Xena: Warrior Princess (TV Series) Athens City Academy of the Performing Bards (1996) User Reviews

It's a clip show but couched in a pretty decent story. Gabrielle-centric story.

[reb-warrior · 7/10 · 28 April 2021]

Gabs auditions for the Athens City Academy to train as a bard, there she meets a few other trainees. Her bard performance involves her adventures with Xena, thus it's a clip show.

I enjoyed Gabrielle's four bard pals. They were fun and charming as a group. Would have loved to have them back in future episodes. It might have been funny to see Xena interact with, them, particularly Euripedes, and Stallonus. Stallonus by the way, was a wink-nod to Sylvester Stallone. He was really funny.

It was nice seeing Gabrielle in her own little story. Spurred on by Polonius calling Gabs story "cute" in other words not worthy of the academy. Then saying: "And besides, being a bard is not for young ladies. Stories of housework are just not popular." Well, you know Gabs wasn't just gonna stand there and let that go. So she did cheat to get into the competition but then blows everyone away with her stories and ends up winning.

Gabs helps out Orion who turns out to be none other than a young Homer.

For those of you that never watched Hercules the Legendary Journey, there are a few clips from Xena's appearance on that show: Xena seducing Iolaus, Xena saving the baby, Xena walking the gauntlet and surviving, and Xena going up against Darphus.

This episode has a pretty story that I really loved:

Xena: "It was about two orphans who decided to search the world for their families. And it's all about their adventures and how they kept searching. But the part I remember most is the end."

Gabrielle: "The family he had sought had traveled the world with him. The only family he had ever known...ever needed...was standing right beside him. I know the story."

Xena: "Thanks for being my family. You're like a sister to me. Now, go get your dream."

I thought for a clip show it was still pretty decent and entertaining. Even if Xena was barely there in it. Yeah, they show clips of previous episodes, but hey, I don't mind seeing those clips again. I mean I love the show, so it's alright with me. I enjoyed seeing Renee O'Connor lead in her own episode. 7/10.

Salute to Xena - A 25th Anniversary Review

[skullface2020 · 5/10 · 22 March 2020]

A Gabrielle episode where she takes her storytelling skills to a bard competition at the Athens City Academy of Performing Bards. She has many stories to tell, but how well can she tell them? Gabrielle's compassion and friendly personality is sure to impact other competitors at the competition.

SYNOPSIS

Gabrielle learns about a bard competition at the Athens Academy where the top four storytellers are entered into a prestigious program. She tells Xena that she wants to go for it, and it means that she might be gone four several years if she succeeds. While Xena will miss Gabrielle's presence, she understands that one must follow her dreams. Gabrielle quickly becomes friends with the young man who told her about the bard contest. He's shy to give his name since he'd like to adopt a new name that's epic and awesome. He thinks maybe Draco would be a good name. Gabrielle, in telling the tale of Draco from Episode 1, says that he can do better. He settles on Orion.

Orion's father is super competitive, and doesn't like his son fraternizing with Gabrielle who is someone against whom his son is about to compete. However, all the young people at the bard competition get along well. After scamming her way into the event (since she had not signed up in time) Gabrielle, becomes friends with everyone there. They enjoy telling stories in their own unique way. Some of these stories come to us from ancient sources via the Golden Age of Hollywood. This includes Hercules played by Steve Reeves, and of course Spartacus played by Kirk Douglas. Unfortunately, Orion's father goes a little overboard as a competitor, and this boils over when he discovers that Gabrielle actually failed to properly sign up for the upcoming bard competition. He snitches on her, and she is disqualified even before the event begins. Her new friends love her so much that they succeed in convincing her to at least stay to watch them compete. However, to her surprise, they all inform the panel of judges that they refuse to compete unless Gabrielle is allowed to join. It works, and the senior bard says that Gabrielle can tell her story to the group.

Of course Gabrielle tells excellent tales of her adventures with Xena. At the end it turns out that the bard life is not for her, at least not now. Her new friends have great futures as storytellers, and Orion's troubled relationship with his father is repaired thanks in large part to Gabrielle's input. His father loves him, but Orion must stand up for himself and be his own bard. Before departing Gabrielle asks Orion for his real name which might be nice to know just in case he ever gets famous. He is Homer, and he probably has a bright future. Gabrielle is off, and rejoins Xena just in time for a new adventure!

NOTES

It's nice to have an episode that focuses on Gabrielle, but this was an odd way to tell a story with many clips from past episodes. This also included clips from the Hercules series as well as old Hollywood films. Gabrielle's stories always have important lessons, and she's going to have many more in the years to come.

Enter: Homer

Rehashes past programs

[GwydionMW · 5/10 · 12 November 2017]

Maybe they were short of money.

A lot of this episode shows things from the previous programs It also shows stuff from films of the same era.

Has Homer and Euripedes, who lived centuries apart.

And the ending is never in doubt.

Disappointing.

Athens City Academy of the Performing Bards

[Prismark10 · 3/10 · 14 November 2018]

Gabrielle fakes her way to audition for the Athens City Academy of the Performing Bards at their annual storytelling competition. This means leaving Xena and being admitted to the Academy if she is one of the top contestants.

Gabrielle really can spin a good yarn which impresses the other contestants.

There is little of Xena in this episode especially as it is a clip show. So we get footage from previous episodes of Xena and even from Hercules.

It really is light fluff and not a very good one. You really are stretching it when Kirk Douglas and Laurence Olivier turn up from clips of Spartacus.