Interview with George Strayton
The Chakram Newsletter: Issue 15
SD: I know storylines for seasons of Xena are tossed around at the end of the previous season. Things are added and subtracted as the season goes along. Were there any alternate lines of thought for Xena's fifth season?
George: There were some different ideas for episodes 14 - 22 you might enjoy hearing about.
SD: When were these ideas generated, by whom and under what conditions?
George: This storyline was developed by myself along with Tom O'Neill in November of 1999 when Bob Orci and Alex Kurtzman were the headwriters for Xena.
SD: This was before R.J. Stewart returned as headwriter
George: Correct. This was one of the first things we did after we were hired as staff writers for the show.
SD: You were going to introduce the Twilight of the Gods?
George: Right. The first mention of the Twilight is in a script that Tom and I wrote called, “Seeds Of Faith.” That was the 100th episode filmed and the ninth episode aired in the fifth season. And by episode fourteen we wanted to start explaining what the Twilight was all about. In “Seeds,” we brought up the idea that it existed. Although, in that episode, Ares says he believes the Twilight is a myth.
SD: This was heading toward the death of the Olympian gods. Was this something Rob wanted to do - kill the gods?
George: There was talk of that. And there were things already in place. For example, Xena was giving birth to a child and there was a prophecy that Zeus acted on in order to prevent the birth which forecast his death. But in trying to kill the child, he wound up causing his own death.
SD: That was during “God Fearing Child”?
George: Yes. That idea was already there and we built on that. I can't remember exactly, but I believe Rob had some ideas about killing gods. I don't remember anything specific, but it was floating around. And Rob had an interest in a monotheistic religion. If you’ve watched the show, you can see he has an interest in all religions.
SD: And this parallels what happened in actual history - the demise of polytheism and the rise of monotheism.
George: Right.
SD: What were the plans for episode fourteen?
George: This was shortly after “God Fearing Child.” Now we have the problem that Xena has a child with her at all times. We're doing an action show, Lucy's no longer pregnant, she's back in fighting form and we wanted to take advantage of that. The question was what do we do with the child? We wanted to use Aphrodite and we thought she would be a good sympathetic character in terms of coming to Xena for help. Normally the gods are against Xena and Aphrodite has caused her share of trouble, but she seems to have a good heart. She's not mean, just misguided.
SD: Why was Aphrodite coming to Xena for help?
George: Zeus, as the King of the Gods, held in place the gods' immortality. He was the binding element of the Olympians. With him dead, the gods lost their immortality. It's not that they would die of old age and they still have powers such as being able to throw thunderbolts and fireballs. But they can now be killed by humans. It doesn’t take a special weapon to kill them. So, now, if you prick Aphrodite, she will bleed.
SD: Was there going to be a connection with Aphrodite and Xena’s baby?
George: She would have become Xena's nanny.
SD (laughs): Oh doesn’t that leave the door open for some hilarious scenes.
George: I thought it would be interesting because Aphrodite is concerned with love and a child is the product of love. Aphrodite would recognize what real love produces. In the past, love for Aphrodite was mainly concerned with lust.
SD: Love to her has been more of a tool than a feeling?
George: Right. And this would show her what genuine love is. I thought it would be an interesting storyline and everyone loves working with Alexandra Tydings. It wasn't going to be the main plot of the episode which was to introduce the Twilight of the Gods through what was happening to Aphrodite. Xena would be trying to figure out what was going on and realizing, by the end of the episode, that she can't help Aphrodite. She can't give her back her immortality. Zeus made his own death a self-fulfilling prophecy and now it's too late to stop the downward spiral of the Olympian gods.
SD: Was episode fifteen going to continue this storyline?
George: Yes. Based on what Xena's been able to discover, the gods find out about the ancient prophecies concerning the Twilight of the Gods which, before, were only known by Zeus. One of these prophecies says that, in the end, there will be only one god. When this is brought to light, vain and petty gods like Ares interpret this to mean that only one of the Olympian gods will remain. And now that they're all mortal, it becomes a case of who will be the last to remain alive. If you're a god who doesn't believe the prophecy, all the other gods who do will be coming after you anyway. So this is the beginning of the God Wars.
Normally, humans would just look at this and say it doesn't concern them. The gods will only do damage to each other. But the problem is that the gods are throwing everything they have at each other and humanity is caught in the crossfire. For example, Poseidon is using the ocean to cause floods. And it's happening all over Greece. Xena can't solve all the problems because she can't be every place at once.
SD: Humanity is being threatened by floods, forest fires caused by thunderbolts, earthquakes - all caused by the gods?
George: Exactly. Xena realizes there has to be another way to stop this.
SD: What does she discover?
George: She finds out that the way to end this is to destroy all the gods and this can come about through something called the Tablets of Fate. She discovers this through the course of the episode and sets off at the end for the Russian Steppes. The Tablets are kept outside of the domain of the Olympian gods so they wouldn't be hidden in Greece. And Rob always wanted to do an episode set in the Russian Steppes.
SD: A chance for new costumes, new scenery?
George: Right. There were certain things that various people wanted to see and we incorporated them into the storyline. At one point, we were thinking this might be a two-part episode.
SD: The next episode concerns the travels of Xena and Gabrielle?
George: Yes. In episode sixteen, on their way to the Steppes, they pass through Amazon land.
SD: Any particular Amazon tribe?
George: These would be the ones that you would know of as the “Lifeblood” Amazons. We came up with the idea that Xena passes through Amazon territory and they need her help because they've lost their magic. Xena winds up interacting with a 400-year-old woman who can tell the story of the origins of the Amazons. The idea being that the Amazons have lost their way, lost what made them great and that's why they no longer have their magic.
SD: What is the magic of the Amazons?
George: It's a nature-oriented belief. There are some Amazons who were in cahoots with Ares. But our idea for this show was that their origins were based on a strong, young woman from our time, the 21st century, brought back to prehistoric age. She teaches this tribe of women who have lost all of their men in a war. that they can be strong and they don't have to rely on other people for their safety and to have a society.
SD: And this is the birth of the Amazons?
George: Exactly. And the main character, Cyane, names them the Amazons. Cyane becomes the name that is handed down from one queen to the next. Over the course of the episode, Xena and Gabrielle experience a mass hallucination caused by the old woman that allows them to witness the birth of the Amazons. When the tribe sees their past, they reach back in time and connect with their old beliefs and regain their magic.
SD: This is the episode which you and Tom wrote called, “Lifeblood”?
George: Right.
SD: Great! So, Xena and Gabrielle continue their journey?
George: Before Xena gets to the Steppes, the Olympian gods catch her and put her on trial. Normally, Xena would be able to escape, but this time they're all working together, using the chains of Haephestus and such. They're not trying to kill her, just put her on trial. Xena knows they’re going to keep coming after her, so she allows them to do this. She knows she's done nothing wrong and that some of the gods are reasonable - like Hades.
SD: By the way, does Xena have baby Eve with her and are the gods trying to kill the child?
George: Yes, she does, but they're not trying to kill Eve at this point. In this version, Eve has nothing to do with the prophecy. In a sense, Eve cannot kill the gods, she's not going to cause their death. Eve sets the Twilight in motion only because Zeus falls for the prophecy. In my mind, it didn't make sense to have Eve be the actual cause of the death of the gods. So she is not in danger from them.
SD: So Xena is on trial?
George: This had to be a four-day episode. We thought it would be an interesting idea to have Xena on trial for a crime she hasn’t yet committed. We wanted to have a commentary on modern-day American law. If someone believes you're going to commit a crime, can they do anything about it?
SD: What was the crime going to be?
George: Her crime was that she was going to murder the gods.
SD (laughs): The gods put her on trial for murdering them!
George: Right. Meanwhile, they're killing each other and Xena hasn't done anything yet. By the end of that episode, we wanted to have some of the gods on Xena's side. It wasn't going to be all of them against Xena. That's a setup for an episode later on that I'll get to. And in the trial, Xena is vindicated. Gabrielle and Xena wind up convincing the swing votes and one of them was going to be Athena. Athena was going to be against Xena at the beginning and at the end, not that she's an ally, but she believes Xena acted in a heroic manner which is what Athena wants people to do.
SD: It was sad when they killed off Athena because the actress who played her, Paris Jefferson, was so good.
George: Oh, she was great! We did casting for the episode she first appeared in, “Amphipolis Under Siege.” Paris is not very tall or muscular and we had seen people like that. We auditioned six-foot-tall, big women who had a commanding look about them, but after the casting session, we all turned to each other and said, “Paris is the one.” She can make you feel she is this awesome warrior.
SD: At the end of the trial...
George: Xena is finding out that the Tablets of Fate can actually kill the gods and literally destroy Mt. Olympus. This is setting up a conflict for her because there are some gods she respects and who are victims of this God War as much as humanity is. More than the trial, what we thought would be interesting is learning about the Tablets and setting up these relationships that would play out later.
SD: Has Xena gotten to the Russian Steppes yet?
George: She gets to the Steppes in the next episode, number eighteen. She finds out the location of the Tablets of Fate and it’s in the domain of a witch called Baba Yaga who is a figure from Russian folklore. But Baba Yaga was unaware this powerful item was hidden in her territory. We hadn’t worked out the specifics of any of these storylines, but the idea is that Xena would have a battle with Baba Yaga and finally get the Tablet. Xena finds out at the end of this episode that this is only one-half of the Tablets of Fate and the second part is located in Egypt. Again, outside the domain of the Greek gods. So that tells us where we will be going in episode number nineteen.
SD: Off to the “Antony and Cleopatra” story?
George: Right. The interesting thing about this is that we had an “Antony and Cleopatra” script which had been written for the previous season but had never been shot because Lucy was going to play Cleopatra and she was pregnant. This episode was going to be rewritten to incorporate Eve and all the things that had happened since season four. Now this story would contain the Antony and Cleopatra story, the second Tablet of Fate and Xena meeting Octavius.
SD: Would Xena continue with Octavius in episode twenty?
George: Yes. Xena now has both Tablets and knows she needs to fuse them together on Mt. Olympus. She's heading back to Greece with Octavius and his Roman forces who have agreed to escort her. Along the way, Xena is teaching him not only military and political strategy, but how to be a good, moral and just leader. We also establish a relationship between Octavius and baby Eve. At the end of this episode, Xena gets to Mt. Olympus and winds up fighting a lot of the gods as you saw in “Looking Death In The Eye.” And Xena is having a bit of a conflict worrying about what's going to happen to gods like Aphrodite, Athena and Hades. But she doesn't have any choice. However, Ares is the one who really gets in her way. Even though Xena fuses the Tablets together and destroys Mt. Olympus, Ares uses the last of his power to escape.
SD: Sneaks out the back door?
George: Throughout this story, we had added the element that when one god killed another, he inherited his power. So if Ares killed Poseidon, he would also have power over the oceans. And Ares is the one who has killed most of the gods. So he has more power at this point which is why he's able to escape.
SD: Where does he escape to?
George: He escapes to Rome where we later find out he had spent time developing a following among the Romans.
SD: Was he called Ares there?
George: No, his name is Mars and once we got into the future, he would be called Mars. When Ares uses his great power to save himself, that’s the moment Xena and Gabrielle are flung into the future instantaneously where Ares would be most vulnerable. And at the time this happens, Eve had been left with Octavius.
SD: So in episode twenty-one, they are 20 years into the future? What would be happening to Gabrielle during all this?
George: In my mind, Gabrielle was becoming a Luke Skywalker figure. In the sense that she was tasting what it would be like to have power and might and be a good warrior and struggling against her deep moral convictions about peace. She was developing as a warrior. She was leading people in battle at times. She was going to be struggling with that craving for power herself and never wanting to go too far, but yearning for it because she idolizes Xena so much. There’s a part of Xena that Gabrielle wants to have for herself. This is what attracted her to the Warrior in the first place. Now she could have that power if she wanted to. We started that idea in “Seeds of Faith.” She’s at the cusp and could follow the Dark Side if she’s not careful. She has to figure out how could she uphold Eli’s teachings and yet defend people which often requires the use of force. That’s Gabrielle’s struggle.
SD: And Xena, Augustus and Livia?
George: Octavius is the Roman emperor and is now called Augustus and he controls all the land from Brittania to Asia Minor. He is ruling with an iron fist. It takes Xena and Gabrielle a while to find out what's happened to them. First thing on Xena’s mind is, where is Eve? They find the old Joxer and the last thing he knows is that Eve was with Octavius. So Xena and Gabrielle head for Rome. They figure out Augustus is Octavius. They also find there is a woman who has turned Octavius into a general who’s conquered all these lands and created an oppressive, imperialistic empire and - that woman is Xena! Ares, now in Rome for ten years, realizes he misses Xena. He goes into the past and gets Xena, the Conqueror of Nations, and brings her into Rome into his current time. So Evil Xena has raised Eve and renamed her Livia.
SD: Fascinating!
George: Xena has to go to battle against herself. At this point, Xena does not know Livia is her daughter Eve. Augustus is afraid of Evil Xena therefore he doesn't want to help the good Xena, so he doesn't tell her who Livia is. Livia is following in Evil Xena’s footsteps and Augustus is planning to marry her.
SD: And I'll bet Evil Xena doesn’t want the good Xena hanging around.
George: Right. There's a massive battle and both Xenas are using the same strategy. They know what each other would do. It’s as much a tactical battle as a physical one. By the end of this episode, number twenty-two, Xena defeats Evil Xena in the final battle. But Livia takes Evil Xena’s place after she weds Augustus. And because Livia looked up to the Evil Xena, there is now a price on Xena’s head. Season six is the entire Roman Empire against Xena and Gabrielle. And Livia. who’s been taught by both Ares and Evil Xena is totally powerful and ruthless.
SD: She’s become the best of the worst.
George: Exactly. Season six was going to be Xena realizing who Livia really is and trying to convert her. Augustus knows that he learned all his military tactics from Xena and if she's still alive, she poses the biggest threat to his staying in power. Livia and Augustus tell all their soldiers in the Roman Empire, which stretches to Asia Minor, to capture Xena. Xena becomes a kind of Robin Hood figure. She and Gabrielle have their regular adventures with the added problem that if she's recognized by any soldiers, they'll immediately attack her. And she still keeps trying to find a way to get to Livia and, first, convince her she's Xena’s daughter and later on in the season, that Livia has to give up this persecution.
The end of season six would be Xena getting Augustus to give up his imperial throne, return power to the people, make Rome a republic and introduce Pax Romana. Which is the true story of what happened in Rome under Augustus. Season six could be characterized as Xena becoming a Robin Hood figure, fighting for the downtrodden and oppressed against the Roman Empire. She’s become the champion of humanity.