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Xena - Rest in Peace
(for now)
Den 16 oktober 2000 gick det officiella pressmeddelandet om
Xenas slut efter sex fulla säsonger ut till media. Det var en svart dag
för alla som följt serien genom åren. Men allt har förstås
sin tid och sex säsonger är en ganska så lång tid. Lucy
Lawless och Renee O´Connor förtjänar att få syssla med
lite annat också, det tycker vi nog alla. Så här såg
den officiella pressreleasen ut.
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Xena: Warrior Princess' to Conclude Outstanding Six-Year Syndication
Run At End of 2000-01 Season
WEST HOLLYWOOD, Calif., Oct. 16 /PRNewswire/ -- The hit "Xena:
Warrior Princess," syndicated television's highest rated first-run action
hour, will conclude its enormously successful six-year run at the end of the
2000-01 season. Studios USA Domestic Television President Steve Rosenberg and
Rob Tapert, the series creator and executive producer, made the announcement
today.
The series will wrap production on its full 22-episode sixth season
order this spring and will air through summer 2001.
"'Xena' has been an outstanding performer for us since its
September 1995 debut, finishing No. 1 among all first-run syndicated dramas
for the past four consecutive seasons, and we want to see it to go out on top,"
Rosenberg said. "The series has been nothing short of groundbreaking in
redefining the female action hero on television and has inspired a host of imitators
across the television landscape. Its worldwide success is a testament to the
vision and execution of Rob Tapert, his producing partner, Sam Raimi, executive
producer R.J. Stewart, all the people at Renaissance and the work of the extraordinary
cast led by Lucy Lawless. I can't say enough about Rob, who is one of the most
incredibly talented and gifted producers I have had the pleasure to work with,
or about Lucy, who is more than just the star of another TV show. She has taken
her character to the level of a national cult hero."
Said Tapert, "'Xena' has been a labor of love for everyone
associated with it and we've been unusually lucky in having had the freedom
to explore anything we've ever wanted to try -- from high-action dramas to slapstick
comedies to musicals. We're excited about the shows we're currently producing
and we hope to deliver some of the best episodes we've ever done. Having said
that, all of us on the show feel it will be time to move on to new creative
challenges at end of this season. We have been blessed with tremendously loyal
fans all over the world and we look forward to bringing them new and exciting
programs in the future."
Now seen in more than 115 countries, "Xena" debuted
in national syndication in September 1995, with the protagonist based on a popular
character introduced on Tapert and Raimi's hit companion series, "Hercules:
The Legendary Journeys."
"Xena" chronicles the life-and-death-and-afterlife adventures of the
fierce and fearless warrior princess, played by Lucy Lawless, and her warrior
bard sidekick Gabrielle, played by Renee O'Connor. In their travels through
ancient imaginary lands, the two fight to protect the powerless even as they
struggle with their own inner demons. The stories of their adventures blend
drama with humor and feature spectacular action, cutting-edge special effects
and a knowing modern-day sensibility.
The new season, which was launched in national syndication the
week of Oct. 2, includes episodes in which Xena and Gabrielle return to their
respective childhood homes. But instead of happy reunions, they find Xena's
village of Amphipolis haunted by evil and they are sucked into a ferocious battle
against Mephistopheles. This deadly confrontation leads to a fight for survival
against the warrior archangels Michael, Raphael and Lucifer. When they arrive
in Poteideia to find that Gabrielle's niece Sarah has been captured by the vicious
raider Gurkhan, they set sail for North Africa on a dangerous rescue mission.
While there, they also intervene to help unite two tribes of warring nomads
in a campaign to defeat their Roman enemies.
This season will also include a highly dramatic three-episode
arc that takes Xena and Gabrielle north when a Norse warrior named Beowulf approaches
Xena for help. Filled with elaborate special effects, these stories involving
Norse mythology will feature such entities as Odin, Grindl, Valkyries and flying
horses.
A Renaissance Pictures production ("Evil Dead," "Evil
Dead 2," "Timecop," "Hard Target," "Army of Darkness,"
"Hercules: The Legendary Journeys," "Back 2 Back Action"
and the upcoming feature film, "The Gift"), "Xena: Warrior Princess"
is executive produced by Rob Tapert, Sam Raimi and R.J. Stewart and is exclusively
distributed domestically by Studios USA Domestic Television. The series airs
on more than 200 stations reaching 99% of the U.S.
Studios USA (www.studiosusa.com), a division of USA Networks,
Inc.'s (Nasdaq: USAI) Entertainment unit, responsible for some of the biggest
drama, action, dramatic reality and talk hits on television, consists of first-run
production and distribution and network development and production.
SOURCE Studios USA
CO: USA Networks, Inc.; Studios USA
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Men Xena är för den skull inte nödvändigtvis
över för gott. Känner jag Robert Tapert rätt så har
han säkert minst en långfilm med Xena i tankarna och eftersom han
sitter på rättigheterna så verkar det t o m högst troligt
att det kommer att hända. Det tar kanske fem år men jag tror nog
att Lucy och Renee gärna gör det igen för en films skull då
tiden är den rätta. Både för att det en dag kommer att
vara kul att träffas igen och inte minst också för att mätta
det självklara begäret som kommer att blossa upp med tiden. För
nu är Xena kult. Och ett framgångsrecept som är alldeles för
lukrativt för att lämna därhän för gott. Men kommer
man tillbaka så måste man göra det stort! Det begriper nog
samtliga involverade också. Vilket garanterar att det kommer att vara
stort då det väl sker.
Nostalgi stavas "Katjiinngg!!!" i Hollywood! Ge det
fem år...
Jag hoppas och tror att Lucy In The Sky fortfarande existerar
då det väl sker. Frågan är nog snarare främst hur
många nummer av tidningen som vi har hunnit med då det väl
händer. Fast det får Gudarna bestämma.
På den här länken kan ni stödja tanken på
en Xena långfilm. Uppropet startades i april 2001. Var med och skriv historia!
XENA WARRIOR PRINCESS MOTION PICTURE
http://www.petitiononline.com/xena/
I maj 2001 startades en webring med hemsidor vars syfte är att samla upp
fansens hyllningar och tankar om XENA:WARRIOR PRINCESS. Jag har valt ut den
här men ni hittar även till dom andra via den här länken.
Chansen är stor att Lucy, Renee och andra som jobbat med serien kommer
att kika på dom här sidorna, så bidra gärna med något
som kommer från hjärtat.
http://www.kandi.org/xenatributes/
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