The Roku channel brought me back… 25+ years later
Posted by rockandrollfun@reddit | xena | View on Reddit | 30 comments
I was very excited to run across the Roku channel about a month and a half ago and started tuning in before bed each night (somehow, my spouse tolerated this) and it took a little bit but my gosh, I’ve gotten re-obsessed!
I was 16 when the series premiered and was a big fan till about season 4, when I moved away to college and suddenly had all sorts of trouble to attend to instead. (A fond memory is when I wanted to go somewhere in “the bad part of town” by myself, being probably 17 at best and my mom (RIP) forbidding me by saying, “You’re not Xena!”… sigh, she was right.) In the early years I even got involved enough on some forums to have someone send me VHS tapes of ones that I think were hard to see at the time (eg Altared States)- thanks, M, wherever you are; I was very young and ghosted you but you were kind of intense :/
At 16 I was all about Xena, nothing but Xena, and a little Callisto thrown in. But at 46 I’m surprised that I suddenly am invested in Gabrielle’s story arc and have much more respect/interest in her character and development (plus as someone trying desperately to put on as much muscle as I can, the physicality of ROC and her bringing that to the role is now super impressive!)
Figured out Amazon Prime had the series so I’ve decided to try to watch them all finally, and have the first three Hercules done and will now start the proper series (trying to sprinkle on the crossover Hercules episodes when it would chronologically makes sense to.)
Needless to say, I’ve gotten a lot of enjoyment out of this sub! And luckily when cleaning out my old stuff last year, I came across my personalized autographed picture I had from being a year 1 ROC fan club member and didn’t toss it like I did with the magazine clippings. I’d be kicking myself now!
Guess my point is some obsessions never die, you just forget about them for a good quarter century 🖤
Evilbuffy14@reddit
We're glad you found this sub. I have a similar story to you in the fact that when I watched it when it originally aired I didn't get to see some episodes due to timeslot changes and I wasn't Gabrielle's biggest fan. I mean, I liked her character, but nowhere near the adoration I had for Xena. But, after doing a rewatch earlier this year, I have a deep admiration for Gabrielle's character and the integral part she played in the series.
rockandrollfun@reddit (OP)
I’m happy to hear I’m not alone. As you said, it was never a dislike but definitely not at the level of enjoyment I feel now. Maybe it’s being able to look at the character more retrospectively, knowing that it would evolve so much. Maybe it’s seeing the relationship form with fresh eyes. Maybe it’s being older and sappier lol Whatever it is, I appreciate the depth it adds for sure
Evilbuffy14@reddit
Yes. I think all those reasons are bang on. I felt kind of guilty for not liking her as much as I probably should have. When I watched AFIN the first (and only) time, it finally hit me how much Gabrielle meant to Xena and that I shouldn't have discounted her so quickly. Maybe I wouldn't have if I had seen those important episodes from Season 4 and 5. On this last rewatch I was focusing so much on the character development that Gabrielle nearly surpassed Xena as my favourite. They're both equal now, for me.
rockandrollfun@reddit (OP)
I’m seriously thinking the same will happen to me (G ascending to favorite/tied) which would have been unthinkable when I was a teenager. One of the first things that has struck me watching the first couple of S1 episodes is a sentiment I’ve seen echoed here: When she says, “I want to become a warrior”- that’s it. That’s the show’s full arc! Xena came in as a warrior and left as a warrior, but Gabrielle truly becomes one from nothing and I had never once thought of it that way before 🤯 Rewatching through that lens and living her journey is gonna hook me, I’m pretty certain. Man, what a rare show this is. All my life, I’ve never even been into TV all that much (mainly animated shows and the odd series I like such as Stranger Things or :::gulp::: True Blood - the latter of which I’m not extremely proud of lol)
Evilbuffy14@reddit
Lol. We all have our guilty pleasures.
I've read a few comments on here in various posts about how the show focuses on Gabrielle's growth and how that focus surpasses Xena's focus in some respects. As if the show should be titled Gabrielle rather than Xena, almost.
One of my favourite Gabrielle episodes is Married With Fishsticks. I know it's super fluffy and virtually no Xena, but I think that's for the better. I know there's no fighting, but seeing her go from almost subservient to authoritative in one episode is so enriching.
You're right, it truly is a rare show. For all the super dark to super fluff themes, there is always something rich to take from each one.
rockandrollfun@reddit (OP)
I initially was turned off by fluff episodes but I’m going to take that perspective into the episode, thank you
I think I’ll always stick by my guns that it should be called Xena; even if it’s truly about Gabrielle’s journey, Xena was the absolute linchpin to that process. So, the title works for me either as the titular character or the primary mechanism for plot advancement :)
Evilbuffy14@reddit
Of course, of course. When analysing both character developments, there is argument that Xena's is rather stunted compared to Gabrielle's. Though, I beg to differ. I just think Gabrielle's development is more linear, more straightforward and easier to notice. Xena's development is more detailed, I think. You have to analyse it deeper and therein lies the enjoyment of the character. The fluff episodes originally made me cringe and I almost swore never to watch them again. Almost. But there's valuable content there.
Hour_Dog_4781@reddit
I threw out all of my Xena magazine clippings too. I watched Xena when I was 14 and still living in the early post-communist Czech republic. We got absolutely no merch so these clippings were all I had. The show stopped airing after like 4 seasons, which I guess was because it started to get too gay for the homophobes to handle, so they didn't buy anymore. By then I didn't care anymore because I moved on and was deeply obsessed with Lara Croft instead. Decades later I'd love to finally get my hands on some of the forbidden merch, but it's so hard to find and/or expensive. :/
rockandrollfun@reddit (OP)
I was growing up in a Baptist household in the south, but nothing that really compares to that. Ah Lara, I did clock some hours in on Tomb Raider games but I have always been more Nintendo than PS. I started becoming obsessed with musicians instead.
Hour_Dog_4781@reddit
Tomb Raider on PlayStation is unplayable with the awful controls. I recently bought the remastered trilogy because TR2 was incredibly important to me on PC back then, and I just can't play it at all. Do not recommend. It's also hilarious to me to look at the ancient 90's Lara models and remember that I once thought that was sexy. I don't know what I was on. 🤣
rockandrollfun@reddit (OP)
The polygon sports bra is a classically hot look! lol
SakuraTacos@reddit
This is almost exactly what happened to me. A month and a half ago, I was tossing and turning, so I turned on the Xena channel on Prime until I got sleepy and holy shit. I did not get sleepy that night, that was a mistake (that I don’t regret) lol! I loved the show when it premiered but also left around S4. 25ish years later and I’m back into the show with a vengeance. More obsessed than I was even the first time around lol
I was in elementary school when the show premiered so getting back into the show felt like reuniting with an old imaginary friend I let go of when I grew up. I was watching S1 in awe, slowly remembering what I loved so much about XWP. Felt like that scene in Hook when the Lost Boys finally recognize Peter haha
rockandrollfun@reddit (OP)
Omg yes, I quickly got to the point I was staying up way past my (modest) bedtime to finish up the episode… and if a new episode came on that got me, it was way too late before I knew it! (Should I admit here sometimes I’d lay there turning over the plot in my head?) I started enforcing a hard cutoff, and the random nature of “what episode is playing now” on Roku finally got to me and made me decide I just need to watch them all in order. I’m pretty much just leaning into it at this point cause WTH not??? Ha
SakuraTacos@reddit
Lol! One night I settled in to watch Destiny before bed and before I knew it, I’d watched 4 episodes and it was 4 am!
From then on, I tried to check that I wasn’t about to hit a really good string of episodes before bed but sometimes I couldn’t help myself lol I got no sleep the week I got to Season 4, I can’t believe that’s where I stopped, it’s one of the best!
rockandrollfun@reddit (OP)
The Debt got metwice I have to admit, when first tuning in and seeing something from season 5 and 6, especially the more “creative” episodes, I was disappointed it wasn’t an older one. Now I’m pretty set on giving it a proper chance and my interest has piqued given the parts I’ve seen already
Don’t know how I’m going to handle the end in its totality lol
SakuraTacos@reddit
The Debt is so good. I’m like “Why was everyone begging for a Xena movie when you’ve got The Debt??”
You’re going to appreciate the later seasons more, especially season 6, when you get back to them after watching through the entire thing. The characters fully blossom, like their final Pokémon evolutions. I used to change the channel if Gabrielle had short hair cuz I knew it was a later seasons ep but now I’m like “You fool! Gabrielle is at her PEAK with short hair!”
The very end is hard. There’s a lot of strong opinions in the fandom about it, I’ve learned this past month, but I loved it.
rockandrollfun@reddit (OP)
Oh man, I must have voiced the same opinion because at first my wife, after turning on the tv, would say things like, “You’re not going to like this one as much, Gabrielle has the short hair.”
But then I see “the dragon tattoo” and other interspersed episodes and scenes, and I’m like. Damn.
Oh I already have so many questions in my head about it the end (they, like, can’t even see each other in the afterlife??) so I’m just gonna wait to watch it all and then probably spill it all out here 🤬
SakuraTacos@reddit
Come back with your thoughts when you’re all done, I’d love to hear how you felt about it when you get the full picture!
Phreequencee@reddit
This is the only non-potato quality streaming I've found!
rockandrollfun@reddit (OP)
Ohhh speaking of, have any idea what the best quality is out there? The DVD set? Would be awesome if there was a remastered version coming 🤞
CarolineJohnson@reddit
There's nothing better than DVDs. I have some re-release set with the episodes in a decent enough quality, but the problem is that there's no quality control on the actual DVD menus (they all look roughly the same, but some of them have episode titles on the episode select menu and some of them don't) and there are no special features whatsoever. Plus, some of the actual discs don't work on any of the pre-installed Windows video/DVD-playing software, you have to play them through VLC or some other third party software that can read and playback DVDs.
rockandrollfun@reddit (OP)
Thank you for this, exactly the info I wanted to hear!
Cant help but think the master tapes are there somewhere, just begging for 4k
Phreequencee@reddit
Unfortunately I'm not sure. I have a DVD set but no player so I'm praying those are watchable. Finding out the current state of streaming at the moment was sad. I even 'obtained' the whole show onto my PC but it's like 480 or worse, can't even watch full-screen.
I'm nostalgia-diving into a lot of 90's tv and it's a mixed bag just because production those days was aimed at small TV's.
Popular-One-7051@reddit
Put up a post on freecycle.org on your area looking for one. I keep one just for old DVDs I have. Can't believe Prime wants to charge like $4 for replays of old 80s movies like Pretty Woman and Fried Green Tomatoes.
Jahon_Dony@reddit
I was somewhere around 2 when Herc and Xena started and feel the same way! What happened in "the bad part of town"? These were such fun characters to grow up with. I remember when Ruthy on 7th Heaven got in trouble during recess for "playing Xena" lol. Is ROC Club Renee O'Connor?
rockandrollfun@reddit (OP)
Yup, Renee O’Connor! It was pretty rad cause she actually wrote my name on her signature. I think it’s even cooler now than I did then. :) Bad part of town had a pretty high crime rate; guess the message was I wouldn’t be able to fight off any baddies myself 😔 Didn’t have many skills…
NoReach1699@reddit
Welcome back!
rockandrollfun@reddit (OP)
Thank you! Only 132 episodes to go 💪
Pop_Stensbold@reddit
Year 1 ROC fan club member - that is impressive :-) Glad to hear about you revisiting the series and getting more invested in Gabrielle this time too.
rockandrollfun@reddit (OP)
Thanks, kept the official scroll (certificate) too, ha. Gonna need to get that framed! Yeah, I’m enjoying it thoroughly :)