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Contents Articles Lucy Lawless 1 The Rainbow Warrior (film) 8 Hercules and the Amazon Women 10 Hercules and Xena – The Animated Movie: The Battle for Mount Olympus 13 EuroTrip 15 Boogeyman (film) 20 Vampire Bats (film) 24 Football Wives 25 Dragonlance: Dragons of Autumn Twilight 27 Justice League: The New Frontier 30 Bedtime Stories (film) 37 Bitch Slap 43 Angel of Death (web series) 47 Shark in the Park 49 The Ray Bradbury Theater 51 Hercules: The Legendary Journeys 53 Xena: Warrior Princess 58 Treehouse of Horror X 68 Nothing Important Happened Today 74 The Bernie Mac Show 78 Tarzan (2003 TV series) 83 Less than Perfect 87 Cylon (reimagining) 92 Flight of the Conchords (TV series) 108 The L Word 115 Spartacus: Blood and Sand 125 Spartacus: Gods of the Arena 131 No Ordinary Family 135 References Article Sources and Contributors 143 Image Sources, Licenses and Contributors 147 Article Licenses License 148 Lucy Lawless 1 Lucy Lawless Lucy Lawless Lucy Lawless at the San Diego Comic-Con International in July 2010. Born Lucille Frances Ryan 29 March 1968 Mount Albert, Auckland, New Zealand Other names Lucy Tapert Occupation Actress/Singer Years active 1989–present Spouse Garth Lawless (1988–1995) Robert Tapert (1998–present) Lucy Lawless, MNZM (born Lucille Frances Ryan 29 March 1968) is a New Zealander actress and singer best known for playing the title character of the internationally successful television series Xena: Warrior Princess. She is also known for her role on the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica. Most recently she appeared on the television series Spartacus: Blood and Sand and its prequel Spartacus: Gods of the Arena, playing the major character Lucretia. Early life Born in the Mount Albert suburb of Auckland, New Zealand, Lucy is the daughter of Julie, a teacher, and Frank Ryan, who was a banker and Mount Albert mayor.[1] The fifth of seven children, she has five brothers and one sister. Lawless began acting in secondary school. During her adolescence, Lucy suffered from bulimia, and was able to overcome the illness.[2] Lawless attended The University of Auckland and studied foreign languages for a year, including German, Italian and French, and she also studied opera for three years. After learning that opera required changes in her lifestyle she was not ready to make, she gave up on both and studied violin and jazz instead. Lucy Lawless 2 Personal life At 19, Lawless became pregnant with Garth Lawless' child. The couple married in Kalgoorlie, Australia in 1988. They returned to New Zealand and had a daughter, Daisy Lawless (born 15 July 1988). The couple divorced in 1995. On 28 March 1998, Lawless married Robert Tapert. They have two sons, Julius Robert Bay Tapert (born 16 October 1999) and Judah Miro Tapert (born 7 May 2002). Acting career In 1994, Lawless appeared in "Hercules and the Amazon Women," a Pacific Renaissance Pictures made-for-television film that became the television pilot for Hercules: The Legendary Journeys. In that episode, she played a man-hating Amazon named Lysia. She went on to play another character, Lyla, in the first season episode "As Darkness Falls." She received her best-known role when she was asked to play a villainous warrior woman named Xena in the episode "The Warrior Princess", which aired in March 1995 (R. J. Stewart, one of Pacific Renaissance Pictures' in-house writers, dramatised the teleplay from a story that Robert G. "Rob" Tapert commissioned John Schulian to write). Vanessa Angel was originally cast in the role, but fell ill and was unable to travel to New Zealand for shooting. To differentiate between Xena and the similar Lysia, Lawless' hair, naturally ash blond, was coloured black. Xena subsequently returned in two more episodes of the first season of Hercules, which portrayed her turn from villainess to a good, heroic character. The character was popular enough that a spin-off series was created. Xena: Warrior Princess debuted on 4 September 1995 (Lawless appeared as Lyla once again in the second season Hercules episode "Outcast" – aired in October 1995). Xena: Warrior Princess, like its parent program, was a hit, lasting six seasons, and Lawless became an international celebrity. While taping an appearance on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno in October 1996, Lawless suffered a fractured pelvis when the horse she was riding lost its footing in the studio parking lot. She made a complete recovery, and her absence from the Xena set had minimal impact on the show. In 1997, Lawless was named one of the "50 Most Beautiful People in the World" by People Weekly Magazine. Days earlier, on 6 May 1997, Lawless had inadvertently exposed her breasts as she concluded a performance of the US national anthem at an NHL hockey game in Anaheim, California between the Mighty Ducks and Detroit Red Wings. Lawless was quoted in Newsweek as saying, "Obviously, I was mortified....It was quite a bit more exposure than I want."[3] Lawless first appeared on Broadway in September 1997 in the Grease revival, as the "bad girl" character, Betty Rizzo. She wanted to play the lead role of Sandy, and later stated her belief that the producers typecast her to play "bad girls" following her success as Xena. She said the Sandy character was very similar to her sheltered childhood, [4] growing up in New Zealand with many protective older brothers. Lucy Lawless in January 2007 Lawless married Xena's executive producer, Pacific Renaissance Pictures CEO Robert G. "Rob" Tapert, on 28 March 1998. They have two sons: Julius Robert Bay Tapert (born 16 October 1999) and Judah Miro Tapert (born 7 May 2002), who were both born in Auckland, New Zealand. Lawless became a 'lesbian icon' because of Xena's ambiguous relationship with traveling companion Gabrielle.[5] This reputation has become cemented after her "graphic lesbian sex scenes" in Spartacus: Gods of the Arena.[6] [7] Although Lawless is heterosexual, she has appeared at gay pride events such as the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Lucy Lawless Gras.[8] In a 2003 interview with Lesbian News magazine, she said that she had come to see Xena and Gabrielle's relationship as gay after viewing the series finale, though she has also stated on several occasions that she was undecided on the nature of the relationship while playing the role.[9] Lawless became a member of the New Zealand Order of Merit in the 2004 Queen's Birthday Honours List, which entitled her to use the postnominal letters MNZM. From 2005 to 2009, she had a recurring role in the television series Battlestar Galactica. Lawless appeared as D'Anna Biers, a reporter with the Fleet News Service who worked on a critical documentary about the crew of the Galactica and was later revealed to be a Cylon (Number Three). She competed as one of the celebrity singers on the reality TV show Celebrity Duets in 2006, finishing as the runner-up to winner Alfonso Ribeiro. Lawless has also performed as a voice actor in several animated features. In 2007, Lawless guest-starred as herself in the cult HBO comedy series Curb Your Enthusiasm. In a sub-plot of an episode entitled "The TiVo Guy", she met and flirted with Larry David. The dialogue included the subject of David being Jewish, and Lawless commented: "we don't have them where I'm from". Currently, the Jewish population is estimated at around 7,000 out of the total New Zealand population of 4.2 million (less than 0.2%). The story concluded with Lawless going on a date with David and leaving in disgust, after he mentioned suffering a groin injury and pointed out, presumptuously, that this would preclude them from having sex. Lawless was to appear as one of the leads in the ensemble cast of the ABC television series, Football Wives, based on the popular British series Footballers' Wives, in 2007. The series did not continue past the pilot episode, though the network did extend the options on its contracts with Lawless and the other actors slated to star in the series: (Gabrielle Union, Kiele Sanchez, Ving Rhames and James Van Der Beek).[10] [11] Lawless returned to television on 10 November 2008 in a guest-starring role on the hit CBS television series, CSI: Miami, playing a madam with connections to a murder. She appeared in two episodes of the final season of The L Word, and also had a role in the Adam Sandler movie, Bedtime Stories, released Christmas 2008. Also in 2008, Lucy stars with her former Xena stuntwoman Zoë Bell in Sony (Crackle)'s new web series Angel of Death written by Ed Brubaker set to debut online in early 2009.[12] In 2009 Lawless guest-starred in the hit HBO series, Flight of the Conchords as Paula, assistant to the Prime Minister of New Zealand. Lawless co-starred in the Starz original series Spartacus: Blood and Sand. The show is based on the life of Spartacus, the famous gladiator, and the slave revolt he led, and is produced by long-time Xena producers Sam Raimi and "Rob" Tapert (her husband). Lawless played the role of Lucretia, the wife of Lentulus Batiatus, who are both the owners of a gladiator ludus. Lawless reprised her role as Lucretia in Spartacus: Gods of the Arena, which chronicles life in the Ludus before Spartacus' arrival. Despite her character's ambiguous ending in the season one finale, Lawless is set to return in Spartacus Season 2 due to positive fan reaction. Lawless won the 2011 Saturn Award as Best Supporting Actress for her role as Lucretia in Spartacus: Blood and Sand. Lawless provided the voice of Goldmoon for Dragonlance: Dragons of Autumn Twilight, a direct-to-DVD animated movie based on the novel of the same name, as well as Wonder Woman in the direct-to-video animated movie Justice League: The New Frontier.[13] Other appearances include: • on-stage in the Vagina Monologues; • guest star in episodes of The Simpsons, The X-Files, Just Shoot Me!, Veronica Mars, Burn Notice,, Less Than Perfect, No Ordinary Family and bro'Town; • star in the short-lived television series Tarzan. • cameo appearances in the movies EuroTrip, Spider-Man, and Boogeyman (2005) • the TV movie Locusts! and its sequel, Vampire Bats. • the video game Hunted: The Demon's Forge as Seraphine [14] 3 Lucy Lawless 4 Charity Lawless is a member of the board of trustees of the StarShip Foundation, the charity arm of the Starship Children's Health (hospital) which is part of the Auckland District Health Board.[15] It is set up to provide additional equipment, support and help to staff, patients and families.[16] She devotes much time and energy to fundraising for the organization. She recently sat for the New Zealand television series The Sitting,[17] an arts series where celebrity portraits are produced during an interview session with the portraits later auctioned for charity. Lucy attended the auction where her portrait fetched the top price, with the whole event raising $39,000 for Starship. Lawless has often raised money for concerts and events, donates part of her salary in favor of the institution, and has sold some Xena costumes to contribute funds. Friday 21 September is "Lucy Lawless Feel the Love Day."[18] The day, organised by the Official Lucy Lawless Fan Club, begins a week of charitable acts and donations by fans in honor and support of Lucy. [19] In May 2009, Lucy Lawless became a 'climate ambassador' for the Greenpeace 'Sign On' campaign. Astronomy Astronomer Mike Brown nicknamed his newly discovered dwarf planet "Xena" – finding this name more convenient to use than the then-official designation, 2003 UB313. When this object was determined to be larger than Pluto, it gained international attention and forced a year-long debate among astronomers as to the definition of a planet. The object's nickname "Xena" was used in the press. New Scientist magazine polled the public on their preferred final name for the so-called tenth planet; "Xena" ranked no. 4.[20] Lawless rang Mike Brown in December 2005 to thank him for his "senseless act of beauty," and claimed that she "never dared hope [the name] would stick."[21] Eventually, both it and Pluto were deemed not to be planets, and were instead classified as dwarf planets. Although "Xena" is now officially known as Eris, Brown made an indirect tribute to Lawless by naming Eris' moon Dysnomia after the Greek goddess of lawlessness,[22] although for a time that particular moon was named "Gabrielle." Singing career Lawless has a background in musical theater and she played Betty Rizzo on Broadway in a production of Grease in 1997.[23] She has continued to pursue a career in singing after being a contestant on Celebrity Duets. She made her onstage debut at the Roxy in Hollywood on 13 January 2007, with a sold-out crowd for back-to-back concerts. Concerts • 13–14 January 2007 - The Roxy Theater; Los Angeles • 31 May - 2 June 2007 - The Canal Room; New York City • 5–6 October 2007 - Buddy Guy's Legends; Chicago • 25–26 January 2008 - The Roxy Theater; Los Angeles In concert at the Roxy, 2007 • 3–4 May 2008 - "Bad Girls In Heaven", Carling Academy Islington; London • June 2008 - Live at CityWalk, Universal Studios; Hollywood • 27 September 2008 - Live at the Herbst Theater; San Francisco • 30-31 January 2009 - "The Pleasuredome", The Roxy Theater; Los Angeles Albums • Come 2 Me Lucy Lawless 5 • Come To Mama: Lucy Lawless In Concert: The Roxy Theater In Hollywood Concert DVDs • • • • • Come To Mama: Lucy Lawless In Concert: The Roxy Theater In Hollywood Gimme Some, Sugar: Lawless, NYC Lucy Lawless Live In Chicago: Still Got The Blues Lucy Lawless Live At The Roxy Theater: Ho Down Lucy Lawless Live In Concert: "Welcome To The Pleasuredome" Other songs • "Little Child" on Unexpected Dreams – Songs From the Stars Filmography Films Year Title 1990 Within the Law Role Verity A Bitter Song Nurse 1 1991 The End of the Golden Weather Joe's Girl 1992 The Rainbow Warrior Jane Redmond 1993 Typhon's People Mink Tertius 1994 Hercules and the Amazon Women Lysia 1995 Peach Peach 1997 Hercules & Xena: Wizards of the Screen Xena 1998 Hercules and Xena - The Animated Movie: The Battle for Mount Olympus Xena 2000 Ginger Snaps Announcer on School's PA System 2002 Spider-Man Punk Rock Girl 2004 EuroTrip Madame Vandersexxx 2005 Boogeyman Notes Made for TV. Mary Jensen Locusts Maddy Rierdon Made for TV. Vampire Bats Maddy Rierdon Made for TV. 2006 The Darkroom Cheryl 2007 Football Wives Tanya Austin 2008 Dragonlance: Dragons of Autumn Twilight Made for TV. Goldmoon Justice League: The New Frontier Wonder Woman Bedtime Stories Aspen voice Lucy Lawless 6 2009 Bitch Slap Mother Superior Vera Angel of Death Television Year Title Role Notes 1989 Funny Business 1990 Shark in the Park 1991 For the Love of Mike Helen Episode 1.06 1992 The Ray Bradbury Theatre Liddy Barton 6.13 "Fee Fie Foe Fum" 1993 The Black Stallion Sarah McFee 3.16 "Riding the Volcano" 1994 High Tide Undercover Policewoman 1.08 "Shanghied" Lyla 1.06 "As Darkness Falls"; 2.05 "Outcast" Xena 6 episodes (1995–1998) Xena: Warrior Princess Xena Series Lead (1995–2001) High Tide Sharon List 1.17 "Dead in the Water" The Simpsons Herself 11.04, "Desperately Xeeking Xena" segment Stacy 5.14 "The Auction" The X Files Shannon McMahon 9.01 & 9.02 "Nothing Important Happened Today Parts 1 & 2" 2002 The Bernie Mac Show Herself 2.1 "Keep It on the Short Grass" 2003 Tarzan Kathleen Clayton 7 episodes 2004 Less Than Perfect Tracy Fletcher 3.04 "Ignoring Lydia" Pamela 2.18 "It was Mame, Mom" Battlestar Galactica D'Anna Biers (2005–2009) 16 episodes 2006 Veronica Mars Agent Morris 2.11 "Donut Run" 2007 Burn Notice Evelyn 1.10 "False Flag" 2007 Curb Your Enthusiasm Herself 6.07 "The TiVo Guy" 2008 CSI: Miami Audrey Yates 7.07 "Cheating Death" Paula 2.08 "NewZealandTown" The L Word Sgt. Marybeth Duffy 6.01 "Long Night's Journey Into Day"; 6.08 "Last Word" 2010 Spartacus: Blood and Sand Lucretia All 13 Episodes of Season 1 2011 Spartacus: Gods of the Arena Lucretia All 6 Episodes of Mini-series 2011 No Ordinary Family Helen Burton 4 episodes 2012 Spartacus: Vengeance Lucretia 1995 Hercules: the Legendary Journeys 1999 2001 Just Shoot Me! 2005 Two and a Half Men 2009 Flight of the Conchords Various Characters "Double or Quits" Lucy Lawless References [1] Lucy Lawless Film Reference biography (http:/ / www. filmreference. com/ film/ 11/ Lucy-Lawless. html) [2] "Lawless Bulimic No More" (http:/ / www. people. com/ people/ article/ 0,,615184,00. html). People. 17 May 1999. . Retrieved 18 June 2011. [3] Lucy Lawless - Newsweek Magazine - Her Cup Runneth Over (http:/ / www. lucylawless. info/ articles/ 1997/ newsweek0597. html) [4] (http:/ / www. lucylawless. info/ grease/ articles-photos. php) [5] AfterEllen.com - Xena and Gabrielle: Lesbian Icons (http:/ / www. afterellen. com/ archive/ ellen/ TV/ xena. html) [6] Girl on girl action becomes passé. Village Voice, 22 June 2011 (http:/ / www. villagevoice. com/ 2011-06-22/ news/ girl-on-girl-action-becomes-pass/ ) [7] Lucy Lawless and lesbians bring the sexy to the "Spartacus: Blood and Sand" trailer. AfterEllen.com, 27 July 2009 (http:/ / www. afterellen. com/ blog/ dorothysnarker/ lucy-lawless-and-lesbians-bring-the-sexy-to-the-spartacus-blood-and-sand-trailer) [8] Lucy and Renee in Sydney in 1999 - Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras (http:/ / ausxip. com/ mardigras. html) [9] Lesbian News (http:/ / www. lucylawless. info/ articles/ lesnews03/ index. html) [10] ABC's 'Football Wives' Still Alive (http:/ / www. zap2it. com/ tv/ news/ zap-footballwivesstillalive,0,2633414. story), zap2it.com, 28 June 2007. [11] "Football" still in ABC's game (http:/ / www. hollywoodreporter. com/ hr/ content_display/ television/ news/ e3if3c2face58f90735ed568cb477b3024d), HollywoodReporter.com, 28 June 2007 [12] Hustvedt, Marc (21 October 2008). "Behind the Scenes with Crackle’s ‘Angel of Death’ Zoe Bell" (http:/ / news. tubefilter. tv/ 2008/ 10/ 21/ behind-the-scenes-with-sonys-angel-of-death-zoe-bell/ ). Tubefilter News. . Retrieved 21 October 2008. [13] Justice League: The New Frontier (http:/ / www. imdb. com/ title/ tt0902272/ ) at the Internet Movie Database [14] http:/ / www. vg247. com/ 2011/ 04/ 28/ lucy-lawless-discusses-seraphine-in-new-making-of-trailer-for-hunted-the-demons-forge/ [15] (http:/ / www. starship. org. nz/ index. php/ pi_pageid/ 1024) [16] "Home" (http:/ / www. starship. org. nz/ ). Starship.org.nz. . Retrieved 19 March 2011. [17] (http:/ / tvnz. co. nz/ view/ page/ 2098694) [18] (http:/ / www. starship. org. nz/ index. php/ pi_pageid/ 1604) [19] "Greenpeace New Zealand" (http:/ / www. signon. org. nz). Sign On. . Retrieved 19 March 2011. [20] Your top 10 names for the tenth planet - space - 8 August 2005 - New Scientist (http:/ / www. newscientist. com/ article. ns?id=dn7811) [21] Messages from Lucy (http:/ / www. lucylawlessfanclub. com/ messages. html) [22] SkyandTelescope.com - Homepage News - All Hail Eris and Dysnomia (http:/ / skytonight. com/ news/ home/ 3916126. html) [23] "AUSXIP Lucy Lawless Grease! Lucy Lawless On Broadway" (http:/ / www. lucylawless. info/ grease/ index. php). Lucylawless.info. 28 September 1997. . Retrieved 19 March 2011. External links • • • • Lucy Lawless (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005128/) at the Internet Movie Database Xena film Locations (http://www.loyaltoxena.com) at Loyaltoxena.com (http://www.loyaltoxena.com) Lucy Lawless Fansite (http://www.lotolux.com) at Lotolux.com (http://www.lotolux.com) Lucy Lawless (http://hercxena.wikia.com/wiki/Lucy_Lawless) at the Xena and Hercules Wiki (http:// hercxena.wikia.com). 7 The Rainbow Warrior (film) 8 The Rainbow Warrior (film) The Rainbow Warrior DVD cover Directed by Michael Tuchner Produced by Sam Strangis Written by Martin Copeland Scott Busby Starring Sam Neill Jon Voight Lucy Lawless Kerry Fox Music by Paul Buckmaster Steve Tyrell Cinematography Warrick Attewell Editing by Noel Rogers Studio Bonny Dore Productions Country New Zealand United States Language English The Rainbow Warrior, sometimes called The Sinking of the Rainbow Warrior, is a 1992 television film starring Sam Neill and Jon Voight. Plot summary Film is based on the true story of the Greenpeace ship Rainbow Warrior, which was bombed in Auckland harbour on 10 July 1985, when it was preparing for a Pacific voyage to protest French nuclear testing. The film chronicles the [1] police investigation to discover what happened to the ship and who was responsible. Cast • • • • • • • • • • • • • Jon Voight as Peter Willcox Sam Neill as Alan Galbraith Bruno Lawrence Kerry Fox as Andrea Joyce John Callen Stacey Pickren Michael Mizrahi Tony Barry Peter Hambleton as Maury Whitham Greg Johnson as Bert White Stephen O'Rourke as Eddie Stig Eldred as Steve Sawyer Lucy Lawless as Jane Redmond The Rainbow Warrior (film) • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • Dale Stevens as Amy Alison Bruce as Leslie Holbrook Mark Ferguson as Det. Neil Morris Nigel Harbrow as Fernando Pereira Bert Van Dijk as Bruno Ullman Joanna Briant as Det. Robin Borrie Clinton Ulyatt as Const. Adam Kelly Donogh Rees as Lab supervisor Bruce Phillips as Dr. Nicolas Legrange Bruce Allpress as Hec Crene Ken Blackburn as Gerard Curry Te Whatanui Skipwith as Rongelap man Martyn Sanderson as Uncle Emile Gerard Sanna as Andre Florian Patrice LeGrand as Antoine Riverol Simon Prast as Louis Deschamps Stephane Tyrode as Pierre Duval Serge Renault as Ouvea crewman #2 Michael Cassin as Ouevea crewman #1 Peter Hayden as Captain Jane Holland as Bartender John Sumner as Judge Grant Bridger as Police specialist Eru Potaka Dewes as Maori speaker Nicholas Rogers as Logger #1 Lawrence Wharerau as Logger #2 Nigel Godfrey as Yachtsman Peter Nicoll as Watchman #1 Tim Cronin as Watchman #2 Fritz Wollner as Greenpeace man Rachel Watkins as Newman's clerk Ruth Dudding as French reporter Nancy Schroder as Airline representative Stephen Hall as French naval officer Tony Hurst as Police diver Shannon Gray as Secretary References [1] The Sinking of the Rainbow Warrior (http:/ / www. ibiblio. org/ samneill/ films/ 90-94. html) External links • The Rainbow Warrior (film) (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0105216/) at the Internet Movie Database 9 Hercules and the Amazon Women 10 Hercules and the Amazon Women "Hercules and the Amazon Women" Hercules: The Legendary Journeys episode Hippolyta, Queen of the Amazons Episode no. Season 0 Episode H01 Directed by Bill L. Norton Written by Andrew Dettmann, Jule Selbo and Truly Original air date April 24, 1994 Guest stars Michael Hurst (Iolaus) Roma Downey (Hippolyta) Lucy Lawless (Lysia) "Hercules and the Amazon Women" is the first movie-length pilot episode of the television series Hercules: The Legendary Journeys. Plot overview A village of only men comes to seek Hercules' aid in defeating a band of mysterious creatures of the eve of Iolaus' wedding. Hercules discovers these "creatures" are really the women of the village who have split with their chauvinistic men and aligned themselves with Hera. Plot synopsis Three men are walking through the woods, they hear strange noises and catch glimpses of something moving in the undergrowth. Suddenly they are attacked by unseen creatures. Two men are killed, but one escapes and flees the woods. Hercules strolls into a village after returning from one of his adventures, and is greeted by Iolaus. It is established that Iolaus is getting married and that Hercules is the best man. The two men set off for Alcmene's house. While walking through the woods, they reminisce that it has been a long time since they last saw each other. Iolaus tells Hercules about his bride-to-be, Ania. They stumble upon a little girl crying alone near an altar. She tells them that a monster killed her father while they were placing an offering to the goddess. Hercules tries to comfort the girl and asks if he can help, but the girl transforms into a monster. Hercules chops off its head, and thinking it is now dead, he and Iolaus begin walking away. They hear a noise and turn around to see that the monster is not dead, and has now grown two new heads in the place where the previous one was. The monster is a Hydra. Hercules tells Iolaus to grab the torch from the altar, Hercules cuts off the heads and burns the Hydra, preventing it from growing new heads, thus killing it. After the Hydra is destroyed a peacock feather remains in its place, and Hercules tells Iolaus that Hera is responsible for the Hydra. Hercules and Iolaus finally reach his mother's house. After a short chat with Alcmene, Iolaus invites them both for dinner, then leaves. Later on that evening, while the four are enjoying dinner, Ania glimpses a man outside the window and Hercules goes to investigate. It is the Gargarean Pithus, the man who escaped the creatures at the Hercules and the Amazon Women beginning of the film. He explains to Hercules about his village being attacked by creatures and Hercules agrees to help. Iolaus persuades Hercules to let him go along for one last adventure before he is married, Hercules reluctantly relents and says that he can come along. The three men set off for the village. When they arrive Hercules asks where all the women are, Pithus tells him that they were stolen by the creatures in the forest. Hercules and Iolaus head off to find the beasts and rescue the village's women. In the forest they are ambushed by the beasts, managing to stave off the attack for a time until Iolaus discovers that the beasts are really women. He chases after one but is fatally injured in the fight, and dies in Hercules' arms. Hercules is then surrounded by several of the 'beasts'. Two of them approach him with spears. One of the 'creatures' cries out and says "No Stop!", and then raises her mask. It happens to be a woman, who then says "The queen will want to kill him". Hercules is in utter shock to discover the true nature of the 'beasts'. Hercules is then seen being taken captive by the women. He has been stripped of his shirt and chained to a wooden sled assembled by the women that is attached to a horse's saddle and being pulled along. The women have also cleave gagged his mouth with a black leather strap. He is surrounded by women on each side of him and led into a village full of Amazons. He is starred at by many of the women. A few laugh and taunt him, with one heard saying "Keep him bound" and another saying "Men should be seen and not heard" in reference to him being gagged. In vain, Hercules muffles angry speech through the gag while the women continue to laugh at him. In the village, some women are being trained in combat and others are doing chores. When he arrives at the end of the village, the leader of the Amazon army, Lysia, helps to release him from the sled. She tells Hercules "If you're looking for men, you won't find any. Not in the city of amazons. You're the only one and I don't think you'll last very long." Hercules is then taken by the women to the Queen, Hippolyta. She tells him that she knows he is here to defeat them and that Hercules has been beaten by women. She then removes the gag from his mouth. Hercules tells her she is wrong. Using a magic candle, Hippolyta turns Hercules into a baby telling him she will show him what he is really like. As Hercules reverts to infant form we are shown flashbacks to Hercules's youth and times when he has been told by people how to behave toward women. Later he returns to adult state, realising that Hippolyta is right and that his attitude toward women is wrong, he tells her that he can change. She says that he cannot change and that all men are the same. Hippolyta goes to consult with Hera, she tells Hippolyta to lead an attack on the village. Hercules escapes from the Amazons and warns the men of the village of the forthcoming attack. He prepares them for when the women arrive. The women ride into the village and order the men to remove their clothes, telling them they are here for only one thing. The men tell the women to sit and talk with them for a while. Pithus's wife enters her home, and her son Franco asks if she really is his mother. He tells her he often dreams about her but she has no face, she removes her mask and shows her face to Franco. Hercules stands up to Hippolyta, who says she's not afraid of Hercules. He kisses her, she tells him she's not afraid and kisses him back. The two make love. The following day the women are still with the men. The Amazons return to their city and both men and women reminisce about the night before. Hera tells Hippolyta that Hercules has tricked her and orders her to attack the village again, this time killing all the men and boys. Hippolyta refuses but Hera possesses her. Hera, now in control of Hippolyta's actions, orders the women to attack the village. Hercules stops Hippolyta and realises that she is possessed by Hera. She rides off and Hercules goes after her. As they fight Hercules tries to get through to Hippolyta, telling her that she is stronger than Hera. Hercules bests her and is about to deal the fatal blow, but cannot because it is Hippolyta's body and not really Hera. Hercules leaves and Hera follows him, goading him. He tells Hera that if he or Hippolyta have to die then he will give up his life for her, saying he couldn't live his life without her. Upon hearing this Hera runs Hippolyta's body over the edge of a waterfall, killing her. Hercules returns to the City of Amazons, and retrieves the candle Hippolyta used to send him back to his childhood. Zeus appears and tells him the candle doesn't work in the way Hercules wants it to. Hercules replies that Zeus could make it work that way. Zeus tells Hercules that if he did that he would be in big trouble with Hera, but Hercules persuades him anyway. Zeus blows out the candle and Hercules is taken back to the night of the dinner. Ania sees 11 Hercules and the Amazon Women Pithus outside the window and Hercules goes to tell him that the village doesn't need the help of Hercules. He explains that all the men need to do is treat the women with respect and things will sort themselves out. Pithus returns to the village and when the women come the men sort out the problems that have been occurring. Alcmene asks Hercules if there is a woman out there who will make him happy like Ania did for Iolaus, Hercules replies that he is sure there is. Rating information • First Airing: Unknown • Second Airing: 5.3 Main cast • Kevin Sorbo as Hercules • Anthony Quinn as Zeus • Roma Downey as Hippolyta External links • "Hercules and the Amazon Women" [1] at TV.com References [1] http:/ / www. tv. com/ episode/ 110629/ summary. html 12 Hercules and Xena The Animated Movie: The Battle for Mount Olympus Hercules and Xena – The Animated Movie: The Battle for Mount Olympus Hercules and Xena - The Animated Movie: The Battle for Mount Olympus Video Release Poster Directed by Lynne Naylor Produced by Lynne Naylor Sam Raimi Robert Tapert Written by John Loy Starring Kevin Sorbo Lucy Lawless Michael Hurst Renée O'Connor Kevin Smith Alexandra Tydings David Mackie Music by Joseph LoDuca Cinematography Yoon Gun Wan-Ryeok Yim Hak-Su Yoon Studio Renaissance Pictures Universal Cartoon Studios Distributed by Universal Studios Home Entertainment Release date(s) January 6, 1998 Running time 80 minutes Country United States Language English Hercules and Xena - The Animated Movie: The Battle for Mount Olympus is a 1998 American animated action adventure direct-to-video film starring the voices of Kevin Sorbo, Lucy Lawless, Michael Hurst, Renée O'Connor, Kevin Smith, and Alexandra Tydings, all reprising their roles from Hercules: The Legendary Journeys and Xena: Warrior Princess. It was directed by Lynne Naylor and written by John Loy. Plot Long after Zeus stole the Cronus Stone from the monsters called, The Titans, he and Alcmene gave birth to a son named Hercules, who defeated a hydra at an early age and became a hero. After Hercules battles another Hydra, the villagers thank him, and Iolaus climbs out of a restchair and joins him. Hercules and Iolaus head to Thebes to see Alcmene but Iolaus is a little upset because Hercules takes the credit. Meanwhile, Xena and Gabrielle steal the gold back from the satyrs. Ares tells Xena to stop Hercules from going to Thebes because there is a trap set for him there. Xena wants Hercules to go because there is trouble and he needs to help. Xena, angered by Ares's intentions to take her, argues with Gabrielle. 13
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