From: owner-chakram-refugees-digest@smoe.org (chakram-refugees-digest) To: chakram-refugees-digest@smoe.org Subject: chakram-refugees-digest V9 #28 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, April 13 2010 Volume 09 : Number 028 Today's Subjects: ----------------- [chakram-refugees] The Norse Trilogy [cr ] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 12 Apr 2010 22:12:05 +1300 From: cr Subject: [chakram-refugees] The Norse Trilogy All three eps on the one DVD - a fortunate accident of the episode order. The Rheingold gets interviews, The Ring gets interviews and a full commentary (can't argue with that), regrettably Return of the Valkyrie gets nothing. The music was excellent - contributed nearly as much to the atmosphere as in Sin Trades. It was, I think, probably Wagnerian (though my ignorance of Wagner is fairly complete). The flying horses are cool (and well done) and visually magnificent skies (remind me a bit of the skies in 'Flash Gordon'). I don't know what the cameraman did with colour filters, or the visual FX guys, but the effect is spectacular. The legend '35 years later' makes a change from the usual 'ago' - so the start of the ep was yet another thing that happened 'ten winters ago' (and before X&G's 25-year sleep). A busy year for Xena, that one - picking up Caesar, getting crucified, fleeing to Mongolia, meeting Borias, off to Chin, to Japan with Akemi, back to encounter Alti and the Siberian Amazons, then off to meet Odin in the Northlands. Then, wasn't it, rejoining Borias and raising an army to invade Greece (Past Imperfect) and fight the Centaurs. Beowulf - looks like a villain, then when he takes off his helmet, a fairly ordinary guy. But he somehow has heaps of charisma (the exact opposite, in fact, of the handsome but uninteresting Ulysses). Gabby moaning about 'still keeping secrets from me - after all these years'. Yes, Gabby, you'll be told what you need to know and no more . Xena wouldn't be Xena without dark secrets from her past, now would she? She's gotta keep some surprises for the final ep (ones called, maybe, Akemi? :) But then Gabby has a rush of sanity and says 'Part of being a friend is letting people keep secrets'. I have to give her credit for saying that. And in these eps, Gabby actually meets with my approval (which coming from me is praise, believe me ;) Gabs: "I've been following her now for weeks". She must have picked up some skills then. Along with the classy fur coat which, by the time she meets Brunnhilde, has somehow metamorphosed into a leather/sheepskin jacket. "My dear friend's curse is to spend the rest of her life seeking a redemption she'll never allow herself". Very perceptive. (And that seems to me like a clear foreshadowing of Friend in Need.) Brunnhilde - I like as a character, I like her looks, and I love that leather jacket of hers (I would have bid for it at the Renpics auction, but being leather, it went for a goodly price - I think 4 or 500). And Britney Powell manages to make the character a little enigmatic, as if there's something more under the surface (I can't think of a better way to put it) - even when she has to deliver long explanations. According to Joel Metzger's commentary on The Ring, they couldn't decide between Brittney Powell and Tsianina Joelson, they eventually went with Brittney because of the (obvious to me at least) reason that she's a blonde. (But then Tsianina got offered Varia - I think this has happened fairly often with Renpics, an actor who's missed out on one part gets offered another later on the strength of their showing). Odin now, has a very strange accent - I think the Odin of the Herc Norse episodes would have been better (besides being better for continuity). Of course, that Odin was happily married to Freya (?), who doesn't appear in this ep, just as well or she might have had things to say about Odin carrying on with Valkyries. Quite an impressive little fight between Brunnhilde and Gabs. Well choreographed. The monster Grindl is very scary and quite convincing - unlike the vaguely similar Dinsdale from A Familay Affair. Rob Tapert: "What works with a rubber beast is to give it really human qualities - so that the humanness comes out. Rather than the rubberness." The Ring - Xena is a little miffed, much to my amusement, when both Beowulf and Brunnhilde show more concern for Gabrielle than for her. Like me, Xena thinks there's more to Brunnhilde than meets the eye. And Xena's always right about these things, seems Brunnhilde is a Valkyrie - but a rebel one who has just disobeyed Odin's orders to kill Xena and secure the Ring. She secures Gabrielle instead. Too bad the Gabinfluence seems to have inspired some very un-Valkyrie-like feelings in her, but also derailed her thought processes to the point where she thinks she can prove her love for Gabrielle by defeating Xena. Which I suppose is her Valkyrie side coming through. I just found this flip-flop a bit unconvincing and not really fair to the character. I have to say Lucy manages to look formidable when, cornered by Odin, Grindl and the Valkyries, and 'out of options', she puts on the ring. But the fights in this part of the episode almost go on for too long. So then the ring makes Xena lose her memory, and Brunnhilde relieves Xena of the ring, which she says now means that everyone will stop bothering Xena, and gives the ring to Gabrielle - but why didn't she lead Xena back to Gabrielle? Since Xena couldn't remember Gabs, I suppose there was no point. Then Brunnhilde turns herself into a circle of fire to protect Gabs. But - since Xena doesn't have the ring, Gabs wouldn't be needed as a bargaining chip against Xena, so why would Gabs be in danger? Only because of the ring that Brunnhilde just gave her. So why didn't Brunnhilde just destroy / lose the ring? I just can't follow the reasoning here. So this ep ends with Xena lost her memory, Beowulf injured and looking for her, Gabs asleep, and Brunnhilde as a circle of fire - I found this one of the most disconcerting episode endings. And I found it highly unconvincing that a very level-headed Valkyrie like Brunnhilde should rapidly lose it so completely as to think killing Xena would get her Gabs. Return of the Valkyrie I see Britney Powell still gets a guest credit in this episode - I thought Brunnhilde was just flames by this time (though she does get to speak). Dean O'Gorman I recognise from Young Herc, which is disconcerting. Roger Morrissey (as the monster Grindl) gets a credit too, which is unusual for a non-speaking part. Very curiously, the 'real' Grinhilda (Luanne Gordon) doesn't get a guest star credit. In Hrothgar's castle at the wedding, when Hrothgar's sister Hildegyth spotted that Beowulf knew something and took him aside to talk, then later appeared with guards and surprised Beowulf and Xena; was Hildegyth betraying them, or did she connive in setting up their subsequent escape (as the most convenient way to get rid of the unsuitable Xena?) It was certainly convenient that Beowulf seemed to have a boat waiting - and that there was no apparent pursuit. It doesn't really matter to the plot, but I find it intriguing. Since we never find out what Beowulf and Hildegyth said to each other, I guess we'll never know. Xena on the boat in the white fur looks like a fashion model. I'm nit-picking here, but it would have been more in character if she'd looked a bit less chic. OTOH, she looks really cool in that gold-and-white dress that she's mistreating in Waitakere Bay. More very well done flying horses. Beowulf really shines in this episode, rescuing Xena, organising the rescue of Gabrielle, a thoughtful and reassuring presence. It's a real shock when he is suddenly speared from behind by Grindl's finger (very reminiscent of when Bishop gets speared by the alien's tail in Aliens, though Grindl doesn't proceed to rip Beowulf in half). I thought it was a little callous of Xena to have a happy chat with Gabrielle while all the time Beowulf was hanging around on Grindl's finger just outside their circle. Fortunately Grindl throws him away in order to concentrate on Xena. For some reason (yet another Rule of the Ring) Grindl forgiving Xena causes a minor nuclear explosion and turns her back into Grinhilda. So at the end Beowulf (who seems to have survived remarkably well) saves Gabrielle only to lose her (as we knew he would). And Brunnhilde presumably evaporates in smoke. Such is life in the Xenaverse, I guess. More of those incredible coloured skies, on the way back to Odin's castle. Overall these were three visually beautiful episodes, with good guest stars and a satisfying story (and a bit of 'ten (35) winters ago' always adds depth to an episode). Certainly the best of the season so far, in fact the best of Season 6 with the possible exception (and I know half will disagree) of Friend in Need. 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. 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