In the opening teaser, Singapore Censorship Board had already cut off the Ares-Mavican bed scene.
Star Trek: Arena (1967) is an influence behind Xena: Warrior Princess; Succession (1999) and it's plot.
The technique Mavican uses and that Gabrielle chastises her for using poorly, is demonstrated by Xena in "Daughter of Pomira" when Xena walks backward in her own footsteps and leaps into a tree to lay a false trail.