 UPDATED 6-22-06! UPDATED September 2008  
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When I first saw Hercules; the Legendary Journeys, I was shocked by the incredible onscreen charisma between Michael Hurst and Kevin Sorbo and the supporting cast. The writing was excellent, the costuming very believable and extremely well done. When Xena appeared in the show, no one could have known what would grow out of it. What incredible adventures lie ahead for Xena on her path to redemption, to make up for all the pain she caused when she was a selfish warlordess and how incredible it was for Hercules to break through that hard exterior to reach her big heart and point her on the right path. Of course I know these are only television shows-but the entire point of making any fiction come alive with film is to reach viewers in a powerful way-Xena certainly has done that for me in a time when I really needed to see a strong example of a woman standing up for what she believed in. I sit in a wheelchair and have for fourteen years now. Escapism is something that many people use to help enrich their lives in a way that is hard to describe. People watch shows like Star Trek and Xena to get away from the mundanity of living in the twenty first-century. Right now 'Ides of March' is on and having seen the 'Final Battle Ground' in which we have Rob Tapert's vision of Xena's dramtic ending with something most fans would not have imagined-'Ides of March' is how many of the fans, myself included were expecting the series to end and yet after this episode there was an entire season of incredible episodes that took us around the world. All through Season Five we had visions of this death scene that is coming up. Many fans, myself included, wondered why the vision came to her at all if it truly was not the end for Xena and Gabrielle. It was shown to her by Alti and perhaps it was meant only to make Xena doubt herself. Xena almost left Gabrielle with Najara in 'Crusader' which was aired just two hours ago and in rewatching it I felt the same feeling that this was wrong and luckily Xena was able to find out it was wrong and saved Gabrielle from becoming victim to Najara's cult. Seeing the Sixth Season as I have, seeing the final episode as I have and knowing next Saturday I will watch it again only with 15 extra minutes that I hope will help me come to terms with the way the creator chose to end this epic series-I can't help but feel the tears in my eyes as I saw Callisto whip the chakram at Xena, breaking her back, paralyzing her. I know some people will find such a thing silly and perhaps even a waste of time, but as an aspiring writer I can't help but watching on the edge of my seat, feeling fully the emotional turmoil that the first viewing of this 'Ides of March' left me feeling. In a way it was a vision of hope-showing us that there is a life after death, but in that hope is the pain and suffering that precedes that afterlife and it is that pain and the feeling that it was not time for them to end their time on earth that made me shed tears for fictional characters who became real inspirations to me and millions of other fans around the world. Xena and Gabrielle to me represented the very best of what humanity can be and their fight against evil and helping those who are oppressed was very impressive-albeit fictional and from writer's imaginations. We had six incredible seasons of this phenomenal show and like other fans I do hope someday we will see them onscreen again. For me the ending given us was wanting of true closure-to me it was not like how in the next episode, 'Fallen Angel' how we had a resolution to that previous episode and a return to life, which in the Xenaverse was not uncommon. I can only speak of what bothered me personally about the final episode and share with others what bothered them via the message boards around for this purpose of talking about the show. I myself created a message board to use for this purpose because I knew the Official Studios USA Board would eventually shut down and it has. I have so many memories of chatting with all kinds of people on that board and it was not nicknamed the Nutforum for nothing. But that aside, I made many friends there and many of us are still in contact via other boards and email. That is another way Xena touched many people's lives through the internet message boards, fan fiction penned by so many talented authors and the many incredible Xena web sites created in tribute of this wonderful show. If I could say something to the cast of Xena and all it’s support staff, I would say thank you. This show gave me a great deal of pleasure, sharing in its nuances and drama allowed me to create incredible memories I treasure to this day. Finding myself laughing hysterically during the earlier seasons comedic moments endeared the two lead characters to me and millions of other deeply affected fans. I appreciate what it took you all to create such magic and touch people’s lives as this show has. I will never forget what these years of having Hercules & Xena in active production meant and through fan fiction it will thrive on for years to come through many talented fan fiction writers. Thank you for enriching my life with such provocative television drama. I haven’t felt so strongly about a show since The Next Generation was in active production. To you and fans everywhere I would like to say, Live long and prosper.
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