To avoid a war over who gets possession of Terpsichore's Lyre, Xena organizes a battle of the bands in this musical episode that reunites Xena with her mother, Joxer with his triplet brother Jace, and Gabrielle with a lovesick Draco.
Summary[]
"War"
As the three of them are traveling towards an unspecified destination, Xena, Gabrielle, and Joxer all hear the sound of the Muse Terpsichore's lyre in the distance. The three rush to find Draco and his warriors about to do battle with Amoria and her Amazons over the Muse of Music's golden lyre. Draco, still under a love spell, shoots Gabrielle a lovesick smile as Xena yanks the instrument out of his hands. But when Amoria resumes taunting him, Draco lunges at her. As Xena separates the two, she begins singing "War," accompanied by Gabrielle and Joxer, to discourage further aggression. Then she announces that there will be a battle--one "of the bands," to be staged in the nearby village of Melodia, to decide who gets the lyre. As the villagers of Melodia are swept up in the excitement, they dance and sing original lyrics to "The Telephone Hour."
"The Telephone Hour."
As bands begin arriving from everywhere, Xena's mother Cyrene also shows up and is surprised that rumors of Xena's pregnancy are obviously true. When she learns that her daughter intends to raise her baby alone, she decides to play matchmaker to find Xena a husband. Xena rejects all the men her mother throws her way and leads a group of townswomen in a lively chorus of "Sisters Are Doin' It For Themselves."
"Dancing In The Moonlight."
News of the impending contest also brings Joxer's musically talented and flamboyant twin brother, Jace, to town. He introduces himself to the assembled crowd by breaking into an elaborate disco dance routine while singing "Dancing In The Moonlight." Amoria tries to seduce Joxer, which irritates Gabrielle, while Joxer snubs all of his brother's overtures because he is embarrassed to be seen with Jace.
"Always Something There To Remind Me."
Meanwhile, despite Gabrielle's continuing rejection, Draco still pursues her and even fantasizes about her while singing "Always Something There To Remind Me." He decides that if he can't have her, no one will. Just as the concert is about to begin, Gabrielle rushes over to Draco to ask him to perform first. He offers one last proposal of marriage and when Gabrielle turns him down again, he decides to incorporate her into his act by forcing her into a go-go-dancer cage that he hoists high above the stage.
Xena and her mother discuss her pregnancy.
As Draco and his henchmen perform "Kick Out The Jams," a fire erupts on stage just underneath Gabrielle as part of a spectacular pyrotechnics display. But before Draco can cut the rope which would plunge Gabrielle to her death, Xena jumps on stage, lyre in hand, and breaks into a hard-core version of "The Xena Theme." Draco's men drop their instruments, grab their weapons and charge the warrior princess. Gabrielle manages to escape the cage, swan dives into the crowd and is passed hand-to-hand away from the stage.
"People Got To Be Free."
In the ensuing battle, Joxer saves Jace from being struck down and Gabrielle is saved by Xena just as Draco is about to run her through with his sword. Xena and Draco rap as they fight, battling each other while balancing on the heads and shoulders of the concert goers. Xena finally defeats Draco to the cheers of the crowd and, though never officially a contestant, wins the golden lyre. Xena announces that she's going to leave the instrument in Melodia for everyone to enjoy and as an encore, leads her friends and the crowd in a rousing rendition of "People Got To Be Free."
Disclaimer[]
No Lyres were strung out during the production of this motion picture.
Background Information[]
Behind the Scenes[]
- This episode was one of seventeen that fans selected to be featured on the Xena: Warrior Princess: 10th Anniversary Collection.
- According to Jennifer Sky, the actress who played Amarice, she was originally intended to be in this episode, before she was written out to film Cleopatra 2525.
- Originally, Jett was set to appear in this episode but was written out in early production.
Credits
- At the end of the credits, Lucy Lawless makes a gag appearance in Gabrielle's fringe costume.
Key Events[]
- This episode marks the only on-screen appearance of Jace, Joxer's and Jett's triplet brother. He was, however, mentioned previously in "The King of Assassins."
- This is the second musical episode, the first being "The Bitter Suite". All the songs performed in that episode, however, were original, with music composed and lyrics co-written by Joseph LoDuca. The songs featured in this episode are cover versions of popular songs.
- This episode marks the final appearance of Draco.
- Draco is still in love with Gabrielle ("A Comedy of Eros").
Goofs[]
- If you look closely, you can see Xena's Chakram embedded in the Lyre. This is never explained, and the prop doesn't appear to be a reuse.
Trivia[]
- Featured songs:
- "War," which was originally released by Edwin Starr;
- The song "Getting Ready," performed immediately after the opening credits, has an original set of lyrics, but these were written to the music of "The Telephone Hour" from the Broadway show "Bye Bye Birdie;"
- "Dancing in the Moonlight," originally released by King Harvest;
- "Always Something There to Remind Me," originally performed by Dionne Warwick, but released by Lou Johnson and later performed by Naked Eyes;
- "Sisters are Doing It For Themselves," originally released by Annie Lennox and Aretha Franklin;
- "Kick Out the Jams," originally released by MC5; and
- "People Got to Be Free," originated by The Rascals.
- This episode, along with "Antony & Cleopatra," are the only two episodes that were not made available on Netflix.
Links and References[]
Guest Stars[]
- Ted Raimi as Joxer and Jace
- Jay Laga'aia as Draco
- Darien Takle as Cyrene
- Gillian Iliana Waters as Amoria
- Tony Bishop as Alabardus
- Paul Norell as Falafel
- Grant Bridger as Farmer Paxon
- Jim Ngaata as Maximinimus
- uncredited guest actors:
- as Vargus
- as Spiro
- as Corey
- as Sarah
- as Leandra
- as Phillipus
References[]
People[]
Gods[]
- Terpsichore (Mentioned)
- Bliss (Mentioned)
Places[]
- Greece
- Melodia
- Athens (Mentioned)
- Olympic Street (Mentioned)
Other[]
Related Articles[]
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| #02 | Chakram | #10 | Lyre, Lyre, Hearts on Fire | #18 | Antony & Cleopatra | |||
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