Xena: Warrior Princess: Season 6 (DVD)

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Note: "Xena: Warrior Princess", like "Highlander: The Series" and "Hercules: The Legendary Journeys", is being released jointly by the Davis-Anderson Merchandising Corporation and Anchor Bay. Unlike "Highlander", which was released in a bewildering number of package variations, the "Xena" and "Hercules" box sets are basically the same regardless of how you buy them ("official" releases from www.davis-panzer.com or commercial releases from Anchor Bay). Best Buy carries limited editions that include bonus discs with additional extras.

"Xena: Warrior Princess", now considered a pop-culture success that championed "close bonds" between women, was born under trying circumstances. Universal had a syndicated hit with the campy "Hercules: The Legendary Journeys" (starring Kevin Sorbo and executive-produced by Sam Raimi, eventually the helmer of the big-screen "Spider-man" franchise). However, the studio had a bomb with "Vanishing Son" (starring Russell Wong). Therefore, in order to keep TV stations buying its wares, Universal decided to see if a "female Hercules" could maintain viewer interest better than a chop-socky show.

Xena (Lucy Lawless) was originally envisioned as a villain. However, the character was very popular with fans of "Hercules", so writers gave her a journey of redemption for her own show. While "Hercules" is now a mostly-forgotten affair due to its disposable assemblage of laughable stunts and lame, goofy stories, "Xena" is recognized as a pioneering effort that portrayed an "are they or aren´t they?" woman-woman relationship right under the public´s nose. Sure, there were lesbian characters before "Xena", but the most important contribution that "Xena" made to lesbian cinema may be that it treated the relationship between Xena and Gabrielle (Renee O´Connor)--lesbian or not--as nothing that warranted fuss. By keeping the characters´ private relationship private, viewers were told to keep their noses out of others´ personal lives. In time, as viewers got used to the idea of Xena and Gabrielle being very close, it really didn´t matter whether or not the heroines were lesbians, so long as their friendship was depicted with warmth and conviction. (Still, there are people who whoop and holler when they see Xena and Gabrielle together in various states of undress. I, for one, don´t condemn them as Lucy Lawless and Renee O´Connor are both very attractive ladies.)

The series took a turn for the (very) dark during Season Three. Xena and Gabrielle became mothers who had to kill/sacrifice their children for the greater good. Season Six has several light-hearted moments that seem to indicate that the heroines have stumbled upon good times. However, as the show´s last year winds down, Xena faces the fate that was prescribed by the show´s conception--she must pay the price for all the innocent lives that she destroyed. In a sense, that she accepts full responsibility for her deeds means that her personal journey is complete, but her sacrifice must be "for real", too. Xena and Gabrielle end up in Japan, where, like Duncan MacLeod, they get to use Japanese swords. For the most part, Gabrielle succeeds in not getting any blood on her hands, remaining the pure, sweet girl that Xena wants her to be. The finale is rather violent and unnecessarily over-the-top, but it does give "Xena" a satisfying sense of closure.