13 Things You Didn’t Know About ‘Xena: Warrior Princess’

In 1995, a former warlord set off down the road to redemption with her sidekick Gabrielle and a uniquely mercenary attitude. What began as a spin-off from Kevin Sorbo’s Hercules: the Legendary Journeys has — in the interim — become one of the most beloved cult series of all time. Set in the glory days of Greek myth, Lucy Lawless’ Xena saw battle with a variety of fantastical beasts, as well as some of the less noble residents of the world as she worked to undo the harm she wrought in her past life. If you were one of the kids (and more than a few adults) who eagerly tuned in to watch Xena battle the forces of evil, then there’s a lot you may not know about the series revered so highly among modern-day nerds.

1. The Show Had All the Tones

One of the reasons that Xena has persevered through the decade and a half since it went off the air is the sheer malleability of the format. While ostensibly set in Ancient Greece, the show’s writers avidly incorporated a wide variety of anachronisms and foreign cultures. As such, throughout the series, Egyptian, European, Indian and Chinese myths were incorporated. In a addition, a single episode could incorporate a variety of dramatic styles from melodrama to slapstick.

2. A Quick Note About New Zealand

The entirety of the show was shot on location in New Zealand, thanks to some nifty cost-cutting measures associated with shooting there. Also, New Zealand looks like literally every fantasy novel ever written, so its got that going for it. As a result, Xena showrunners chose several actors who were actually local, including the star of our next panel.

3. Lucy Lawless Wasn’t the First Choice To Play Xena

These days, Lucy Lawless seems like the only possible choice to play the kick ass female lead on the show. But producers wanted Vanessa Angel to play the warrior princess instead. Unfortunately for Angel, an unforeseen illness prevented the English actress from traveling, so the role went to New Zealander Lucy Lawless instead.

4. Renee O’Connor Wasn’t the First Choice For Gabrielle, Either

Xena’s plucky sidekick Gabrielle was played to perfection by the equally plucky Renee O’Connor. However, like Lawless, O’Connor wasn’t the first choice to play Gabrielle. That honor goes to Sunny Doench, who backed out of the role because she didn’t want to leave her boyfriend in the States.

5. Xena and Gabrielle Were Almost Definitely Into Each Other

By the middle to end of the series, most viewers clued into this one. In the 1990s, a potentially homosexual relationship had to be played with a certain amount of subtlety. However, over the course of their adventures, Xena and Gabrielle became extremely close to each other, to the point of eschewing any other kind of companionship. Even stupid viewers figured (and happily accepted) that the two women were in love with each. Even Lucy Lawless conceded that she was convinced her character was gay (not bisexual, gay).

6. Karl Urban Was There!

Today, we know him as Judge Dredd, the star of several high quality action films, one short-lived sci-fi show, and a pretty sweet death at the hands of Jason Bourne, but back in the day, Karl Urban was a struggling actor in New Zealand who managed to score not one, but two parts in Xena: Warrior Princess. In one role, he was the sedate Julius Caesar; in another he was the spritely Cupid.

7. Sam Raimi Was Involved

If you’ve ever seen an episode of Xena: Warrior Princess, then the revelation that Sam Raimi himself was one of the people who developed the show probably isn’t that surprising. Throughout his career, Raimi has relished camp and lauded cheese in a way that should have relegated him to B-movie status. But Raimi, as we know, is a genius, a man who elevates what — on paper — is some pretty corny stuff into cinematic gold.

8. The Joys of Nepotism

Throughout the second season, Ted Raimi appeared as Joxer, the ancient nerd who had a thing for Xena’s sidekick, Gabrielle. Though he’s prone to corny jokes and impulsive cowardice, Joxer is ultimately a good dude who ends up dead for trying to be protective. And sure, it’s tempting to call nepotism because his older brother was a producer, but Ted Raimi did the role real justice whenever he was given the opportunity.

9. Renee O’Connor Did Most of Her Own Stunts

Gabrielle was a pretty acrobatic fighter, avidly joining Xena in the messiest of brawls. What’s perhaps most impressive is that Renee O’Connor herself did most of her own stunts, including one sequence in season 6’s “The Abyss,” which she kicked a dude in the face mid-backflip. She didn’t even use wires for the stunt.

10. Quentin Tarantino Loves Some Xena

Maverick (and completely brilliant) filmmaker Quentin Tarantino is an unabashed lover of Xena: Warrior Princess. On the DVD commentary of one film, he was quoted gushing over the show, saying it was the show he wished Charlie’s Angels or Wonder Woman was. He called the action a lot of fun and the scripts really good.

11. There Was a Running Joke in the Credits

During the first season it happened occasionally, but by the second season onward, every episode had a humorous disclaimer akin to “no animals were harmed in the making of this show.” For example, there was a “Despite Gabrielle’s incessant hurling, Ulysses’ ship was not harmed during the making of this motion picture.” There was also a “No oversized Polynesian-style Bamboo Horses were harmed during the production of this motion picture. However many wicker lawn chairs gave their lives.” Blink, and you might have missed it.

12. There Was Almost a Dwarf Planet Called Xena

When the team of astronomers discovered the dwarf planet Eris, they initially nicknamed it Xena, and it almost stuck. It had a good mythological ring to it, it started with X (which fit well with the tenth planet) and they’re always looking for new female names to enrich the sky. Even the media ran with planet Xena for a while, until the International Astronomical Union nixed that and made Eris the official name.

13. It’s a Bulgarian Theme Song

In case you were wondering what that unusual language the theme song was sung in, it was actually Bulgarian. They also used a Bulgarian bagpipe-type instrument called a gaida in the musical production. In case you want to sing along, here are the lyrics translated into English:

The Warrior Princess rides alone.
Her past drives her from shame.

Against the forces of a dark world
She fights for good, not for fame.

Horns sound her coming, blare her name.
Make way the warrior! Cheer!

Drums beat a rhythm, let villains beware
The Warrior Princess is here!