Episode 17
The Play's The Thing
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Written by: Ashley Gable and Thomas A. Swyden
Directed by: Christopher Graves
Edited by:

Regular Cast
Lucy Lawless as Xena
Renee O'Connor as Gabrielle

Guest Cast:
Ted Raimi as Joxer
Alison Wall as Minya
Jennifer Ward-Lealand as Zehra
Mark Hadlow as Milo
Peter Muller as Dustinus Hoofmanus
Polly Baigent as Paulina
William Davis as Kaelus
Mark Nua as Cleon
Stephen Hall as Therax
John McKee as Rivus
Tammy Barker as Gabrielle Lookalike
Eduardo de Campos as Sophocles
George Port as Critic #1
Denys Hoskins as Critic #2
Rietta Austin as Woman #1
Mary Henderson as Woman #2
Dee Wernham as Woman #3

Gabrielle has lost one of her scrolls, so Xena persuades her to go back to Piraeus to look for it whilst she goes to the aid of a prince in Arcon. Gabrielle returns to look for her scroll and bumps into Joxer who is taken aback by Gabrielle's new look. A woman, Zehra and her assistant, Milo appear and Zehra hands Gabrielle her scroll. She then persuades Gabrielle to turn her story into a play. At first, Gabrielle refuses but Zehra is very persuasive so Gabrielle agrees.

Zehra takes Gabrielle to the Apollo Theatre which is an old, rundown building. She and Joxer get to work sprucing it up. Zehra and Milo then go off for a meeting with their sponsors. Unbeknownst to Gabrielle, Zehra is a conwoman who wants Gabrielle's play to fail so that she can make a profit on the money that the sponsors have invested.

Gabrielle sets out to audition people for the play. She finds a Xena lookalike called Paulina but cannot find a satisfactory Gabrielle, so she decides to play the part herself. Minya arrives to audition for Xena but gets the part of a villain instead. A centaur named Dustinus Hoofmanus (!) turns up but refuses to be typecast as a four-legged creature.

All is going well for Zehra. Rehearsals are a shambles and Joxer has made some changes. Gabrielle is losing her temper so she visits the theatre where Sophicles is putting on a play. However, his work is full of sex and violence so Gabrielle returns to the theatre and announces that she wants more blood and less costume. The show soon sells out and Zehra begins to worry. She tries to persuade Gabrielle to change the play to the way it was. She tells her that one of the warlords was so impressed by the play, that he was planning to bring his army along, right before attacking a village. On hearing this, Gabrielle changes the play back to being 'A Message Of Peace'.

Opening night arrives. The sponsors turn up but begin to get rowdy when they see the play. One of them has worked out what is going on and he has managed to get backstage and is attacking Joxer. Fortunately, Xena arrives and a fight breaks out in the audience and on stage. The audience cheer. Zehra and Milo try to make a quick exit but Gabrielle sets the audience on them. After the show is over, Zehra apologises to Gabrielle and promises to behave. She then takes the centaur under her wing as his agent.

Xena and Gabrielle leave the theatre. Minya and Paulina come out of the theatre together, holding hands. Minya thanks Gabrielle for helping her find out that she wants to be a 'thespian' and she and Paulina go off together. Xena and Gabrielle walk away whilst Joxer is left hanging upside down in the theatre, forgotten as usual (poor sod).

Episode 18
The Convert
Written by: Chris Manheim
Directed by: Andrew Merrifield
Edited by:

Regular Cast
Lucy Lawless as Xena
Renee O'Connor as Gabrielle

Guest Cast:
Ted Raimi as Joxer
Kathryn Morris as Najara
Darryl Brown as Kryton
Mfundo Morrison as Arman
Steve Wright as Magistrate
Dennis Hally as Headmaster
Stacey Edgar as Young Novitiate
Kevin Alexander as Punk
Nicholas Clark as Dying Acolyte
Susie Kleis as Novitiate #2
Mary Wilson as Novitiate #3
Dan Sharkey as Townsman

Synopsis:
Xena and Gabrielle meet up with Najara again who has escaped from prison and is claiming that she has changed her ways. Gabrielle believes her whilst Xena remains (as always) sceptical. Meanwhile, the gang of warlords who had captured Najara fight Xena and one of them is killed accidently by Joxer. Joxer is shocked by what he has done and experiences nightmares. However, they take the body of the warlord back to a town and seek out the warlord's son, Arman. Joxer vows that he will explain to Arman about his father, but it turns out that Arman thinks his father is a hero, not a bloodthirsty murderer. Joxer changes his mind about telling him that he killed his father.

In the meantime, Najara is trying to persuade Gabrielle to set up a hospice with her, but Gabrielle says no because she wants to stay with Xena. Najara tells her that Xena's dark side will destroy them both unless Gabrielle leaves her.

A member of the warlord's gang stumbles on Arman and Joxer and nearly spills the beans about Joxer killing Arman's father. Xena scares him away but Najara tells Arman about Joxer anyway and Arman swears that he will avenge his father's death. Joxer does not try to stop him but, in the end, Arman cannot kill him.

Najara escapes from her bonds and she and Xena fight, but this time, Xena defeats her. Najara goes into a catatonic state and she is taken to the Greek equivalent of Bedlam where she will be locked up but looked after.

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