Wildly popular at the time of its original airing, Xena: Warrior Princess ran from 1995 until 2001. The show was a spin-off from another Renaissance Pictures property, Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, but quickly outpaced it in ratings. Now, 24 years later, Xena: The Warrior Princess still boasts a strong following, with fans eager to attend conventions and, in some cases, clamoring for a revival. SYFY has begun airing the full six seasons (134 episodes) of Xena: Warrior Princess as its #ThrowbackThursday marathon of choice.

Marathoning six seasons of Xena: The Warrior Princess episodes reveals exactly how different the show was from today’s fantasy properties. Episodes could veer wildly in tone from week to week, meaning one week viewers might witness the crucifixion of beloved characters, while another week sent Xena to a beauty pageant. The writers were willing to try anything and everything. The only justification required seemed to be whether a theme or topic would be interesting to explore. It’s one reason why so many viewers have been drawn to the show over the years; in a setting where anything could happen, surely there was room for everyone. The show signaled its support for queer viewers in small ways and, while there was no explicit confirmation of romance, the “will they, won’t they” dynamic of Xena and Gabrielle’s relationship provided plenty of material for shippers.

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The writers also took an experimental approach to history and mythology. They created a world full of anachronisms where, in one lifetime, the characters experienced both the destruction of Troy (roughly 762 BC) and the rise of Caesar (born in 100 BC). In Season 1, Episode 8, "Prometheus," Xena performed a tracheotomy, a medical procedure that wouldn’t be successfully implemented until the 12th century. This light-handed approach to historical accuracy created an ancient world that, while somewhat slippery, was always engaging.

One reason Xena: Warrior Princess had so many different tones was because of the longer seasons. Today's fantasy series tend to run far shorter. The Witcher’s first season only contained eight episodes, for example. Even a show like SYFY’s The Magicians only boasted thirteen episodes a season, which means viewers got far leaner and more streamlined stories. With its longer seasons, Xena: Warrior Princess had plenty of time to experiment, and it took advantage of that opportunity, crafting “filler episodes” that were frequently comedic and silly.

In a way, the show was as much a predecessor to Community as it was to Game of Thrones. The writers used their filler episodes to riff on common tropes within other genres. In Season 4, Episode 19, "Takes One to Know One," the show gave its take on the classic “someone in this room is a murderer, and we can’t leave until we figure out who it is” setup. Season 2, Episode 10, "The Xena Scrolls," featured a setting and characters obviously parodying Indiana Jones. The show had an overall spirit of play, making it self-aware and meta before meta was cool.

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Xena Shrug

It can be hard to believe that a show like this even existed because it’s so far from where fantasy entertainment is today. Fantasy/sci-fi media has been growing darker and darker and, while Xena: Warrior Princess could certainly go to challenging places (characters died constantly and the cost of war was a persistent theme), no modern fantasy series has come close to its level of silliness.

The fantasy landscape has changed considerably since Xena fought her way across the ancient world. As Xena: Warrior Princess was coming to an end, the Lord of the Rings phenomenon was just ramping up. Peter Jackson’s take on The Fellowship of the Ring, while sprinkled throughout with moments of levity, was the first step in a new chapter for serious, fantasy entertainment. Then, Christopher Nolan presented his darker, grimmer version of Batman, spurring other creators to create even darker and “more realistic” stories. The popularity of Game of Thrones, advertising itself as fantasy for grownups, demonstrated audiences were hungry for shocking and sometimes horrific elements within their fantasy storylines.

But, that doesn’t mean audiences are entirely opposed to silliness or camp in fantasy. The widespread embrace of the weirder Marvel movie offerings, such as Guardians of the Galaxy and Thor: Ragnarok shows that viewers are becoming more open to the bizarre. DC has made efforts recently to inject more levity into their scripts. The Witcher, while dramatic in tone, succeeds wildly when it pokes fun at the stoicism of its main character, a dynamic which must feel familiar to Xena fans. It’s possible the tide is turning, and fantasy audiences are coming back around to the kind of nutty irreverence that made Xena: Warrior Princess so unique.

Next: Hercules And Xena: Where Are They Now?