Review: Many Happy Returns

J: It's called farce for a reason. Yeah, yeah. But they gave such a lame explanation of the pranking tradition. This is the second birthday we've celebrated on the show. Where were the pranks then?

H: Joxer was in that episode, wasn't he?

J: -sigh- And where did the helmet come from? Xena's delivering it to some king we've never heard of. There's just a bunch of stuff here.

H: I don't expect this episode to achieve greatness in the Xena canon. Still, you have to respect this episode for what it is...

J: Crap.

H: Excuse me?

J: Nothing.

H: You need to suspend your disbelief, and accept each episode on its own merits. Expecting any kind of consistency from this show is ridiculous, especially this late in the game. Why get yourself all worked up over this light-hearted goof of a story?

J: Because many of the performances were horrid? Renee does a good job, as does Alex Tydings. But Lucy seemed two steps away from mugging for the camera. Hori Ahipene is incredibly over the top as the warlord.

H: Didn't he play Blackbeard on Jack of all Trades?

J: Yeah, and Ferragus is a barely disguised version of that character. At least on Jack everything else was over the top as well.

H: I'll never understand why you liked that show.

J: Two words. Bruce Campbell.

H: It goes back to the tradition of farce - the warlord is a broad caricature of a stereotype.

J: That's supposed to be a good thing?

H: In this case, yes.

J: All right, I'll grant you that. Katie Stuart was cute, if empty, in the role of the virgin Genia. But the rest of the supporting cast? Yawn city. Frankus was a snooze, and the leader of the zealots was trying to be menacing, but came off more ridiculous than Jeremy Irons in the Dungeons & Dragons movie.

H: It's all part of the fun, and I had a lot of it watching this episode. The humor was wonderful.

J: If you enjoy recycled gags from grade school and lesbian innuendos. Nothing fresh or original there.

H: It doesn't need to be fresh or original - the joy of comedy like this is that it is comfortable. The viewer doesn't need to work to understand it.

J: Because he's seen it all before.

H: Exactly.

J: It reminds me of Anna Karenina.

H: What?

J: The opening like of the book says, "Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is

Go To Page: 1 2 3