PROMO TRANSCRIPTION
XENA, STILL TRAPPED IN THE BODY OF HER ARCH RIVAL,
BUT THE GOD RESPONSIBLE
"Xena": Ares.
(Ares hung upside down over fire)
BECOMES A MAN IN TROUBLE
Ares: You stole my godhood!
BATTLE ON, XENA
TV GUIDE PROMO
While still trapped in the body of her mortal enemy,
Callisto, Xena is forced to enter a competition where warlords
vie to become the new god of war.
AIRING AND RATING INFORMATION
1st RELEASE: 11/18/96
An AA average of 6.3
XWP IS THE NUMBER ONE ACTION HOUR!!! SECOND TIME THIS SEASON
Competition from Syndicated Action Dramas:
(1) XENA 9th at 6.3
(2) HERCULES 12th at 6.2
(3) ST:DS9 13th at 5.9
(4) BAYWATCH 23rd at 4.4
(5) OUTER LIMITS 24th at 4.3
2nd RELEASE: 03/24/97
An AA average of 5.3
Competition from Syndicated Action Dramas:
(1) XENA 11th at 5.3
(2) HERCULES 17th at 4.3
(3) STAR TREK DS9 19th at 4.2
(4) POLTERGEIST/VIPER 2.8
SYNOPSIS:
This synopsis is by Bluesong.
The show opens with Xena still trapped
in Callisto's body. Gabrielle is having some trouble accepting
this change. They are discussing this when "Xena" hears
something. Gabrielle takes down Joxer. He has a message for
Callisto, supposedly from Ares. But of course Ares knows
Callisto is dead, so "Xena" is immediately suspicious.
Ten powerful warlords have been called
together by Ares, according to the invitation. Xena and
Gabrielle go to the village where they are to meet. There they
find Ares, only he is now mortal. He has lost his godly powers
because while he was busy playing around with Xena and Callisto,
someone stole his godhood, which is his sword, and without it he
is exiled to being human. This is also why Xena did not get her
"real" body back and why she is trapped in Callisto's body.
Meanwhile, people everywhere, including
Gabrielle, are having problems keeping their anger under control.
Minor fights break out everywhere. Gabrielle curses, wants to
take down everyone, and is just generally extremely belligerent.
"Xena" gives Ares a throw across the room to see if he's being
truthful about being human; upon finding he is, she tells him she
will not help him get his sword back. But Gabrielle continues to
be angry, even though "Xena" tries to calm her. Ares says that
without a God of War, people cannot maintain their
self-discipline and curb their tempers. "Xena" decides to help
Ares after watching Gabrielle continually become angry. She
tells Gabrielle to stay where she is, and she goes with Ares.
The two off one warlord so Ares can get
an invitation; they board a boat and sail off. Everyone thinks
"Xena" is Callisto and so she more or less plays the part. They
all arrive at an island, where a grand spectacle of fire, etc. is
put on, and someone pretends to be Ares. It turns out King
Sisyphus has escaped his eternal hell of pushing a rock up a hill
and during his escape he took Ares' sword. He tells the warlords
that there is a monster outside his castle; whoever kills it will
be God of War. In return for making a new God of War, Sisyphus
will have immortality.
The warlords draw numbers to go against
the monster; "Xena" draws number 1. Some of the other warlords go
after her; there is a fight. Ares is wounded, and "Xena" tends
to him. He also tells her he made love to her body while
Callisto was in it. "Xena" says she must remember to take a bath
when she ever gets her real body back.
Meanwhile, Gabrielle and Joxer follow
"Xena"; they go into the castle via a drain pipe and nearly kill
one another, arguing. They keep hearing the monster roar, and
this makes Gabrielle angrier all the time.
Up on top, the warlords kill one
another off. Sisyphus tries to kill Ares but "Xena" saves him.
The warlords go after "Xena" and Ares, as well, at varying times,
and the number of warlords keeps dwindling.
Finally there are 5 left; then 4, and
then "Xena" realizes where the sword is being hidden. She
fights, Ares fights, and she finally gets the sword. Sisyphus
tells her to go on, be the Goddess of War. About this time
Gabrielle and Joxer show up, Joxer having stuck a stick into the
fans which were creating the noises from Sisyphus' monster. The
warlord that Ares thought he'd killed isn't quite dead, and he
attacks the still-mortal Ares; Xena throws (Ares) sword into the
attacking warlord and saves Ares. Ares picks up his sword and
becomes a god again. Gabrielle says wait, you promised you'd put
her back in her body ... but Ares disappears, as does Sisyphus.
As "Xena" and Gabrielle are walking
down the beach (with Joxer far ahead and out of the way) to the
boat, Gabrielle tells "Xena" she will always be there for her, no
matter what ... but kind of like Medusa, she just won't always be
able to look at her. And then the camera focuses on Gabrielle,
looking a little sad, and then you hear a change in voice as
"Xena" talks, and Gabrielle turns around to find .. XENA, for
real, in the flesh. A little test to make sure it's not Callisto
returned, and Gabrielle says, it really is you ... and they hug
on the beach.
COMMENTARY:
Commentary Carmen Carter.
Hats off to the Xenastaff for a fun -- and very creative -- episode. No
need to pull critical punches or make allowances for the incredible
pressures that led to an obvious reworking of the original script. Despite
the difficult circumstances, the result was an entertaining and enjoyable
Xena show.
In fact, having Xena deal with Ares while inhabiting Callisto's body may
have added an extra layer of meaning to an otherwise straightforward
action/adventure tale. It certainly made for a lovely ending to the
episode. The beach scene ranks high on my list of favorite Xena/Gabrielle
exchanges, and their "reunion" was delightful.
Hudson Leick did a great job of "being Xena" for an hour, especially the
subtle look of disappointment when she thinks Ares has betrayed her by
forgetting his promise to return her to her real body. MCA should take note
and find a good adventure vehicle for Hudson, maybe as a Celtic woman
warrior. There's more than enough room for another heroine on TV.
WHIMPERS, MURMURS, AND A LOVE GONE TOO
FAR
12-30-00.
12-26-00. Robert Tapert, in an interview with WHOOSH to be released January 1, 2001 (#52), stated the original airing order of the episodes after DESTINY (36/212) were to be EXECUTION (41/217), BLIND FAITH (42/218), and then A DAY IN THE LIFE (39/215). Because of Lucy Lawless' accident on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno, the producers retooled or recast some shows in the can and wrote a couple more shows to cover for Ms. Lawless' incapacity. The resultant airing order was INTIMATE STRANGER (31/207) [retooled to keep Xena in Callisto's body], TEN LITTLE WARLORDS (32/208) [retooled and re-cast Xena with Hudson Leick], SOLSTICE CAROL (33/209) [not changed], THE XENA SCROLLS (34/210) [not changed], HERE SHE COMES...MIS AMPHIPOLIS (35/211) [not changed], DESTINY (36/212) [retooled to have Xena remain dead], THE QUEST (37/213) [new show], A NECESSARY EVIL (38/214) [new show], A DAY IN THE LIFE (39/215) [not changed], FOR HIM THE BELL TOLLS (40/216) [new show], EXECUTION (41/217) [no change], and BLIND FAITH (42/218) [no change].
12-19-98. At Burbank Con II (01/98), Kevin Smith (Ares) was asked, 'What's your favorite Xena episode?' and he replied that he used to say Ten Little Warlords, because of the effect of Ares without any powers. "What effect does that have on someone who's always had powers?" He mentioned it was still on of his favorites, but "I kinda dug the Furies" because "that was me on the poles at the end, oh yeah. Don't ask me to do any backflips. That was me."
CHANGING TIMES
Changing Times is by Debbie White.
Coming whenever
HIGHLIGHTS:
Highlights by Beth
Gaynor.
Coming soon
THINGS TO LOOK OUT
FOR
The "face" of the Baracus was reused as
the "face" of the crematorium in BLIND FAITH (#42)
At the end of the episode where Xena
gets back her body, the scene was actually recycled from the
introduction and the color was changed to make it appear
consistent with the sunset as she and Gabrielle walk along the
beach. When they show the backside of both of them, it is OBVIOUS
that the Xena was a stand-in. This was done to cover for the lack
of a fully functional Lucy Lawless after her terrible accident
taping the The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on October 8, 1996.
MORE THINGS TO LOOK OUT FOR
01-05-99. From Leena Saarinen. In the scene where Gabrielle starts fighting about fishcakes she
has her bag on her shoulder which then on the next cut vanishes but comes back later on as the fighting goes on.
From Jodi. In the scene in Gabrielle's Hope where Xena is running along the ridge by the ocean, did you notice that she had neither epaulets (shoulder armor) or upper arm bands on? I saw this and my first thought was the shots from the title sequence. Sure enough, the only scenes that have Xena wearing no upper arm bands or epaulets are in that sequence, and she is on the ridge overlooking the sea. (For the truly nitpicky, she is wearing a belt and the breastplate is pointed not rounded in the center...and yes you have to look very closely on slo-mo to see this...I'm just too obsessed!). Obviously those breastplates are cinched tight enough for them to stay up without support even when she's running. No wonder Lucy commented on them making the costume more comfortable as time went on...I would imagine it might be a little tough to breath at times otherwise.
Additional trivial observation...the shot in TEN LITTLE WARLORDS where Xena's body is restored is also from this same shoot...again, no epaulets.
From OmegaMan69. USA took another step in their never ending attempt to ruin any enjoyment in watching our belovèd XWP. In the 09/16/98 airing of 'Ten Little Warlords' they bleeped out Gabrielle saying the word b*st*rd. This does not bode well for the future, they've already bleep Herc when he calls Xena a b*tch, now b*st*rd gets bleeped.
TRANSCRIPT
Click here to read a transcript of TEN LITTLE WARLORDS.
DISCLAIMER:
No one was harmed during the production
of this motion picture. However, Xena's ability to recover her
body was severely impeded by Lucy Lawless' unexpected mishap.
WHOOSH! ARTICLES:
Coming soon
LINKS:
Coming soon
