From: owner-chakram-refugees-digest@smoe.org (chakram-refugees-digest) To: chakram-refugees-digest@smoe.org Subject: chakram-refugees-digest V2 #112 Reply-To: chakram-refugees@smoe.org Sender: owner-chakram-refugees-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-chakram-refugees-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk chakram-refugees-digest Monday, April 29 2002 Volume 02 : Number 112 Today's Subjects: ----------------- [chakram-refugees] [ot] Spider-Man [KLOSSNER9@aol.com] [chakram-refugees] [ot] 100 greatest TV characters -UK viewers [KLOSSNER9] [chakram-refugees] <> ["Cheryl Ande" > [Sekhmet209@aol.com] Re: [chakram-refugees] Gabrielle irritating [Mirrordrum > [Xwpacolyte@aol.com] [chakram-refugees] Re: <> [Xwpacolyte@aol.com] [chakram-refugees] OS: Hurst on Andromeda, Omundson on Early Edition ["Ja] [chakram-refugees] Con 2002 Day 3 Part 4 [KTL ] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sun, 28 Apr 2002 19:18:50 EDT From: KLOSSNER9@aol.com Subject: [chakram-refugees] [ot] Spider-Man The Internet Movie Database page on Spider-Man shows Ted Raimi and Bruce Campbell, but not Lucy Lawless. The Variety review of Spider-Man (April 22, 2002) has shorter credits and doesn't list any of them. None of them are mentioned in the review. The reviewer says that the film will merely "satisfy its core teen constituency and not displease general viewers looking for some disposable entertainment" and that there are major problems with the special effects. Since the early buzz on the new Star Wars installment is quite positive, Sam Raimi may get his butt kicked by George Lucas this year, among both critics and audiences. Boeotian ========================================================= This has been a message to the chakram-refugees list. To unsubscribe, send a message to majordomo@smoe.org with "unsubscribe chakram-refugees" in the message body. Contact meth@smoe.org with any questions or problems. ========================================================= ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 28 Apr 2002 19:33:30 EDT From: KLOSSNER9@aol.com Subject: [chakram-refugees] [ot] 100 greatest TV characters -UK viewers Internet Movie Database lists a 2001 TV special, 100 Greatest TV Characters, from British TV. A note says the favorite characters were "voted for by the British public." No one from Xena or Hercules made the cut. I have not heard of several of the actors and characters listed. They were in UK TV shows not seen in the U.S. Those I know of are -- Rowan Atkinson -- Edmund Blackadder Tom Baker, Peter Davidson, William Hartnell, Sylvester McCoy, Jon Pertwee -- The Doctor no. 4, 5, 1, 7, 3 in Doctor Who Wilfrid Brambell -- Albert Steptoe (Steptoe and Son, model for Sanford and Son) John Cleese -- Basil Fawly (Fawlty Towers) Robbie Coltrane -- Fitz Peter Falk - Columbo Calista Flockhart -- Ally McBeal Sarah Michelle Geller -- Buffy John Hurt -- Quentin Crisp Gordon Jackson -- Mr. Hudson, in Upstairs, Downstairs Derek Jacobi -- Claudius, in I, Claudius Joanna Lumley -- Patsy in Absolutely Fabulous Patrick McGoohan -- The Prisoner Hele Mirren -- Jane Tennison (Prime Suspect) Roger Moore -- The Saint Leonard Nimoy -- Mr. Spock Ian Richarsoan -- Francis Urquhart Diana Rigg -- Emma Peel (The Avengers) Telly Savalas -- Kojak John Thaw -- Inspector Morse Henry Winkler -- Fonz There is no indication on IMDB of the ranking of the charcters. They are giving in alphabetic order by the actor's name. Besides Lucy Lawless, Renee O'Connor and Hundson Leick, the people I am most disappointed at not seeing are Jeremy Brett as Sherlock Holmes and Leo McKern as Rumpole of the Bailey. Boeotian ========================================================= This has been a message to the chakram-refugees list. To unsubscribe, send a message to majordomo@smoe.org with "unsubscribe chakram-refugees" in the message body. Contact meth@smoe.org with any questions or problems. ========================================================= ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 28 Apr 2002 20:00:14 -0400 From: "Cheryl Ande" Subject: [chakram-refugees] <> # # # ## # # # # King of Assassins isn't awful but it ain't good either. The good parts are: Xena discovering Joxer with Fingers bitten by a chicken, Gabrielle conking herself on the head with the flying wooden bowl and trying to put the pinch on the guard (no wonder she was upset when she learned Xena had taught Akemi the pinch), Gina Torres, and Cleopatra's invite to Xena to come up see her sometime. What's bad: Ted Raimi's Jett, the fact that this became an Autolycus episode ( I watch Xena to see Xena or Xena and Gabrielle, or Gabrielle if Xena's not around but not guest stars - though I have to assume this was done to give ROC a bit of a break), and finally Gabrielle becoming incredibly incompetent. Maybe Gabrielle's adventures in Britannia and Chin so traumatized her that she went in some of fugue state but she certainly wasn't herself. This is the girl who saved her village in The Prodigal and saved Joxer in For Whom The Bell Tolls but suddenly is now outwitted by Joxer! This of course began a trend in the comedies where Gabrielle suddenly without rhyme or reason became dumber than Joxer (she would immediately smarten up for the dramas). I also hated the fact we now have Gabrielle whacking Joxer around like Moe on Henbane - - I suppose this suppose to be funny but I just though it made Gabrielle look like a bitch. Anyway next week is Warrior...Priestess...Tramp and The Quill is Mightier much better comedies and couple of my favorites. I finally saw FIN with the commentary. That was the first time I ever saw anything like that. Everyone seemed very honest about what they thought worked and didn't work especially RT. One the interesting things that came up was that all the guest stars got hurt - Akemi dislocated her elbow, Hedoishi broke his ankle, and the Samurai general broke his ribs. Rob was funny about dangling a pregnant ROC off a cliff and then realizing latter he could have done the whole scene in the studio. Anyway that's it for this week. CherylA ========================================================= This has been a message to the chakram-refugees list. To unsubscribe, send a message to majordomo@smoe.org with "unsubscribe chakram-refugees" in the message body. Contact meth@smoe.org with any questions or problems. ========================================================= ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 28 Apr 2002 21:55:34 -0400 From: "Lee Daley" Subject: RE: [chakram-refugees] Gabrielle irritating Maybe the eagle was "trying to ammend it's carniverous habit" Sorry about the OT Buffett comment Leed; Warrior Jester > -----Original Message----- On Behalf Of Mirrordrum > > md--who's always wondered what an eagle was doing with seeds in > it's dung anyway ========================================================= This has been a message to the chakram-refugees list. To unsubscribe, send a message to majordomo@smoe.org with "unsubscribe chakram-refugees" in the message body. Contact meth@smoe.org with any questions or problems. ========================================================= ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 28 Apr 2002 22:19:27 EDT From: Sekhmet209@aol.com Subject: Re: [chakram-refugees] Gabrielle irritating In a message dated 4/28/02 4:37:30 PM, jbuckner@utk.edu writes: >md--who's always wondered what an eagle was doing with seeds in it's dung >anyway They'd been et by whoever the eagle ate. ;-) - --Sekhmet the Wise (::cough::) ========================================================= This has been a message to the chakram-refugees list. To unsubscribe, send a message to majordomo@smoe.org with "unsubscribe chakram-refugees" in the message body. Contact meth@smoe.org with any questions or problems. ========================================================= ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 28 Apr 2002 22:29:50 EDT From: Sekhmet209@aol.com Subject: Re: [chakram-refugees] Re: <> In a message dated 4/28/02 4:30:23 PM, jbuckner@utk.edu writes: >Sekhmet wrote: [snip] >> but Gabrielle whined >>about "not getting enough credit" all the time. ;-) > >oh but xena always *did* knuckle under to that one so beautifully. and >she's so irredeemable about it. they're very like many couples i know. i >loved it that xena made gabrielle the fairy godsister of dishes *totally* >without thinking about it. and of course got ragged at. very familiar. >very familiar indeed. Yup. :) >>To which my response was always "look, honey, YOU wrote the damned scrolls; >>if you wanted more credit you could have done something about it" > >that's not the point. and you're hopeless anyway. you probably wouldn't >say >a positive thing about gabrielle even if xena asked you to. nerts. ;-> Hey! Yes I would, if Xena asked! (but it would hurt...). [snip] >i kind of >liked the "i'm sorry i never read your scrolls" line from but i >think a better reply would have been "it's just as well, you'd have hated >them" (said with a brave yet wry smile). That would have been _much_ better. >xena would, too--have hated them, >i mean. i love gabrielle, but i certainly hate her writing. that was always >a burr under my saddlecloth. Yeah-- offhand I can't think of a quoted sample that _wasn't_ painful. - --Sekhmet ========================================================= This has been a message to the chakram-refugees list. To unsubscribe, send a message to majordomo@smoe.org with "unsubscribe chakram-refugees" in the message body. Contact meth@smoe.org with any questions or problems. ========================================================= ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 28 Apr 2002 22:37:04 -0400 From: Mirrordrum Subject: Re: [chakram-refugees] Gabrielle irritating At 10:19 PM 4/28/2002 -0400, Sekhmet209@aol.com wrote: >In a message dated 4/28/02 4:37:30 PM, jbuckner@utk.edu writes: > > >md--who's always wondered what an eagle was doing with seeds in it's dung > >anyway > >They'd been et by whoever the eagle ate. ;-) well, yeah, now that you mention it, i expect fish do eat a lot of seeds--great grazers, those salmon. you're such a twerp. >--Sekhmet the Wise (::cough::) wiseacre. md--who actually does realize the eagles in and around the mediterranean aren't necessarily fish-eaters. ;-p ========================================================= This has been a message to the chakram-refugees list. To unsubscribe, send a message to majordomo@smoe.org with "unsubscribe chakram-refugees" in the message body. Contact meth@smoe.org with any questions or problems. ========================================================= ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 28 Apr 2002 22:47:43 EDT From: Xwpacolyte@aol.com Subject: [chakram-refugees] Re: <> On Thu, 25 Apr 2002 20:09:00 +1200 cr wrote: >> OK - while she was chucking fireballs, I agree, she was focussed but 'without atachment' (gotta be a better phrase for that!). When Ming somehow survived, I think she was prepared to let him live. But then Ming quite clearly demonstrated that he was quite uncowed by his defeat and - IMO - that he was likely to get up to his old tricks again the first chance he got. So she decided - and here I think she was thinking of the Greater Good of his subjects/victims - to kill him as originally planned. I don't think, though, that Xena would have needed the same mental coolness or focus to stick that brooch in his head - that's the sort of thing the Warrior Princess could do without even needing to concentrate - it would have required no more skill than 'putting the pinch' on someone. IMO. Thelonius >> I haven't watched <> in quite a while. Do we actually know, or at least have a strong clue, whether Xena was acting with detachment (for the Greater Good) when she killed Ming Tien or whether his bragging got to her and she acted out of anger? XWPacolyte Cupid and Psyche... Antony and Cleopatra... Xena and Gabrielle. ========================================================= This has been a message to the chakram-refugees list. To unsubscribe, send a message to majordomo@smoe.org with "unsubscribe chakram-refugees" in the message body. Contact meth@smoe.org with any questions or problems. ========================================================= ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 28 Apr 2002 22:50:44 EDT From: Xwpacolyte@aol.com Subject: [chakram-refugees] Re: <> On Sat, 27 Apr 2002 23:55:27 -0400 Mirrordrum wrote: >> At 12:54 PM 4/27/2002 +1200, cr wrote: >my main reservation is still, that I just can't see Xena the >Warrior Princess putting up with Season 1 Gabby for even half a minute. >In the Herc trilogy she was not the sort of person to put up with >lightweight characters. She barely tolerated Salmoneus. > >What this means, I guess, is that they didn't build up the reasons Xena >tolerated Gabby strongly enough. you know how much i love discussing things with you and how i hate agreeing, but i have to confess that i do actually agree with you on that point. it's taken me until now to do so largely, i expect, because i always liked gabrielle and i was *so* smitten with the image of xena heaving her up behind her on argo the first time. that was the very first xena image i ever saw. *sigh* << *Sigh* indeed! But just before Xena heaved Gabrielle up behind her on Argo for the first time, I believe Gabby said something like "Hey, I just saved your life here!" which was exactly the case. That was plenty reason enough for me to believe that Xena would "put up with" a naive and inept Gabby. But then maybe I'm just easy. XWPacolyte Cupid and Psyche... Antony and Cleopatra... Xena and Gabrielle. ========================================================= This has been a message to the chakram-refugees list. To unsubscribe, send a message to majordomo@smoe.org with "unsubscribe chakram-refugees" in the message body. Contact meth@smoe.org with any questions or problems. ========================================================= ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 28 Apr 2002 16:57:57 -1000 (HST) From: "Jackie M. Young" Subject: [chakram-refugees] OS: Hurst on Andromeda, Omundson on Early Edition I was watching KSorbo's Andromeda this past Sat., and much to my surprise, on popped a preview for next week, showing Michael Hurst (Iolaus) as a guest star on his former Herc buddy's show, so check it out next Sat. at 11pm/12am on KITV (Honolulu schedule)?? Also, I was watching a rerun of Early Edition on CBS/KGMB (local affiliate) this past Sat., and I nearly *spit up* when I saw Tim Omundson (Eli) playing a jealous stage director who exposes a fellow stage director as a fraud. He actually had quite a *meaty* part, acting the "stereotypical" narcissistic, self-righteous meglomaniac (I guess not far off from the "Eli" character....;P ). ;) Just FYI, - --Jackie ****************************************************** * Proud to have the same birthday as Lucy Lawless! * * * * "I think New Zealand geographically comes from * * ... Hawai'i." --Lucy Lawless, Late Show, 4/9/96 * * * * JACKIE YOUNG, JYOUNG@LAVA.NET * * * ****************************************************** ========================================================= This has been a message to the chakram-refugees list. To unsubscribe, send a message to majordomo@smoe.org with "unsubscribe chakram-refugees" in the message body. Contact meth@smoe.org with any questions or problems. ========================================================= ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 27 Apr 2002 10:32:46 -0800 (AKDT) From: KTL Subject: [chakram-refugees] Con 2002 Day 3 Part 4 First, I never finished Lucy's comment on wondering "since some women are so competitive", what kind of a reception she would get from Gillian Anderson when she guest starred on the X-Files. Lucy said that Gillian was totally friendly and welcoming and couldn't have been nicer to her. That Gillina (TCH! I KEEP making that typo! I've had to fix it three times now, dammit! It's like I'm talking about some Italian ice cream or something...) that GilliAN had enough confidence in herself to not worry about other actors being on the show and was very gracious and kind to Lucy during her time there. _____________________________ SPOILERS FOR FIN, HELICON, HOOVES AND HARLOTS Creation always saves their biggest star for last. And Michael Hurst got that honor this year. First they played a video salute to Iolus. I think it was the one they use a lot, cut to a song about being friends. Michael came out and of course first he talked about Kevin. He said that the funeral service in New Zealand would be huge. That Kevin was just a major star over there and more than that, just such a great guy that everybody would want to give him a good send off. It was a good thing to tell us, because of course here in America, if people know him at all, he's just that guy from Xena/Hercules. And Michael was right--there was a huge service for Kevin the next week. And it was totally public, they invited everybody. (One of my buds said that Kevin was like a Kiwi James Dean now--he'd be an iconic image for a promising young actor whose life was cut off way too short. And I think that's probably mostly true, though of course Kevin was not quite so young as Dean was when he died.) Michael told the story about being in a bar with Kevin and watching a rugby match where En Zed beat South Africa. And when they won, Kevin stripped off his shirt and ran outside and did a haka in the middle of the street in celebration, blocking traffic as he stomped and yelled. He told another story of how Kevin had offered time after time to take Michael out drinking and how he had finally taken Kevin up on his offer one night. And Kevin had just totally drunk him under the table but by the end of the night, both of them were some sheets to the wind. And Kevin made sure Michael got driven home, but Michael demanded that he be left off a couple of doors from his house so that he wouldn't wake up his partner Jennifer with the sound of the car at the front door. So they leave him off and he is so drunk that he can't find his house, even though he's only a few doors away from it. And he winds up falling asleep on his neighbor's lawn and not waking up until many hours later. When he finally does wake up, he does manage to find his house. But then he stands on the door mat arguing with himself about whether he should go in and possibly wake up Jennifer or should he wait a while longer before going inside. And he said he thought he was just thinking over his plans to himself. But unbeknownst to him, he is talking to himself so loudly that Jennifer who did indeed hear him outside the door, is standing inside, also hearing every word he says as he argues with himself. And eventually she just whips the door open and pulls him inside, figuring he would stand there on the door mat, arguing with himself all day. And he never again challenged Kevin to a drinking contest. He talked about rehearsing for Love Letters with Renee at their hotel. >From his story I gathered that they were in some kind of public area. And he said that they had heard the news about Kevin and were both very emotional and upset. And the play they were working on also has some very heavy emotional moments. Renee's character in particular uses strong language, expresses anger, yells, spits out bitter recriminations like "Go back to your wife then!" and so on and so forth. He said that they kind of swung between grieving over Kevin and working on their dialogue. And Michael said that he looked up during one of Renee's readings of one of the scenes in the play, and suddenly realized that some of the people around them were staring at them as Renee screamed and cursed at him. And he laughed as he said, "I'm sure they thought it ALL was real! They didn't know that some of it was just a rehearsal!" Michael and Renee truly had "created a scene", so to speak. My honey's comment upon hearing that story was, "I bet they won't be able to go back to THAT hotel anymore..." Michael told us that the Shakespearean sonnet he had recited during Kevin's memorial service last night was Sonnet #30. Well, the next thing in my notes is this cryptic phrase, "The grace of Lucy". I have absolutely no recollection of hearing him say that nor any idea of what it means. Presumably, Michael DID say it. I mean, it's right in the middle of his section in my notebook. Hmm--so let's just say he's either another one of them "Pwaise Lucy" folks, or he was making fun of her lack of coordination. Your choice. Okay, next note says, "When you play your own evil twin, you know the series is almost over". Hmmm. Oh yeah--there were a number of Iolus fans there and one of them brought up the death of Iolus. And Michael talked about how upset the fans got when Iolus died in the Hercules show. I didn't watch that show, but I do remember a blow-up at one of the cons-the one which was the goodbye to Sorbo and Hurst one. A big number of fans came up to the mike and just YELLED at them about how stupid it was to have killed off the real Iolus. That the replacement Iolus was a rotten idea. And Michael and Kevin both said essentially, "Talk to the writers". Man, those fans were angry that year. It was just as bad if not worse than the Xena fans who got majorly p*ssed over the rift and came to cons to harangue anybody they could corner. Michael said essentially that he thought it wasn't the greatest idea either but that, "I just thought you'd get over it." He was obviously surprised by the vehemence, by the continued anger, by how seriously some fans took (take) these shows. And that's when he said, "When you play your own evil twin, you know the series is almost over. That rule exists." And he laughed. He was asked if he chose to direct stories about Gabrielle. And he looked a little confused and then the person said, "Well, you directed Gurkhan and Helicon." He shook his head and it was pretty obvious that that had not occurred to him at all and had nothing to do with why he directed those two Xena eps. He said that he was picked to direct Gurkhan because it had no fighting. (Don't look at me-this is what my notes say. Doesn't make any sense to me either. I mean Anthony and Cleopatra had some of the most vicious and personally toll-taking battles in it in the whole series and he directed that one. Shrug.) And then he said he was told to direct Helicon to try to make it totally a "Saving Private Ryan" Xena style. He talked about the theme of Helicon. That war is violent and steeping yourself in war and battles just brings you to the realization that, "War is hell on the soul." Gee, where have I heard that before? Okay, at first I couldn't make any sense out of my next note. It said, "(Unreadable initial) had to wear the hat being an Amazon". I peered at it for a while and thought, "Well, that initial looks like a 'Q', but unless we're going for Queenie someone, I can't think of a character with a name starting with 'Q'. And what hat? Maybe it's a strange A. Amarice had a weird hat. Oh, but she was WAY dead before Helicon. Well. So much for note-taking." I figured I'd just forget about trying to write about whatever that referred to. And I went on and wrote a few of the following paragraphs. And then I was kind of spacing out and thinking and my eyes were kind of unfocused as I unconsciously stared down at my grubby little notes and I suddenly realized that the strange initial was a "G", not a "Q". And then I remembered that he had been asked why he put Gabrielle into the position of being the commander, when Xena was there and available. Michael said that in Helicon, "Gabrielle had to wear the hat (be the commander) because she was the Amazon, not Xena." For that story, it was written that the Amazons would not follow Xena, though they have in the past. (And though they actually DO in the story.) So that's what THAT note was all about. (I'm beginning to question how successful my note taking experiment was...) At any rate, that question would have been more appropriately asked of the writer of the ep. Hertz just directed what he found on the page. (I remember at a very early con, someone asking Danielle about Ephiny's history with Xena. And Danielle looked blank. And the fan said, "You two were walking along and you looked at Xena with this nasty expression on your face and Xena told you to keep your eyes to yourself or she'd rip them out of your head. Why did you look at her like that and why did she say that?" And Danielle thought for a second, then shrugged and smiled and essentially said, "Beats me." I remember getting a big kick out of that. We fans are just so more obsessive about details and possible relationships and prior histories than any of the actors ever were. That's why we be called fan, short for "fanatic". Then Michael did a haka that he dedicated to Kevin. It was excellent. It was soooo fierce and strong and rhythmic and powerful. He just swelled up on stage and became a very big person, presenting a very strong persona/emotion. Way good. As Kevin would say, "Beauty!" Next was the costume contest and then the "Creation clearance auction". I skipped both of those, as usual. I do get a kick out of the kids in costume though. Particularly the really little ones. But I do doubt very much that the two and three year olds ask to be costumed as Xena or Gabrielle or Amarice or Joxer or Ares.) I found it interesting this year that Alex went to say a four letter word and then suddenly stopped herself and said, "Whoops-there's kids here!" and she switched to a less aggressive adjective. I often forget that folks do take their tykes to these things. Oh, I forgot! The It's A Wrap people had set up shop in a little warehouse nearby and were selling off the pickin's from the show. Some buds of mine wanted to go and since we had the vehicle, we drove over there. It was pretty neat to see the props, to see how they were fashioned, what they were made of. Whenever they could, they'd have picture of one of the cast members, most often Lucy, holding oh, say a cup or something, "Just like this cup here". And there'd be like 33 of them. (You know how HARD Lucy can be on props.) And I'm sure that each person who bought one figured they surely had the one that Lucy had held in that scene. And why not? Somebody had to have it. Back at the con, they were still doing things to keep the gold seat fans (heh--these are the rich heinie people, I guess) entertained while they were waiting on line for autographs from Michael, Jacqueline, Tim and Adrienne. OH-I just read the program and realized that Michael was signing autographs. Hmmm. I wonder if he ever did before? I know he didn't at any of the cons I've seen him at. They showed the world premiere of "The Making of Friend in Need" which is in Fan Kit 5 or 6, whichever was the last one. I came back to watch this. And I thought it was excellent. One of the really cool things about it was that it showed just how totally visual a movie is. Now this sounds dumb because it's so basic, but whenever people first start to write for film, they almost never intuitively "get" that the main way a script differs from a story or novel is in the requirement to fully describe on the page what the person is doing, what the background is, what the props s/he's working with are, etc. etc. etc. You can't just tell what they are thinking (thinking don't film) and you can't just explain what they are feeling. You have to write action that conveys the emotions, the motives, the fight to get what you want, and the setting in which these actions occur. You have to describe physical events and props far more than you do in a novel. Because a novel is read, and when we read novels, we are literally put in the position of being "mind readers". But a film is meant to be seen, not read. In a good film script, most of what you have to write to move the story forward is action punctuated by small amounts of dialogue. Film is unique in this-even plays, which are much closer to films than novels and short stories are, can be and usually are much more talky. Some films should be plays, since that's mostly what they are-just filmed plays. Most of the shows on TV are like this-they rely far more on dialogue than most movies do. (Except of course, for most movie adaptations of plays for the big screen which are ipso facto filmed plays.) And certainly the action adventure genre above all others relies upon visuals to tell the story, rather than words. And in "The Making of FIN", there is a long sequence that shows Rob and Lucy working out part of her final-battle-as-a-live-person scene. They are working on the part where Xena is using a wagon as a shelter until she (and we) realize that the arrows are coming from all directions, from everywhere around her. And Rob shows her the action sequence he has imagined in his mind. He walks along, twisting and turning as he pantomimes catching incoming arrows, ducks around and under the wagon tongue and then turns to face the other side where yet more arrows are rushing through the air to nail the character. And Lucy watches him and gives him suggestions, demonstrating little differences that will help her as an actor to fully portray just how horrific a situation Xena is in. And just how much it hurts to be hit with an arrow. She talks about "selling" a hit physically and how using a screw in arrow (the base of which she covers and uncovers with her hair) will enable her to more easily show that Xena is getting hit again and again and again, and reacting to each arrow as it hits its target. It was fascinating to watch them choreograph it, working over each movement slowly and choosing among the compromises that every written scene requires once you lift it off the paper and start to film it. And this battle is such a great example of an absolutely textbook filmic scene. There ain't a bit of dialogue in it, until the very end. Lucy uses motion, jerking from the impact of the arrows thudding into her body, snapping her head back in pain as she takes an arrow into her arm, slamming her body against the upended wagon behind her. And she uses facial expressions, grimacing as the arrows hit her, glaring fiercely and furiously at the enemy and sneering at them with great bravado. And she uses the sounds of a human being in pain-hissing as she gets hit, grunting as arrow after arrow slams into her body. She doesn't have to say a word. There are no words to say. And then the scene ends as she pulls her pinioned arm free, struggles to her feet, draws her sword and says, "Now, you've asked for it!" and staggers towards the enemy, a fierce and unbowed warrior striding with a pronounced limp into her final battle. And every single movement in every single second was plotted carefully out beforehand. I loved this sequence in the tape-it was fascinating to watch how that scene was envisioned, then talked over between Rob, Lucy and the crew, reworked on set, then blocked out for Lucy and the dozen or so crew people who among other things slid arrows on wires towards Lucy, and then got filmed in take after take after take. Which of course later get edited into one flowing sequence. AND, this is a very cool thing about watching a DVD on fast forward - --rather than a faster "flow" of the scene which you get when you fast forward a tape, when you fast forward a DVD you actually get to see the cuts that make up the scene. It's just a different perception--it's almost like there's a slight stutter so each time the new image comes up, one is able to notice it as a discrete moment on the film. This is very different from the way our eyes accept the "persistence of vision", that subconscious filling in of the gaps in filmed motion which makes movies comprehensible to us by "animating" a series of still photgraphs. Watching the DVD on fast forward is so neat because you can see the edit points, very distinctly. This sequence is just a great lesson in all the steps to a finished product, starting from an idea in the writer/director's mind to the way it gets changed and shot on set to the editing booth where the cuts are put together to creat the scene for our screen. Excellent. You know, Saturday night we had dinner with a friend of one of my buds. And during dinner, she suddenly declared that Lucy had just had too much input into the show. "I mean, being the executive producer's wife, ya know? It was unavoidable that she would have too much input. It just wasn't right." I've heard a few people say this before and always just blow off statements about Lucy having too much input, mostly because I think XWP was a fabulous show, the best one on TV. And whoever's input made it that way, damn, more power to 'em! Sometimes, if I'm feeling impatient, I've said to some of the folks who have said that about Lucy, "So what should she have done? Broken up with Rob and turned away from the chance to form a new partnership with someone she loved and wanted to have children with? Sacrifice her chance at having Julius and the coming baby? Or should she just have quit her role as Xena so that she could still be Rob's partner but avoid having 'too much' input into the show by your estimation. Which do you think she should have done?" I don't get a lot of answers on that one, oddly enough. (Well, not civil ones, anyway...Grin.) But boy, watching this snippet of her working out this scene, I sure think her input was very valuable, worthwhile and damn sure made the show better, even though she WAS the executive producer's partner. It shows just how hard she works and just how important doing the best job she can is to her. They didn't take a lot of short cuts on that show. The final thing on the schedule was called the Xena Seasons Music Video Salute. It was really good. The sound track was techno music (I LOVE techno music) and it showed scenes from each season. The choices of scenes were excellent for delineating the six years of Xena's story we watched, the body of work that was given to us. At the end of each season, the screen would go black for a few seconds, but the music bridged through to the fade-in of the first clip of the next season. It went on for a long time, but it was really well done and really worth watching. There were no credits at the end and I don't think there were any at the beginning, so I don't know who put it together. But it was excellent. And a great way to end the con with memories of all six seasons floating in our heads along with visions of sugar plums. And that was the end of the con. ___________________________________________ Well, this was certainly a unique (and one that I fervently hope REMAINS unique) con. I've been to numerous cons but I've just never seen such totally honest, absolutely real emotions radiating from the cast members on stage before. They were all wearing their hearts on their sleeves, sharing their heartache in their comments. There was no pretense. No acting. No characters. When they talked about Kevin, it was just them as people, grieving for their friend and sharing their sadness over such a horrible loss. I'm sure it helped the actors that they were together right after they heard the news. If not for the con, they would have been scattered and alone and not been with others who loved Kevin and also mourned him. They also opened their hearts to our presence and told us they gained comfort from the fact that we were there also, with them in those initial days of grief. They made it very clear that they appreciated that we understood and shared in a smaller way their grief and that we were so sorry too, for his family and for them, his friends. I think it helped that they were among people who know how close knit these guys are and who shared in their grief with and for them. And I was warmed to see that even though they made sure that "the show did go on", they still felt comfortable enough with us to let themselves grieve with us during it, to weep even as they talked and laughed with us. We were not just another audience for them, not this week anyway. The behavior of everybody that weekend just really touched me. I have often wondered how the actors REALLY feel about being at a con with us. Do they truly enjoy it? Or do they just figure it's good business to be nice to us and put up with us, it's just part of their job? There is such a distance between them and us. It always makes me grin to think about how we pay to be there to be with them--and they get paid to come be with us. And I have never yet heard of any of them coming to a con just for the pleasure of our company. But this time, yeah, they showed their affection for us for sure. And literally told us and showed us that we mattered to them, we were important to them as human beings sharing their world, not just as numbers to keep their shows on the air or support their upcoming projects or whatever. The affection we have for them was definitely returned to us this weekend. Their sacrifices were also very touching. When I wrote about Alex giving up her costume for auction, I said that since the show was over and the props were all sold, Alex didn't have a chance to replace her costume, that she couldn't get another. I have since heard from a friend of the woman who bought it that the next day she offered to give Alex the costume back as a gift. And Alex said "No, you keep it". And the woman said, "But it's important to you." And Alex answered, "Yes it is. And that's why I want you to have it." They were troopers all. And not just the actors but the fans were amazing too. Extremely generous and good-hearted, determined to help out Kevin's family. And certainly coming through on that score. Creation too, did an outstanding job in very trying circumstances. They generously donated things to be auctioned off and made time in the schedule to fit in the special events to honor Kevin and raise money for his family. They gave the actors all the time they wanted to take to express their grief, to relate fond memories, to share their thoughts and feelings. Everybody rose to the occasion and made this con a truly memorable experience. It was a very special con to be at, a deeply emotional shared experience, a very special weekend in the history of the XWP phenomenon. One I feel very privileged to have experienced. The End. KT ========================================================= This has been a message to the chakram-refugees list. To unsubscribe, send a message to majordomo@smoe.org with "unsubscribe chakram-refugees" in the message body. Contact meth@smoe.org with any questions or problems. ========================================================= ------------------------------ End of chakram-refugees-digest V2 #112 **************************************