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Xena Warrior Princess - Season Two

Xena Warrior Princess - Season Two

List Price: $69.98
Your Price: $62.98
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Wow! Amazing!
Review: I forgot how much I loved this season! I purchased Season 1 on DVD for a hundred bucks when it came out. I was expecting this to be the same but it was so much cheaper! The quality is much better and wow! I spent all day reliving my favorite memories from season 2! It's such a beautiful, diverse season! There is a lot of emotional conflict with Xena and Gabrielle. Especially in The Execution when Gabrielle is trying to save a friend's life while Xena thinks he's gulity. Then you get to The Price when Gabrielle finally sees how Xena is in war. She starts to see pieces of Xena's past. But she lives through it and stays by her side. This is a remarkable season which helps solidify the bond between Xena and Gabrielle!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: a reviewer
Review: I got the first and second season DVD boxsets, and the first season was good, but the second season just gets better and more involved, you get to see the great character devolopment, the action, and the comedy, not to mention some nice quotes....

i deffinetly recommend you get this series, it is so interesting (and if you don't have the first season boxset, get it, too)

also there are a few important Xena episodes on Hercules: The Legendary journies season 1 boxset (witch is also a good show) so check that out, too. as both Xena and gabrielle appear on hercules and Hercules and Eiolas apear on Xena

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Oustanding, but where is that coin?
Review: I LOVE this DVD set, however, did not get that coin that came with the first set. I got the coin holder, and dont want a space there, did everyone else get one? Thanks!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Fabulous TV Show, Grainy DVD
Review: I love Xena Warrior Princess and Hercules Legendary Journeys, and season 2 is Xena at her best. Destiny is one of the five best episodes of Xena ever; it reveals what made Xena into the Warrior Princess rather than just another petty warlord, and it has that great Gaelic song. I didn't pay much attention to Remember Nothing when it aired on television, but after watching it twice on dvd, I've realized how important it is to the series. However, the quality of the dvd did not match the quality of the show. It's very grainy; actually, it's the poorest quality of any dvd I've ever seen.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Loretta Lynn's Review
Review: I think that season 2 is 5 stars.Season 1 is also 5 stars.I can not wait for season 3 on dvd.Lucy you are the best.I miss you very much & can't wait for your new show.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Thank you Anchor Bay Entertainment!!
Review: Just received my copy of the Anchor Bay release of the Xena Season 2 dvd release and from what I've seen so far Anchor Bay has more than made up for the shortcomings of the Season 1 set. (yeah,I know season 1 was shot on 16MM film but did they have to compound the problem by cramming/compressing 4 episodes on a disc with the season 1 set?)
The picture/video quality is beautiful on the season 2 set and the audio is outstanding.The colors are warm and vibrant and the picture is nice and crisp with little or no grain(although the grain creeps in from time to time on the darkest "night scenes").The audio is great and I've heard music and sounds on the tracks that were not apparent on the vhs sets,let alone on the original television broadcasts.
This was my favorite season of Xena and adding to the fun of this release are the commentaries by Robert Tapert,Lucy Lawless and Renee O Connor.Mr Tapert does an audio commentary or you can choose the video commentary on the episode "Destiny" which has some very interesting points and behind the scenes info.Mr Tapert,Lucy and Renee offer another interesting commentary on "A Day In the Life"and again you can opt for video or audio.Lucy and Renee do yet another commentary and this is on "The Return of Callisto".Since Lucy and Renee didn't make it a habit to watch the completed eps after they shot them,it's fun to watch and hear their reactions to the episodes.I only gave the set 4 stars due to the fact that I felt that the 7th disc (cd rom)was kind of weak with what it had to offer and could have been better put to use with maybe outtakes or bloopers.Also,the dvd discs seem to be a little lighter and flimsier than the previous set so handle with care.Another gripe of mine is that you have to purchase the "collector coin" as it is not included with the set as it was with the Season 1 set.Nitpicks aside,though,this is a very nice transfer to dvd and I'm sure that the fans will be more than pleased with this release.Nice work Anchor Bay Entertainment!!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Season Two--Getting Better, But...
Review: Like most of the above reviewers, I too thoroughly enjoyed Season Two's episodes. The introductory scene in "The Return of Callisto" may be the best six minutes of female "kick butt" ever seen on television; I was surprised by its violence when I first saw it...and still am. "Charlie's Angels...," and "Laura Croft...," to say nothing of Jennifer Garner's character in "Alias," have ABSOLUTELY NOTHING on Hudson Leick as Callisto in this episode. When she is BAD, she is REALLY BAD!!

Still, the Xena series DVDs have a ways to go to match the sound and picture quality of other TV series. For example, the "La Femme Nikita" Year 1, recently purchased, is far superior in terms of both color rendition and sound, particularly in color(blues and reds)and stereo separation and bass reproduction. As a Xena fan since the first year, I'm still waiting for the DVD quality to match the quality of the acting, scenery and storylines.

Of note, I purchased the final Xena episode DVD more than a year ago, and its quality is top drawer, so I don't think it has to do with any of the series production values.

Regardless, the Warrior Princess truly rocks!...and I'm still buying Year 2 (again), but hoping for better quality in years 3-6.

Update as of 03 Sep 03. Had the oportunity to watch four episodes and the interview with Tapert, Lawless and O'Conner on the new (02 Sep) Anchor Bay release. Agree with tgsbch's comments regarding audio and video quality and thinness of the DVDs themselves.

I would add that while the interviews contained nothing particularly "new" if you are a long time fan of XWP and have the numrous books that have been written about the series, the audio and video commentary options on two particular episodes, "A Day in the Life," and "Return of Callisto," are particularly rewarding.

Each option is edited differently. With the "audio" commentary you see the entire episode, with Lucy and Renee commenting (voiced over) on particular scenes. With the "video" commentary selected, you see a significantly edited episode, cutting to visuals of Lucy and Renee sitting in director's chairs (along with Tapert in "A Day...") and commenting. Lots of interesting observations by all three, including discussion of the lesbian subtext issue, "comedic" versus "violent" episodes, (Lucy prefers the former, Renee the latter--it's clear she's the athlete of this pair!),the skills of particular directors, cameramen and stunt personnel, the real skill of Hudson Leick (Callisto)with a sword, Leick's adlibbing some of her dialogue to create the memorable character of Callisto (Lucy notes that to have a really good hero requires a villan that is REALLY bad, and Leick's Callisto fit the bill!),Gabby's change in clothes, bust, weight, etc. throughout the years. Lots of comments and discussion transcend just Year Two and reflect on all six years of the series. I found these two episodes, particularly with "video" commentary selected, to be particularly interesting, and worth purchasing the Anchor Bay edition even if you had already purchased the previous Year 2 issue.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: BETTER THAN FIRST
Review: NOW ITS SERIOUSAMAZING SEASONINCLUDING THE EPISODE DESTINEY IN WHICH A BIG PART IN XENAS PAST IS REAVELD AMAZING SEASON

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: I love Xena but...
Review: Ok, I threw out my Season Two video tapes that I had taped off the tv when I heard that Season Two was releasing on DVD. Now I wish I hadn't. I already own Season One DVD's that were released by a different company other than Anchor Bay and I was dissapointed with the technical quality of the set. Specifically, the audio simply sucks. I was anxious to buy Season Two which was authored by Anchor Bay because I was hoping that the audio quality would be much better. Unfortunately, that is not the case.

The major problem with the audio is that the sound waivers constantly. Basically it sounds as if the mixer sat on the volume button and just kept turning it up and down constantly. I'm a professional sound mixer/editor and so I probably pay more attention to sound then the average consumer. However, the mix is so bad that most of the time, if there is music in the scene, you can't even hear the dialog because the music just overpowers it. These two problems are the EXACT problems that I had with the first season. I've tried the DVD's on different players and the problems are still there. I hope they fire whomever mixed the "surround sound" on these DVD's.

The picture quality is not too great either. At one point, one of the discs just froze for about two seconds and then started playing again. I have purchased other boxed sets of TV shows and haven't seen any that look and sound as cheaply authored as the two Xena Seasons. It upsets me because I do really love the show and it's actually painful to see how they treated the DVD transfer. I'm not sure why they decided to ruin the DVD's, but I guess they had their rea$on$.

Another quick criticism: there are no bloopers on the DVD's and I know they exist because the Xena Fan Club sells them for each season. I don't get why they would leave something like that off the bonus materials unless it's because they think they can make more $ selling the blooper reels on VHS through the fan club.

Overall, I don't think I would buy any more DVD's that are released from Anchor Bay. That is, until they fire their mixer and hire me.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: I love Xena - but Anchor Bay STINKS
Review: Season 2 is filled with great episodes for any Xena fan. That's what makes this boxed set so disappointing. The DVD are made cheaply and of poor quality. (I'm writing this review regarding the 3 seasons that I bought: 2, 3, 4) 1st the color landscape of the menus is so horrible that you can't see what you have selected. The basic DVD layout of menus looks thrown together. The dvds are obviously made on the cheap. The disks stick, skip, and revert to the wrong menu and I've had to ship 5 bad disks so far (at my expense) to Anchor Bay for replacement. Some don't play very well but the skips are minimal and I don't feel like paying the postage, so I've kept them. The extras in seasons 3&4 are more substantial - more interviews, commentaries, extra shorts etc. I tend to be a big fan of audio commentary and listening to Lucy, Renee, and Rob reminisce is nice. Season 2 has the fewer audio commentaries compared with later seasons. The Bruce Campbell/Ted Raimi Cabin Fever in Season 3 is quite funny. I love Xena and wish that another company had taken on the project. So disappointing. Content - B, Quality (Anchor Bay) - F.


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