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  • English: Dolby Digital Stereo
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  • Photo gallery
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Xena: Warrior Princess - Season 1 Part 2

Universal/Universal . R4 . COLOR . 510 mins . M15+ . PAL

  Feature
Contract

For a look at what this series is all about, please be sure to check out my review of XENA: Warrior Princess – Season One Part One.

After the 12 episodes in the first half of this series had established the show, Xena gained quite a following in the television community. The series was recognised for its humour as well as its ability to make such a quality program with little known actors on a low budget by Hollywood standards.

"Sometimes the best man for the job is a woman!"

Here we have the second half of the series, again presented in a three-disc box set. Containing a further 12 episodes that are stronger than the first 12, this box set should satisfy all the fans out there in the Xenaverse.

Athens City Academy of the Performing Bards
While telling a story to interested onlookers, Gabrielle is informed of a competition in Athens for Bards, the winner is to gain a place at the Academy. She is befriended along the way by a Bard named Orion.

A Fistful of Dinars
A friend of Xena’s is killed for a clue he had that when used with other clues will lead the way to a treasure. The treasure is in fact a key to a temple that contains ambrosia, the food of the gods. The person that discovers this food can become a god, simply by eating.

Warrior... Princess
Princess Diana (no not that one) is in danger and Xena is asked to pose as her, seeing as they bear a remarkable resemblance. The Princess is in danger because her pending marriage will cause the end of slavery and some people don’t wish for that to happen.

Mortal Beloved
Xena’s dead lover Marcus appears to her with news of trouble in the underworld. Xena must swim to the bottom of the lake and gain entry to the underworld to help Marcus. Xena is torn when she discovers that Marcus has been placed with the wicked and if she restores order, Marcus must spend eternity in Tartarus.

The Royal Couple of Thieves
Xena sets a trap for Autolycus the king of thieves and enlists his help to recover the greatest weapon known to man. He agrees to help in return for a fee and Xena accompanies him as his assistant.

The Prodigal
After nearly getting herself and Xena wounded in a battle and thinking she may have lost her nerve, Gabrielle decides to travel home and find some answers. Upon her return, she discovers her village is under siege and she must try to save them.

Altered States
Anteus is convinced god has told him to sacrifice his youngest son Icus when, in fact, his older son Maell has put the idea in his head. Xena and Garbrielle must protect Icus until his father can see reason and understand that a good god would not ask a father to sacrifice his own son.

Ties That Bind
While attempting to rescue some slaves, Xena is interrupted by a man also trying to save them. Xena ends up having to save him and he then proclaims to be her father. Meanwhile Aries is in hot pursuit as Xena tries to return the slaves to their village.

The Greater Good
When a mysterious warrior poisons Xena, Gabrielle must don the Warrior Princess leathers and impersonate Xena to convince warlord Talmadeous and therefore save the village from his attack.

Callisto
As a young child, Xena and her army destroyed Callisto’s village and she is now driven by vengeance. Xena is not the same person these days, but Callisto doesn’t seem to care, her only aim is to destroy Xena. This episode sees the introduction proper of the recurring character of Callisto.

Death Mask
Men in masks attack Xena and Gabrielle and they discover that the men are warriors with the warlord Cortese. Xena has been looking for Cortese and sees this as a great opportunity to find him. The one small problem is that her brother is one of Cortese’s men and has a similar plan to Xena.

Is There a Doctor in the House
The final episode in the series sees Xena and Gabrielle discover Ephiny in a war zone in need of urgent medical help due to her pregnancy. They take her to a temple to seek medical help. Garbielle is also injured and needs help, not to mention the war that is still raging nearby. What a woman!

As is the norm for this series, all episodes run for just over 42 minutes each and contain the full titles, introduction and commercial fade-outs. The second half of series one is much more enjoyable that the first, this I would suggest is mainly due to the fact that the characters are more established and the humour is a lot freer flowing.

  Video
Contract

Again presented in full frame, the visual quality seems to have improved slightly from the first half of series one. Sharpness is quite good throughout, but grain is still a problem, although nowhere near as much as in earlier episodes. This is common for many television series and in all it's at acceptable levels. Shadow detail is good and colours are again vibrant and reasonably true. Pixelisation is not really a problem and film artefacts are minimal. Aliasing is very rarely a problem.

There are again no subtitles supplied and the layer change occurs at 41:30 during the Callisto episode. In the first half of series one, the layer change was very noticeable, but in this case they have placed it during a fade out to cause little disruption.

  Audio
Contract

Audio is again supplied in Dolby Digital 2.0 and is of the same standard as the first half of the series. Dialogue is sharp throughout and synch is never a problem. There are a few problems on the episode Warrior… Princess in the form of hum. This is quite annoying, but is only a problem on this episode as the remaining episodes are all fine. Separation is used well when needed and the accompanying music is very well suited.

  Extras
Contract

Yet again the only extra supplied is a Photo Gallery. This is made up of pictures taken directly from the episodes included and seems a total waste of time. If there were a need to supply extras, wouldn't subtitles have been a good start?

  Overall  
Contract

The second half of this series contains much stronger episodes than the first as the series really gets into its groove. The relationship between Xena and Gabrielle seems a lot more established and the actors' portrayal of their characters seems a lot more natural. The whole series builds up to a good season ending episode and with improved video quality this is well worth adding to the collection for Xena lovers. The audio is much the same as the first half of the series, which is quite good and the only question left to ask is why did they bother with this extra? It can perhaps be understood with the first volume of the series, but to repeat that mistake seems a little odd.


  • LINK: http://www.dvd.net.au/review.cgi?review_id=1727
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      And I quote...
    "The second half of series one is more of the same for Xena lovers."
    - Adrian Turvey
      Review Equipment
    • DVD Player:
          Akai DV-P2000
    • TV:
          AKAI CT-29S55AT 68cm
    • Receiver:
          Akai AM-SS1500
    • Speakers:
          Akai
    • Centre Speaker:
          Akai
    • Surrounds:
          Akai
    • Subwoofer:
          Akai
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