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Subject: chakram-refugees-digest V1 #80
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chakram-refugees-digest  Wednesday, December 26 2001  Volume 01 : Number 080



                               Today's Subjects:
                               -----------------
  Re: [chakram-refugees] <<Death Mask and Is There A Doctor In The House?>>  [NZJester <nzjester@ihug.co.n]
  Re: [chakram-refugees] <<Death Mask and Is There A Doctor In The House?>>  [Xwpacolyte@aol.c]
  Re: [chakram-refugees] <<Death Mask and Is There A Doctor In The House?>>  [IfeRae@aol.c]

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Tue, 25 Dec 2001 23:44:18 +1300
From: NZJester <nzjester@ihug.co.nz>
Subject: Re: [chakram-refugees] <<Death Mask and Is There A Doctor In The House?>>

At 05:25 PM 24/12/2001 -0500, you wrote:
>M
>E
>R
>R
>Y
>
>X
>M
>A
>S
>Is There A Doctor ... is my favorite Xena episode.  Good plot, great
casting,
>and excellent acting .   The actor who plays Gen Mirmax is very good as a
>warrior made brutal by war but still retains his humanity.

The thing about Ray Wolf who play General Mirmax is that he is most famous
in New Zealand as a Singer rather than an actor
His face has been on New Zealand Television Screens since the 60's
Ray's daughter Katy Wolf is the most well known actor in his family in NZ
She pops up a lot on NZ Screens in lots of NZ shows and the odd Aussie one
I remember seeing her in a Xena ep as well, but can't think which one

Catch ya later
               Jester
My Home Page http://homepages.ihug.co.nz/~nzjester/index.html
New Xenaland http://www.angelfire.com/tv2/newxenaland/
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Date: Tue, 25 Dec 2001 13:47:51 EST
From: Xwpacolyte@aol.com
Subject: Re: [chakram-refugees] <<Death Mask and Is There A Doctor In The House?>>

In a message dated 12/24/01 11:20:41 PM Central Standard Time, "Cheryl Ande" 
<cande@sunlink.net> writes:

<< This episode is also I believe a very important canon episode because of
 Xena's reaction to Gabrielle's death.  If you contrast Xena's reaction to
 Gabrielle's reaction to Xena's death in The Greater Good we see Xena and
 Gabrielle exhibiting two very basic personality traits that will be developed
 more and more as the series goes on.  When Xena died in TGG Gabrielle grieves
 but carries on.  We this again in The Quest and finally in FIN.  Gabrielle
 changes what she can in life but basically she  copes with life.  She fights
 to change what she can but when she finds that she can't change it she 
accepts
 it.  When she discovers she is pregnant she accepts the child, when she
 discovers her daughter is evil she accepts the necessity to destroy that 
evil,
 etc.  Xena on the other hand is always trying to bend life to her will.
 Gabrielle dies Xena pulls her back from death, Gabrielle falls into the lava
 pit Xena chases after her through two afterlives,  Xena defies gods and
 visions - she is determined to change fate and destiny.  Xena never learns to
 cope with life - she wants to always beat it into submission.  In the very 
end
 this is what kills her - when Xena and Gabrielle learn about Haguchi -
 Gabrielle says it was an accident we will live with it - Xena says I will fix
 it even it kills me. Xena is always in a daily battle with life, Gabrielle is
 always trying to find a peaceful way to live life.  Xena is chaos and
 Gabrielle is rationality. Together they always balanced each other when
 circumstances parts them Xena is fiery emotion ( Sin Trade, Bitter Sweet) and
 Gabrielle becomes overly analytical trying to find answers for things that
 have no easy answers( the Debt, Forget Me Not).  It was always fascinating to
 watch these two characters interact - so different but so perfect together.  
>>

Excellent analysis, Cheryl!  You've hit on one of the most basic factors, 
imo, that make the 2 characters so different yet so complementary.  The 
handling and development of this personality difference was one of the few 
areas where the writers seemed to be fairly consistent throughout the series. 
 What made it even more appealing to me was the fact that this personality 
difference was never overtly discussed or highlighted in any heavy-handed 
sort of way.  It just existed there in the background.  It could be, and 
probably was, perceived by many in an emotional rather than a cognitive 
sense.  I think the treatment appealed highly to one of my core requirements 
of good fiction--don't TELL ME (and certainly don't beat me over the head 
with something), but rather SHOW ME the effects and let me connect the dots 
myself.

I wish you all a very safe and happy Holiday Season.

XWPacolyte
Cupid and Psyche...  Antony and Cleopatra...  Xena and Gabrielle.
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------------------------------

Date: Tue, 25 Dec 2001 21:52:53 EST
From: IfeRae@aol.com
Subject: Re: [chakram-refugees] <<Death Mask and Is There A Doctor In The House?>>

In a message dated 12/24/2001 4:16:40 PM Central Standard Time, 
cande@sunlink.net writes:

S
P
O
I
L
E
R

SPACE FOR "A FRIEND IN NEED"

>  Xena never learns to
>  cope with life - she wants to always beat it into submission.  In the very 
> end
>  this is what kills her - when Xena and Gabrielle learn about Haguchi -
>  Gabrielle says it was an accident we will live with it - Xena says I will 
> fix
>  it even it kills me. Xena is always in a daily battle with life, Gabrielle 
> is
>  always trying to find a peaceful way to live life.  Xena is chaos and
>  Gabrielle is rationality.

Hmmm.  I've always seen Xena as wrestling with life, tho I can't argue with 
your "beating it into submission" take.  I saw Gabrielle as more the referee 
who'd rather the wrestlers "be nice" using words rather than knocking each 
other around.  I saw Xena as more the "rational" one, accepting chaos as a 
natural part of life, very clear about how not to let it sweep her away.  
Gabrielle tried to impose meaning on that chaos, sometimes refusing to accept 
it as inevitable, sometimes allowing herself to succumb, whether because of 
resignation that it was better to do so or faith that doing so what result in 
something better.  However, I would argue that she, too, was willing to die 
(e.g., Sacrifice) or kill (e.g., Ides), either way.  Indeed, I believe she 
would have gladly become a ghost with Xena, had Xena allowed that.

You put a different spin on all that, suggesting that Gabrielle's 
"rationality" lay precisely in her greater flexibility, her ability to 
respond to chaos in a variety of ways.  Yes, she was perhaps more 
multi-dimensional in that regard (particularly in her trust of others), as 
opposed to Xena's (generally) steel-like focus on self-responsibility and 
control.  Interesting view of "rationality."  Still not sure if I understand 
how you're seeing Xena as "chaos" in that sense.  Can you say a little more 
about that?

- -- Ife
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End of chakram-refugees-digest V1 #80
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