Making of Fallen Angel
Recently broadcast in the United States, the season five premiere of Xena: Warrior Princess was possibly the most breathtaking, exciting episode ever. In this exclusive feature Kate Barker, our on-set reporter in New Zealand, goes behind the scenes to find out how such a dazzling episode was brought to the screen.
Official Xena Magazine: Issue 02
Xena and Gabrielle are dead - crucified by Caesar in The Ides of March, the climactic season four finale of Xena: Warrior Princess.
So they're in the afterlife - now what? In Fallen Angel, the dramatic and visually stunning season five opener, they battle - and become - angels, archangels and demons, in a journey through Heaven and Hell... and beyond.
Fallen Angel opens somewhere on Xena and Gabrielle's way to Heaven. The promise of eternal bliss is shattered when Gabrielle is snatched by demons and drawn down into Hell. After meeting the Archangel Michael, and becoming an angel herself (complete with wings), Xena leads a heavenly army to Hell in order to rescue Gabrielle.
But the cavalry arrive too late; Gabrielle has been tricked by Callisto (now a servant of Hell) and has become a demon.
As Gabrielle is eventually freed by the angels and led back to Heaven, Xena again confronts her nemesis, Callisto. Now, as an angel, Xena sees the truth - it has been Xena's own doing that has created the evil thing that Callisto has become. Xena is now only capable of good. Overcome, she hugs Callisto and apologises for all the pain her actions have caused.
This results in a startling transformation: as Callisto absorbs Xena's goodness, her evil is released and she finds herself finally at peace. In turn, however, all Callisto's evil flows into Xena... who is transformed herself and must now remain in Hell as the ultimate demon.
Gabrielle, now an angel, returns to Hell to look for Xena, and the ultimate battle ensues…
Bruce Spaulding-Fuller, heading the team from KNB that has used the magic of make-up to transform Lucy Lawless into the Demon-Xena, describes Fallen Angel as “the biggest blowout Xena episode ever”. He should know; the makeup for Xena’s demon scenes alone (“with body paint and everything”), took two and a half hours to apply.
But for Lawless, the make-up is merely an addition to a fun episode, “being as psycho as I can possibly be. It's a bit of a drama getting it off... but we like drama here!”
Along with Lawless and Renee O’Connor, Fallen Angel stars semi-regulars Hudson Leick as Callisto, and Ted Raimi as the humbling Joxer. Guest cast members include Tim Omundson as the healer Eli, and Charles Mesure as the Archangel Michael, both of whom have pivotal roles to play in Xena and Gabrielle's journey in the afterlife.
Archangels and hellfire? While some might question the 'anachronism' of a biblical focus rather than staying within the confines of Greek mythos, Co-executive Producer Eric Gruendemann is quick to point out the reasons behind “shifting the gears”.
“As our fans know, we take certain liberties... In this case, we thought, wouldn't it be interesting for [the characters] to actually get wings, be they angel or devil or archangel wings, and fly around and have huge F-18 fighter pilot fights in Hell, as opposed to Mount Olympus or the Elysian Fields or Tartarus, which we’ve gone to a hundred times before. This is a more interesting place”.
Interesting and dark, yet still infused with humour and fun - this is the impression Fallen Angel suggests for the general feel of the season. On set, there is a certain amount of secrecy concerning upcoming storylines... but Gruendemann is giving a little bit away in order to whet fans’ appetites: Gabrielle becomes more of an ass-kicker, ever since she snapped at the end of the last season and started maiming and killing everybody indiscriminately because of what happened to Xena. They’re back where they left off, with a little bit of a difference in attitudes and motivation.” Gruendemann promises it won't all be doom and gloom though; there will be more comedy, more gods and more surprises as Xena and Gabrielle “go on their merry way”.
Having been described as one of Producer Rob Tapert's “pet episodes”, Fallen Angel is a remarkable adventure. And who would know better than Xena herself? As Lawless says, “there’s a lot of beauty in this episode. In Heaven, the angels are spectacular... as angels ought to be.”
SIDEBAR : She’s just a devil woman
…with evil on her mind! Lucy Lawless gets her claws out as Xena takes a big fall from grace...
It's a slightly unnerving experience interviewing Lucy Lawless during this particular scene of Fallen Angel. She is decked out in full body paint and horns, evil-looking contact lenses, fingernails that could rival a chakram for sharpness, and a slightly hellish version of that familiar leather armour. Lawless isn't wearing her wings as we talk, but the effect is still striking. She makes a very effective Demon-Xena.
XENA MAGAZINE: That outfit's quite impressive.
LUCY LAWLESS: It's very impressive.
Can you actually pick things up with those nails?
I wouldn't like to have them permanently, but they’re pretty functional.
When you sit around in that kind of outfit, does it get uncomfortable or do you get used to it?
I’ve had so many more uncomfortable things than this - this is easy!
Is it hard moving in those wings?
Yeah, they're a little tricky. They're the most difficult thing for me, but for those poor people [stunt and body doubles]... they have to do a lot of the harness work, which can mean getting on wires and flying, and that’s extremely painful - it’s really excruciating. I’m really happy to be out of that.
Otherwise, you’re having fun with this episode?
I'm loving it - it’s great fun! My demon is somebody you hate to love. You almost can’t help liking them, they’re so... funny and psycho. You don't want them to win, but you're sure that it's a good fight and you really love it. We try to infuse a bit of humour into it, otherwise it would be too heavy.
How does the season feel like it’s going to go for you?
Things change so much that I've learned not to anticipate. I know in really broad strokes but things can evolve over the course of the series with the writing. And unexpected things happen [with actors]; someone gets sick, someone gets pregnant…
The show seems to be getting quite dark as it progresses.
You can't keep up this level of intensity throughout a series because people would find it agonising — we’re putting in a lot of fun elements.
So there will continue to be lighter episodes?
Absolutely - I love doing comedy!