Sadly, this seems to be the last of the comedy episodes of Xena that we’ll be looking at for the blog, as the next two appear to be at least semi-serious and I’ve decided against going on to season five. This one prompted a mid-show pause while we explained the plot of The Producers to our son, as Gabrielle finds herself and her dire scroll, “A Message of Peace,” targeted by a Max Bialystock-esque impresario. That helped him know where this one was going – sadly, the climax is actually just another fight scene instead of something really creative – but his favorite gags were Joxer trying to hang theater posters and bashing his thumb with a hammer.
My favorite gags, in order, were the impresario giving a very, very tiny scroll to potential clients because business cards hadn’t been invented yet, Sophocles’s opening-night competition turning out to be the ancient Greek version of a Ziegfeld Follies, and two of the actresses in this mess thanking our heroines thusly: “The two of you made me realize something deep down inside myself that I guess I always knew but I didn’t dare admit. I’m a thespian.” Curtain.
Fire Breathing Dimetrodon Time 