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In this the fourth season of the series, things go back to
(almost) normal for our hero Xena Warrior Princess and her
bard friend Gabrielle. As they continue on their adventurous
travels this series takes them to far away lands, the past
and the future as they confront old enemies, make new ones,
battle monsters and help mend broken families as well as themselves
on journeys of discovery...
Season
Four of Xena: Warrior Princess started off dark
and pretty much stayed that way, after all causing the death
of your best friend and her baby is bound to have some consequences.
As the season opens, with Adventures in the Sin Trade
(a two parter), both Gabrielle and her child are dead and
Xena attempts to travel to Hades to make her peace with the
deceased, I'm guessing a "sorry" isn't going to
cut it here.
It's
not giving much away to say that Gabrielle does eventually
return to the show, had she not the fans would have torn the
limbs off the writers. And given that much of the shows appeal
came from the chemistry between Lucy Lawless (Xena) and Renee
O'Connor (Gabrielle) it would have irrevocably damaged the
show. So the search for Gabrielle and its consequences drive
the first portion of the season.
If
Season Four could be said to have a theme it would
be one of consequences, not just for what Xena did to Gabrielle,
but also in this season most of the characters go through
a period of soul searching and transformation and Xena's past
starts to catch up with her. However, this was also the season
which Xena, as a show, started to run into trouble,
not least because of its increasing reliance on parodies.
So
we have If the Shoe Fits (Cinderella), A
Tale of Two Muses (Footloose), Keys to the Kingdom
(Raising Arizona) and The Play's the Thing (The
Producers). Bulk that out with a trip to India and a few
more stories involving the Civil War between Caesar and Pompey
and even Bruce Campbell's irresistible performances make it
difficult to think of this season as anything other than significantly
weaker and decidedly more uneven in its quality.
Season
Four ends on an odd note in Déjà vu All
Over Again, by transporting the main characters into a
modern setting. The story also had the distinction of being
Renee O'Connors debut as a director.
The
show still suffers from repetition and especially the variable
quality of the acting, though all the cast seem like they
are having a ball making the show. This season did maintain
its quota of bosoms and swords and with this, and strong female
leads, it had some thing for both sexes.
The
discs are presented in their original aspect ratio, with no
extras and no subtitles. In this day and age of multi-region
machines it's hard to know who this box set is going to appeal
to, after all the sets have already been out in the States
and that was with commentaries, interviews, a remixed sound
track and good extras. The box sets would have to be significantly
cheaper than their Anchor Bay equivalents to be a bargain.
Charles
Packer
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£34.99
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£27.99
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£34.99
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£29.97
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£29.97
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