From: owner-chakram-refugees-digest@smoe.org (chakram-refugees-digest) To: chakram-refugees-digest@smoe.org Subject: chakram-refugees-digest V5 #39 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 Sunday, February 13 2005 Volume 05 : Number 039 Today's Subjects: ----------------- Re: [chakram-refugees] Re: S1 [was: Xena, Herc in Kids' Movies book] [If] Re: [chakram-refugees] Re: S1 [was: Xena, Herc in Kids' Movies book] [cr] [chakram-refugees] Fallen Angel [cr ] RE: [chakram-refugees] Fallen Angel ["Xena Torres" I won't pretend to detect the subtleties of her performance > claimed by those Season 5 detractors who felt she was 'off' in that season - > > frankly, I think many of them were just seeing what they expected to see. > Well .... I certainly wasn't expecting much different in S5, despite the pregnancy. I think Lucy and Xenastaff did a pretty good job with that challenge. However, I did miss something in terms of Lucy's energy. I realized later that some small things contributed to that -- like a lot of head shots where normally we might get to see body language, or Lucy having to really ramp up her pre-fight expressiveness to "sell" the body doubles that had to fill in for her. I didn't really mind the skeleton fight in BONES, the holding area in SUCCESSION, the spiritual powers she used in PURITY/BOTTLE or that she spent most of LITTLE PROBLEMS as that little girl. But those eps just didn't have the usual WP "feel" for me. I got over it and enjoyed the eps anyway, even really liked ANIMAL ATTRACTION and LYRE. Still, I was mighty glad when Lucy could go full tilt again. - -- Ife ========================================================= 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, 13 Feb 2005 11:41:56 +1300 From: cr Subject: Re: [chakram-refugees] Re: S1 [was: Xena, Herc in Kids' Movies book] On Sat, 12 Feb 2005 19:26, IfeRae@aol.com wrote: > I didn't really mind the skeleton fight in BONES, the holding area in > SUCCESSION, the spiritual powers she used in PURITY/BOTTLE or that she > spent most of LITTLE PROBLEMS as that little girl. But those eps just > didn't have the usual WP "feel" for me. I got over it and enjoyed the eps > anyway, even really liked ANIMAL ATTRACTION and LYRE. Still, I was mighty > glad when Lucy could go full tilt again. > > -- Ife Well, admittedly, some of those episodes didn't have the intensity of the best eps (like Sacrifice, Sin Trade, Ides, Motherhood etc). Actually, I guess they had more of a feel of some of the better one-off eps (aka 'warlord of the week') in Season 2. But - maybe it's my imagination, but I thought the 'look' of the eps (aka 'production values') was better in S5. (I noticed, btw, that in the commentary for Fallen Angel, Eric Gruendemann remarked how good the shows, specially in Seasons 3,4 and 5, really looked). Anyway, your mention of the WP 'feel' - I think probably that from Season 3 on, the 'feel' of the better eps was more intense than previously. And I agree that some of the intensity was maybe missing from those eps you've mentioned up there. 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: Sun, 13 Feb 2005 11:42:08 +1300 From: cr Subject: [chakram-refugees] Fallen Angel I just watched Fallen Angel off the DVD's and noticed a couple of things that I missed first time round. I hadn't realised before that bringing Xena and Gabs back was entirely Callisto's idea, and almost entirely Callisto's doing. She was watching the fight between demon Xena and angel Gabs and archangel Michael, and she realised that returning Xena and Gabs to life would solve everybody's problems - that is, it would remove the threat of Demon Xena from Michael's heaven, it would save Xena from the threat of being chopped into little pieces by Michael and Gabs (if they could manage it), and it would save Gabs from being dragged back to Hell by Xena. No wonder Michael looked happy with Callisto at the end. Eli got to do the actual reviving, but he was getting his power directly from Callisto. I like that. (Of course I'm a Callisto fan and just sooo _not_ an Eli fan... :) Demon Callisto was delicious as always, though I think the incarnation of her I liked best was in Ides, when she looked so angelic and innocent in that white toga while plotting the downfall of Xena. The most moving moment in the whole ep, though, was when angel Xena gave up her 'light' to save demon Callisto. After Xena cut Callisto's wing off and rendered her helpless, there was something pathetic yet strangely noble about Callisto's continued defiance. And then Xena, holding her sword, touched Callisto and saved her at the cost of taking her place in Hell. That was not just moving, but a visually stunning image (I think Eric Gruendemann and R J mentioned it in the commentary. So did Hudson in the interviews - "I don't know who wrote that. Did R J write that? Yeah, that makes sense that he would write that, because that's big.") 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: Sat, 12 Feb 2005 10:42:28 -0800 From: "Xena Torres" Subject: RE: [chakram-refugees] Fallen Angel >I hadn't realised before that bringing Xena and Gabs back was entirely >Callisto's idea, and almost >entirely Callisto's doing. Um....wasn't it god's idea? Callisto is watching the fight and crying, and then a light washes over her. She wasn't an angel until god made her so. Callisto was the obvious choice as she was the only one not engaged in battle. Not to mention, what a cool choice for Xena's guardian angel. ;) I think god knew then that he had to get Xena the hell out of hell if heaven was to survive, so he sent Callisto, because he also saw the radiance of her spirit and decided then that she would be the spirit of his messenger, and that she might be able to earn her place in heaven this time (oops, but then he got Livia, who was worse than Callisto. Oh dear...) I never got the impression it was Callisto's idea. >Eli got to do the actual reviving, but he was getting his power directly >from Callisto. I like that. (Of course I'm a Callisto fan and just sooo >_not_ an Eli fan... :) Well, we know Eli had his own power (we've seen it in "The Way" and in "The Ides of March" - side note: I wonder why they went to the effort of showing that Eli could fix broken legs, and yet, after breaking Xena's spine, didn't make a show of healing her legs - bringing them back to life just heals everything? That's handy, isn't it?) I think it was a combined effort. Neither Callisto nor Eli could have done it on their own. >Demon Callisto was delicious as always, Yes, yes, yes, yes. Go Hudson, GO! "You get to spend eternity with ME." "Eat up my little dumbling." Ah....Callisto. We love her so! >though I think the incarnation of her I liked best was in Ides, when she >looked so angelic and >innocent in that white toga while plotting the >downfall of Xena. Oh, yeah! Course, for me, classic Cal all the way. Though Hudson always rocked and stories always great, I liked mortal Callisto the best. I thought it made her that much cooler that she went toe to two with Xena as a mortal. Showed just how GOOD she was. Course, as a god, she became like Ares and just toyed with her, though that too was interesting to show that Callisto never really wanted to kill Xena. Whatever would she do without Xena around to torment? So well done. Callisto and her entire storyline were certainly one of the greatest creations of Xena, second, IMHO, only to Xena's quest to right the sins of her past. >The most moving moment in the whole ep, though, was when angel Xena gave up >her 'light' to save demon Callisto. Oh gods! That scene just KILLS me! I LOVE that SO much. It's SO POWERFUL! I also love the ends of "Seeds of Faith" when Callisto becomes Eve. My gods, the fact that they each give to the other what they took. Only "Xena" could write something that amazing. Both these scenes are among my favourite in the entire series. That and the end of "Eve" with Xena and Livia facing off to kill each other. And Xena cradling Solan, losing him just when she was going to be a mother to him for the first time. Xena forgiving Gabrielle in the prison in "The Debt II" Oh gods....excuse me, I think I have something in my eye.... *sniff* BATTLE ON XENA! Xena Torres: Warrior Writer http://www.geocities.com/bitchofrome "And most importantly, I've learned that the heart can betray, but the sword never lies." - Eve "Heart of Darkness" ========================================================= 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 V5 #39 *************************************