The Oracle: Good Call
Report by David Bassom.
Official Xena Magazine: Issue 09
A leading author of Xena fan fiction has been hired to write a script for the show. Melissa Good will make her television screenwriting debut with an upcoming sixth season Xena episode which is currently entitled Legacy. Good is the first-ever Xena fan to be invited to work on the show.
Good was originally approached about this revolutionary assignment by former Xena Executive Producer Steven Sears, who was aware of the Miami-based computer network analyst’s reputation as being one of the world’s leading writers of Xena fan fiction.
“I was at work minding my own business one morning when I got a voicemail [message] from Steven,” Good told Xena Magazine. “I had no idea what he needed - I figured maybe he was setting up an office network and wanted some geek advice or something! But he asked me if I was still a fan of the show (I said yes), and if I still watched it (yes again). Then he asked if I’d like to write an episode!
“He said [Executive Producer] Rob Tapert had been mulling over an idea where he was considering getting a fan involved in writing an episode, and Steve had given him my name. He gave me the number for Renaissance Pictures, I called and it sort of progressed from there.”
Once her selection had been confirmed by Tapert, Good developed the basic storyline for her Xena episode during a series of conference calls with the show's producers. She then began writing the script under the original title of Two Women and a Chariot Race. The teleplay was later retitled Legacy, following the excision of the planned chariot race.
Although Good was tight-lipped about the specifics of Legacy's storyline prior to production, she happily offered Xena Magazine a sneak preview of its driving theme. “If it goes the way they’re talking at the moment, it's part of a mini-theme arc that has to do with Gabrielle coming to terms with the violence she's immersed herself in over the last season.”
Good's personal journey to ancient Greece originally started in 1997, when she unveiled her first piece of online Xena fan fiction, A Warrior by Any Other Name. She went on to write a further 12 Xena adventures, including Festival and Dark Comes the Morning, and also authored the Xena-inspired novel Tropical Storm. Her rich and imaginative storytelling, coupled with her provocative interpretation of Xena and Gabrielle’s relationship, won the hearts of Xena viewers around the world and even earned Good a loyal fan club of her own, the MerwolfPack. Prior to Legacy, Good's only scripting experience came with her screenplay for a proposed movie adaptation of Tropical Storm.
With her first Xena script under her belt, Melissa Good is now waiting to see if she will be invited to write any further scripts for the series.
“That’s entirely up to Rob Tapert and [Executive Producer] R.J. Stewart,” she noted. “If I was asked, the answer would be absolutely yes, in a heartbeat. It has been an amazing experience so far, and I’ve really enjoyed every minute of it.”