Aricles Annex - Xena: Warrior Princess Magazine Articles

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Cinescape

September/October 1999
Vol. 5, #6; pg. 54-55




 

Tricks and Treats

[a general article about returning shows in the fall. The following is the Xena/Hercules part of the article]

When the first Hercules TV movie aired in 1993, it helped usher in a renaissance of high-octane syndicated action shows. Xena: Warrior Princess would eventually spin off from the Hercules series, and a number of other heroes (Tarzan, Sinbad, Conan, Nightman, etc.) would jump into the syndie market to try to capitalize on the big Greek guy's popularity.

But now that era seems to be coming to an end. Almost all of the Hercules wannabes have been axed, and even Herc himself is throwing in the towel. When Hercules: The Legendary Joumeys returns for a sixth season, it will only be for a handful of episodes, after which the halfman/half-god/all-hunk hangs up his leather pants for good.

"It's too bad," sighs series star Kevin Sorbo. "It's going to be sad." According to Sorbo, Studios USA (which syndicates Hercules and Xena) hammered out an agreement with Renaissance Pictures (the company that produces the show) in 1996 that called for only eight episodes to be produced for the 1999-2000 season. Why the abbreviated season? Because that would give Studios USA just enough segments for ultra-lucrative, five-days-a-week strip syndication. (Repeats of both Hercules and Xena air daily on the Studios USA-affiliated USA Network.) Negotiations on a deal for a full season were fruitless.

"They've got the number of episodes that they want to have," Sorbo says. "It's sad for everybody. I'm still enjoying the show and so is everybody else. We have a blast doing it."

Though they're losing Hercules, fans of sword fights, giants and all-around camp will still have Xena to fall back on: The popular series will be around for at least one more season. But the show's producers have another unique challenge to deal with. Star Lucy Lawless (who's married to series co-creator Rob Tapert) is expecting a baby in October, so chances are the warrior princess' adventures won't be quite as rough-and-tumble for a while.

But even with Xena still battling her way into viewers' hearts, Renaissance will have to fill the void left by Hercules. The company plans to replace the hour-long series with two new half-hour action shows that are expected to bow in January. Jack of All Trades will follow the 18th century adventures of a British government agent. Cleopatra 2525, created by Tapert and Xena producer R.J. Stewart, concerns an exotic dancer who is frozen in the year 2001 and thawed out in 2525 in the midst of a war between humans and evil robots.

Really. An exotic dancer.

As for Hercules' final adventures, Sorbo says some storylines include an "Amazons to beat all Amazons" episode and a plot in which the hero joins "the dark side for a while." But one thing Hercules won't do, the actor has been promised, is die.

"This has been a wonderful ride," Sorbo says. "On the one hand, it's sad that you're leaving when you're still so hot and the episodes are doing so well. On the other side of it, it's nice to leave when you're on top."

But don't weep for Sorbo yet - he could find himself at the top again. He's now developing two shows with Majel Barrett Roddenberry that, like Earth: Final Conflict, are based on ideas from the archives of her late husband, Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry. Look for Sorbo to star in either Gene Roddenberry's Andromeda or Gene Roddenlberry's Starship in the near future.

Allan Johnson