From: owner-chakram-refugees-digest@smoe.org (chakram-refugees-digest) To: chakram-refugees-digest@smoe.org Subject: chakram-refugees-digest V3 #163 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 Friday, June 13 2003 Volume 03 : Number 163 Today's Subjects: ----------------- [chakram-refugees] Soul Possession ["Cheryl Ande" ] Re: [chakram-refugees] The Chakram [cr ] Re: [chakram-refugees] The Chakram [cr ] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 11 Jun 2003 19:21:24 -0400 From: "Cheryl Ande" Subject: [chakram-refugees] Soul Possession Soul Possession You know how I start a lot of my reviews with the words "this episode is better than I remember." Well this one isn't. I still think this is the worst Xena episode even worse than MWF which has it's own kind of bizzar charm. This is a bad episode because it purports to answer a specific question: how did Gabrielle get out of lava pit and then doesn't. It gives the audience an answer but it ignores cannon and leaves the audience with so many questions that it is useless for the purpose for which it was created. It is also filled with enough YAXI and sloppy continuity to make even the most tolerant fan annoyed. Josh Becker directed this mess and he can't seem to decide whether this should be a comedy or a serious episode. It also has the three most annoying characters in the Xenaverse: Mattie, Harry and Annie, who in Dij` vu were at least minimally tolerable, but who have now worn out their welcome. Now having said all this is there any thing good about the episode - - yes: KS as Ares, TR as Joxer and Lucy in a whipped cream bikini. The story opens with Joxer and Xena standing on a cliff overlooking the sea. It must be in the fifth season because Xena has her yin and yang chakram on. Xena has a scroll and a bottle. She is going to hide the scroll in one of the caves of the Ionian Sea. Joxer however says why not just destroy it and he tries to tear it up but it won't tear. Xena says it is a binding contact and it can't be destroyed. Joxer however decides to disguise the scroll by rolling it up in one he has. Xena is impressed with the old scroll within a scroll ploy - excellent. She takes the scroll and puts it in the bottle, corks it and is ready to high dive into the sea (I wonder why she just didn't go down to the beach and wade in -I guess that would have been just to prosaic). Joxer wishes her luck and down goes Xena into the sunless sea (I just a movie about Coleridge). In the present day two treasure hunters have found the bottle and they are ecstatic - their fortune is made. At a scholarly meeting of C.H.A.K.R.A.M. (Center for the Historical Accuracy of Key Research in Ancient Mythology - whoo someone worked hard on that acronym) Dr. Delaney, a distant cousin of our own Sharon Delaney, calls the meeting to order. He has an exciting announcement to make - a new Xena scroll has been discovered. It is a marriage license between Ares and Xena. Pandemonium breaks loose. Reporters leap up with cell phones in hand and rabid fans break in demanding a seventh season. When calm is restored and the fans are forcibly ejected from the room, the skeptics arise. Barb Binder (the name is slightly familiar, I think she actually was a producer of one of the Hercules films but I'm not sure) of Whoosh says Xena would not bind herself the institution of marriage. Another says the Ares and Xena were implacable enemies so why would they marry. The professor calls for order and begins to read. The scroll takes place right after Gabrielle has fallen into the lava pit (Oh?! third season not fifth) and Xena has returned from Siberia having learned that Gabrielle is alive. Xena is now searching for Joxer who has taken to drink in his grief. Xena is very happy and she tells Joxer that she has had a vision - Gabrielle is alive. Joxer is not impressed and he also not drunk as he proves by balancing a beer mug on his head. Xena is not impressed and says apparently drunks can balance beer mugs on their heads. She however is going to go looking for Gabrielle and if Joxer wants to come he better hurry up. Annie now stands up in the audience. She is now the publisher of the Joxer the Mighty Quarterly and she is not happy. The professor has it all wrong. Joxer was the one who saved Xena from a drunken stupor. The professor condescendingly says he has studied all the scrolls and Joxer has never flexed a heroic muscle in his entire life. Annie goes down in defeat. No one seems to realize that the scroll that is being read is Joxer's scroll. First rant - why is Joxer always referred to as a coward? He never was. He was often afraid but he never was a coward. He always stood by Xena and Gabrielle and never ran. Xena calls upon him to help her look for Gabrielle therefore she must have some respect for him. He has never been portrayed as a coward in the show or by extension in the Xena scrolls. So if we have a character that supposedly is an expert on the scrolls he would have known this. This is a line that is suppose to be funny because it causes Annie to be embarrassed but it doesn't come off as funny; it comes off as cruel. The conference takes a break. The Xena fans are back and they go talk to the crying Annie. They say she must be upset to find out she is Joxer reincarnated but she says Joxer was no fool they just got a goofball actor to play him - he was after all the producer's brother. Meanwhile they ask about Harry and Mattie. Annie sniffles that they have married. The Xena fans who are subtextors are ecstatic. Meanwhile the conference and our story resumes. In the woods Joxer is drunkenly depressed but he does tell Xena he has taken up scroll writing. He reads Xena the story of Gabby's fall into the lava pit and of the sun glinting off his muscular buttocks. Now Xena is depressed but she still insists she had a vision and Gabrielle is alive. Joxer wants to take her to grief oracle but Xena decides to hit the ladies instead. Joxer is horrified - if she is going to hit ladies maybe she should hid some kids too. In the woods Xena is now depressed - she tells Gabby that things aren't going so well without her. I always find that line very touching. It sort really sums up how you feel when someone you love isn't there any longer - a feeling that nothing is right and never will be. Well Xena doesn't have time to be depressed. Ares pops up (third season Ares with long hair and by the way the prop department has found the right chakram too). Ares is here to help if Xena really believes Gabby is alive. He could go look for her. Xena says it is his fault that she jumped into the lava pit in the first place. Ares insists he might just be the one to help. Xena doesn't believe him. Ah poor sensitive Ares has a confession to make. With tears in his eyes he confesses that he has kept his true emotions bottled up and now he as come to terms with them. Ares now drops to one knee and with his most winning smile he asks Xena to marry him. Xena kicks him in the mouth. Xena says: "I despise you. You have tormented me for years." A nonchalant Ares answers: "Oh that was just foreplay" Ares offers to find Gabrielle and give her back as a wedding present. To show his commitment he will marry Xena in front of the Fates, but he won't look for Gabrielle unless Xena agrees to marry him. Back in forest Xena has season five chakram and Joxer back. Now she does a bit of exposition (this episode needs lots of exposition). Joxer asks what is the big deal about being married in front of the Fates. Xena says if you are married in front of the Fates the bond is eternal and neither party can harm the other's family or loved ones i.e. Ares can't hurt Gabrielle and Xena can't hurt anyone Ares cares for. That night Xena is awakened by Gabrielle's voice calling to her. This causes an uproar in the modern day audience. It goes against the logic of the scroll Family Affair because that is when Xena and Gabrielle are reunited. There is widespread skepticism but the professor calms everyone down. Xena at first believes it is Gabrielle but finds Joxer in the woods with a megaphone imitating Gabrielle. He is trying to persuade Xena to give up her futile search for Gabrielle. Xena jams the megaphone on Joxer's head. In the present Harry and Mattie return home from Greece. They are cloyingly in love. Harry however has inherited Xena's bad digestive tract and is suffering from goat cheese induced flatulence. Mattie gets out to check the mail in the overflowing mailbox (these people obviously don't know the post office will hold your mail). Mattie discards the junk mail and her S & M catalog. She finds the letter from C.H.A.K.R.A.M. (Gods that's a pain to type). She reads it to Harry. Harry tells "pumpkin" to get in the car; they have to get to the conference or the world will be in big trouble. Did I mention I really dislike Harry and Mattie - never for a moment would I believe Xena would ever call anyone "pumpkin" in whatever reincarnation she may be in. In the past: Xena finally calls upon Ares. She has weighed all the pros and cons and she has decided to accept Ares proposal as long he returns Gabrielle. Ares eagerly accepts. Xena wants to marry at the lava pit so she could be close to the person she had planned to spend the rest of her life with while she marries the one person she would never chose. Ares is a bit startled at the wedding chapel but agrees. Ares doesn't seem concerned that things aren't looking to promising for a happy marriage, however, ever the optimist he suggests they start the honeymoon now. Xena rejects that but Ares has the last laugh when he reminds her just who her in-laws will be. That night Joxer summons old Jelly Butt to a tavern. Ares arrives and doesn't kill Joxer; the wedding has put him a good mood. Joxer is planning a bachelor party. He introduces Ares to three beautiful girls in order to tempt him away from Xena. Ares finds the girls wanting. Just as he is about to leave Joxer has a giant cake brought in. Out of the cake pops Xena in whip cream and two cherries. Ares can't believe his luck then "Xena" sings. "Who's my little bubba, who's my little bubba, Ares A.R.S.E. " That startles Ares but he is even more shocked when "Xena" kisses a surprised Joxer. The girl of course is Meg and Ares leaves in disgust. Joxer tells Meg Gabrielle is dead. Meg is not unhappy about the news and this causes Joxer to leave. Meg has wasted her dinars on her cherries. In the present Harry and Mattie arrive at the conference and they sit behind Annie. Annie is still smarting over break up with Harry and refers to Mattie as Harry's ho. They try to tell her that the scroll is going to cause big problems but Annie does want to hear any spoilers (neither did I but I was always weak and read them any way). Anyway they say that Ares might show up and indeed a dark figure on a flower killing motorcycle is speeding towards them. In the past: Xena is dressed for her wedding. Her wedding dress is appropriately adorned with silver breastplates. Joxer knocks and asks if she is decent. Xena seems uncertain of the answer but tells him to come in. Joxer is not happy about Xena's decision but he has come to lend his support. He throws his flask away and sits beside Xena. He is very sweet. He is going to keep up tradition: a ratty lock of Gabby's hair as something old, a fresh picked flower as something new, his rabbit's foot as something barrowed. As for something blue - that's him. Xena is touched. At Dahak's temple Ares and the Fates await Xena. She walks down the aisle. She is beautiful. Ares says she takes his breath way. Xena says if that's true why is he still breathing. On that happy note the ceremony begins. The Fates ask Ares if he takes Xena as his wife. He sure does. They ask Xena is she takes Ares. She answers I do........not! She shoves her bouquet into Ares face and heads for the lava pit. Ares looks at the Fates and says this is embarrassing and takes off after Xena. Joxer takes off after them both. At the pit Xena dives in headfirst. Joxer has lost his hat so he will be serious. He is enraged. Ares has been responsible for killing his two best friends, in fact the only people he knows come to think of it. He attacks Ares and runs into the wall and is knocked out. At the bottom of the lava pit a pissed Ares catches Xena. Xena however is smirking. Ares pops Xena and himself outside. Xena explains that she figured out that the reason Ares wanted to marry her in front of the Fates was to prevent her from hurting Hope and their child. Ares therefore must have saved Hope and if he saved Hope he may have also saved Gabrielle. She would make the perfect bargaining chip. He says she got it almost right. He says Gabrielle however gave him her soul in exchange for him saving Hope. So he now has Gabrielle's soul. Xena says he wants her soul too. He says that he is willing to exchange Xena's eternal soul for Gabrielle's. Xena says if she agrees she and Gabrielle must be able to live out this life together. Ares agrees as long as she knows she will be his forever. So now the wedding contract becomes a contract giving Ares Xena's soul. Ares puts his thumbprint on the contract and as Xena hesitates her reminds her Gabby would do it for her, Xena puts her thumbprint next to Ares. Ares tucks the contract in the back of his belt. Xena demands to see Gabrielle but Ares says he has let her go and Xena will have to find her. The bargain is made but Ares is curious. What if he had been sincere about his wedding proposal? What would have Xena done? Xena walks slowly up to Ares gives him a searing kiss. Ares is rendered practically mute by the experience and he blinks out sight in what can be seen as acute distress of the sexual kind. Xena's kiss is indeed a powerful weapon - she has used it to pick Ares pocket. She has the contract. Cut to the seas cliff. A very damp Xena has returned to Joxer. The contract is hidden. Joxer gives the dripping Xena a miniscule cloth to dry herself off. In the present the conference is stunned by the story. There is however no time to react because a motorcycle roars into the room. Ares dismounts and shoos the professor away and everyone flees. Harry is missing - he has had a goat cheese attack and is in the bathroom or loo or lavatory or toilet. Annie and Mattie take on Ares. The sidekick and the comic relief are batted out of the way. Ares gets the contract but Harry arrives. He flips over to Ares but is knocked out. Annie and Mattie try to revive him. Ares renews his thumbprint but the prospect of spending eternity or at least fifty years with Harry doesn't appeal to him. (Note: I'm not sure how the eternity thing was suppose to work whether in each reincarnation Xena would be Ares's wife or if he just gets her soul and whatever body she happened to be in at the time). So Ares puts Joxer's soul back into his body and Xena into Annie's body. Now the switch into Annie's body is good for Xena because this "body works better". So I am assuming not only the souls are reincarnated but also the bodies (we seemed to have left the 4th season concept of reincarnation in the dust). Anyway Joxer aka Harry awakens, attacks Ares, misses Ares, and winds up stuck in the wall. Xena attacks Ares but is thrown aside. Mattie attacks Ares with a makeshift staff and is thrown into the audience. Ares renews his thumbprint and is now Xena's "soul man". Xena fights Ares with the Xena swords that are on the stage. Finally she gets to the scrolls the first one she picks up refers to " sun kissed buttocks" that's Joxer's scroll. She finds the contract. Ares throws fireballs at Xena. She dodges them - the Xena fans criticize the action - they are true fans. Xena finally gets Ares to throw the one bolt she needs - she thrusts the contract into its path and it bursts into flames: "Ares made it, Ares destroyed it." Ares finds it un freakin' believable. Ares however says she has won the battle but not the war. He blows her kiss and blinks out. Xena and Gabrielle go to Joxer's aid. Everyone is back in their proper bodies. Mattie now only has eyes for Annie. As they leave Xena is very happy she tells that she liked Gabby better as a blond but she could live with Mattie's new hair color. The two women are very happy. Harry however is concerned about the condition of his new body. Annie warns him not to stray too far from the bathroom just as a cramp hits him. A distressed Joxer wants to know just what Harry or Xena ate. Well that's it. I had several problems with this episode. First off the reason this episode supposedly was made was to explain how Gabrielle got out of the lava pit. Now I have no problem with Ares saving Gabrielle. It makes sense if Ares either got confused and saved Gabrielle instead of Hope or if he saved Gabrielle in order to use her to get to Xena. The idea that Gabrielle traded her soul to Ares in order to save Hope comes out of left field. We know that Dahak saved Hope; she said that in FA. We also know that Gabrielle was surprised that Hope was alive since she says that to both Xena and Hope in FA. Hope also seems pretty sure her mommy was trying really hard to kill her. Also exactly when did Gabby make her deal with Ares - the only time it was possible was while she was tumbling down the lava pit and even the loquacious bard would have a hard time making deals then. So my only conclusion is that Ares lied in order to get Xena's soul. That is supported by the fact he can't produce Gabrielle and lamely says when asked about it "that he let her go." Xena obviously believes that Ares doesn't have Gabrielle and never had her soul or she wouldn't have stolen the contract if she believed that Ares had any power over her friend. So if Ares lied about everything so far; can we believe that he saved Gabrielle? Probably not. So we don't have any explanation of how Gabrielle got out of lava pit and thus we have no reason to make this episode. Also I find the narrative extremely sloppy. The contract, which is a marriage contract suddenly, morphs in a contract for Xena's soul. The scroll that was being read was presumably Joxer's, which according to him was about Gabrielle's fall into the lava pit. When exactly did Joxer have time to include Xena's marriage in it and why didn't the professor notice Joxer's "sun kissed buttocks"? He was a scroll expert he should have realized something was different about this scroll. Also the concept of reincarnation also keeps changing - first the souls were reincarnated but now the bodies have also been reincarnated. The switching between past and present wasn't confusing but I thought it was clunky and ruined the narrative flow. Then we have the case of the ever-changing chakram. There is a person who is supposed to watch things like making sure the proper props are in the scene. Was he on vacation? Was this some kind if inside joke? Or did they just take the wrong prop on location and everyone just hoped no one noticed (oh what a false hope)? My main problem is of course Harry, Annie, and Mattie. I don't like these characters. Annie is just whinny and a rather pathetic character. Joxer was not a whiner nor particularly pathetic - he was at his best loyal and brave and at his worst he was merely silly. Mattie comes off as smug and though Gabrielle could at times be full of herself her humanity tempered that. Harry is just a lost cause as Xena. Also I think it was a mistake to make Xena Harry to begin with. This caused Harry to be the object of affection for Annie and Mattie and thus we have "Joxer" calling Mattie a ho which just seems wrong. It probably would have been better to have had Gabrielle reincarnated as Harry and Joxer be Annie and Mattie as Xena - then the triangle would have had some kind of symmetry that went back to the original lives. So is there any thing good in this episode. Yes there is. The story set in the past is actually pretty good until we get to the Gabrielle and Hope part. Kevin Smith is simply wonderful as Ares. His Ares is a god who always has plan. Whatever Xena throws at him he has a come back. I simply loved his proposal - down on one knee and his best 'gotta love me smile". Lucy is also very good. I loved Xena's stunned reaction to Ares' marriage proposal - only Ares can catch Xena flatfooted. Also I like how she had Xena outwardly so certain Gabrielle is alive when inside you have the feeling Xena might still fear she isn't. Ted Raimi is excellent as Joxer - here you see why Xena calls this guy friend. Yes he is often foolish but he loves Xena and she can always count on him to stand with her. ROC didn't have much to do in this episode and frankly she didn't seem overly involved in Mattie - I think ROC was thinking up baby names during filming. Finally we have Lucy in whip cream - need we say more. Well FIN is up next. I haven't decided which version yet. 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: Fri, 13 Jun 2003 10:33:32 +1200 From: cr Subject: Re: [chakram-refugees] The Chakram On Thursday 12 June 2003 14:21, IfeRae@aol.com wrote: > Yes, I wondered about that too. Just before she joins the chakrams, she > gets this look on her face like she's "herself" again. I didn't know if > that was intentional, as it could've been that Lucy didn't know exactly the > timing of the special effects. Hmmm. Interesting point there. We unconsciously tend to assume, of course, that the actors can see what we can 'see'. It's hard to remember that they're actually looking at empty space. > > And just who the heck gave it that power in the first place anyway? > > Chakram really didn't answer many questions about the Chakram at all. >> > > No. Conveniently it didn't. It was as if some Supreme power (beyond the > Greek or Kal's realms) had created it. > > -- Ife Yes, it definitely pre-dated Kal (and presumably Ares). And yes, I was expecting the episode to explain all, and it didn't. But still, it was IMO an excellent ep, so I didn't mind too much. cr ========================================================= 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: Fri, 13 Jun 2003 11:02:52 +1200 From: cr Subject: Re: [chakram-refugees] The Chakram On Wednesday 11 June 2003 20:31, KTL wrote: > I just this minute had a thought--perhaps they should have repulsed each > other when anybody tried to join them. And perhaps they would have had > anybody but Xena tried to do it. IF only Xena could have joined them (as > she joined her own dark and light sides into one individual soul) then > this also lends credence to the "magical weapon for only one particular > hero" concept. I like that interpretation. Since (IMO) the chacky does have super-natural powers (aka 'magic') > Well, so much for all my wild positing of possibilities above. When I > rewatched Chakram, guess what I discovered? That the chakrams did NOT > require that they be put together to fix the broken dark one at all. > Merely placing the dark chakram on its little pedestal repairs it > (or--"heals" it for those among us who are thinking of the Chakram > as more or less sentient). AND the little pedestal makes a perfect ying > /yang symbol when seen from above--I wonder if I subliminally remembered > that. Oh gosh yes, don't you remember *that*? It was in the credits, IIRC! You're slipping, KT! It also made a really neat obstacle for Xena to flip over when she got 'herself' back. > The dark chakram doesn't seem to be fixed just because it was Xena > who placed it there either--there's no indication of that. It appears that > anyone could have put it there to fix it--Amarice had been carrying the > broken pieces for much of the ep. The chakram is restored by some powerful > sharp focused light mojo that traces the outline and seals the two breaks > and doesn't seem to be connected to anything Xena does at all. *Except* that anyone who tried to lift the light chacky off the altar got fried.... so presumably, approaching the altar with the dark chacky might well have had the same result, for most people. > Even after it is restored, Xena still resists claiming it and using it in > the fight. But then she sees that Kal is about to kill Gabrielle. And as > always, Xena will sacrifice anything to save Gabrielle--including her > soul. (As we first saw in "Remember Nothing", which was the first time > Xena threw away her innocence and took back her burden of guilt and pain, > turning away from emptying her own soul of her former depravity in order > to save Gabrielle's.) Notice the way she finds it neatly separates into two and prompatly adapts to using it that way. > Killing Kal hurts her. She's upset, her soul is wounded. And of course, > Ares moves right in. > > Ares: "Xena, that wasn't your fault. He left you no choice. Give me > the chakram. (Lucy's acting as she plays the still confused, undecided > and hurting Xena is marvelous). I thought Ares did a pretty good performance as the sympathetic helpful old friend, too. ;) > But Ares doesn't believe her modest refusal of power--he looks for a > reason that he might have chosen to fuse the chakra. > > A: "Smart move. Brought you back." > > X: "With a vengeance." Nice dialogue! But the *really* nice thing - the moment I love - was when Xena did that joyful flip right over the pedestal to end up with the chacky pointing right at Ares. Beautifully staged. > Now one interesting question I found myself wondering about was if Xena > somehow knew that fusing the chakrams would bring herself back into > balance, would reinfuse her dark side and thus reintegrate her > whole character. I don't know if Xena knew it would happen, but there is a strong parallel there.... just as there was a parallel between the chacky breaking and Xena being crippled in Ides. cr ========================================================= 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 V3 #163 **************************************