From: owner-chakram-refugees-digest@smoe.org (chakram-refugees-digest) To: chakram-refugees-digest@smoe.org Subject: chakram-refugees-digest V2 #164 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 Tuesday, June 18 2002 Volume 02 : Number 164 Today's Subjects: ----------------- Re: [chakram-refugees] Re: unproduced Xena script [Lynn W Ribaud > [] [chakram-refugees] Season 3 [] Re: [chakram-refugees] <> [] Re: [chakram-refugees] Season 3 [cjlnh@webtv.net (Cheryl LaScola)] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 17 Jun 2002 10:09:32 -0400 (EDT) From: Lynn W Ribaud Subject: Re: [chakram-refugees] Re: unproduced Xena script On Sat, 15 Jun 2002, cr wrote: > > > Awww, you just don't appreciate my black sense of humour ;) > > > > Sadly, yes, I think you're right in this case. > > Sorry if I offended anybody by that. Oh, my mistake. I'm not offended. No, I think you're comment is accurate. I just find it a bit close for comfort, even given that the situation is fictitious. > > > > > > And a bit sideways of the topic, we have stand-in chakrams > > > > > > (chakra?). I can think of three -- Gab's in The Greater Good, > > > > > > Meg's in Warrior...Princess, and the eel in The Quill is Mightier. > > > > One other -- the bowl, or whatever, that Gabs threw in the cell in > > "King of Assassins" (I think...). The return flight of that throw was a > > bit...short. Thanks to Julia Goldman for that one! > > Umm, I'm not sure if a dinner plate really counts as a 'stand-in chakram' ;) Well...I thought of another one, but on Herc -- a shoe. Thrown by Alternate Xena (quite accurately, to her surprise). So, if shoes count, why not plates? > > As I recall, there is lots in "The Xena Scrolls" that doesn't play > > out well with later events. E.g., the "Eye of Hephaestus" was destroyed, > > as I recall, by Herc in one of his anti-Ares acts (I believe it was on > > one of his visits to Ares' Halls of War). > > I think you may mean Armageddon Now - but, IIRC, it wasn't specifically named > as 'eye of Hephaestus', it was just a decoration accompanying the weapons > Heffie had forged. Herc destroyed the weapons, I can't remember if the > 'decoration' was destroyed. As I recall, the "decorations" didn't fare too well. Of course, that was filmed *after* The Xena Scrolls, for whatever that's worth (very little in the Xenaverse...). In a small way, it might make the case that it really was the Eye of Hephaestus even there (A.N.) a bit stronger. > > And why is it Xena's descendant that has to release him? D'ya suppose > > Eli's boss has something to do with *that* too? > > No, I think not, that pre-dated the appearance of Eli. OK, that was *my* attempt at humor. Lynn Lynn Ribaud, Local Contact X3A Beamline, National Synchrotron Light Source, Brookhaven National Lab ribaud@acsu.buffalo.edu ========================================================= 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: Mon, 17 Jun 2002 10:24:51 -0400 From: Subject: [chakram-refugees] <> # # # # # # # # One thing about Xena - they know how to out with a bang. I've must have seen Sacrifice a dozen times and it still surprises. This is one terrific episode. First we have wonderful performances by LL, ROC, Hudson and Kevin Smith. Jody Rimer is very good as the annoying Saraphim. Saraphim is Gabrielle's childhood friend who is determined to be Hope's sacraficial lamb. Like most Potadians we have met - she never shuts up and I have to say it's very satisfying to watch Xena knock her around just to keep her quiet. ROC is very good as Gabrielle comes to grips with a number of nasty surprises. First she learns her friend wants to be a sacrifice. Then Callisto pops up and suddenly she is confronted with the fact that Hope is alive (after having been poisoned and burned). Then she watched Hope transform from a baked potato - er I mean cacoon - into her dopplegangler. She then finds out Hope and Ares are about to give her a grandchild and Xena will die if Xena kills Hope. Is it any wonder Gabrielle jumps into the firey pit? ROC then portrays Hope with a lot of relish. Her Hope can order executions with glee and deal with Ares and Callisto with nonchalant authority. I love how she tugs Ares away from a furious Callisto by his ear and then proceeds to seduce him right in front of Callisto. Even Ares is stunned as he states the Hope"is so not like her mother." The only time we see any real softness in Hope is in her final cofrontation with Gabrielle. ROC does a wonderful job of portraying Hope's real longing for her mother's love and then playing against herself you sees Gabrielle's regret that that love can never be. ROC is truly heartbreaking - first in a scene with Saraphim as she leads her to believe that she will let her go to warn Hopde. For a minute we really believe that Gabrielle has betrayed Xena again only to learn its part of Xena's plan. Why we beieve this is because in some way Gabrielle truly wants to save Hope but knows that's impossible. Then we have Gabrielle's confrontation with Hope and finally we have Gabrielle's sacrifice at the lava pit. Her last look at Xena as she plunges over the side is filled with resignation and sorrow . LL is equally good. Xena is as relentless as we have ever seen her. She is beaten and driven almost to the point of exhausten - look at her in her farewell scene with Gabrielle and Xena looks gaunt and grey. Finally we have an extraordinary performance in the last 5 minutes of Sacrifice 2. Xena is beyond stunned when Gabrielle plunges into the pit. Then suddenly we have Callisto's mirth at Gabrielle's death and Xena's explosion of rage as she plunges the Hind's blood dagger into Callisto. I don't think we have sever seen the animal that lives with in Xena so clearly exposed. As she watches Callisto die there is no regret just a stoney silence and then she turns back to the pit to mourn her friend. Finally we have Huson. Never has Callisto been more giddy or desparate. Callisto now has only one mission - that is to end her existance. To accomplish that purpose she allies with anyone will have her. Still despite her desparate straits she still has her strange and twisted sense of humor. Great lines abound - when Gabby sees Hope for the first time : "Oh a mother and child reunion. I'm all misty eyed" Bringing the news to Gabby that Ares and Hope are together: "I got tired of watching Ares and Hope rolling around like crazed weasels." To Hope as she enthusiastically dscribes Dahak's plans: "Yeah, Yeah, Glory Halleluah but what about me" Then in the end Hudson once again raises Callisto to the level of tragedy. As Callisto dies she looks at Xena with such gratitude and affection that the audience feels it is watching a truly intimate moment. Thus ends the third season of Xena. 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: Mon, 17 Jun 2002 14:07:16 -0400 From: Subject: [chakram-refugees] Season 3 Now that I have finished season 3 just some quick thoughts about. Season 3 really demonstrated that Xena was going to be different from most of series on TV. Rob Tapert and the rest showed their willingness to take real risks in their story telling. Most series once they have established their characters seldom ever challanges their audiences to see those characters in a different way. Tapert and company however really shook up their audiences preception of their leads. Gabrielle was established in season 2 as a wise innocence. In season 3 we rob Gabrielle of her innocence and we watched her deal with very hard truths about herself and Xena. Gabrielle no longer could look on the world with wide-eyed innocence. She now knows that innocence and trust can get you into real trouble. She knows that her realtionship with Xena is much more complex that she could ever imagine. She found that she could betray and deliberately hurt someone she loves and that the person could be both incredably forgiving and dangerous. The girl who was so sure of herself and beliefs ends season 3 unsure of most things except of her love for Xena. Gabrielle comes to grip with own mortality but she has yet to accept her loss of innocence. In season 4 Gabrielle will try to regain her faith and find new identity for herself. Xena too goes through profound changes. Xena was at season 2 the stalwart hero - a loyal and loving friend. In season 3 we see Xena shatter. She fails to protect the people she loves most - Solon and Gabrielle. She does things that shocks herself and the audience - in rage and despare we see her try to kill her best friend. Then we watch as she pulls herself up learns humility as she begs those she wronged for forgiveness. Xena's friendship with Gabrielle strengthens because it tempered by betryal, forgiveness, and loss. What is more we really see the show become a two character series. Gabrielle is no longer just the sidekick. Her charcter takes on as much importance as Xena's in the story telling. Xena now is a story of Xena and Gabrielle together and how they cope with life. It is a testament to Lucy that she welcomed ROC as an equal partner. There are a lot of stars who would have been very jealous of their status as STAR. Lucy early on in the series seemed very committed to the idea that the series would be about the friendship and the struggle of two women to find their way in a very violent and dangerous world. She wanted ROC as a partner and the series became extraordinary because of it. 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: Mon, 17 Jun 2002 14:16:58 -0400 From: Subject: Re: [chakram-refugees] <> Mark wrote: "I got mixed emotions in this scene. I thought Callisto's laughter sounded forced -- perhaps it was meant to be so since she was goading X into killing her. Regarding X's expression as Callisto died, I thought I saw some regret and sorrow tinged in with the anger and resoluteness. Maybe the sorrow was that she knew she was doing what Callisto actually wanted her to do??? There are so many possible levels there." Yes there are a lot of levels. I think that you can see some regret in Xena and I don't know if it from that fact that she has once again resorted to murder or that she may have some sympathy for Callisto. And yes I think Callisto is goading Xena into killing her although there might be some reall glee in watching Gabby dies. As for ROC's pent up acting ability. I just thought of her enthusiastic reading as Hope when she orders her priests to cut her hostages throats. I think ROC got some satisfaction at seeing a knife at some one elses throat besides her own. After seeing her Hope again I wish I could see her Lady MacBeth - I wonder if there might be a little Hope in there. ========================================================= 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: Mon, 17 Jun 2002 20:33:03 -0400 (EDT) From: cjlnh@webtv.net (Cheryl LaScola) Subject: Re: [chakram-refugees] Season 3 I must say Cheryl A's synopsis hits home for me. While I "discovered" XWP at the middle of season 4, I was actually intrigued to continue to watch the show because of the Season 3 reruns that were broadcast nightly on USA. Interestingly I had not watched one episode of season 1 & 2, but the depth and complexity of the main characters as well as the relationship struggles played out in season 3 locked me in and I was hooked..... When I did catch up and see the reruns in series order, albeit after the fact, I found season 1 & 2 somewhat frivolous and light compared to the intensity of the future seasons (which demonstrates how the show took a big risk as Cheryl A points out and X & G evolved their roles). But as they say, sometimes you can't see the forest for through the trees, and in retrospect the evolution of the storyline and ultimate changes that X & G experienced were what kept many of us coming back each week season on season. The relationship is the glue and the that binds the book together......so think of it now as one story and these are the 6 chapters......with chapter 3 as the lynch pin. Season 1 establishes the foundation: We are introduced to the main characters and watch their friendship develop. By the end of season 1 there is no doubt X & G truly care for one another. They become "Family". Season 2 continues their journey & begins to explore Xena's past and how she got to where she is today as well as the evolving commitment they have to one another and the greater good. Still at this point the decisions are straightforward. Season 3 layers on a quantum leap in complexity.....everything is turned upside down. The season ends with the 1st cliffhanger of the series and we have our first insight into the depths each would sacrifice to save the other. Season 4 explores that even further with Xena attempting to leave G behind a number of times to save her from the fate she thinks will do her in and G sacrifices all she believes in to save X (the path of friendship) Season 5.....well is a little murky and I am willing to cut them some slack due to LL's condition. Season 6 however gets the evolution back on track and delivers some of the finest storylines and acting. The comedies were delivered in just the the right tone and the drama brought us full circle Just my take on the show's development. Cheryl J ========================================================= 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 #164 **************************************