Neatorama presents a guest post from actor, comedian, and voiceover artist Eddie Deezen. Visit Eddie at his website or at Facebook.
We are all used to watching our favorite TV series and catching their "Christmas episode."
Not every series did one, but many did, and many still carry on the tradition. The Andy Griffith Show, Happy Days, I Love Lucy, The Dick Van Dyke Show, The Simpsons, even Gilligan's Island, all had their classic (or semi-classic) Christmas shows.
I guess it is hard to choose the single strangest Christmas episode. But how does a TV show do a Christmas special if it's set in the days before Christ?
In 1995, a new TV series with a very strong female hero took to the airwaves. It was a spin-off from the series Hercules: the Legendary Journeys. The series was to run for six seasons, through 2001.
Xena: Warrior Princess starred a gorgeous dark-haired New Zealand actress named Lucy Lawless. Xena's friend and co-heroine in the show was Gabrielle, an Amazon queen, played by Renee O’Connor. The "Xena" character was originally evil, but she turned good and valiantly did combat with evil forces. Xena and Gabrielle's adventures fighting the forces of evil proved an inspiration to women and young girls around the world.
For men and young boys, Xena and Gabrielle were inspirational too. As a man, believe me, these two inspired me greatly. They inspired me to take many a cold shower! Gabrielle only wore seven different outfits during the entire run of the series, including those two warrior bikini outfits. And Xena had that sexy, scowling face and those collagen-filled lips and... Ahem... okay, let's get my mind back down to business.
The “Before Christ" dilemma was one that Xena: Warrior Princess had to face at holiday time in 1996. This was, of course, a problem most TV series did not have to deal with.