Lost Mariner
This transcript is dedicated to the memories of Tony Todd and Charles Siebert.
Xena!
XENA (voice-over)
We're going down! Take my sword and cut the
ropes! Gabrielle!
No!
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Quite a wreck.
EXTRA
Yeah.
EXTRA
Two people overboard!
Should we pick them up?
HIDSIM
Rama, some sharks on the other side, coming around.
CECROPS
Bring them aboard.
Very impressive. Wonderful craftsmanship.
Custom-made, I think.
Another treasure I can rob from Poseidon. Take
it below, to my cabin. Were you on the merchant
man, or the pirate ship?
GABRIELLE
They were trying to take us. My friend and I, we
were trying...where's my friend?
Where's Xena?
CECROPS
Xena? Xena. The pirate ship survived the rocks.
But if she was on the merchant man, she would've
drowned, most likely. Pushing up seaweed by now.
There. She would have made her way to land.
CECROPS
Maybe she did. (to men) Let's get back to it! We
have to be around this island by nightfall!
GABRIELLE
Wait! Can't you take me to shore?
CECROPS
You're staying with us. You don't seem to understand
the danger.
GABRIELLE
No. You don't understand the danger. This is
a boat on water. Water, boat, my stomach, we
don't mix very well. So, unless you want a quick
and colourful deck-washing, I suggest you put
me on a boat for shore.
CECROPS
Do you hear that, Hidsim? I'm not averse to a
bit of colour. But you're not leaving this ship.
No.
No, it can't be. You're Cecrops.
GABRIELLE
Cecrops, the lost mariner.
You're not keeping me here!
CECROPS
That's up to you. You know the risk.
TIG
No. I'm not gonna end up like one of them!
You know who I am! You're not gonna leave
this ship!
Now, that you're here, you better get used to it.
You could've prevented that.
CECROPS
He chose to go against three hundred years of
curse. That's his business.
No, don't look. The sharks have found him!
GABRIELLE
I'm on the cursed ship of Cecrops.
CECROPS
Yes, you are.
GABRIELLE
For eternity?
CECROPS
Ah, no. That particular part of the curse is mine.
You'll just be here until you die. Xena is the lucky
one. Even if she drowned.
END OF TEASER
ACT ONE
Hah! Thought you might wash up here!
XENA
Basculis, I don't have time for this. My friend got
picked up by that ship, and I need to get to her!
BASCULIS
That's the ship of Cecrops, the mariner. Anyone
who boards her is cursed, even the Warrior Princess.
Now, come with us, Xena. Our ship is in a cove,
being repaired. We almost ended up on the rocks
with you.
XENA
Pity. I could've used the company.
BASCULIS
I lost all the loot on that ship! But, you're a much
better prize. You know, Mordecai has a nice price
on your head.
After her! You! Go back to the ship! Weigh anchor
and meet us down at the beach! Move!
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Get up, you fool!
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Snap to it, men! Bloomer! Put your back into it!
You've got more energy than that!
BLOOMER
I'd like to see your energy for once, energy enough,
maybe, to kill me!
CECROPS
Probably not! I don't like you that much! Besides,
I'm a busy man! Curse and all.
I've decided to make you the new cook. I see
you've had some experience with food.
GABRIELLE
I'm still trying to deal with this situation.
CECROPS
Deal with it quick. It's been awhile since we've
had a woman aboard my ship. I don't like my
men to get distracted.
Hi. My name is Altrech. If you're not feeling too
good, I might have just the thing for you.
HIDSIM
Leave her alone, Altrech. She doesn't need the
likes of you breathing in her face.
ALTRECH
I'm only trying to help. See? It--it--it's ash. I eat
it--it settles my stomach.
Yeah, she's been through here. Funny, Xena's
not known for her carelessness.
COLFAX
She's in a hurry.
BASCULIS
Still, it has me worried. I don't wanna take any
chances. Mordecai wanted her alive. But he'd
take her dead if he had to.
It's real.
GABRIELLE
Ah, I'm really sorry. I, um, I was just-just looking
around and I...you see, if I stand still too long,
I--I just not--notice the movement of the boat
and--and--and I thought that-
CECROPS
It's okay. It's not like it's valuable. It's only an emerald.
GABRIELLE
Yeah, it's a big emerald.
CECROPS
Still, it might as well be a grain of sand for all
the good it does me. It sparkles when the sun
hits it. It reminds me of, well, something more
than money.
GABRIELLE
That's the only way to judge beauty. Not by the
price, but how it touches the soul.
She's beautiful. Have you ever heard of the lost
Athena of Antigus? It was a carving so beautiful,
that men swore she came to life in the moonlight.
CECROPS
It has to be a full moon, but the story is true. Pirates
stole it. I stole the pirates. Some of my crew, in fact.
GABRIELLE
And now I'm part of your crew, right?
Do you know the story of how Athena became
Goddess of Athens?
GABRIELLE
Yeah. Poseidon and Athena both wanted Athens.
So a contest was held. The first citizen was chosen
to arbitrate.
CECROPS
He wasn't the first citizen. A minor point, but go ahead.
GABRIELLE
Poseidon brought forth a spring on the Acropolis
and Athena made a beautiful olive tree sprout
on the rocky soil. So, the arbiter chose in favour
of Athena. That's all I know.
CECROPS
That's all anybody ever knows. Nobody remembers
that Poseidon was very angry or that the arbiter
was just reflecting the will of the people. Nobody
remembers that Poseidon placed a curse on
the arbiter or that the arbiter's name was...Cecrops.
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I've got her!
Where? Where'd she go? Head for that cropping?
You three! Through the woods! Try to cut her off!
The rest of you, let's go!
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Poseidon's curse was that I could never return to land until-
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-love redeems me.
GABRIELLE
But, that was so long ago.
CECROPS
Three hundred years ago. Athena decided to give
me immortality. I can't die and I can't return to
land. It's a toss-up between who I hate more,
Poseidon or Athena.
GABRIELLE
But Athena gave you hope. Don't you see that?
She knew how powerful love was, she gave you
enough time to defeat the curse. Until love redeems
you. That has to be the key.
CECROPS
Oh, please. Who's going to love me? I mean, I'm
hardly the catch of the day, tall, dark, and cursed
for eternity. Yeah, quite a draw. With the exception
of you, there hasn't been a woman onboard this
ship for two hundred years and she had an attitude
because I sank her ship.
You got something out here, you gotta see.
Thank you.
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Altrech! (to Cecrops and Gabrielle) Over there.
Xena.
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Xena!
I'm here!
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Come on!
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Think about what you're doing, girl. If you care
about your friend, you don't want her aboard my ship.
XENA
Gabrielle!
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All right, turn it around! I want as much distance
between us and those rocks as possible! Your
friend is thinking about jumping onto my ship
and I'm not gonna let her do it.
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She's trapped.
EXTRA
Now, we've got her.
END OF ACT ONE
ACT TWO
EXTRA
She's got nowhere to go!
That should do it! Keep it up! We're turning away
from the shore!
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Take her up!
EXTRA
She's turning!
EXTRA
Get that sail up!
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Give me a hand!
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Get it up! We're heading back in toward shore!
CECROPS
You get that sail back up! Or I swear, I'm gonna
throw a lot of you overboard!
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Shoot! Shoot her!
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Come and get me, fellas!
Hah!
Got'cha.
Xena.
Oh Xena.
CECROPS
Are you out of your mind?!
XENA
Gabrielle, are you all right?
GABRIELLE
Yeah, I'm fine. I'm seasick, I'm cursed. Actually,
I'm really seasick.
Excuse me. Do you know who I am?
XENA
You're Cecrops. I wasn't gonna let you take off
with my best friend.
CECROPS
Oh, well, that's good. That's real good. So, now
I have both of you.
XENA
Looks like it.
CECROPS
Hah!
That was just insanity! She just jumped onto
that cursed ship!
BASCULIS
Xena's not crazy! She knew what she was doing
And I know what she's after. Poseidon's treasures.
All the riches Cecrops robbed from Poseidon
are on that ship. And we're gonna get it all!
COLFAX
You forget Poseidon's curse? We get anywhere
near that ship Cecrops will either kill us or
capture us. You know how he hates pirates.
BASCULIS
If anybody can beat that curse, Xena can. And
when she does, we're gonna be there.
All right.
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His cabin is back there. What are you going to do?
XENA
Try and convince him there is a way out of this.
GABRIELLE
Is there?
XENA
Athena wouldn't have given him immortality if
there wasn't an answer. Any way, we've got a lot
of time to figure it out.
GABRIELLE
Hah-hah. No, we don't! Because I will not live
through a lifetime of this!
Here.
See that small bump?
GABRIELLE
Mm-hmm.
Ow!
My seasickness!
XENA
Every time you feel your stomach getting queasy,
jab your wrist like I showed ya.
I brought you some squid.
Look at that. Land. So close, I could swim to it,
and yet...you know, I've forgotten what it feels like.
Sand, Earth, dirt. Have you ever noticed the smell
of land? Sometimes, when we're near the shore,
I just close my eyes and try to take it in. Try to
imagine, remember everything about it.
I, um, I think this belongs to you.
Not that you'll need it on this ship. But it seemed
too valuable to throw overboard. I don't give anything
to Poseidon, when I can avoid it.
XENA
Seems to me like you've given everything to Poseidon,
including hope. When did you give that up?
CECROPS
Oh, we have a Warrior Philosopher on board, a
regular Sinteres. It was three days before the
summer solstice, twenty-seven years after
Poseidon had cursed me. That's when I gave
up hope. That's when.
What was her name?
CECROPS
Terai. I loved her as no man has ever loved a
woman. Whenever she looked at me, her face
lit up with the faith that she had in me. She had
hair the colour of the midnight sun, skin as soft
as silk and eyes so green and deep, you could
fall into them. And I did.
XENA
I'm sorry.
CECROPS
I was on my way to see Terai when Poseidon
arose from the waters. He cursed me at that
moment. Terai was watching from the shores.
Then Poseidon created Charybdis, the mighty
whirlpool, as a reminder. For many years, I stayed
in the area, sailing the coastline. And every evening
Terai would come to the cliffs, and we would look
at each other. Even as she grew older she grew
more beautiful. And then, one evening she didn't
come and--and I knew, I knew I would never see
her again.
XENA
Turn east. Let's go back to Terai's village.
CECROPS
That was three hundred years ago. Terai is dead.
Dead. The village couldn't exist with Charybdis
just outside the shore. It's gone, all gone.
XENA
The whirlpool is still there. Poseidon created it.
It might just be part of the answer. Athena knew what
she was doing. You just have to have faith.
CECROPS
Faith?! Faith has killed more people than war!
XENA
You said that Terai had faith in you. So either were
lying to her then, or you're lying to yourself now.
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The ship turning?
XENA
East, toward Charybdis. What are you eating?
GABRIELLE
Squid. Want some?
How's about some more rope?!
Cecrops-
CECROPS
Don't start with me! Now there are better pickings
east of here. I need a new crew. The pirates around
here avoid me!
XENA
Right, I can see that.
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Mmm.
HIDSIM
How're you doing, little one? How's the stomach?
GABRIELLE
Much better. Hmm. You want some squid?
HIDSIM
Ah, no, no. I can't eat and twine rope.
Looks confusing.
HIDSIM
Nah, it's really easy once you get the hang of it.
It's mindless work. Here, try it.
GABRIELLE
Hah-hah.
Of course, now you're condemned to do that forever.
GABRIELLE
What?
HIDSIM
It's a joke.
Ah, it's good to hear laughter on the ship. Rama,
he doesn't laugh. Too bad, he's a good man.
GABRIELLE
How did you meet him?
HIDSIM
A long time ago, ah, I was rescuing orphans
from a tidal wave, while trying to keep my mother
from sinking underwater.
GABRIELLE
You did that?
HIDSIM
No, little one. But it sounds better than saying I
was a pirate. I was just about to quit. I had enough
bad stuff and then we attacked a ship. His ship.
I've been here ever since.
GABRIELLE
How long, now?
HIDSIM
A long time. I don't know how old I am now. Don't
need to know any more.
GABRIELLE
I have faith in Xena. You should too. She'll get
us out of this.
HIDSIM
Well, it'd be nice to lay on the grass again. Me
and my daughter we used to do that all the time
when I was home; lay on the grass and look at
the clouds.
GABRIELLE
You have a daughter?
HIDSIM
Somewhere. She'd be about your age, now. Probably
thinks I'm dead. Yeah, little one, it'd be nice.
EXTRA
Starboard side!
EXTRA
Coming up fast!
EXTRA
Ship ahoy!
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There!
CECROPS
Pirates.
XENA
Basculis. The ones from the island. They're after
your treasure.
CECROPS
That would make them stupid pirates.
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I love stupid pirates.
ALTRECH
We gonna attack? You need a new crew. That's
them. You hate pirates.
CECROPS
No. Stay the course! East! The wind's no good.
Those pirates're gonna catch us anyway. Hidsim!
Grab the wheel!
No, Cecrops, wait. Something's happening.
Get back!
XENA
Poseidon!
EXTRA
It's Poseidon.
END OF ACT TWO
ACT THREE
XENA
What do you want, Poseidon?! Haven't you done
your damage here, already?!
POSEIDON
Xena! This is between Cecrops and me!
GABRIELLE
Excuse me! But we don't have a choice!
CECROPS
You made the rules, Poseidon!
POSEIDON
Very well. Xena, I grant you safe passage from
the ship of Cecrops. Go.
XENA
Not without Gabrielle.
POSEIDON
Take her. Love can't redeem Cecrops. He doesn't
even know where to look.
XENA
Thanks for the offer, Poseidon, but, we like the
smell of the ocean!
CECROPS
Don't be a fool!
EXTRA
Is she crazy?
XENA
I think we'll stay on a little while longer!
POSEIDON
You won't get a second chance!
I'm not sure this treasure is worth it!
BASCULIS
Of course, it is! Did you hear Xena? She had a
chance to escape, didn't take it. She knows
something. By the gods, she knows something.
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You keep those ropes tight the way I showed
you and we'll need less men topside.
ALTRECH
Poseidon's trying to make things difficult for us.
XENA
With this? Believe me, Poseidon's much more devious.
HIDSIM
Warrior Princess? The men. They--they talked
about you. We--we wonder if you're gonna defeat
Poseidon's curse again.
XENA
Well, that's the plan. (to Gabrielle) How're you doing?
GABRIELLE
Good. This sailor stuff is kind of fun once you
know about this.
Huh?
XENA
Let's hope it doesn't get any worse. Poseidon
obviously doesn't want us reaching Charybdis.
GABRIELLE
That means you were right. The key must be
there and he doesn't want you to figure it out.
XENA
And if I'm wrong?
GABRIELLE
If you're wrong? Xena, I have to spend the rest
of my life dodging Altrech! Sixty year old adolescent,
who hasn't had a girlfriend since his voice was
an octave higher.
Xena, why didn't you show me this when we were
on Ulysses' ship?
XENA
Oh, well, uh, I couldn't risk it. It has side effects.
GABRIELLE
Side effects? Yeah, what kind of side effects?
XENA
Well, that pressure point numbs your taste buds.
Anything tastes good, even things that aren't
good for you.
GABRIELLE
Like...raw squid. Oh, I'm gonna be sick.
XENA
Well, not until later-
-when we're on solid ground.
I thought you should know, Rama's turning back,
come light.
XENA
What are you talking about?
HIDSIM
He'd kill me for telling you. But he told me we're
turning to attack the pirates at dawn. We're not
going to Charybdis after all.
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Make yourself at home.
XENA
Why are you turning back?
CECROPS
I changed my mind. It happens.
XENA
No. No, you're afraid.
CECROPS
Afraid? Afraid of Poseidon?! Not quite.
XENA
It's not Poseidon. It's because you think I might
be right, that I might be able to end the curse.
Poseidon wouldn't have offered me my freedom,
if he didn't think I was on to something.
CECROPS
You don't think that I would end this curse in a
second, if I could.
XENA
No, because it's gone on too long. Thousands
of people have been cursed along with you. And
you feel the guilt of dooming all those people.
CECROPS Shouldn't I? For the first hundred years, it was
merchant vessels. Innocents. These people
spent the rest of their lives, on this ship because
of me! So I switched to pirates. No innocents
there, like the people I have on this ship, now
all pirates!
XENA
And all become your friends. This isn't a curse
to you, it's justice. You've begun to believe that
you deserve it!
CECROPS
How in the name of Zeus, did you ever come up
with such a lame theory?
XENA
By watching you. I've known many types of fear
in my life, Cecrops. But the fear of your own guilt
is distinctive.
CECROPS
What do you know of fear?! Do you fear death?
Do you fear injury? Do you fear losing your friend
out there? Well, I fear life, because every die
of life means another day someone can lose
their freedom to me!
XENA
Then break the cycle, Cecrops. You didn't start
this, Poseidon did, but you can end it!
CECROPS
How? Were you planning on falling in love with
me? I mean, that is the answer, isn't it?
Wait! You and Gabrielle had your shot at freedom.
Why did you stay?
XENA
Because I'm not leaving this ship without everyone else.
CECROPS
Oh, right, it's as simple as that, ay?
XENA
Yeah, it's as simple as that.
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Hold on, little one.
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Gabrielle!
GABRIELLE
I'm okay!
CECROPS
Brace yourselves! Brace yourselves! Move us
into the bow! Get into the wind, bow first! Altrech!
Move those crates into the bow!
ALTRECH
Aye-aye, sir!
CECROPS
Use your weight.
XENA
Over here, Gabrielle!
Rama!
Hidsim moves Cecrops out of the way and the crate squishes him.
XENA
No! Come on help me move this thing!
What--what--what--what were you thinking?!
You pathetic old fool! Hadsim! I'm immortal! It
wouldn't have killed me!
HIDSIM
I just, I just reacted, Rama. I saw you were in
danger. (to Gabrielle) I guess I'm not gonna lay
on the grass after all, little one, with my, with
my daughter.
GABRIELLE
No, you're gonna be okay.
CECROPS
Hidsim!
HIDSIM
Rama. Touch the Earth for me.
No.
XENA
It's too late.
CECROPS
Poseidon. No. No! No!
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Cecrops. You've learned a sad lesson.
CECROPS
If you've come to gloat, Poseidon?
Save it! Hidsim was just another pirate!
There is a way out for you and your crew. I can
give you your freedom.
CECROPS
Why now?
POSEIDON (voice-over)
Because now, you have something I want. The
Warrior Princess. Take her to Charybdis. When
the time is right, throw her into the whirlpool and
you and your men will be free again.
CECROPS
Just yesterday, you were offering her, her freedom.
POSEIDON (voice-over)
And she defied me! No one does that
to me! Your curse is nothing compared to the
satisfaction I will have when she is mine!
Cecrops.
CECROPS
We're going to Charybdis. It's going to end there.
END OF ACT THREE
ACT FOUR
Take your stations!
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The sky is clearing.
XENA
We're close to Charybdis.
GABRIELLE
The pirates are still with us.
It makes no sense. I was his enemy.
XENA
Maybe at one time you were, but over the years,
Hidsim saw something different, someone he
respected and cared about.
CECROPS
He always called me Rama. Where he's from,
I guess Rama was a great hero, but not worth
dying for.
XENA
Obviously, to him you were.
CECROPS
Goodbye, friend.
We caught the current. It's a strong one.
XENA
It's the outter rim of Charybdis. We gotta break free.
CECROPS
We need somebody up in the crow's nest. Dyossus.
One-eyed Pelamon!
The crew won't take your command. Too dangerous.
Those lines break, the whole thing comes crashing
into the sea!
XENA
I'll go.
Xena! Hold on!
We have to catch up to them!
COLFAX
We're not gonna do it this way! We're caught in
the same current they're in!
Cut the main mast lines! Do it!
COLFAX
That will send us right into Charybdis!
BASCULIS
We'll use the current to cut across the edge then
raise the sails! It'll bring us alongside! Move!
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What are they doing?!
CECROPS
Making a big mistake!
XENA
Hold it to starboard! Pull both sails!
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My sword!
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Now, Cecrops! Give me the Warrior Princess!
Cut the rope! Do it! And you'll go free!
CECROPS
Xena!
No, Poseidon! Love redeems me! I finally figured
it out, you bastard!
It isn't that someone loves me! It's my love for
others! The love you had for Gabrielle, Xena! When
you risked your life for her! The love Hidsim had
for me when he died! You're right! It really is just
that simple! Thank you! Thank you!
Cecrops! No!
Cecrops!
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Hey.
I hope you understand.
GABRIELLE
Yeah, it was great for me.
ALTRECH
Bye.
You all right?
GABRIELLE
Yeah, I just had to, had to get rid of my squid
friends...and my puppy love! Yeah, he's off to get
ome new conquest.
Come on. There you go. Come on.
EXTRA
Thank you, Xena.
GABRIELLE
I guess the answer was inside Cecrops all along.
"'Til love redeems you." So, it's more important
to--to remember the love you can give instead
of the love that you receive, right? I should have
figured that out.
XENA
I guess Poseidon gave it away when he said
that Cecrops didn't know where to look.
Cecrops? Cecrops?
I'm alive! I--I'm alive! I--I thought I would never
feel the Earth again! I don't know how I made it
through it, but I'm alive!
Athena, she gave you immortality. Even Poseidon
couldn't take that away.
CECROPS
You know? All these years, I--I--I've been cursing
her name? Aah, I think I owe her a big apology.
Have you ever felt anything so wonderful?!
Yes, almost anything else!
GABRIELLE
Where will you go?
CECROPS
I don't know!
I don't know. A lot has changed in three hundred
years. But, first I'm going to--to sit here and remember.
Terai?
CECROPS
Terai.
I can't thank you enough. But maybe I can help
others, the way you've helped me.
GABRIELLE
Oh, I know how you can start. Hidsim had a
daughter. Maybe you could see her.
I think I will. But I'm going to walk there!
You know, Poseidon is probably upset with me.
I think he got used to having me around.
XENA
Well, he'll find someone else to be angry at, that's
just his way. Let's hope it's someone who truly
deserves it.
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STARRING
Lucy Lawless as Xena
Renee O'Connor as Gabrielle
GUEST CAST
Tony Todd as Cecrops
George Henare as Hidsim
Nigel Harbrow as Basculis
Edward Campbell as Altrech
Frank Iwan, Jr. as Colfax
John Smith as Bloomer
Michael Hallows as Tig
Charles Siebert as Poseidon
Written by: Steven L. Sears
Directed by: Garth Maxwell
Disclaimer: Cecrops' "Joie de Vivre" was not harmed during the production of this motion picture.
