Fins, Femmes and Gems
story by Rob Tapert (Executive Producer), Adam Armus and Nora Kay Foster
teleplay by Adam Armus and Nora Kay Foster
Interview with Adam Armus and Nora Kay Foster
The Chakram Newsletter: Issue 04
SD: Are you aware how popular "Fins" is with the fans?
Adam/Kay: No! Not a clue.
SD: The downside of being an author is that you can't hear the applause! This episode was a “sit-back-and-laugh-tlll- your-sides-ache” show. So many great one-liners and funny sight gags. I noticed that the story was by Rob Tapert and the two of you. As freelance writers for the show, what were you handed when you were signed to do this story?
Kay: In this case, I think you could tell that Rob had his hand in it because it was based around something he loves — fishing.
Adam: He had a great time telling us about all his fishing exploits and we were furiously writing them down so we could use them in the story.
Kay: Most of them are real fishing techniques.
Adam: Like the kite fishing.
Kay: And hand fishing!
SD: You can actually punch a fish?
Kay: They do that in the South. You have to be an avid fisherman like Rob to know these things.
SD: Has he been hooked on fishing all his life? (Sorry about that, folks, I couldn’t resist.)
Kay: Yes.
SD: Rob told me that originally he was going to have Gabrielle obsessed with Xena, but that didn’t work out.
Adam: You remember the beginning of the episode when Gabrielle is looking at the statues in Aphrodite’s temple and she says, “That’s not humanly possible,” and Xena says, “Sure it is.” Well, that moment was supposed to be where Aphrodite blows the Obsession onto Gabrielle and from that point on she’s obsessed with Xena. But it was decided to go with Gabrielle being obsessed with herself.
SD: This show reminded me of a series of vaudeville sketches - broad comedy, sight gags, Xena’s pouting and mugging.
Adam: When Rob originally talked to us about the idea, it was mainly a bunch of gags strung together with a fantasy background. Working with the Xena staff, we realized there had to be some sort of plot to bring it all together. That's how the idea of obsession and Aphrodite came into it.
SD: Even the bad guys had great lines - “Your talents are wasted as a thug. You should have been an astronomer.” “I don’t know anything about rocks!”
Adam: Most of that came from R.J. Stewart’s and Steve Sears’ rewrite. They did a lot of the band guy banter.
Kay: They’re very funny guys.
SD: What electronics catalog did Aphrodite her seashell Walkman from?
Adam: I think that was Rob Gillies’ (Production Designer) idea.
SD: They came up with that on set?
Adam: Probably. Remember that sea-shell windsurfing apparatus Aphrodite had on Hercules?
SD: That was in “The Apple.”
Kay: They have all those modern appliances on Hercules such as airplanes and ray guns, (laughing)
SD: Alexandra Tydings (Aphrodite) had some outrageous banter with those thugs in her temple at the beginning of the show. And she delivers it with such flair. She seems to revel in that character.
Adam: She's just terrific.
SD: We’re going to have her as a guest at a convention in Cherry Hill, NJ along with Karl Urban who plays her son on the show, Cupid. It’s our Mother and Son Reunion.
Kay: You may not recognize her. She has that same beautiful face, but without the blonde hair, she looks totally different. It’s short and light brown.
SD: I’m looking forward to the audience’s response to her. Aphrodite is a very popular character. What, pray tell, was Gabrielle doing with that frilly little nightie in her magic shoulder bag. You know, that Mary Poppins bag that she pulls the buffalo robes out of for herself and Xena when it gets cold.
Kay: We thought it would be fun to see Ted in something pink. (laughing)
SD: You guys are warped! (laughing) Were Joxer and Aphrodite part of the package you were given to put the show together with?
Adam: This episode was right for Joxer. This story and what his character goes through, played to Ted's comedic strengths. And he made a really cool George of the Jungle! The idea of using Aphrodite came when we realized that there had to be more of a plot. I think they had her on another episode of either Xena or Hercules down there and they could get her for a day. This would be the perfect way to use her.
SD: Renee did a darn convincing job as Mademoiselle Monkey. She had those screeches down pat. (laughing)
Adam: Yeah. Jungle Girl. (laughing)
SD: There’s a line that Gabrielle delivers about the lake being “flawless.”
Adam: As in Lucy F. Lawless, (laughing)
SD: I wondered if that was deliberate.
Adam: I think R.J. or Steve wrote that.
SD: Steve knows the most about what goes on on the internet where that nickname is popular.
Kay: It was probably Steve that came up with it.
SD: Xena whistling the Xena theme song?
Kay: That was just brilliant, wasn’t it?
Adam: Turns out it was Lucy’s idea.
SD: I didn’t catch it at first. Then, a day or two later, it was playing on the TV in my office and I began to think, “I know that song!”
Adam: The script called for Xena to be whistling and they decided “why not the theme song.” (laughing)
SD: This episode had some touching moments in it as well - Xena and her memories and the insights that removed the spell.
Adam: At the very core is a story of Xena and Gabrielle. Aside from all the jokes, it’s really always about their relationship. When we can take advantage of that and add something to the mythology of the series, we try to do it.
SD: You needed a way to break the obsessions.
Adam: R.J. came up with the idea that, in order to break the spell, you have to get to the truth underneath it all.
Kay: The seriousness behind the joke.
Adam: Here was a chance to show that Gabrielle is still insecure about her place with Xena and always being considered “just the sidekick.’’
SD: You left Joxer in the forest still enchanted at the end of the episode.
Adam: That’s just us playing with Ted. (laughing) I think the fans can appreciate Xena and Gabrielle leaving Joxer as Monkey Man in exchange for a night's peace.
SD: As a writing team, do you sit together and bounce lines and ideas back and forth?
Adam: We definitely do that when working on the story and then, when we start to write it, we tend to write by ourselves and rewrite each other.
SD: Do you divide the scenes up?
Adam: No. I usually take the first stab at it and then Kay rewrites me.
SD: When you watch a comedy that you've written, does it make you laugh?
Adam: When we hear the lines, we either like the way that they’re delivered because it’s the way we imagined it or sometimes they do it in a different way that’s even better than we imagined. And we really get a kick out of that. It reminds us of when we thought of the joke in the first place.
SD: I was trying to picture you writing the line, “Twins!” (laughing)
Adam: That was Kay’s idea. She said the line to me and we both cracked up.
SD: And that’s how you knew it was a keeper! (laughing)