The Oracle: Six Games
Official Xena Magazine: Issue 10
The sixth season of Xena: Warrior Princess continues apace, with shooting on the fourth episode of the season, Legacy, wrapping as this issue went to press. Written by renowned Xena fan writer Melissa Good, Legacy forms part of a trilogy which takes our heroes to North Africa.
As reported last issue, the season kicked off with Haunting of Amphipolis, which sees Xena and Gabrielle visiting the Warrior Princess' home town on the next leg of their legendary journey. Following the dramatic events of season five’s final few episodes, which saw half of the gods defeated, Ares become a mortal man, Xena's daughter return to her mother’s side and the death of Joxer, this episode and following instalments of the sixth season will offer even more surprises and challenges for our heroic duo.
In addition to Haunting of Amphipolis and Legacy, further season six episodes include the Michael Hurst directed outing Who's Gurkhan, which promises harem girls, Turkish baths, bizarre dance routines and body decoration; and Heart of Darkness, the first episode to enter production, which pits Xena and Gabrielle against the archangel Lucifer.
Speaking on the set of Heart of Darkness, Lucy Lawless expressed enthusiasm for this particularly dramatic episode. “Xena’s got a problem,” she explains. “She's vanquished the king of hell, and unless she can find somebody to take over the mantle, she has to reign instead. Fortunately, Xena finds this archangel whose pride makes him a ripe candidate. So she's out to corrupt the prideful angel.
“It’s very exciting,” she enthuses. “We’re really loving these big stories. Rob [Tapert] was saying the other day that we’re doing a lot of big stories at the moment and what’s missing for him is the small stories. I think that’ll start creeping in more and more, and by the time we end it, it will have come full circle.
“The show’s been through all sorts of changes over the years,” Lawless muses, “but I think in the end it’ll come back to a story about friendship and empowerment. It begins and ends with the friendship between Xena and Gabrielle.”