Home » Film & TV » Hercules & Xena » Final Tributes - Page 4

Final Tributes - Page 4

© Michael Martinez

Joxer grew, too, although not everyone was thrilled with his growth. He was added to the show because someone felt it needed comic relief. Statistics, we were told, showed that the majority of the viewing audience enjoyed the character. The rest of us wondered what was wrong with the writers. Well, I didn't wonder that all the time. I loved the scene in "Callisto" where Joxer tried to capture Gabrielle. She kept breaking his weapons and he kept coming back for more. And finally he pulled that little stub knife and got the wickedest grin on his face. That was the neat thing about Joxer. He could see the best side of every situation. It just took the hardcore fans a few years to get that.

Perdicas went through two personality changes and a face-change. I liked the character in "Beware Greeks Bearing Gift". I couldn't figure out what the need was for the seven-minute marriage in "The Return of Perdicas as an excuse for the Return of Callisto". What a waste of a good character. Or was it a waste? Perhaps it was a sacrifice. Sacrifice has become a familiar motif in the show. A lot of people have died along the way. Good people. Popular characters: Queen Melosa, Ephiny, Solan (yes, people liked Solan), Borias, Joxer. It doesn't pay to get close to Xena. Heck, Gabrielle has died dozens of times (well, a few).

Xena's darkness engulfs characters like a consuming cloud of despair. Queens drop like flies. Brothers vanish in the twinkling of an eye. Cyrene almost made it to the end, but, alas!, they finally done away with her and turned her into a wraith. That was kind of sad, and goofy, but this show has been goofy ever since Gabrielle tried to throw her first punch. It just sort of goes with the territory. If you get involved with Xena, you'll turn both dark and goofy. So I suppose it was inevitable that Draco, the villain whom everyone loved, ended up consigned to the halls of lovesick goofiness. But he does a great shock-rock video.

And music has been one of this show's strongest points. Have you ever seen a musical episode of Star Trek? About the closest I've ever seen them come to a musical is when someone gets drunk and starts singing (usually a Klingon), or the Holodoc lets his imagination wander. But the songs don't last long, and the episodes are not true musicals. I love the Xena musicals. All of them. My favorite performance has to be Jace's cover of "Dancing in the Moonlight". I loved that song when King Harvest did it in 1972 and I loved it when Jace did it. The musicals have always provided much-needed breathing space from the emotional roller-coasters that the various storylines have dragged us through.

The copyright of the article Final Tributes - Page 4 in Hercules & Xena is owned by Michael Martinez. Permission to republish Final Tributes - Page 4 in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.