New York Post14 June 2001
I'LL BE 'XENA' LATER
By LYNN ELBER
June 14, 2001 -- 'XENA: The Warrior Princess," which leaves the syndicated airwaves this week after six seasons, can be secure about its place in popular culture: It's a show with a truly devoted following.Evidence could be found on a Yahoo! online auction site of Xena props, including a velvet dress priced at $4,250 (74 bids), a retractable short sword at $405 (36 bids) and a go-go girl costume at $2,850 (38 bids).
But while fans dicker over mementos (with the proceeds going to charity), series star Lucy Lawless is reveling in her release from breastplates, 12-hour-plus workdays and enough stunt work to last a career.
"The best vacation of my life," she reports from Auckland in her native New Zealand. "The freedom of it blows my mind."
The 5-foot-10 Lawless carried the weight of "Xena" on strong shoulders, making the improbable mix of mythology, campy humor and sly sexuality work.
She was ably assisted by co-star Renee O'Connor, who as perky, petite sidekick Gabrielle was part of one of television's more intriguing gal pal duos.
"A big girl and a little girl and they're a mighty force together," Lawless said, neatly summing up the appeal.
In fine acrobatic form, Xena flipped nimbly over and around her enemies before dispatching them with weapons ranging from sword to frying pan.
Audiences, in turn, flipped for "Xena," making it among the top-rated syndicated dramas.
The show made its mark in another way: Early studio and TV station fears that Xena and Gabrielle might be perceived as lovers came true, with some viewers celebrating what they saw as lesbian affection.
"It didn't matter one way or the other to me, or to Renee," Lawless said. "It made no difference in how we played the roles. We just tried to play a relationship of love and respect, and what people wanted to read into it was fine.
"I'll never get a role like this again," she added. "I don't think there will be a role like this again. It caught a wave, the right place and the right time for female action heroes."- AP