Tag: Syndicated

Xena leaves Gabrielle behind in a village while she scouts ahead to see if they can ford a river. Sometime later she comes upon some villagers being attacked by warriors. She fights them off and rescues a boy that was almost crushed under the frame of a barn the villagers had been working on. But before the warriors leave, their leader orders arrows fired at Xena. She catches two, but a third strikes her in the left side and she falls from her horse. The man whose son she saved earlier, Darius, takes her to his home and helps her to remove the arrow. While she is resting, another of the villagers comes to see him. He’s upset that Xena is still there, but Darius is adament that she remain until she has recovered. He turns to check on the warrior, but she is gone. He goes to find her in the stables with Argo and tells her she should wait until she is better. While they are talking, the warriors have returned and burned the silo with the village food stores. Gabrielle is getting impatient for Xena’s return and getting unwanted advances. In an effort to stop them, she pretends a young warrior, Sphaerus, is her suitor. She talks with him about his father, and then mentions Xena. Sphaerus is startled when he realizes that Xena is the woman he thought he had killed earlier. But he mentions nothing of this to the bard and leaves.

Sphaerus learns from his father, Cycnus, that he must meet with the villagers from before and offer them a peace settlement. Then he and the other warriors are to take the villagers by surprise and kill them. Darius tells Xena of the meeting, and she insists on going. Darius reluctantly agrees, but asks her not to wear her warrior’s clothes. Instead he gives her a dress that belonged to his late wife. At the meeting, other villagers are upset to see Xena is there. Sphaerus, on the other hand, is slightly relieved to see that Xena is still alive. Xena moves toward the back of the room and listens as Sphaerus welcomes the villagers and begins to tell them of Cycnus’s plans for peace. She notices the end of a sword trying to raise the latch on a door at the side of the building. She goes outside and surprises the warriors waiting to ambush the villagers. Sphaerus and the warriors retreat, and the villagers are upset because they believe she’s ruined their chances of a peace settlement. Darius is also upset about what she did, but when he realizes she’s going to leave he tries to stop her.

Xena knows that there is no way that Cycnus will let the village have peace, and since they won’t defend themselves she plans on stopping him herself. Gabrielle has finally given up her vigil and has set out to find the warrior princess. When she finds Xena, she’s angry with her. But to her surprise Xena appologizes and tells her that she has to stop a warlord. She wants Gabrielle to go and stay with Darius and his family, but the bard refuses. As they are walking by the river, Xena hears chariots approaching. She puts Gabrielle onto Argo and sends her down the nearly dry riverbed, while she waits to ambush one of the chariots. Once Xena has control of the chariot, she sets off in pursuit of Cycnus and Sphaerus, who are chasing Gabrielle.

teleplay by Adam Armus and Nora Kay Foster
story by Josh Becker
directed by Harley Cokeliss
music by Joseph LoDuca

Guest Cast: Nick Kokotakis (Darius), Stuart Turner (Sphaerus), Jeff Thomas (Cycnus), Nigel Godfrey (Tynus), Morgan Palmer Hubbard (Argolis), Patrick Morrison (Lykus), Ruth Morrison (Sarita)

LogBook entry by Mary Terrell

Gabrielle asks Xena to teach her how to use her sword, but the warrior refuses. Instead she gives her rules for survival. As they are talking, a group of highwaymen approach them. They demand that the women give up all of their valuables. Xena refuses and fights the highwaymen. In the scuffle, her sword is knocked out of her hand. Gabrielle picks it up, and two of the thugs approach her. Xena comes to her aid, and the young woman throws the sword back to the ground. The leader of the gang picks up Xena’s sword. When he realizes who he is fighting, he’s determined to make a reputation for himself by killing the warrior princess. But he is the one who ends up dead by Xena’s hand, and the other highwaymen run off. A few yards away, two men in robes have watched the fight with great interest.

In the village nearby, Gabrielle goes to buy a weapon. After some talk with the arms merchant, she chooses a breast dagger. Xena is at another merchant buying a sharpening stone and oil, when an a blind man comes in to buy a halter for his horse. The shop owner runs him off, complaining about him being an ex-mystic. Xena changes her purchase to a halter instead. When Gabrielle meets Xena to leave, her dagger falls from it’s hiding place to the ground. Xena is disappointed in her, and takes the dagger. Before they can leave, they notice the villagers are running and hiding. Xena makes Gabrielle get on Argo just as a group of soldiers appear. She fights them off, but when she turns back to Gabrielle, her friend is gone.

The warrior returns to the shop she had visited earlier, and learns that a group of mystics are behind the bard’s disappearance. She decides to find the ex-mystic to help her rescue Gabrielle. Elkton tells her that the mystics plan on sacrificing the young woman to the dream god, Morpheaus. As part of the ritual, she will be sent through a test and forced to kill. He also tells her that it would take her to long to fight her way through the fortress. But he can send her there through a dreamscape. Elkton warns Xena that Morpheaus will use her dreams against her in an effort to stop her.

At the fortress, Manus gives Gabrielle a sword and sends her into a passageway for her first test. Two soldiers are also in the passageway. Remembering what Xena told her about what to do when she was outnumbered, the bard lures the men to one spot and ducks out of the way as they kill each other. In Xena’s dreamscape she encounters her victims and her army. She realizes that it’s part of Morpheaus’s way to stop her, and continues on. To her surprise, she also runs into Gabrielle. Manus has given the young woman a chance to rest, and she fell asleep. But the warrior is suspicious, and finds a way for the bard to prove who she is. Xena tells Gabrielle why the mystics want her and advises that she use what she knows until Xena can reach her at the fortress. Manus arms Gabrielle again, and sends her into a chamber of a cave with a firepit in the floor. Three warriors enter, and again thinking of what Xena said manages to talk the men into fighting each other. Finally there is only one left. He throws a dagger at Gabrielle, but she ducks and it becomes lodged in a stalagmite. He then grabs her, but as she is struggling with him, the dagger is forced out of the rock behind him because of built up steam. Manus is upset and tells Gabrielle that she has one more challange and she will have no choice but to kill. Xena finally reaches the end of her dreamscape, but her path is blocked by the dark image of the former warlord.

written by Steven L. Sears
directed by Bruce Seth Green
music by Joseph LoDuca

Guest Cast: Nathaniel Lees (Manus), Desmond Kelly (Elkton), Michael Daly (Mesmer), Colin Francis (Swordsmith), Bruce Hopkins (Termin), Sydney Jackson (Storekeeper), Matthew Jeffs (Gothos), John Palmer (Baruch), Patrick Smith (Dolas), Lawernce Wharerau (Mystic Warrior), Polly Baigent (Doppelganger), Grant Boucher (2nd Xena Warrior)

LogBook entry by Mary Terrell

King Gregor learns from a seer that a baby recently born in his kingdom will one day take his throne. He orders his advisor, Nemos, to find the infant. Unnoticed by the king and Nemos, a servant has overheard. She takes the baby that was just born to another servant and places him in a basket. She carries him to a river and puts the basket in it. The next morning, the child is discovered by Xena and Gabrielle. The warrior is determined to find who the baby belongs to. They encounter a mob in the process of hanging a woman. When they refuse to reveal what crime she has committed, Xena disperses the crowd and frees the woman. She is Pandora, the granddaughter of the Pandora that opened the box, freeing all of mankind’s desires except hope. As part of the family’s curse, Pandora must keep the box with her at all times to keep the lock set on it. That was the reason for the mob’s behavior. The trio make their way to a tavern in order to feed the baby. Xena notices the bartender talking to a young boy. A shortly after the boy leaves, Nemos and his men arrive. He demands that Xena hand over the baby to him. She refuses and fights off the soldiers. During the scuffle, Nemos sees the box and grabs it then runs out of the tavern.

Nemos informs the king that Xena has the child in her custody. He warns that she may use the child against him. A note arrives from the warrior saying that she wants to meet with Gregor. At their hiding place, Pandora tells Xena and Gabrielle that she must get the box back soon to reset the lock. If she doesn’t, hope will be freed. Xena meets with Gregor and Nemos in the tavern. He doesn’t have the box with him, but says he will trade it for the baby. Gabrielle brings the servant who placed the baby in the river to thier hideout. Ophelia tells Xena of the festival that evening. The warrior decides to use that to gain entrance to the castle. Disguised as a dancer, she learns that Gregor has the box in his chambers. When she finally locates the box, she overhears the king talking to himself. She then realizes what the true prophecy is, and is determined to fulfill it.

written by Terrance Winter
directed by Michael Levine
music by Joseph LoDuca

Guest Cast: Mary Elizabeth McGlynn (Pandora), Edward Newborn (Gregor), Kirstie O’Sullivan (Ophelia), Simon Prast (Nemos), Carl Straker (Young man), Beryl Te Wiata (Cynara), Susan Winter (woman), Tony Bishop (Weasel), Lathan Gains (Kastor), Paul Minifie (Innkeeper), Alan De Malmanche (Old man)

LogBook entry by Mary Terrell

A young princess is kidnapped, and her fiance seeks out Xena’s help in rescuing her. He tells the warrior that she was taken to Traikus and is being held by the arms dealer Mezentius. When Xena arrives in Traikus, other warriors are suspicious of her. They’ve heard the stories about how she has changed. She tells them that her “help” is just a way of gaining people’s trust. Marcus, an ex-lover, is happy to see Xena. He introduces her to Mezentius. The arms dealer is wary of Xena until he hears her plans. She tells him she knows that he has the princess, and that he hopes that her family will go to war against her fiance’s family. She says that her army could extend the battle by fighting first for one side and then the other in exchange for half of his profits and ransom. Before he can answer, there is a commotion outside. The princess is on a ledge with a knife. She plans on killing herself because she’s afraid of what Mezentius has planned for her. Xena goes to the balcony and tells the princess that her fiance sent her. She’s unwilling to believe until Xena shows her proof. The warrior tells her to meet her later and she will get her out of Traikus. Mezentius finally agrees to Xena’s proposal. Xena meets the princess, but before they can leave Mezentius arrives. Xena hides the girl, and talks to the arms dealer. He finally goes away, and Xena sneaks the princess into a storage room. She has removed weapons from one of the crates, and hides the princess in it. But before she can get the crate outside, Marcus arrives.

written by Julie Sherman
directed by Stephen L. Posey
music by Joseph LoDuca

Guest Cast: Bobby Hosea (Marcus), Stephen Tozer (Mezentius), Nicola Cliff (Jana), Jimi Liversidge (Agranon), John O’Leary (Antonius), Iain Rea (Brisus), Christine Bartlett (Philana), Peter Saena-Brown (Soldier #1), Paul Norell (Street Vendor)

LogBook entry by Mary Terrell