Xena Warrior Princess - The Ultimate Collection [DVD] [1995]

A good set, containing all six seasons of 'Xena: Warrior Princess,' on thirty-six discs. A must if you prefer keeping all your DVD's in one place like I do as opposed to having various cases as clutter. Each season is housed in a six-disc regular sized DVD case, redesigned. The outer packaging is a cardboard container, containing all the DVD cases. The lid comes off and the cases are slotted it side-by-side. Altogether it is a neat and tidy purchase and looks good anywhere on display if you're in to that kind of thing. As for the content on the discs... it all appears to be as it should be. They lack extras, as the original DVD sets did, so there's nothing new if that's what you're looking for, but if you're a collectibles fan, this is a must for any Xena fan!

OK, I admit I'm pretty late to this particular party. I did try a few episodes when Xena was first shown on UK tv, and I did not like it. I was a mythology purist at the time, and found the way that Xena's writers play fast and loose with the mythologies they draw on frankly annoying. So annoying that I vowed never to watch it again. And I didn't, until a few weeks ago when I started watching an episode just because it was the only thing on freeview that looked even remotely watchable. Much to my surprise, the episode was really funny, cleverly written, engagingly performed, and oddly surreal. I watched the next one. It too was a hugely enjoyable romp. At this point, I finally got it. This show was doing for ancient mythologies what the 60s Batman show did for comic books, i.e. revelling in gloriously camp humour, and doing so with genuine wit and intelligence.It's not just deliciously camp though. Lucy Lawless handles the fight scenes with great zeal and aplomb, and I like the use of Hong Kong action movie wire work. The special effects are surprisingly good for a tv show of its time too. I especially like the way they do centaurs. I've seen several cinema films that do a less good job bringing centaurs to the screen. To paraphrase Superman's blurb, you'll believe a man can have hooves.I was so taken with those first couple of episodes (from season 3 I think), that I invested in this full box set. My sons (in their early 20s) and I have been watching them and all enjoy them. The first season is still finding its feet and getting the pacing right, though there are still stand-out episodes. The central performances are great, and the guest stars add plenty to the mix too. We just watched one featuring B-movie legend, Bruce Campbell, as a professional thief. Wonderful!So, late to the party as we are, we're very happy to be here at last.

Xena, a once evil warrior now looking to seek atonement for her once dark and evil past travels ancient Greece with her best friend Gabrielle. Long before Game Of Thrones came along and made fantasy TV cool and award winning, there was Xena Warrior Princess. A spin off of fantasy TV series Hercules The Legendary Journeys where Xena first appeared as a villain, the series goes from being a serious fantasy drama to camp comedy slapstick series. Both leads Lucy Lawless and Renee O'Connor are excellent as Xena and Gabrielle with some fun supporting characters, Bruce Campbell pretty much steals the series every time he appears as King Of Thieves Autylocus and then there's incompetent wannabe warrior Joxer played by Ted Raimi while there are also the Greek Gods who make appearances with Ares being the show's main villain. There are some excellent fight scenes and while the comedy can be cringeable when it works it works really well and can be hilarious. Personally I find the more serious episodes that explore Xena's past the better episodes along with episodes that explore ancient Greek myths but expect a very fast and loose interpretation of the myths and don't expect anything even remotely historically accurate in the series either with Hindu and Christian myths also coming into the series along with Romans and Cleopatra. Don't take any of it seriously and just sit back and enjoy a fun ride ending in a touching 2 part finale at the end of season 6. It's puzzling to me why original series Hercules The Legendary Journeys isn't available in full in the UK especially when some episodes cross over into that series and Hercules himself makes a few guest appearances. No extras whatsoever so you just get the episodes but a fun set at a decent price for Xena fans that also sets up an iconic female action hero. It's probably fair to say that this is one spin off series that outdid the original series it came from.

Just what it says on the box - a complete Xena DVD set.Well into season 1 and no problems so far. The disc payback quality is unusual. When I play them in the DVD player built into my TV its rubbish, but when I play them in my PS3 its as good as I could hope for. The playback quality of most DVDs is usually pretty similar from both devices, so probably down to some weird technical combination of the way the disc was recorded and the fact the PS3 is just such an awesome DVD/Bluray player.I'd almost forgotten how entertaining Xena was until the pilot episode reminded me. Some of the fight sequences remind me of the surreal Monkey/WaterMargin style with the Heroine ignoring gravity and literally 'flying around' jumping from villain to villain. The quaterstaff 'boss battle' in the Pilot is a very good example and very Monkey-esque.If you have fond memories of the Xena/Hercules TV shows back in the day then buy it - you wont be disappointed. But use a good quality DVD player.