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Warrior...Princess Reviewed

After those mediocre episodes come perhaps my favourite of the season, and the broadest comedy episode so far. Going to the castle of King Lias, Xena discovers that she is an exact lookalike for the king`s daughter, the princess Diana. She is soon to be married and is also the subject of several assassination attempts. Xena and Diana swap places, so while Xena is curtseying and trying out the latest in dresses, Diana is being completely hopeless as the warrior princess.

Lucy Lawless gets a chance to do something a bit different and is brilliant. It is funny to watch as we the viewers know exactly who is who by Lucy Lawless' acting. I don't know which is funnier; Xena playing the helpless damsel while whacking a few baddies or Diana's hilariously drippy attempt to be Xena. Scenes to look out for include Xena's first stab at being Diana with her sevant girls, Diana's attempts to brighten up Xena's armour with a few ribbons, Xena and Philamon's fight with a gang of thugs where Xena has to pretend to be standing watching whenever Philamon turns around, Diana's first meeting with Gabrielle, Xena's harp playing, Diana's chakram toss... So many memorable moments in this very funny episode.

Writer Brenda Lilly hasn't done any others. A shame on the basis of this one. The follow up to this, Warrior..Princess..Tramp featuring THREE roles for Lucy Lawless was written by RJ Stewart.

A couple of other points worth mentioning. King Lias is the cousin of King Sisyphus. Iain Rea who played Philamon was a soldier beaten up by Xena in The Path Not Taken. What IS a pickled croasis when its at home?!

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