SE-G: What is your role in the production of Xena?
GS: Well, I do two things. I'm the director of marketing and I write for the show.
SE-G: So you actually have a role in what Xena does and her exploits and all that?
GS: Yeah!
SE-G: And how long have you been involved in the production?
GS: Since January of `98. So, a year and six months.
SE-G: And at that point, how long had the show been on?
GS: Let's see--it started in `95, so I joined about half-way through the third season.
SE-G: D you have a background in working for television?
GS: No, actually, before this I worked at a publisher/gaming company that did licenses for Star Wars and Indiana Jones and Hercules and Xena.
SE-G: So you were already related to the property in some ways.
GS: Exactly.
SE-G: Have you ever attended the actual production set?
GS: No, I never have. It's filmed in New Zealand, which is a thirteen-hour flight (laughs). So, I haven't had the chance to go down.
SE-G: Oh, that's right. So I guess I understand why you wouldn't fly down for the taping of every episode. Still, it seems like it would be a fun place to visit.
GS: Maybe later this summer I'll get the chance.
SE-G: We might have some readers who don't know much about the history of Xena, so I'd like you to fill some things in for me. First, who created Xena?
GS: Two people--Rob Tapert, who is our executive producer and one of the co-founders of Renaissance Pictures, and John Schulian.
SE-G: And a lot of comics and horror fans recognize the name Sam Raimi as being attached to Xena--what is his part in the series?
GS: Sam is the other co-founder of Renaissance, and he, of course, was involved in developing the feel of the show. If you watch it, you can see that there are a lot of techniques that Sam came up with--in fact, we call it Raimicam--that we use a lot. And the result is the feeling you get from the show is a lot different than you'd expect from a fantasy show. It's definitely very contemporary, and that's the result of Sam and Rob working together. The longer history is that the studio wanted Renaissance to do Hercules, and we accepted on the terms that we would be allowed to contemporize it. And the studio agreed. And Xena, in case you didn't know, first appeared in three episodes of Hercules. Right away it became obvious that Xena was a very strong character, and Universal wanted Renaissance to do another show that would be sort of a lead-out, or transition, for Xena. By that fall, Xena was on TV. Xena came on almost at the same time as Hercules--they were only about a year apart.
SE-G: It's neat that everyone seemed to recognize the character's potential like that. And it's pretty easy to see that the suspicions that Xena could do well on her own were right.
GS: Yes. And, like I said, she was only in three episodes, so that recognition came early. Also, Xena was evil when she was first introduced, and Hercules helped her find her way to the good side, essentially. She definitely has a dark past.
SE-G: Well, at what point does the television series start? What was Xena like when her own show first started?
GS: Actually, it's pretty soon, chronologically, after her appearance on Hercules. So she's still trying to learn how to let go of her evil warrior ways. The first episode is called "Sins of the Past," and in the first scene she buries all of her weapons and her armor. But then she runs into a situation where she has to defend a bunch of helpless people, so she has to retrieve her sword and her chakram to fight the bad guys. One of the people she ends up saving in that fight is Gabrielle, who becomes her sidekick.
SE-G: Does she revert, then, to keeping those weapons?
GS: Yeah. She goes back to carrying her weapons, but it's a source of constant struggle for her. She always has to watch herself to make sure she's not in danger of reverting back to her evil ways, and Gabrielle is the one who helps her do that, because she's so innocent.
SE-G: This might be a silly question for people who are more familiar than I am with Xena--is there any mysticism on the show? I know there are references to gods and certain kinds of powers . . .
GS: Oh, definitely. As a matter of fact, we've made reference to Xena being able to access certain powers. I don't really know what you'd call these powers exactly, but there's one episode where she goes to China and she learns from a great, wise woman about tapping into these powers. I guess you could kind of call it "the force." It's not exactly that, of course, but she's able to use these powers, which, unlike with the concept known as "the force," these are more visible powers--you can see her use them.
SE-G: And it seems like the whole Xenaverse is based on Greek mythology, albeit a slightly skewed, anachronistic version of Greek mythology. I read on the official Xena website that she has suspicions that Ares might be her father . . .
GS: Basically, Xena is set in the Greek mythological world, and we also use Greek historical figures, like Homer . . .
SE-G: And Odysseus?
GS: Yeah--but we actually use the Roman version, so it would be Ulysses. But yes, that's the concept we work from, and on top of that we like to add influences from other cultures. We've had Xena visit Brittania, and she's been to India and China, and this year she's going to Egypt--so we also build from the pantheons of those countries, as well.
SE-G: When the show "travels" like that, is it actually filmed on location?
GS: No, but it's amazing how New Zealand can look like so many other countries (laughs). It's an incredible area. New Zealand is actually very small, but it's amazing what you can make it look like.
SE-G: And no matter what, it probably looks better than anything filmed on a Hollywood sound stage (laughs).
GS: Absolutely. It's a great place to shoot. And off the topic, we're doing two more shows starting next January, that will also be filmed in New Zealand.
SE-G: And isn't that where Peter Jackson is filming the Lord of the Rings movie?
GS: It is. I can not wait for that--Christmas 2000.
SE-G: And speaking of geeking out (laughs), I wanted to talk with you about the continuity of the Xena comic book Dark Horse is publishing. From my understanding, at least the first few issues will tie in directly with the events of the TV series that are running concurrently with the release of the comics. This raises other questions, like, will the comic book be considered to be part of the overall Xena canon?
GS: Definitely. One of the coolest things about this comic is that Rob Tapert--our executive producer--has spoken directly with Scott Allie and the editors working on this project, and he's given them a whole bunch of information about Xena that's never been revealed before. He also had an episode idea that we didn't get to film this season, and that idea is what comprises the first couple of issues of the comic.
SE-G: Wow. That's really great, and it will give the fans something additional to look to the comics for.
GS: Yeah. And it's great for us, because for whatever reason, these episodes couldn't be filmed, but they're still based on ideas that have a larger overall impact on the story. So these are important ideas that relate to Xena's story that fans would have otherwise missed. It's a cool outcome for both of us. The two companies have been friendly for a long time, so we're very happy to be working with you guys so closely on this.
SE-G: The feeling is mutual. And aside from it just being a nice way to work, it makes sense to start any project like this in the best way possible, so that the outcome will be good. There's no sense taking a great property like Xena and doing any part of it less than perfect, if you can help it.
GS: One of the other things that's cool is the upcoming Dark Horse Presents (DHP Annual, 1999, available in August--ed.) story that features Xena as a teenager--I think she's 17 in the story. Prior to this, nobody's ever known what Xena was like at that age, so the producers gave the editors all the information pertaining to that part of her life.
SE-G: It sounds like there's a really extensive back history that's been created for Xena. Can you estimate how much of that has been revealed to fans thus far?
GS: Fans who pay attention have probably gotten--by watching and by intuition--about three-quarters of the whole story. But there's a decent amount that hasn't been revealed yet.
SE-G: Do you--and I mean the whole team of writers and producers--consistently build on Xena's back story? I have a feeling the character has changed somewhat from the time the idea for her was originally conceived . . .
GS: Well, I know that Rob has a pretty focused idea of who Xena is and the overall makeup of her character, but along the way, as the stories are written, he just fills in more of the details.
SE-G: Scott (Allie) had mentioned to me at one point that you're a bit of a comics fan yourself--what sort of titles do you read?
GS: Well, I'm a big Star Wars fan, so I've read a lot of those comics. And I like superhero stuff, like JLA and Batman. And I'll try different things, if they look good--like Tales of the Witchblade.
SE-G: It seems like the sort of atmosphere that surrounds the production of a show like Xena would naturally attract people who are into comics and adventure fantasy, and I know you said you worked at a gaming company . . .
GS: Yeah--I was a designer for a gaming company. We always go to San Diego ComiCon, as fans. A lot of people we work with really like the whole action/adventure side of entertainment, and comic books have always been one of the best mediums for people who enjoy that sort of thing. And the adventures can be as big as you want, because you're not working with a budget.
SE-G: That's one of the best things about taking something like Xena and giving it comic book treatment--we can show her having all sorts of crazy adventures, and she can do basically anything an artist can draw on the page. Comics are not as rooted in either physical or financial reality as television is.
GS: That's a great thing. This will no doubt be something that fans can look forward to every month, and we'll tie it in as much as we possibly can to the actual episodes.
SE-G: Cool! Thanks for talking with me, George. It's been a pleasure.
GS: Anytime.
The first issue of Dark Horse's long-awaited Xena comic book will be available September 22, and ties in directly with the events of the fan-favorite television series. Written by John Wagner and featuring the art of Joyce Chin and Walden Wong, issue #1 of Xena is a full-color, 22-page adventure fans of the hit TV show won't want to miss!
Xena: Warrior Princess is a trademark and copyright of Studios USA Television Distribution LLC. Licensed by Universal Studios Licensing, Inc. All rights reserved.