Alex Kurtzman & Roberto Orci
Co-Executive Producers
The Chakram Newsletter: Issue 09
SD: As the head writers of Xena, you found yourself in an interesting situation - the star of the show is pregnant!
Bob/Alex: It's great. We’ve got an opportunity to do the first pregnant superhero which is not a chance I think we'll ever get again.
SD: It must have been an interesting discussion figuring out who the father would be.
Alex/Bob: There were several ideas about who it could be and finally we all agreed on the one that made the most sense. By the way, what makes you think it's a father? (laughs)
SD: That’ll give people something to think about. (laughs) What’s in store for the future of Xena?
Bob/Alex: The main change will be a break with the past. The show has covered a lot of Xena's life showing how she got where she is. The second half of this year will deal with her future. A new world.
SD: Any pun intended?
Alex/Bob (laughing): Possibly.
SD: Any plans for visiting other cultures and mythologies?
Bob/Alex: Big time!
SD: In “Ides Of March,” Xena says to Callisto, “That guilt you're depending on, I put it all behind me. You see, I know now what I have to do. I have to be the best warrior I can be. To redeem myself, I have to fight evil with a sword.” It’s been said when Xena loses her guilt, the series is over. Do we now have a reformed warrior?
Alex/Bob: I don't think she'll ever lose that sense of guilt. But she's matured since that first season and I think what's driving her now is not just guilt, but the realization that doing good is a good thing for the world. And that she has gifts that other people don’t have and it’s up to her to use them.
SD: She’s the one who has to make the hard decisions.
Bob/Alex: Whatever she knows the underdog can’t do, she will do.
SD: Including killing.
Alex/Bob: Yeah. Up to now, Xena’s fighting has been motivated by guilt about her past. Now it will be motivated by what she thinks she can do in the future. Her behavior will be basically the same, however, it will be for different reasons.
SD: But she still wishes she didn't have to kill.
Bob/Alex: Right. That will get harder and harder as she grows older. In fact, one of the key realizations that we believe will become a big theme of the show is that Xena has to do what she does so that other people don't have to do it.
SD: Gabrielle has changed tremendously over the past four years. She’s gone from a naive village girl to a mature young woman who has learned to make the hard decisions. And, it seems we’ve been shown she’s diametrically opposed in temperament, in philosophy, to who she's traveling with. It’s almost as if keeping Xena and Gabrielle together is a struggle.
Alex/Bob: That’s an interesting point. We think part of what Gabrielle is going through now is that she's starting to realize the line between Xena and herself is not so vast. Gabrielle, in becoming a more mature character, is becoming more like Xena. And now that Xena as a pregnant woman is going to go through what it means to be a mother, Gabrielle will start to ask, “How do I move into the role Xena typically occupies and still stay true to myself?” That’s her struggle.
Xena, because of her past, has lived with violence. Gabrielle has not. How do you deal with sharing Xena’s perception of the world, but not having the same kind of control over it?
SD: She's learning everyone has a dark side.
Bob/Alex: But Xena’s lived with hers pretty much since she was born. Gabrielle hasn’t, so she's going to have a lot more to work out.
SD: What characters, old/new, might we be seeing?
Alex/Bob: We’re talking about bringing Zeus and possibly Hera over.
SD (laughing): I think there have been three actors who have played the part. Who’s going to play Zeus now?
Bob/Alex: We’ve found a new Zeus in the last Hercules episodes for the sixth season, Charles Keating, who is brilliant. We hope we can get him.
SD: Would Meg Foster play Hera?
Alex/Bob: Hopefully. She's going to be back in Hercules' last season too. The Green Dragon will be back.
SD (laughing): He died in “The Debt,” and his spirit blew up in “The Bitter Suite,” but he’ll be back. That’s show biz!
More Amazons?
Bob/Alex: We love them conceptually, but they work in a specific context.
SD: And Ephiny’s dead.
Alex/Bob: We were very sorry to see her go. She was such a strong character.
SD: Why was she killed?
Bob/Alex: Because Danielle Cormack, the actress who plays her, was getting so much work. No one wanted her to go.
SD: What will Xena’s life be like with a child? Before she only had to protect Gabrielle. By the way, does Xena have to protect Gabrielle anymore?
Alex/Bob: I don’t think so. Obviously, if Gabrielle is in trouble, she will help her, but I would say Gabrielle is much more capable of holding her own now. Have you seen her with those sais? I certainly wouldn’t want to be facing her!
SD: And having a child in their lives?
Bob/Alex: The child will affect Xena’s decision-making. Before she and Gabrielle were very quick to jump into jeopardy. Xena now has to think about protecting the child.
The child will be a key to creating a new world. And it will contribute to Xena and Gabrielle staying together just at the time when they are becoming the most individual. When it seems they should separate, they're both going to have to deal with this force in the new world.