Many Happy Returns

Written by Liz Friedman and Vanessa Place
Directed by Mark Beesley

Ed. Note: I was of two minds about this episode. This commentary is, in a sense, my internal debate.

...We now return to "Under the Bar with Jay and Horslowski", already in progress.

J: Our next feature is the Xena episode, Many Happy Returns, directed by Mark Beesley from a script by Liz Friedman and Vanessa Place. It is clear that as the series winds down the producers are really scraping the bottom of the barrel for story ideas. This is a confused melange that throws a dozen things at the screen, hoping at least one sticks.

H: While I will agree that the story has far too much going on, I found this episode to be a goofy way to kill an hour. The presence of Aphrodite is always enjoyable, and it is obvious the cast had a lot of fun with this episode.

J: Please! You've got a band of zealots trying to sacrifice a virgin to some unknown deity, a band of warriors causing trouble, a magic helmet, the Goddess of Love, an unexplained war of pranks between Xena and Gabrielle. just where is the coherence?

H: It's called farce for a reason, Jay. The genre relies on broad characterizations and overly complicated plots. It's a tradition that goes as far back as the Italian commedia dell'arte.

J: Which doesn't make any sense either.

H: Let's not go insulting classics of the theatrical form.

J: I never could understand why you liked Cats.

H: There are many elements of this episode that serious students of the show will appreciate. The opening sacrifice (and Genia's initial reaction to it) reminds me of Renee O'Connor's first appearance in the Xenaverse, Hercules and the Lost Kingdom.

J: Right, Renee plays a young sacrifice that Hercules saves, and she gets upset with him. The change that happens to her character is the same development that happens with Genia -- she becomes an independent woman, who no longer blindly swallows what she's been taught all along.

H: You have been paying attention.

J: -shrug-

H: The battle of the practical jokes is a secret nudge to the fans, who know that Lucy and Renee have pulled countless pranks on each other over the last six years.

J: But it comes out of nowhere! There has been the occasional joke or two pulled in the show, sure. But it was usually by Gabrielle, and it was back in the days when she was still young and innocent. Why is Xena suddenly so playful? It all seems manufactured as an excuse to have this convoluted subplot surrounding the multiple bags and helmets.

H: I told you...

J: It's called farce for a reason. Yeah, yeah. But they gave such a lame explanation of the pranking tradition. This is the second birthday we've celebrated on the show. Where were the pranks then?

H: Joxer was in that episode, wasn't he?

J: -sigh- And where did the helmet come from? Xena's delivering it to some king we've never heard of. There's just a bunch of stuff here.

H: I don't expect this episode to achieve greatness in the Xena canon. Still, you have to respect this episode for what it is.

J: Crap.

H: Excuse me?

J: Nothing.

H: You need to suspend your disbelief, and accept each episode on its own merits. Expecting any kind of consistency from this show is ridiculous, especially this late in the game. Why get yourself all worked up over this light-hearted goof of a story?

J: Because many of the performances were horrid? Renee does a good job, as does Alex Tydings. But Lucy seemed two steps away from mugging for the camera. Hori Ahipene is incredibly over the top as the warlord.

H: Didn't he play Blackbeard on Jack of all Trades?

J: Yeah, and Ferragus is a barely disguised version of that character. At least on Jack everything else was over the top as well.

H: I'll never understand why you liked that show.

J: Two words. Bruce Campbell.

H: It goes back to the tradition of farce -- the warlord is a broad caricature of a stereotype.

J: That's supposed to be a good thing?

H: In this case, yes.

J: All right, I'll grant you that. Katie Stuart was cute, if empty, in the role of the virgin Genia. But the rest of the supporting cast? Yawn city. Frankus was a snooze, and the leader of the zealots was trying to be menacing, but came off more ridiculous than Jeremy Irons in the Dungeons & Dragons movie.

H: It's all part of the fun, and I had a lot of it watching this episode. The humor was wonderful.

J: If you enjoy recycled gags from grade school and lesbian innuendos. Nothing fresh or original there.

H: It doesn't need to be fresh or original. The joy of comedy like this is that it is comfortable. The viewer doesn't need to work to understand it.

J: Because he's seen it all before.

H: Exactly.

J: It reminds me of Anna Karenina.

H: What?

J: The opening line of the book says, "Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way." Xena comedies are all alike - recycled gags and ribald jokes delivered by cardboard characters in absurd settings. Dramas, on the other hand, are individual gems with distinct feeling and nuance. They must be savored and digested like a gourmet meal.

H: You continue to amaze me. If that's the case, why didn't you like the sixth season premiere, Coming Home?

J: Because it was a mess that never found the feeling at its core.

H: I thought so. And what about For Him the Bell Tolls?

J: It's a wonderful homage to a classic film that showcases the talents of the incredibly underrated Ted Raimi.

H: Hmm.

J: What?

H: I think you're upset that you enjoyed it as much as you did. Didn't I see you tearing up at the end when Gabrielle was reading that poem?

J: -cough- No. I was feeling the effects of my jalapeno dip.

H: Sure.

J: Oh, come on. You know that legions of subtext fans are going to take that scene as proof of Xena and Gabrielle's "intimate" relationship. It was pandering, pure and simple.

H: And that's a bad thing? The producers have always said you can take whatever meaning from the show that you want. Sappho's poetry speaks to love in its purest, spiritual form. We're not talking about the horizontal mambo here.

J: Apologist.

H: Cynic.

J: -glares- Now it's time for final thoughts. This episode was a convoluted mess that easily passes for comedy in this age of Tom Green and MTV's Jackass. Multiple cardboard characters and ridiculous situations abound, making suspension of disbelief -- let alone enjoyment -- impossible. I really expected more from Liz Friedman. I give it a D-plus.

H: The cast and crew had a lot of fun making this episode, and it showed. I was infected with their sense of play and enthusiasm, and felt the whole episode fit wonderfully in the rich tradition of theatrical farce. It isn't the finest comedy this series has done, but it is a long way from the worst. Considering the final three episodes are likely to be dramas, this isn't a bad comedy to end on. I give it a solid B.

J: One final thing. Was it just me, or was there a cameo appearance by Willa O'Neill during the bar fight?

H: You know, I thought the same thing myself.

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