{"id":394,"date":"2023-06-22T05:00:14","date_gmt":"2023-06-22T05:00:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/typesandpatterns.com\/blog\/?p=394"},"modified":"2023-06-22T05:00:14","modified_gmt":"2023-06-22T05:00:14","slug":"expanding-the-xenaverse","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/typesandpatterns.com\/blog\/2023\/06\/22\/expanding-the-xenaverse\/","title":{"rendered":"Expanding the Xenaverse"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/a>
Eve & the Baptist <\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The premise of this webcomic is that it\u2019s based on an unreleased theatrical film version of #Xena, opening in the summer of 2000, a direct sequel to season 5\u2019s ender, \u201cMotherhood.\u201d Because of that, the story\u2019s music had to have been released prior to that. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most songs are from the 80s & 90s, the earliest from 1930, and the latest from January 2000. In comparison, \u201cLyre, Lyre , Hearts on Fire,\u201d the show\u2019s 2nd<\/sup> musical, featured songs from the 60s, while season 5\u2019s \u201cAntony and Cleopatra\u201d featured a 90s song by Natalie Merchant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s talk about that song, \u201cCarnival\u201d! I think it\u2019s the perfect song for the show\u2019s sensibility, and harkens back to the show\u2019s chief influence, the film \u201cBlack Orpheus\u201d, set in Brazil\u2019s Carnivale. It describes the experience of being swept up by the world\u2019s illusions, <\/p>\n\n\n\n

& glimpsing the possibility of a much larger one, perhaps viewed with a new wisdom & compassion. The lyrics describe   \u201ca wild-eyed misfit prophet on a traffic island stopped & he raved of saving me. Have I been blind, have I been lost inside myself, & my own mind, hypnotized, mesmerized by what my eyes have seen?\u201d I think these lyrics are salient to the show\u2019s journey of experience, and for me, the opening lyrics are especially pertinent:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWell, I\u2019ve walked these streets, A virtual stage, it seemed to me, makeup on their faces, actors took their places next to me.\u201d To me, this is where Eve finds herself in this story, & the island of Cyprus is like a stage in which she takes on a new role.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I don\u2019t use this song in this story, but we hear it in the episode right before  \u201cLooking Death in the Eye,\u201d the beginning of the Twilight of the Gods arc, in which Eve\u2019s destiny changes forever when she\u2019s separated from her mothers & raised by Caesar\u2019s manipulative court.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ve tried to look for as many details like this as I can in building this new addition to Xena\u2019s story. I want to expand Xena\u2019s world, but without any kind of retconning, or changing\/deleting existing facts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That said, I\u2019ve tried to add as many new elements as possible, without altering the existing reality. Part of my agenda in writing this story is to expand our idea of what\u2019s possible when thinking ahead to any future revivals. If we can dream it, they can be it!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This story introduces a number of things that have their roots in the earlier show. For example, Salmoneus has a history here that traces back to after \u201cHercules The Legendary Journeys\u201d ends. I want to show flashbacks that fit the show\u2019s format, so I made an addition to the past: HTLJ, in my alt history in which we have a year 2000 Xena movie, did not end 8 eps into season 6. It ran a full year, as a Herc-lite season (like 4th<\/sup> season), allowing time for Sal to have full arcs to himself to develop a backstory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since \u201cRock of Ages\u201d has a nautical theme, I imagined a 7th<\/sup> season of HTLJ, with a new star, and crossover ties to a #Xena spinoff of its underwater fantasy ep, \u201cMarried With Fishsticks\u201d. I imagined what it might look like, & will include a screencap or 2 of that as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s not necessary to the story that I imagine these things, but it\u2019s a good way to loosen up creatively, and further develop the world of Xena while faithfully coloring outside its lines. One thing that I do strongly believe in, however, is a #Xena revival.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I very much agree with Lucy Lawless\u2019s recent statements about a next generation-oriented revival, one that will allow the legacy cast to participate. By imagining all these additions to the past, I\u2019m practicing imagining how a revival would also expand #Xena\u2019s world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Myself, I\u2019m most excited about an Eve spinoff set 20 years later. I think it\u2019s the perfect time for it, & having spent the last several years building the world of this story, I\u2019m convinced it\u2019s a worthy extension of #Xena\u2019s magical world. I see no end to the possibilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some folks will have to see it to believe it, so I\u2019ve also tried to imagine exactly what such a series would look like. I\u2019ve speculated on its twists & turns, & experimented with its look, & its crazy cast of characters, & how they tie in to the show\u2019s aesthetic legacy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Throughout this project, I\u2019ll be occasionally posting<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSpoiler-free\u201d images of how I envision an \u201cEve\u201d spinoff. As I mentioned yesterday, Rob & R.J. had already planned a spinoff, so RenPic doesn\u2019t need me to tell them how to do their job, but maybe the networks need someone to tell them (or their AI trendbots) what the audience wants to see. Here\u2019s my vote! If it doesn\u2019t work, then we\u2019ll always have Cyprus!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tomorrow, I\u2019ll discuss the 1st part of this project, & post the 1st<\/sup> video.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The premise of this webcomic is that it\u2019s based on an unreleased theatrical film version of #Xena, opening in the summer of 2000, a direct sequel to season 5\u2019s ender, \u201cMotherhood.\u201d Because of that, the story\u2019s music had to have been released prior to that.  Most songs are from the 80s & 90s, the earliest […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-394","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","category-xena"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/typesandpatterns.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/394","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/typesandpatterns.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/typesandpatterns.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/typesandpatterns.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/typesandpatterns.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=394"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/typesandpatterns.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/394\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":396,"href":"https:\/\/typesandpatterns.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/394\/revisions\/396"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/typesandpatterns.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=394"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/typesandpatterns.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=394"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/typesandpatterns.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=394"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}