I have mixed feelings about Paradise Found - or perhaps it might be more accurate to describe my feelings as not so much mixed as layered... I really liked the first two thirds or so of the ep, the part with all the questions and issues (and some fine atmosphere and acting too), but I didn't care at all for the last third, where the questions were all answered or dismissed, and a clumsy, jumbled, unconvincing and ugly resolution was effected. I shall content myself with mumbling about the issues as we wander through the ep...
***
So, we got an "official announcement" that the India trip is under way... Xena and Gab are travelling eastwards in pursuit of Gabrielle's "spiritual quest". Actually, I should have thought this would be a pretty odd thing for ancient Greeks to do... but then when have folks on the show ever behaved credibly like ancient Greeks?
*
And it certainly seems that Gab is setting the agenda these days - she feels "spiritually troubled", so they're wandering off several thousand miles to an almost entirely unknown sub-continent. I'm not entirely sure what Gab even means by "spiritual"... but it doesn't seem to have anything much to do with the various gods and other supernatural beings they're always tangling with (not that there's anything necessarily wrong with this - does spirituality have to have anything to do with gods?)
*
And they took "the scenic route" through mountains said by "local legends" to be "a holy place" - the Himalayas, I guess. They're most definitely scenic - crossing the Himalayas was probably the most heart-stoppingly spectacular thing I've ever experienced! But if you want to get to overland India from the west, the only alternative to the Himalayas is the Baluchistan desert, which I gather isn't much fun. Going south and then taking a boat might have been the easiest "non-scenic" way - but then we know how Gab feels about boats!
*
"Well I'd apologise - again. But the truth is, I think you enjoyed it." That "again" is interesting... Gab is getting pretty snippy these days. It's also fascinating that Xena and Gab are finally having this conversation - after all, we've been aware all along, haven't we, that Xena enjoys fighting... so is this still "dark", even if she's fighting for good? Definitely a question to be addressed, especially by Gab, who seems so concerned about violence... (although I still remember Gab leaping into the fray and bashing heads with her staff in A Tale Of Two Muses, yelling "Save some for me!")
*
And this is the first time we've seen Xena need stitches, isn't it? I can remember her stitching other people in various eps, but not herself (of course there was the arrow in Chariots Of War, but I don't recall any stitching there, and then various broken bones, etc. in Destiny...) I can't imagine this is the first time Xena's received a gash that needed closing, though - and she must do a *really* neat job with the needle too, since she appears to have no visible scars (perhaps someone more experienced than me could say - Xena said her gash took 12 stitches, but I should have thought a wound like that would have taken something closer to 30 if you wanted to close it neatly and avoid scarring...)
*
Actually I loved the dialogue in this little scene - it's so nice to see Xena and Gab apparently relaxed and open with each other, but also actually talking about things that matter and that divide them.
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I liked Xena's "Give me that - you've got hands like a sailor!" Xena can't cook, but she's apparently the better surgeon (I guess her early training in embroidery must have come in handy...)
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"I just wonder if maybe your fighting for good has more to do with the fighting part than the good part." "Ya think my fighting for good is a cover for something darker...? I dunno!" Well I can't believe it's taken Gab three and half years to get around to this... but better late than never, I suppose. I did just enjoy this scene - there was a comfortableness about it, despite the subject of the conversation... Gab getting dressed, whilst Xena sews up her leg.
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And BTW, talking of getting dressed, the BGSB was back in perfect shape... in fact we got a particularly detailed look at that little flowered pattern on the back of it. So does this mean its being cut up for rope and a gag last week is just to be disregarded... or is this another case of them not bothering to show the eps in an order that would make sense?!
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I am frankly getting plumb sick and tired of that darned crucifixion scene... to me it has become something overdone, that doesn't enhance the show. But then I generally hate "foreshadowing" in novels and movies... it has always seemed to me a cheap and irritating narrative technique.
*
So.... what? Gabrielle fell down that big hole without uttering a sound? - Doesn't seem too likely. And then missing Gab, for a minute or so, and finding a big hole in the ground, Xena just flings herself into the hole? Exqueeze me! This *really* doesn't appear an effective strategy! "My partner's wandered off for a couple of minutes. I haven't heard anything... Hmm, guess I'll just fling myself into this bottomless pit..." Come on! Even Alice had the excuse that she was following the white rabbit...
*
First Xena says that the "estate" (odd choice of word, really....) reminds her of Illusia... then we get the "entering Illusia" music as they walk to the house! There wasn't really any particular connection between Aiden's estate and Illusia was there, though - other than that they were both sort of "imaginary realms", created by the power of the mind.
*
"It's beautiful! Don't you think?" "Yeah... in that yucky, island paradise kinda way!" - So what gives here? Has Xena had a bad experience with a package holiday, or something?
*
A lot of Indian instruments and techniques showed up in the music for this ep, and I can't forebear to comment on them a bit, since I'm particularly fond of Indian classical music, and even play some of the instruments a bit myself. The instrument that we hear when Aiden first appears is the santur - a kind of multi-stringed zither (the name actually means "100 strings"), which is played by striking the strings with small sticks held in the hands...
*
I loved the way Gab asked about a warm bath, and then whacked Xena in the ass! But at this point I guess we're wondering (and meant to be) - why is Xena so keen to get out of this place as fast as she can? The place seems pleasant, Aiden seems plausible... but Xena never seems drawn in. It's interesting that this time, unlike with Najara, Xena seems to trust her own instincts, and is never majorly distracted or thrown off by issues of jealousy or thoughts of what might be best for Gab (not that both issues don't come up again - but they just don't seem to get to Xena the way they did in Crusader...) Xena let's herself be pressured by Gab into staying... but she never really acquiesces or lets down her guard.
*
Now of course the *really* interesting question in this ep (for me, at least) is who's right and who's wrong... not just in terms of the narrow circumstances of this ep, but in principle. On the one hand, much of what Aiden says or implies is certainly true - to find peace and harmony in our lives we need to come to terms with our demons and get beyond our egos. And the techniques he shows, which are clearly based on yoga, certainly can help. The thing that's shown with Gab breaking down and crying as she connects with the psychic pain within herself whilst practising the yogic breathing and posture techniques is absolutely based on fact, as many people who've practised yoga can attest. But on the other hand, getting beyond the ego and finding inner peace is all very good - but should you always trust someone who proposes to be a "teacher", especially when you know almost nothing about them? So is Xena's way narrow and suspicious and egotistical, forever shutting her out from the possibility of getting beyond herself and finding peace? Or is Gab being impossibly naive, chasing willow-the-wisps and putting herself into the power of knaves, exposing them both to danger? The interesting thing, for me, is that to a certain extent they're both right. You *do* have to get beyond the ego - if you place yourself as paramount, and never trust anything or anybody... then you may be hard to fool, but you may have completely fooled yourself already. But, OTOH, if you let go, resign your will, have faith in something... how do you know you're not being tricked or manipulated - or just fooling yourself again? These are obviously central philosophical and religious questions for all of us, and as long as it kept it's treatment of these questions open and in balance, I found this ep fascinating...
*
Back to the Indian music for a moment - the instrument we hear when Gab and Xena are bathing is the bansuri, or Indian bamboo flute (in fact often made of cane rather than bamboo), which is my particularly favourite Indian instrument, and the one I make most effort to play. It was lovely to hear it on X:WP!
*
"You know I'm surprised at you, Xena!" "Why?" "For someone who's seen what Lao Ma and Alti can do, it's strange you're not curious about Aiden!" "I've seen enough to know that most people can't handle spiritual powers. And Aiden is *no* Lao Ma!" So - does Xena just have a blanket suspicion of spiritual people? Is she afraid of something? Rightly or wrongly? And is she right that "most people can't handle spiritual powers"? Many would disagree with her, and suggest that anyone can successfully follow the spiritual path. - Gab says, sarcastically, "That's mighty big of you, Xena!" *Is* Xena being small..?
*
Notice on the door of the bathroom the yin / yang symbol, which also, more obviously, forms the bed Gab is later seen reclining on... It's almost a little odd that they chose to associate this with Aiden, since so far as I know it originates from China, and is more commonly associated with Taoism, the way of Lao Ma (it's also known as the "symbol of the Tao").
*
"Lieutenant Garr reporting as ordered with clothes, sir!" "Sir?!" Hmmm... when a guy looks right up into your naked crotch and calls you sir... er... well either you've got a problem, or he has!
*
So what was Xena practising in the garden with all the birds and bunnies? It looked rather like Tai Chi - did she learn that when she was in Chin?
*
And that's the bansuri playing again at the beginning of this scene, and then a voice comes in, singing in the Indian classical style (North Indian classical, to be specific...) I absolutely *adore* Indian classical vocal music now (and incidentally, the voice here was clearly that of a highly trained Indian classical singer - it takes years, and immense dedication, to learn to sing like that)... however, I remember well that when I was first exposed to Indian classical singing I thought it was *very* strange - and in general I find westerners don't take very readily to it. So I'm sort of curious as to how other Xenites felt about the singing in this ep. BTW, what was being sung was just the two words "tere nain" over and over, which means "your eyes".
*
Did Aiden remind anyone else of T. Lobsang Rampa - especially with that "third eye" glued in the middle of his forehead? For those not familiar, TLR was a supposed "ancient Tibetan spiritual master" (I think, practically speaking, he actually came from Milwaukee, or Dulwich, or somewhere like that) whose books you used to see all over at one time. He (or those subscribing to his teachings) also used to advertise in magazines, about realizing your powers and opening your third eye. His photo was usually featured prominently, bearded, with an unworldly-looking, penetrating gaze...
*
I liked Gab's "Can I teach this to others?" Heck, she only started learning yesterday, and already she wants to be a teacher! Is this woman ambitious or what?! (Of course, you could say it's just her desire to help others, especially Xena...)
*
A neat display of flower killing and tortoise threatening by Xena there... and I wasn't sure whether she was actually yelling "Shut up!" at the birds or not - so I put on the CC, and sure enough "SHU-U-T U-U-U-UP! [SILENCE]"
*
So... Xena watches Aiden "teaching" Gab... and what? She looks moved. Does she decide that even though she (Xena) is wigging out *maybe* this really is helping Gabrielle?? If she did decide that, it didn't seem to last long. Maybe it was just Gab's pain about Hope that was affecting Xena...
*
And then we get Gab laying on that yin / yang bed (rather impressive I thought - kudos to the visual designer here) whilst Xena does sit ups at a ferocious rate. Someone commented that Gab was on the yang side of the bed... they mentioned that this seemed strange since yang is associated with the "masculine" and yin with the "feminine", and therefore they thought that Xena would have been yang to Gabrielle's yin. And in some senses, that might well be so. However in this case I think whoever set up this shot was simply going for the more obvious association where yang is the "light" and yin the "darkness" - hence Xena=dark=yin, Gabrielle=light=yang...
*
And Xena is *still* pushing to get the *heck* out! She toys with the idea of Gab being attracted to Aiden (not really that seriously, it seemed to me), and then she complains that "Aiden's way seems so numbing!" Is this a valid criticism as this point? I can't say that I really thought it was... I mean, I understand that it's *meant* to be true, in the context of the plot, but I didn't really feel that what we'd seen up to this point actually supported this assertion at all - although I can see that it might be a valid point against some "spiritual" paths.
*
I was interested that Gab said she felt "so clear" - I wonderer whether that was a deliberate reference to Scientology or just a coincidence... well, even the disciples of Ron couldn't sue anyone on the basis of that!
*
"I wish you could see how right this feels for me..." Now I started to get a really strong sense of deja vu here (not to say that I was oblivious to it before)... Does Gab *never* notice these things herself? I mean is she *utterly* unaware of the patterns she keeps repeating? Doesn't she ever say "Hey, wait a minute... haven't we been through all this before?" You'd figure there'd have to be something a bit pathological going on for her to be truly totally oblivious...
*
What was with Xena's wound coming back and going away again? Xena seemed pleased to see it - so was she sort of meditating, trying to overcome Aiden's powers?
*
And then Gab's being lectured by someone else about Xena's dark side, and flattered about her own goodness... Hello, Gab! This is definitely starting to feel BTDT - not to say that Jeremy Roberts as Aiden didn't do it quite well.
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I thought glowering Xena in the bath looked superb! Just as well really, considering what they did to her in the rest of the ep!
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I'm not so sure about that technique of showing us something happening, and then backing off to "no, that was just a delusion"... I suppose if you're deluded, it feels real at the time - but I'm not entirely comfortable with the camera arbitrarily becoming someone's deluded subjective view... There's a pretty thin line between this sort of thing and the "this whole thing was just a dream" school of story telling.
*
So then Aiden spins a line and tries to convince Xena to leave Gab behind. And she seems almost convinced - which I thought was kind of odd, given how sceptical she'd been throughout the entire ep, and given the fact that, to me, Aiden seemed most *un*convincing here, basically tipping his hand...
*
Well, we definitely got an answer here to a debate that cropped up on one of the lists recently - Xena clearly *can* write! And what was she writing - a farewell note?
*
And what about the massage / nosebleed thing? Interesting. In a way it was an effective device... playing the conflict out symbolically in blood and flesh like that was a powerful idea. Unfortunately the execution wasn't 100% successful, so far as I was concerned - I think mainly because the exaggerated CGI nature of the blood drops was just too distracting... they looked sort of like animated tadpoles, or sperm in a sex-ed film, and they spoiled the mood of the scene, for me.
*
The pattern that was clearly shown on Gab's hand when she was being tied to the cross looked like the kind of hand painting with henna that is common in India... whatever that may mean. Hands are decorated with henna for weddings, for example, and for other festivals - but this actually looked a bit restrained for that kind of decoration, which usually twines over the whole hand. I suppose it could also be a tattoo (of which Aiden seemed to have plenty...)
*
And we finally get to another "Goodbye, Gabrielle." This one didn't make me cry (unlike the one in Crusader)... I didn't really believe in it that much, because it wasn't so much a question of Xena struggling with herself and making a bad decision (as in Crusader), as just Xena being tricked and bamboozled, which I never really believed would hold her for long.
*
And it was basically from this point that the ep went rapidly downhill for me. As soon as Xena looked at that statue and said "A service medallion!" That in itself felt pretty hokey - heck, they're thousands of miles from home, but Xena instantly deduces from this piece of jewellery round a statue's neck that it used to be a soldier! What - soldiers in Tibet wore "service medallions" instantly recognisable to Greeks? And anyway, if the rest of the soldiers' clothing etc. got "converted" when they became statues, why did the medallion survive? And given that you recognised something round a statue's neck as a military insignia of some sort, would that really make you immediately assume that the statue was a soldier who had been turned to stone?
*
But nits like that don't actually bother me that much (just as well, really...) The reason the ep lost me from this point on was that it abandoned all its interesting questions in favour of one rather boring answer, and became a straight "get the villain" exercise, and not a very engaging, convincing or attractive one at that.
*
The whole "Aiden feeds on goodness" thing seemed a bit half-baked to me... there's a sort of vague stab at some sort of, perhaps Taoist, logic with the "goodness in a perfect place going to waste without evil to keep it alive and fighting" line... but basically this was just waffle - it reminded me rather of a bad Startrek TOS ep (I could just imagine Captain Kirk wandering in, declaiming "Aiden feeds on goodness...")
*
And the "Xena becoming totally bad so she can defeat Aiden" thing made *no* sense, either. How do you suddenly eliminate all the goodness from yourself? And anyhow, clearly Xena *didn't*, since she still pursued a plan designed to achieve a good end purposefully, rather than just "behaving badly".
*
And I know I said it last week, but I just *have* to say it again - what *is* it with these people and TEETH?!! They seem to inflexibly follow the equation that if your teeth look bad you're either moronic or evil! Are they under the spell of an evil conspiracy of orthodontists or something??
*
And the ultimate proof of Xena's absolute badness is that she kills the bunny wabbit? Puh-lease!
*
But gods, they certainly made Xena *look* bad!!
*
BTW, we got another Indian instrument during the fight scene - that buzzing, nasal wind instrument is called a Shehnai... it's a double-reed pipe, most closely related to the oboe, amongst modern western instruments, and it's commonly associated, in India, with celebrations, especially weddings. We've heard it on X:WP before - it was part of "Najara's music" in Crusader.
*
All that business of Aiden nodding and throwing "Ugly Xena" around made for a pretty unsatisfactory fight scene really... and there was no particular explanation of why Xena was suddenly able to beat him.
*
And then "The Plan" - Xena would try to kill Garr and this would be sure to snap Gab out of her trance, even if she *was* half turned to stone... well "tenuous" and "reaching" don't really cover it, do they?
*
And then Xena just kicks her sword into Aiden's stomach, and that's it? Hmm... I was underwhelmed, I'm afraid.
*
Why was Gab naked at the end? (Apart from the fact that she often is...) Were her clothes a figment of Aiden's imagination that vanished when he died?
*
"I sometimes talk about your darkness like it's some kind of disease - but without it, neither one of us would be here. It's kind of ironic." The problem I have with this.... well, it's quite true that they probably wouldn't be there if it wasn't for Xena's darkness - this was acknowledged as far back as Dreamworker, where Xena realised that *using* her dark self was "the key". In this ep, though, the point is specious - if you arbitrarily invent a trap that only a person who isn't "good" can escape from, then clearly having a person who isn't "good" around is useful.... but since the invention and definition of the trap was indeed *utterly* arbitrary, there's hardly much of a life lesson to be learned here... And whilst we're on the subject - I do *not* think that rain on your wedding day is "ironic"!
*
"Do I really have hands like a sailor?"
***
So who was who in Paradise Found?
Not exactly a cast of thousands - in fact the smallest ensemble of any HTLJ or X:WP ep to date I believe... only four actors appeared on screen in this ep, except for the background figures in the various "visions".
Did you wonder why Aiden looked familiar, perhaps feel that somehow he wasn't to be trusted right from the start? Not surprising really, given that the previous incarnation in the Xenaverse of Jeremy Roberts, the actor who played Aiden, was Thersites, the vicious, weaselly assassin in A Fistful of Dinars! He was also featured as Derk in the HTLJ ep Mercenary. Jeremy has quite an extensive résumé, including roles in the movies Money Train (Guard), Stuart Saves His Family (Brad Skoog), The Mask (Bobby, the bouncer), Sister Act (a biker), The People Under The Stairs (Spenser), Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (Lt. Dimitri Valtane), and The Marrying Man (Gus). He has also appeared on *many* TV series, including Buffy the Vampire Slayer (playing Kakistos in the ep Faith, Hope & Trick), Sliders (playing Bane, in the ep: California Reich), Millennium (playing Richard Alan Hance in the ep The Thin White Line), Silk Stalkings (playing Harrison Peak in the ep: Peak Experience), Star Trek: Voyager (playing Lt. Dimitri Valtane in the ep: Flashback), Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (playing Meso'Clan in the episode Hippocratic Oath), Weird Science (playing Officer Friendly in the ep: Sex Ed), The Adventures of Brisco County Jr. (playing Bill Swill in the eps: Mail Order Brides and No Man's Land), Roseanne (in the eps: War And Peace and Crime And Punishment), and Seinfeld (playing the Chauffeur in the ep: The Limo). Wow! What a busy guy... no wonder he looks familiar!
And what about Garr? Did you feel there was perhaps something holy about him? Mervyn Smith was last seen forgiving our sins as the Priest Of Apollo in Forgiven. He can also be seen as a Village Elder in one of Xena's original outings on HTLJ, Unchained Heart. He also appeared in the HTLJ ep Love Takes A Holiday, as Iagos.
The ep was written by Chris Manheim, whose previous writing credits on X:WP are for The Prodigal, Altared States, Remember Nothing (with Steven Sears), A Solstice Carol, Here She Comes...Miss Amphipolis, The Quest (with Steven Sears and R. J. Stewart), A Comedy Of Eros, Maternal Instincts, The Bitter Suite (with Steven Sears), King Con, Tsunami, and A Family Affair (with Liz Friedman).
The ep was director by the big guy himself, Rob Tapert, whose only previous outing as a director on X:WP was Destiny. He also directed the HTLJ ep Once A Hero.
***
The disclaimer was:
Paradise was found but not necessarily embraced during the production of this motion picture.
***
And what about the Herc ep, Stranger And Stranger?
Well... I thought Gina Torres was terrific. I even liked the slightly vulnerable side she showed here (whilst I *hated* the wimp act she did in Darkness Rising). But I didn't like her "court"... I'm sorry, I can live with good honest sadism, but I find that sort of affected, powder-puff, low-rent-Fellini sadism really distasteful!
And all these rules they keep making up about the alternate universe business are giving me a headache! So now you die when your counterpart in the other universe dies, unless you're in limbo between the worlds when the counterpart dies, or the counterpart dies in limbo between the worlds (and optionally fish of the day may be substituted on Tuesdays...)
In general, I liked the ep ok. Iolaus 2 was quite engaging. Kevin Smith was fun in his dual role. I was almost sorry they killed off the Sovereign.
And now we've got yet more hind's blood to keep track of... Can we assume that the knife stabbed into the altar in the labyrinth can't be used again? (If not, what's the point of stabbing it into the altar?) And what is Herc going to do with the pendant (other than tucking it into his pants...)?
Did you catch the Bitter Suite dialogue from the lovers in the market place: "How could you?" "How could *you*? It's all *your* fault!"
But couldn't they have given cap-and-bells a name of his own? Is it going to be "the adventures of Hercules and Iolaus 2" now? And speaking of which, how come the credits sequence keeps going on about Hera every week, since she seems to have been permanently banished from the scene now?
***
And who was who in Stranger And Stranger?
Paul Norell played the alternate Falafel, essentially reprising the role of Falafel which he has played on many previous HTLJ eps. He has also appeared over on X:WP in the very Falafel-like roles of the Street Vendor in Cradle of Hope, Statius, the vendor of souvenirs and other dubious artefacts in Prometheus ("Is anyone going to buy anything?"), and the Peddler in The Quill Is Mightier. Paul can also be seen playing a "Bohemian" in the movie An Angel At My Table.
David Mackie played Hemnor, a role he has previously played in the eps Encounter and End Of The Beginning... sort of an oddity really - a recurring character so minor that he's hardly noticeable. David also played a Guard in Highway to Hades. And over on X:WP, he has appeared as Rhodos in The Titans.
Frederick Bedford gave us his "Local". He was previously seen, recently, as a Villager in the X:WP ep Daughter Of Pomira (where I originally misread his name as "Bedgord").
Peasant #1 was played by Gary Elliott, who debut was as the Shepherd in Genies and Grecians and Geeks, Oh My!
And the Farmer was rendered by Rodney Cooke, who has previously taken on the role of "Worried Villager" in Armageddon Now, Part 1, and the demanding part of "Man #1" in the X:WP ep Been There, Done That.
Hawtis, the unfortunate victim of the Empress, was played by John Lawler, who appears to be new to the Xenaverse.
The story for the ep was written by Paul Robert Coyle, the creator of the whole "alternate universe" theme in the Xenaverse, essentially... he previously wrote the HTLJ eps End of the Beginning, Regrets I've Had A Few, Stranger in A Strange World, If I Had A Hammer, Armageddon Now Part 1, Armageddon Now Part 2 (with Gene O'Neill & Noreen Tobin), War Wounds, Top God, Genies and Grecians and Geeks Oh My, Norse by Norsevest (with Gary Conway), and last week's ep, Sky High. Paul also wrote the X:WP eps Ten Little Warlords, A Necessary Evil, The Execution and Sacrifice Part 2.
The teleplay was written by Gerry Conway, who previously wrote the eps Norse by Norsevest (with Paul Robert Coyle), and Somewhere Over Rainbow Bridge.
The ep was directed by the King of Thieves himself, Bruce Campbell, who previously directed The Vanishing Dead, What's in A Name?, For Those Of You Just Joining Us, and Redemption. On X:WP, Bruce directed Key To The Kingdom and The King of Assassins.
***
The disclaimer was:
If you would like to be a contestant on Wheel of Misfortune, simply send us a postcard and prepare to kiss your bottom goodbye.
