My thoughts on the Xena reboot

http://epicstream.com/news/NBC-Confirms-Xena-Warrior-Princess-Reboot-in-Development

Yes, they are apparently making a new Xena. It’s still in the early planning stages, though. And to be honest, I’m not too excited. That’s just my opinion, though, and obviously some people might be into it, and I can hardly blame them for making a reboot. After all, Xena is a hugely popular thing, even now. And who the hell am I to say that they shouldn’t remake Xena: Warrior Princess?

But I’m not going to get too excited about it, and here’s why.

1- Part of the charm of the show is how dated it is. Xena is the kind of show you don’t get anymore, with all of its campy humor and throwing a fish into the sky and all kinds of weird shit. And its lack of a series arc, at least until the later seasons, is something that really added to it instead of taking away from it. And even when we did get a series arc, it was really downplayed. That’s something that just isn’t done in tv shows these days. There is always a series arc now. I’m not saying that a series arc is a bad thing by any means (it is, in fact, a very good thing), but I’m just saying that part of what made Xena the show it was is how dated it is, and it will certainly not get those same qualities when made today.

2- Xena is the kind of character we don’t get anymore, and I kind of doubt that she would be the same in a reboot. She wasn’t all glamorous the way that everyone on most shows are now. Her hair was never immaculate, and she wasn’t just some skinny chick in an armor bikini (Callisto was, though, but she was also a maniac). Xena was a hardcore badass, but at the same time had a good soul, was a good daughter to her mother and a caring parent to her children. The kind of protagonist that is a role model to the people watching. And to top it all off, you don’t not buy that she’s a warrior. I mean, Lucy Lawless is a beautiful woman and everything, but she wasn’t so perfect on the show that it ruins the reality. She actually looked like someone who has been fighting and sleeping in the woods and not taking baths in between. And I’m willing to bet that it won’t be quite the same in a reboot, simply because of how tv shows are done these days.

3- Lucy Lawless. It just can’t be done without her. And I don’t just think that because I had a huge crush on her for years and that the show was practically made with lesbians in mind, but because I seriously can’t picture anyone but her as Xena. She didn’t just dress up, say the lines and act the part. She WAS the part. Her face expressions, her tone of voice, her mannerisms, and all sorts of things contributed to how well she portrayed Xena. She also played like 5 or 6 different characters on the show, let’s not forget.

So that’s just my 2¢. I’m certainly not expecting everyone to agree by any means, but these are my reasons for not being too thrilled at the prospect of a Xena: Warrior Princess reboot.