Season One - 1995/96
Sins Of The Past
Xena decides to end her life as a warrior and return to quieter ways, and buries her sword, throwing ring and armour. Within a few minutes though, she is back to fighting when she discovers a group of village girls being tormented by a gang of thugs. She defeats the thugs single handed, and since she knows the warlord who commands them goes to see him and requests that he leave the village alone. Xena lets slip however that she is heading home, and angry at being spurned by her, the warlord follows her and threatens her home village. Meanwhile Xena is tailed by one of the village girls (Gabrielle), who seeks excitement and adventure and thinks she may find it with Xena. After she steps in and saves Xena from being lynched by her own townsfolk, Xena in the end agrees to her coming along.
Episode: 1.1, US Airdate 9 Sep 95, UK airdate 8 Sep 96.
Guest Star: Jay Laga'aia (Draco), Stephen Hall (Hector).
Chariots of War
Xena finds a group of villagers building a barn being attacked by a brutal warlord and his troops. She sees them off but is wounded by an arrow; the carpenter of the village who has three young children takes her in while she recovers. Meanwhile Gabrielle is waiting for Xena and becoming worried when she doesn't turn up. As Xena recovers, the warlord's son calls the villagers to a meeting to talk peace, but his fathers soldiers are waiting in the wings to slaughter them all...
Episode: 1.2, US airdate 16 Sep 95, UK airdate 15 Sep 96.
Guest Stars: Nick Kikitakis (Darius), Stuart Turner (Sphaerus).
Dreamworker
Gabrielle is kidnapped by dark forces working for the god Morbius and has to go through a series of challenges to see if she is suitable to be his bride. Xena tries to rescue her by entering a dreamscape world where she comes up against a number of foes including the dark side of her own pscyhe. In the meantime, her body is in an unconcious state and soldiers working for Morbius are searching for her.
Episode: 1.3, US airdate 23 Sep 95, UK airdate 22 Sep 96.
Guest Stars: Nathaniel Lees (Manus), Desmond Kelly (Elkton).
Cradle of Hope
Xena and Gabrielle discover a baby in a basket left floating abandoned on a river. They plan to take the baby to a nearby town, only to discover that it is being hunted for by the soldiers of the King who have orders to kill it. To make things worse, they are joined by Pandora, grand- daughter of the original Pandora who first opened the box. When her box is seized in a fight, this also becomes a priority since hope will escape if Pandora doesn't reset the time lock by midnight.
Episode: 1.4, US airdate 30 Sep 95, UK airdate 29 Sep 96.
Guest Stars: Edward Newborn (King Gregor), Mary Elizabeth McGlynn (Pandora), Simon Prast (Nemos).
The Path Not Taken
A princeling pleads with Xena for help when his girlfriend (a princess) is kidnapped leading two neibouring states to the verge of war. Xena soon realises that a local arms dealer is responsible and has to return to a city from which she launched many of her battles. She is reunited with an old flame (Marcus) and is unable to decide whether to trust him; meantime she does a deal with the arms dealer to get closer to the kidnapped Princess.
Episode: 1.5, US airdate 7 Oct 95, UK airdate 6 Oct 96.
Guest Star: Bobby Hosea (Marcus), Nicola Cliff (Jana), Jimi Liversidge (Agranon), Stephen Tozer (Mezentius).
The Reckoning
Xena finds a small group of peasants travelling with a cart being attacked by a hooded swordsman, and comes to their rescue. After a short fight the swordsman disappears and she finds herself surrounded by the friends and relations of the injured men. When they see blood all over Xena and her sword, they assume that she is responsible for the attack. Xena and Gabrielle make their escape up a side valley that turns out to be a dead end; early the following morning Xena and Gabrielle try to get past them but are captured. Xena is thrown into a prison cell and once alone the hooded swordsman appears to her; he is Ares, the god of war, who wants her to return to her old warlike ways, his ways and to become his Queen. She refuses and prepares to face death at the hands of the peasants instead...
Episode: 1.6, US airdate 21 Oct 95, UK airdate 13 Oct 96.
Guest Star: Kevin Smith (Ares).
The Titans
A group of villagers pursuade Gabrielle to help them read a scroll that will reawaken a group of Titans (giants) locked inside a cave near their village. Gabrielle succeeds but fairly soon her influence over the Titans fades and they start to follow their own agenda; one that does not bode well for the villagers. Xena has to step in and try to regain control of the Titans and save the village before one of their number, Hyperion, carries out his plan to awaken hundreds more of the sleeping titans. When a thug Xena was trying to bring to justice pursuades the villagers to turn on her, she finds herself captured and being taken to the titans.
Episode: 1.7, US airdate 4 Nov 95, UK airdate 20 Oct 96.
Guest Stars: Andy Anderson (Hesiod), Amanda Tollemache (Theia), Kieron Hutchinson (Phyleus).
Prometheus
A thug decides to try his luck at slaying Xena, and not unsurprisingly fails. However, when her attempts to heal his wounds fail, she starts a quest for an oracle since she believes that the god Prometheus has been captured and as a result his gifts to mankind are disappearing. These include the ability to heal and the knowledge of fire. The oracle instructs her on how to free Prometheus and she sets off to do so. Along the way she meets up with Hercules, and together they set off to free Prometheus. However, when Xena discovers that using the mystic sword to break Prometheus' chains will result in the holder dying, she and Hercules start fighting over who should fulfill this sacrifice. Each wishing to save the other, they attempt to outsmart each other at every turn...
Episode: 1.8, UK airdate 27 Oct 96.
Guest Stars: Kevin Sorbo (Hercules), Michael Hurst (Iolaus), John Freeman (Prometheus), Jodie Dorday (Io).
Death In Chains
Hades appears to Xena and asks her to help him free his sister, Celeste, who has been kidnapped by an elderly but good King. It's not however straightforward since Celeste is Death and with her held captive no one can die. At first Xena thinks this is a good thing and ignores the request, but when Xena and Gabrielle meet some injured people in the road, her opinion begins to change. When they visit a hospital, she becomes convinced that she must free Celeste so that these peoples suffering can come to an end. Assisted by Gabrielle and a friend she's met on the road who has knowledge of the King's Palace, Xena sets off to release Celeste.
Episode: 1.9, UK airdate 3 Nov 96.
Guest Star: Kate Hodge (Celeste), Ray Henwood (Sisyphus), Leslie Wing (Queen Merope), Chris Graham (Toxeus), Kieron Hutchinson (Talus).
Hooves And Harlots
Xena and Gabrielle enter the territory of the Amazons and are being taken before the Amazon Queen when the party is attacked. When Gabrielle tries to save one of the Amazons, her dying wish is that Gabrielle should inherit her birthright. Gabrielle doesn't mention this to Xena, which complicates things when the Amazons are drawn into friction with the Centaurs who live nearby. Xena soon realises that a third party is insighting a war between the Amazons and the Centaurs...
Episode: 1.10, UK airdate 10 Nov 96.
Guest Star: Danielle Cormack (Ephiny), Colin Moy (Phantes), Alison Bruce (Melosa), David Aston (Tyldus), Mark Ferguson (Krykus).
The Black Wolf
Xena visits a village to discover that the local warlord has kidnapped a young woman who was a childhood friend of hers. Xena promises to rescue her and decides to pretend to be working for the warlord in order to get into the dungeon where she and some of the other villagers are being held. She discovers that dissent against the warload is being organised by a mysterious leader called the Black Wolf, and keen to help the people overthrow the warlord, Xena struggles to discover who the leader is. As usual, Gabrielle manages to get herself drawn into the melee as well...
Episode: 1.11, UK airdate 17 Nov 96.
Guest Star: Robert Trebor (Salmoneus), Emma Turner (Flora), Kevin Wilson (Xerxes).
Beware Greeks Bearing Gifts
In the besieged city of Troy, Helen has visions of being overrun by the Greeks and sends a trusted courtier out to find Xena and ask her to come and help. Xena and Gabrielle find the courtier being attacked by soldiers and try to rescue him, but his injuries are too great and he dies. Before he dies however he does manage to deliver his message and Xena and Gabrielle head to Troy. Defeating a number of Greek soldiers, they are welcomed to the city by Gabrielle's former fiancee who is a captain of the city guards. Things start to go awry when Xena is arrested by the guards under the control of Paris and is thrown into a cell. She soon fears that there is a traitor within the City Guards, and that the city will soon fall...
Episode: 1.12, UK airdate 24 Nov 96.
Guest Star: Scott Garrison (Perdicus), Galyn Gorg (Helen), Warren Carl (Paris), Ken Blackburn (King Menelaus), Cameron Rhodes (Deiphobus).
Athens City Academy of the Performing Bards
Gabrielle meets up with a young man and his father who are making their way to Athens to take part in a competition for four places at the Athens City Academy of the Performing Bards. Gabrielle enthralls everyone with her tales of Xena's exploits, and decides to try the competition for herself. All is going well until it is revealled by the jellous father of the young man who told Gabrielle about the contest that she had not applied properly for the competition and she is disqualified.
Episode: 1.13, UK airdate 1 Dec 96.
Guest Stars: Dean O'Gorman (Orion), Grahame Moore (Polonius).
Note:This is basically a clip show compiled from previous episodes of the series, plus segments from Xena's appearances in Hercules The Legendary Journeys.
A Fistful of Dinars
Xena finds one of her old acquaintances being attacked and chases his attacker while Gabrielle attends to his wounds. Xena recovers a purse stolen from him but is then challenged by his attacker, at which point she removes a parchment map from the purse and after memorising it, eats it. It turns out that it is one of four clues to the location of the buried treasure of the Summarian empire. She soon teams up with an assasin and a warlord and they set off to find the treasure; Xena informs Gabrielle that buried along with the treasure is some ambrosia - the food of the gods - which will turn any mortal who eats it into a god.
Episode: 1.14, UK airdate 8 Dec 96.
Warrior...Princess
Xena visits a palace and is somewhat surprised when all the guards stand down; she meets with the King and he explains that she is the splitting image of his daughter. The problem for the King is that some group are trying to kill his daughter before she can marry the princeling from a neighbouring state. At first Xena is unimpressed until she hears that the marriage will bring the end of slavery in the neighbouring state, at which point she agrees to help. Xena meets the Princess, Diana, and there is indeed a striking similarity. However for Xena to take her place, Diana must take Xena's place, and rides out of town on Xena's horse to meet Gabrielle. All too soon Xena is having to contend with multiple attempts on her life as she posses as Diana, and she begins to have the disquieting fear that the assasins are working for someone within the court.
Episode: 1.15, UK airdate 15 Dec 96.
Mortal Beloved
While Xena and Gabrielle are eating in a Tavern, one of the girls working there reports having seen a ghost outside. Xena goes out and finds the ghost of her dead lover Marcus (from The Path Not Taken) waiting for her. He starts to tell her of a terrible change in the underworld, but before he can finish some dark figures appear to drag him off and they all disappear. Going with Gabrielle to the place he mentioned before he was dragged off, Xena dives into a lake and swims to the bottom where she finds her way through some caves to the river Styx. Going across, she discovers that the evil-doers have taken over the Elysian fields and thrown those who should be there into the underworld. Finding Marcus, they proceed together to a castle where Hades, is imprisoned having had his helmet of invisibility stolen. Xena and Marcus discover that an psychopathic murderer has stolen it and has plans to invade the world of the living...
Episode: 1.16
Guest Star: Bobby Hosea (Marcus).
The Royal Couple of Thieves
Xena is asked to help a group of villagers recover a valuable box that has been stolen from them. It turns out that it also significant value as a weapon and is due to be put up for auction. Xena enlists the help of a master thief and together they go to an island fortress. Things start to go awry when the box is stolen and the man selling the item is found dead...
Episode: 1.17
Guest Star: Bruce Campbell (Autolycus).
The Prodigal
Gabrielle and Xena are attacked by an opportunistic bunch of robbers but manage to foil their threats. However at the crucial moment Gabrielle freezes in fear; something which leads her to feel that she is a danger to Xena's safety. Deeply troubled she decides to return to her home village, discovering on the way that it is about to be attacked by a warlord who has already destroyed other villages in the area. She further discovers that her village has hired a reknown soldier, Meleager the Mighty, to protect them, but when he appears in person he is drunk and less than impressive. Gabrielle decides to organise the defence of the village herself...
Episode: 1.18
Guest Star: Tim Thomson (Meleager).
Altared States
Xena is teaching Gabrielle how to catch fish with her bare hands in the pool at the foot of a waterfall, when a young boy runs out of the woods pursued by a gang of men. She rescues the boy and defeats the gang and discovers that the boy is on the run because his father believes he has to sacrafice his son to his god. Xena can't believe that a father would really kill his son, and proceeds to investigate, but finds that it appears to be true. After several scuffles with the gang of zealots, Xena discovers that the father has been drugged after Gabrielle becomes delirious having eaten some bread intended for the boy. Meantime the boy is recaptured by the zealots and Xena is in a race against time to stop the sacrafice.
Episode: 1.19
Guest Star: Karl Urban (Mael).
Ties that Bind
Xena and Gabrielle are about to rescue a group of girls captured by a warlord, when another warrior appears and starts attacking the warlord's men. An older man, he seems unlikely to be able to hold his own, and Xena rescues him. When he hears Xena's name, he claims to be her father, Atrius; a claim she hardly even seems to consider, let alone believe, much to Gabrielle's astonishment. They free the slave girls and start to lead them home, meanwhile we see Ares appearing to the warlord and telling him that he'll fall to Xena. The warlord maintains that he'll defeat her. When ambushed by one of the warlords men, Atrius kills him after he has surrendered in front of Gabrielle who is shocked but when challenged shows evidence that he was pulling a dagger which appears contrary to what Gabrielle saw. In the end Gabrielle decides that she should not stand between Xena and her father and arranges for them to have some time together performing a rear guard action. When they reach the town from which the girls were taken, Atrius is lynched by a mob and Xena asks them to spare him until she has dealt with the approaching army of the warlord. After a duel with the warlord, she gains control of the army and returns to the village, only to find her father strung up to die by the townsfolk. In a wild rage, she orders the army to destroy the town and kill them all, including Gabrielle.
Episode: 1.20
Guest Star: Kevin Smith (Ares).
The Greater Good
Xena and Gabrielle are found by a young woman who pleads on behalf of her lord to save their village from a pending attack from a vicious warlord. When they reach the village they discover that the Lord of the village is none other than Salmoneus. A battle with the warlords minions ensues and all is going well until a mysterious figure in the woods fires a poison dart which hits Xena in the neck. At first she seems ok, but as time goes on she starts to loose her usual poise and timing and becomes very ill. With Xena unable to move, Gabrielle has to impersonate Xena in order to keep the warlords forces from attacking again. Unfortunately things don't go well and on her return to the village Gabrielle is told that Xena is dead.
Episode: 1.21
Guest Star: Robert Trebor (Salmoneus/Lord Seltzer).
Note: Although the character we know as Callisto makes an appearance here, it was actually a stunt double, not Hudson Leick who plays Callisto hereafter.
Callisto
A Village is attacked and ramsacked by a woman warrior and her army, and she lets a villager live saying that she is Xena. When Xena and Gabrielle are attacked by a man claiming revenge for the killing of his family, the two of them start to investigate who is attacking them. Finding the Blonde-haired Warrior who is called Callisto, Xena has a battle with her and her soldiers during which she looses her chakram. Interogating one of Callisto's soldiers, they discover that Callisto plans to kill the Delphi oracle and frame Xena. Xena foils this attempt and takes Callisto to prison only for her to be freed accidentally when a lynch mob attacks the prison. Callisto escapes kidnapping Gabrielle and Xena has to follow, straight into Callisto's carefully prepared trap.
Episode: 1.22, US airdate: 13 May 96, UK Airdate: 4 Feb 97.
Guest Star: Hudson Leick (Callisto), Ted Raimi (Joxer).
Death Mask
Xena and Gabrielle are attacked by thug firing an arrow, and much to Gabrielle's amazement she stops the arrow in flight with her staff. After overpowering the thug and his companion, Xena observes that they are wearing the trademark face masks of the warlord who attacked her home village many years before, killed her brother Lycius and started her on the path to being the Warrior Princess she became. Seeking to take revenge, she tracks down the camp of the warlord only to meet up with her brother who is trying to infilitrate their ranks. She pursuades them to work together and set off to seek the elusive warlord but when they come face to face with him suddenly realise theres a much bigger picture and a lot more involved than they suspected in overpowering him.
Episode: 1.23, US airdate: 3 Jun 96, UK Airdate: 14 Jan 97.
Is There A Doctor In The House?
Xena and Gabrielle are trying to travel to Athens but find that they have to pass through a battleground. When they find Ephiny, one of their Amazon friends, heavily pregnant and lying hidden in the trees - her husband having been killed in the crossfire, Xena resolves to stop the war one way or another. Capturing one of the generals, she stabs him through with a sword and she and Gabrielle take both him and Ephiny to a temple in the other city-states territory. Once their Xena does her best to help the injured and dying while at the same time showing the General the needless suffering the war has caused. When Gabrielle hears a child has been left outside when his mother was injured and goes to find him, she too becomes a casualty.
Episode: 1.24, US Airdate: 29 Jul 96, UK Airdate: 18 Feb 97.
Guest Star: Danielle Cormack (Ephiny).
Note: The UK showing of this on Sky 2 had more than 4 minutes of programme removed from it - it had a running time of just under 39 minutes compared to the normal 43 minutes 30 seconds. In the US the first run showing of this episode was "hidden away" amongst the summer season of repeats, it being shown in the middle of July. Basically, one way or another, the broadcasters seem to have a big problem with the somewhat gory content of this episode.