PROMO TRANSCRIPTION
ON THE NEXT XENA: WARRIOR PRINCESS
(Xena chasing and fighting Meleager)
Gabrielle: This is a terrible misunderstanding!
WHEN GABRIELLE'S CHILDHOOD HERO OF CHARGES WITH A COLD-BLOODED CRIME,
Judge: The sentence is death.
HER LOYALTY IS PUT TO THE TEST
Gabrielle: He is NOT guilty!
Xena: You don't know that!
Gabrielle: You're going to have to go through me to get to him.
NOW, ALL THAT STANDS BETWEEN JUSTICE AND REVENGE
(Meleager with noose around his neck)
(Xena catching arrows near Meleager's head)
Judge: A man is going to die here today!
(Gabrielle crying in cell)
IS XENA WARRIOR PRINCESS
TV GUIDE PROMO
Gabrielle is torn between her beleaguered hero Meleager, who's accused of a murder she's certain he didn't commit, and Xena, who's not so sure.
Gabrielle fights to stop the execution of an old friend accused of
murder.
One of Xena and Gabrielle's mates gets done for a murder. But has he been
fitted up? The Guardian (London)
AIRING AND RATING INFORMATION
1st RELEASE: 04-07-97
An AA average of 6.0
Competition from Syndicated Action Dramas:
(1) XENA 7th at 6.0
(2) STAR TREK DS9 11th at 5.3
(3) HERCULES 12th at 4.9
(4) BAYWATCH 19th at 4.2
2nd RELEASE: 08-04-97
An AA average of 4.9
Competition from Syndicated Action Dramas:
(1) XENA 9th at 4.9
(2) BAYWATCH 12th at 4.3
(3) HERCULES 14th at 4.0
(4) STAR TREK DS9 17th at 3.8
SYNOPSIS:
This synopsis is by Bluesong.
The show opens with Xena and Gabrielle
astride Argo, heading for a small village. Meleager the Mighty
had sent for Gabrielle. The town was empty for the most part
when they arrived. Gabrielle mentioned Meleager and suddenly
several men came after Xena and Gabrielle.
Meleager was on trial for "cold blooded
murder." He was found guilty. Gabrielle made a plea for his
life, to no avail. He told Gabrielle that he was not guilty and
that he had a witness who could attest to that. So she set him
free, and he ran. Xena went after him -- she and Gabrielle,
actually, on Argo, with Gabrielle screaming "Run Meleager" while
Xena was trying to catch him. She did catch him, of course.
On the return trip someone ambushed the
three of them, and Xena decided not to take Meleager back right
away. Meleager then confessed he might have killed the man; he
had been drunk and did not know if he had killed him or not.
Gabrielle was mad at Meleager for lying to her; he apologized.
Then Xena realized that SHE had killed the man in question, while
Gabrielle was at the Athens Academy, because he was an assassin;
apparently he'd just stumbled to the bar and no one realized he'd
fallen on his own sword. So Xena went in search of the man the
assassin was trying to kill.
The judge's men came and took Meleager
and Gabrielle away; Meleager was hanged. The judge, it turned
out,
was crooked and had set this trial and others. Xena had actually
saved Meleager, but Gabrielle didn't know this. She was crying
in the dungeon when Xena and Meleager went to get her. All was
forgiven.
COMMENTARY:
This commentary is by Beth Gaynor.
Coming soon!
WHIMPERS,
MURMURS, AND A LOVE GONE TOO
FAR
10-09-01. Rob Tappert, executive porducer, quoted in Dan Scapperotti's "Producing Xena: Warrior Princess: Rob Tapert on Censorship, Lesbian Ambiguity & Violence" in Femme Fatales, October 22 2001, Volume 8, Number 6, Page 20: "Sometimes you try things that don't exactly work. Some of them just weren't appealing to me. Jeez, I'm going to get myself in trouble with the writers. We did a couple that I wasn't all that fond of. We did one the second season called "The Execution" that I didn't like, and another - "Vanishing Act - just wasn't funny enough. We did another comedy, "Thims, Thims and Jims" [Fins Femmes and Gems] that made me laugh because it was so stupid".
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].
HIGHLIGHTS:
Highlights by Beth
Gaynor.
Coming soon
THINGS TO LOOK OUT
FOR
01-10-98. In the scene with Meleager in the cave, watch
carefully as the dialogue switches back and forth.
In particular, watch what Meleager does with his
hands, and how in going back and forth from
cut to cut, what was in his left hand magically
appears in his right, then back to left, etc.
The statute of Themis (goddess of
justice and law) which first appeared in THE EXECUTION (#41),
also appears in BLIND FAITH (#42).
TRANSCRIPT
Click here to read a transcript of THE EXECUTION.
DISCLAIMER:
By popular demand "The Executioner"
will bring back his comfortable lightweight cotton-flax blend
robe in a variety of spring colors.
WHOOSH! ARTICLES:
The following WHOOSH! articles discuss this episode:
Coming soon
LINKS:
The following links discuss this episode:
Coming soon
