Table of ContentsPrefaceIntroductionHistorical ContextSapphic loveExamination of ReligionsClues of the Producer's True MessageAppendix A - Biography of XenaAppendix B - Biography of GabrielleAppendix C - Series DisclaimersXena: Warrior Princess is an hour-long action-adventure series filmed in and around Auckland, New Zealand, and produced by Renaissance Pictures. It is exclusively distributed in syndication in the United States by MCA-TV and internationally by MCA-TV International. The show premiered the week of September 4, 1995 as a spin-off of Hercules: The Legendary Journeys. The final episode aired the week of June 17, 2001. The basic premise of the program is the continuing search for redemption of Xena, a former villainous warrior who destroyed families, lives and communities with her warring ways and her armies. The physical manifestation of her conscience during this search is her sidekick Gabrielle, the young, bright-eyed innocent who looks up to Xena as a hero and sees the true beauty and goodness within Xena. Together, they travel doing good deeds, saving innocents, killing warlords and ogres; all the while, learning and teaching of religious beliefs that on the surface stand at odds with one another just as the good and evil within Xena (and each of us) does.As a spin-off of "Hercules," the Xena series began with a male dominated audience. Most women viewed the program as a version of WWE where the women are scantily-clad just for the entertainment of the men. To transition this program and this audience, Rob Tapert took on two very big underlying messages - Sapphic love and religious understanding.Putting together a team to produce Xena must have tested Rob Tapert's skill as a producer and as a manager. There were 41 different directors of the 134 episodes and 43 different writers, many of these taking bit acting parts in various episodes. Maintaining a common theme throughout the series had to prove difficult. A six-season series that maintained a common thread of religious and sexual tolerance would require a tight-knit group with common belief systems.The setting of Xena Warrior Princess changes often. She travels around the eastern regions at will and at the behest of long-lost friends or enemies. Although much has been made of the conflicts in timing, clothing, tools, historical characterizations, the actual time of Xena's life does not need to be determined. Here are the clues we have:*Since iron is used in weapons, the time can't be significantly earlier than about 1500 B.C.*Sophocles (496-406 B.C.) is mentioned in DEATH IN CHAINS [#09], which places the series no later than about 380 B.C.*Hercules, a contemporary of Xena's, is generally believed to have died some 79 years before the start of the Trojan War, which would place the time period of the show somewhere around 1250 B.C.*There are several mentions of heroes of the Trojan War in BEWARE GREEKS BEARING GIFTS [#12] and THE RECKONING [#06], which would place thi...
