'' were Buena Vista's ''Live With Regis and Kathie Lee,'' which scored a 5.0/19 (No. 10), ''Rosie O'Donnell,'' Multimedia's ''Sally Jessy Raphael'' (4.2/13, No. 13) and Paramount Domestic Television's ''Montel Williams'' (4.1/12, tie for No. 14). Off-network sitcoms continued to have a successful run at the Cassandras, with Buena Vista Television's ''Home Improvement,'' at 6.6/13 and No. 5, once again besting Columbia TriStar Television Distribution's ''Seinfeld,'' (5.8/12, tie for No. 6). Twentieth Television's ''The Simpsons,'' meantime, rated a 4.6/9 (No. 12), and WBDTD's ''Fresh Prince of Bel Air'' wrapped up a 3.9/8 (tie for No. 17). In the magazine race, Paramount's ''Entertainment Tonight'' took the crown with a 5.8/11 (tie for No. 6), followed by King World's ''Inside Edition'' (5.3/12, No. 9), King World's ''American Journal'' (3.9/11, tie for No. 17), WBDTD's ''Extra'' (3.8/10, tie for No. 20) and Paramount's ''Hard Copy'' (3.7/9, tie for No. 23). Paramount's ''Star Trek: Deep Space Nine,'' which launches its weekday strip this fall, was once again the top-rated first-run action strip, with a 4.0/5 (No. 16), followed by MCA's ''Hercules: The Legendary Journeys'' (3.9/6, tie for No. 17), ''Xena,'' and All American's ''Baywatch'' (3.4/6, tie for No. 27). ============= THE BACK PAGE ============= LETTERS: --------------------- XWP Ratings in the UK --------------------- Date: Sat, 27 Sep 97 From: Catherine O'Grady (Cathyogrady@classic.msn.com) I have been receiving the XMR via e-mail for a while and thought you might be interested in the viewing figures of XWP here in the UK from when the show launched on terrestrial tv in July 97. Series one and two had been on satellite tv, and had done reasonably well, but the big intereset was how it would do on the newest terrestrial tv channel. Channel 5 was only launched in March 97, and while HERCULES had appeared straight away, us UK Xenites had to wait. However, July 12th saw XENA launched with a blaze of publicity, and it has consistently been in the top ten ever since. The figures and positions: Sins of the Past 1.06million viewers number 1 Chariots of War 0.81million number 8 Dreamworker 0.77million number 9 Path Not Taken unavailable The Reckoning 0.89million number 3 Cradle of Hope 0.89million number 2 The Titans 0.84million number 4 Prometheus 1.25million number 1 Death in Chains 0.84million number 10 The Black Wolf 1.01million number 7 Hooves and Harlots 0.87million number 8 Channel 5 has switched the order a few time as you can see. It has to be said that Channel 5's viewing figures are a fraction of those of the other main channels. Just to give an idea, BBC1s top programme has about 16million, BBC2s, about 5 million, ITVs about 16 million, Channel 4s about 4 million viewers. However, XENA is certainly growing in popularity. Also, just to mention that there is an active group of internet fans here in the UK, and I have a UK web page at http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Academy/1966 Cathy O'Grady Coventry, UK ----- XENA MEDIA REVIEW STAFF: Living to serve Xena fandom since March 1996! Kym Masera Taborn (KT), editor-in-chief ktaborn@lightspeed.net Diane Silver (DS), editor (even issues) dswriter@idir.net Maria Erb (MBE), editor (odd issues) maria@erb.mv.com Barbara Johnson, circulation xenatwo@aol.com Lydia M. Woods (LM), assist. to the editor-in-chief woodsl@erol.com Lucia Correa, TWXN circulation (mailing lists) Tim Smith, TWXN circulation (news groups) Angela Atkins, TWXN circulation (forums) Thomas Simpson, mascot thomas@xenafan.com BACK ISSUES: Back issues of XMR are available at the XMR Archive on the XMR web page: http://xenafan.com/xmr THIS WEEK IN XENA NEWS: TWXN is the advance sheet for XMR. Since XMR offers indepth analysis of media coverage, the issues are distanced in order to gain perspective and insight into how the media report affected the future or was affected by its peers. TWXN is a commentary-lite review of excerpts to be used in future XMRs as they are processed for the XMR database. TWXN is not available for subscription, however it is posted regularly on the XenaVerse, Hercules-Xena, and Chakram Mailing Lists (thank you Lucia!), the MCA NetForum (when they are accepting posts!), the Xenite Message Center (whenever I can find them!), and alt.tv.xena. REPRINT POLICY: Permission to use, copy and distribute Xena Media Review (XMR), or parts thereof, by electronic means for any non-profit purpose is hereby granted, provided that both the below copyright notice and this permission notice appear in all copies of the newsletter itself, and that proper credit is given for any excerpts. Any other format or purpose for distribution requires permission of the author. Reproducing XMR or parts thereof by any means implies full agreement to the below non-profit use clause. SOLICITATIONS FOR FUTURE NEWSLETTERS: Send cites, references, articles, annotations, and/or submissions to ktaborn@lightspeed.net and I will love you for it. XMR is a non-profit fan publication. The editors retain editorial control and reprint privileges over the submitted materials and reserve the right to use the material in whatever way they deem appropriate. Submitted materials will not be returned to the sender. DISCLAIMER: XMR (Xena Media Review) is a free non- profit informational release. XMR in no way intends to challenge, disregard or profit from any of the original copyright holders of the material excerpted, reprinted, or referred to (including but not limited to MCA, Universal, Renaissance Pictures, and any other rightful and legal copyright holder). This newsletter is an academic and educational pursuit to archive, annotate, and study the media response to Xena: Warrior Princess (a television production from MCA/Universal/ Renaissance) and the actresses Lucy Lawless and Renee O'Connor, especially in the light of popular culture and the influence of mass media. XMR exercises its right to quote, excerpt or reprint as allowed under the law in order to review and discuss the media reports cited and annotated herein. XMR is distributed free of charge via electronic media. Banner graphic by Colleen Stephan. This is A Labor of Love Publication. Copyright 1996, 1997 by Kym Masera Taborn. ============== CUT HERE ===================== XENA MEDIA REVIEW #29 (11/03/97) Borg 5 of 5