Season 5: Twilight of the Gods

The fifth season of Xena had quite a bit of internet buzz surrounding it. There was the expected debate over the quality of the season and how it compared to previous years. There were those who claimed it as the best season of the show, and that things on the horizon looked wonderful. Other fans reminisced about the first couple of years, and longed for the days of simple stories about a friendship (with the requisite bad-guy thumping, of course).

What did I think? Well, the honeymoon may have been over, but that didn't mean it was time to bail out of the marriage.

A Rocky Road

Personally I found the fifth season to be somewhat uneven. While the average quality of the show was still high, it had its share of bad episodes. Of course, what constitutes a "bad" episode for this show still tends to be steps above the competition.

I point to episodes like Fallen Angel, Seeds of Faith, and Motherhood as examples of the best the series has to offer. But at the same time episodes like Back in the Bottle and Life Blood were dull and uninspiring -- a characteristic I hadn't experienced with the series before. Some fans may point to Married with Fishsticks as the worst episode of the season, but I personally enjoyed it, as I did Lyre Lyre Hearts on Fire, another unpopular episode with the general internet fan base.

Behind the Wheel

There was quite a bit of discussion about why the season was so uneven (or, in the words of the generally negative fans, "bad"). Much of the blame was laid at the feet of Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci, who were brought on as producers after Hercules wrapped production. Many fans said that the two never really understood the way Xena was different from its sibling show. Some claimed they brought the "stupid comedy" trend over from Hercules. Some argued that Rob Tapert's need to control all the aspects of his pet project limited Kurtzman and Orci's ability to do their job properly.

I think it's a bit more complicated than that. While I think there is a small degree of responsibility that can be given to the "new guys", I tend to believe that they were convenient scapegoats for fan frustration.

After all, things were rather busy at RenPic that year. One series was wrapping up and two new shows were starting production. Let's not forget Lucy's pregnancy, and the fact that Steve Sears (one of the show's core writers) left to pursue a new series of his own. R.J. Stewart and Rob Tapert were distracted by the need to get Cleopatra 2525 off the ground. Is it any wonder that this season came out feeling a little unsettled?

In all honesty, I think the production staff did a good job with what they were given. I personally found the overall story arc surrounding Xena's pregnancy, the Twilight of the Gods, and Gabrielle's search for her path to be wonderfully engaging drama. It also met my high personal standards for epic fantasy -- especially on television. I've seen some of the copycats out there, and Xena, even at its worst, stands head and shoulders above the closest competition. They wouldn't have produced over a hundred episodes if the series were terrible.

On-Line Reactions

The rocky middle ground of season five caused some high profile shake-ups in the online fan base. Several long time webmasters jumped ship during mid-season reruns, expressing their annoyance and disappointment with the new direction of the series. The expected wailing and gnashing of teeth accompanied these announcements, but it tended to remain localized, and quieted down when new episodes started up again.

Indeed, many fans that had been expressing displeasure since the middle of season four (in some cases even earlier) found their faith in the show renewed with the closing episodes of the season. Perhaps the sky wasn't falling after all.

I think that hard-core Xena fans were a spoiled lot. We were used to such excellence from the series that when things weren't up to expected standards, we forgot how good we had it.

Final Thoughts

Overall, I would give season five a grade of "B-plus" The high points are among the finest in the series, and they certainly outnumbered the low points. But a few episodes dragged, and it seemed that the RenPic staff couldn't decide what their message actually was. I think with a little bit of perspective, fans may find that they enjoyed this season more than they thought they might.

Finally, my personal choices for best and worst of season five.

Best Episode is a tough choice because there were so many excellent episodes this season. The award ends up a tie between Motherhood and Looking Death in the Eye. I can't really choose between the two, so I'll make it a joint award and leave it at that. Honorable mentions go to Fallen Angel and Seeds of Faith.

Worst Episode isn't a difficult choice. I found Life Blood to be a total snooze-fest. This excuse to use old film stock to fill an hour just bothered me, and for the first time ever I felt like changing the channel to watch something else. Don't get me wrong, I would be interested in seeing the Amazon High movie, but not as a flashback episode almost totally unconnected to anything going on in the Xenaverse. Honorable mention in this category goes to Back in the Bottle which, after all was said and done, left me wondering why they had bothered.

Best Performance goes to Kevin Smith as Ares. The character wasn't seen on Xena through all of the fourth season. He shows up in Succession and the character catches fire! His relationship with Xena and Gabrielle -- especially in the last few episodes of the season -- is part of the drama that makes this season and this series so compelling. Honorable mentions go to Lucy Lawless and Renee O'Connor, who are always wonderful.

I can't really give out a Worst Performance, but I think the village woman in Seeds of Faith deserves mention for her whine after Eli was killed. I also think that Adrienne Wilkinson's performance as the Livia/Eve lacked the spark that tends to make featured players stand out. She had the physical aspects of the character down beautifully, but when compared to everybody's favorite villain, Livia came off as a pale imitation.

I think Best Moment has to go to the scene from Looking Death in the Eye where Ares gives his graveside speech at the end of the episode. But there were so many it is really hard to choose just one.

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