Joe Hellandback

Philip stays in the US with Henry whilst Elizabeth takes Paige with her to the USSR. Years later Philip and Henry go to Berlin to witness the collapse of the Berlin wall and are reunited with them, Paige excited that the Cold War has come to an end, Elizabeth fearful for Russia's future. As Elizabeth walks away from the trio Philip watches her go, aware that the wall between them is just as great as ever;

The Black Wolf The Good; Salmoneus is funny and I like Gabby smuggling the whip and Chakram in. The Bad; pretty lacklustre otherwise. Recurring Characters; here’s Salmoneus in all his capitalist glory Ephiny; 1 Hades; 1 Ares; 1 Marcus; 1 Falafel; 2 Cyrene-1 Lila-1 Gabby's dad-1 Perdicas-1 Draco-1 Sisyphis-1 Xena cliches; 10 years ago, first time it’s used. Plus ‘I have many skills’ Gabby captured but deliberately so “I have many skills’; 1 10 years ago; 1 Dead Gabby suitors; 1 Dr Xena-5 Xena in bondage-2 Loyal advisor who is actually the villain-1 Gabby captured-3 Village in peril-2 Duel to settle things-2 The Pinch; 2 Xena animal skills; 2 Xena fire-breathing; 2 Kills; another for Xena Xena; 8 Best quote; - Gabby “It would have been fine if you could have kept your hands off my tomatoes!” Greek myths; Xerxes of course a traditional Spartan name but probably not the same guy. Of course we also have the whole ‘I am Spartacus’ routine. We also have ‘Cry wolf’, one of Aesop’s fables. Subtext; ? Other; very little to write here, unremarkable ep Rating; 6/10, not great

1. Jim in the office in the Captain's chair for the first (?) time? I think Harvey can see where this is going. 2. Headhunter is so entertaining, so flamboyant compared to Victor, he reminds me of Wesley Snipes character in Demolition Man. Is he necessarily dead? He's certainly still breathing as Oswald walks away. Who or what exactly is Victor's 'bubba'? 3. We've always known the GCPD was brutal (and pretty much had to be) but their raid on The Narrows was positively fascist! 4. I love the idea that Bruce is so ragged he literally doesn't know what day it is? 5. Given that last time Pyg rigged the hostage cop with a grenade (nice that despite being corrupt his last redeeming act was to yell a warning to Jim and Harvey) people seem awfully blasé about boobytraps in this case? 6. Penguin and the little girl. It would be a long shot but Harleen Quinzel? 7. Obviously the writers of this ep were keen fans of Pet Sematary not to mention Silence of the Lambs. 8. Not sure what to make of Grace, the girls at Fandomreactions immediately wrote her off as a 'gold digging whore' but I think that's a little harsh. 9. Penguin points out Jim's past sins (acting as his debt collector, killing Theo Galavan) and makes a good point. 10. The girls are back in town! Sound the 'siren'! And not before time. Love Tabby's little smirk as they walk away together, she finally has what she wanted, genuinely caring about both Selina and Barbara. Now if only Ivy could join in.

It was always that the GCPD were a reflection of the city itself and that reflection isn't pretty. It would be nice to have Montoya and her partner back. Are any of the 'Strike Team' still around, the GCPD now seem to have acquired themselves an ESU (like the NYPD).

Hey, TIG! (This Is Gotham), do you really think the licencing laws apply? Given their casualty rate I figure they can't be too choosy?

1. Rather reminded me of the Buffy ep 'Normal Again' 2. Speaking of which we now have a petite blonde UFC on the show? But her mother is the anti-Joyce? Or Professor Walsh? 3. Nice to see J August again. 4. What is it with the Whedonverse and people getting their arms cut off? 5. You'd think they'd have shown a little more compassion to the dead destroyer's crew, maybe sing 'Eternal Father' or something? Still, nice to see Jake Busey, hope we have him again.

You're probably right, it's always a subtle choice, how much do you integrate one another or develop a separate identity? Also of course the supporting characters on Hercules had to step up when Kevin had his stroke. Hooves and Harlots The Good; Ephiny, hooray! And here Gabby becomes an Amazon princess and gets a whole new wardrobe and stick. The Bad; Okay I get the hooves bit but are the Amazons 'harlots'? Would have been a better ep if the villain hadn't been so obvious. Recurring Characters; Ephiny; 1 Hades; 1 Ares; 1 Marcus; 1 Falafel; 2 Cyrene-1 Lila-1 Gabby's dad-1 Perdicas-1 Draco-1 Sisyphis-1 Xena cliches; patching up the wounded again. Also matters are resolved by a duel. Dead Gabby suitors; 1 Dr Xena-5 Xena in bondage-2 Loyal advisor who is actually the villain-1 Gabby captured-2 Village in peril-2 Duel to settle things-2 The Pinch; 2 Xena animal skills; 2 Xena fire-breathing; 2 Kills; another for Xena Xena; 8 Best quote; -Ephiny (handling horse dung at the scene of the crime); "You're right, this has hay in it, centaurs don't eat hay" Xena; "Plus Centaur's put all their weight on their front hooves" (Ephiny looks uncomfortable and brushes off the ordure) Greek myths; And like all fictional Amazons ever their breasts are left fully intact. Amazons in Greek myths were actually enemies of Hercules. Subtext; Ephiny seems 'interested' in Xena who asks her to stop looking at her. Other; Xena is familiar with the Amazon symbol for peace amongst their other traditions, she seems reluctant to reveal why and we later find out it's not a pretty story. Rating; 7/10 largely because of Ephiny and Gabby's new threads.

In many ways she was just protecting Dawn from the big bad world. I do agree with you that Dawn must have asked at some stage about Joyce but that was probably offscreen.

Yeah, as fans we always like that, adds realism and depth to the 'verse' but studios don't, they like shows to stand on their own 2 feet. Truth is Xena so effortlessly surpassed Hercules in popularity it was the original which actually relied on the spinoff. Death in Chains The Good; The saw blade Chakram effect is truly awesome! Quite a philosophical ep for an action show. Also like the warlord recruiting his gang by killing them all. The Bad; For a messenger of the Gods Celesta seems to be captured very easily? Also the whole storyline seems awfully similar to the previous ep. Recurring Characters; yep, Sisyphis will return in 10 Little Warlords and Hades numerous times. Hades; 1 Ares; 1 Marcus; 1 Falafel; 2 Cyrene-1 Lila-1 Gabby's dad-1 Perdicas-1 Draco-1 Sisyphis-1 Xena cliches; yep, can't cure anyone but relieves their pain. Plus I'm going to add dead Gabby suitors. Dead Gabby suitors; 1 Dr Xena-4 Xena in bondage-2 Loyal advisor who is actually the villain-1 Gabby captured-2 Village in peril-2 Duel to settle things-1 The Pinch; 2 Xena animal skills; 2 Xena fire-breathing; 2 Kills; another for Xena Xena; 7 Best quote; - Sisyphis (of Celesta) "I mean a visit from you happens but once a lifetime" Greek myths; Hades is the god of the underworlds in Greek mythology, brother to Zeus and Poseidon. He has no sister Celesta but he does have one called Hestia, very different as to how she's portrayed here. Subtext; no, one more doomed romance for Gabby Other; So Sisysphis good or bad? He seems more outright evil next time around. What happens to Celesta AFTER Xena kills Hades? Rating; 6/10, okay.

I thought this was actually pretty good, as others have commented a lack of melodrama and more of a realistic ep than before, reminiscent of the Nightstalker case in London. Twists and turns, you think it's the Sinatra impersonator, then you think it's the old professor and glad when it's not, I actually thought that it might be the old guy in the pastry shop or his son but thankfully not. Great performance from Anne Archer as the mommy dearest, halfway between Sunset Boulevard and The Manchurian Candidate. 1. Okay so they can't do the suspect for rape but surely at least identity theft? 2. Shouldn't Carisi read him his rights when he arrests him? 3. Finn in uniform, should he be allowed to drink in a bar wearing it? 4. We have a press leak but for once it seems the right idea although you wonder if these witnesses will be any better than the original 2? 5. I'm ok with the whole 'I love you' bit to Benson, she probably mistook her for her daughter.

The letter, 'I love you and everything I do is for you'. Not to mention her speech to Giles at the end of 5. But you're right about Spike. Buffy is happier in s7, especially in eps like 'Him'.

And we never had the same Brutus twice? Prometheus The Good; Lucy’s ability to do the splits sure comes in useful whilst dodging the booby-traps. Like Xena making sure Gabby is taken care off as she goes off on her suicide mission. The Bad; weak special effects with Prometheus himself, the green eggs/warriors especially cheap looking. Recurring Characters; Hercules and Iolaus, after this however the spinoff can stand firmly on its’ own feet and their involvement in the Xenaverse is limited. Falafel back again plus Hera but still disembodied, not the great Meg Foster yet. Ares; 1 Marcus; 1 Falafel; 2 Cyrene-1 Lila-1 Gabby's dad-1 Perdicas-1 Draco-1 Xena cliches; Xena performs a tracheotomy Dr Xena-3 Xena in bondage-2 Loyal advisor who is actually the villain-1 Gabby captured-2 Village in peril-2 Duel to settle things-1 The Pinch; 2 Xena animal skills; 2 Xena fire-breathing; 2 Kills; Xena; 6 Best quote; Gabby (to Xena)-“You’re not much for girl talk are you?” Greek myths; Prometheus was actually a Titan but obviously avoided being turned to stone like those in the previous ep. First mention of Hera and Hephaestus, the blacksmith of the gods and Aphrodite’s husband. Hercules and Iolaus are actually cousins as well as friends. Subtext; Gabby;(of Xena)-“Of course you’re not like most girls”. Check out the clasp the hand to the chest gesture when they say goodbye. But mostly this show the relationship between Xena/Herc and possibly Gabby/Iolaus. Other; Xena takes a sword from a stone and not for the last time. Really this would have been a far better ep if the specials effects were a bit more convincing but this was the mid-90s and CGI was in its’ infancy. Rating; 7/10 because I’m a sucker for Herc

I guess they decided they needed some hunk factor? If I recall we had a different Aphrodite and Athena on Herc and Hera isn't Meg Foster until she appears on Xena? The Titans The Good; Theia mourning over Crius is quite moving. The Bad; Gabby actually comes across as quite domineering, you’d think she’d have been nicer to the Titans. Also the Titans aren’t all that indestructible as we see Crius killed by conventional means. Recurring Characters; Ares; 1 Marcus; 1 Falafel; 1 Cyrene-1 Lila-1 Gabby's dad-1 Perdicas-1 Draco-1 Xena cliches; Xena plays healer again and gets the net. Dr Xena-2 Xena in bondage-2 Loyal advisor who is actually the villain-1 Gabby captured-2 Village in peril-2 Duel to settle things-1 The Pinch; 2 Xena animal skills; 2 Xena fire-breathing; 2 Kills; Xena; 6 Best quote; (Gabby) “I’d rather not have you constantly telling everyone I’m a virgin, it’s kind of personal” Greek myths; The Titans were the precursors of the Olympian gods but were eventually overthrown and imprisoned by their children just as they did to their forebears. And of course if we believe that Xena is Ares' daughter then history repeats itself. Subtext; actually this establishes quite firmly that Gabby is still a virgin (at least in the Bill Clinton sense?) Also check out the relationship between Gabby and her new priest admirer, especially when Xena sees that they’ve (quite literally) spent the night together, their spat afterwards is quite revealing. Other; not bad, perhaps a little slow in places, you wonder that the Olympian gods don’t react to all this? The Titans plan to go against the gods but they seem to lack any powers except for their giant size. Xena tells Gabby she could never hate her but wait until The Bitter Suite. Rating; 6/10, not that great

The Good; nice that Benson actually has to make a tough decision (about referring the brother and sister to the Social Services) and actually makes the wrong choice. Also like the scene at the end where we see a little of Finn's family life. The Bad; Finn once more insults the witness whilst Benson and Rawlins question the victim whilst she is under the influence of alcohol and heroin? Why doesn't Carisi take his badge off before approaching the suspects so they don't run? Also never close the door when searching the flat and surely the brother would be ruled an unfit guardian through his drug addiction alone. Also how can the father represent the suspects and the daughter the victim, how does that work? All told, not a bad ep, you genuinely couldn't see some of the twists coming; 7/10

1. Love Stan's line "I'm good with these things" when Philips seems intent on confessing to him, if there's one thing Stan hasn't been good at over the year. You feel this was Philips last temptation. 2. You can just see Stan's brain working, you can almost hear it but he's not there yet. 3. The axe scene, oh my god! I though Gotham was bloody. One thing though couldn't they have cut her up INSIDE the van?

1. The Joker meets Harley Quinn, even if it's just a case of him being wheeled into Arkham and Jim saying 'Thank you Doctor Quinzel" 2. We have a senior police officer called O'Hara? 3. Let's see what happened to Silver? 4. Bruce gets his first Batmobile (can he even drive yet?). 5. The Batcave is established as being in Bronson Caves 6. Tabitha visits Theo's grave and comes to terms with her past. 7. Burt Ward cameos 8. The beginnings of Batwoman and Batgirl 9. Harvey Dent becomes 2-Face 10. Jim's becomes the commissioner and grows his moustache. 11. Ivy and Firefly return and actually have some quality friend time with Selina. 12. In the final ep Bruce and Selina make love for the first time then go their separate ways, her to put on the Catwoman suit and him to put on the Batsuit and stare up at the Bat signal in the sky.

The Reckoning The Good; Some nice work from Gabby as Xena’s lawyer and Ares tempting Xena. The Bad; It all seems a little contrived by Ares. Recurring Characters; Here’s Ares in all his malevolent glee, Kevin Smith one of the great highlights of the series. Marcus; 1 Falafel; 1 Cyrene-1 Lila-1 Gabby's dad-1 Perdicas-1 Draco-1 Xena cliches; Dr Xena for the first time trying to save the villagers. Gabby refers to Argo’s hatred (or jealousy?) for her. Gabby captured once more. Xena in bondage and whipped. Loyal advisor who is actually the villain-1 Gabby captured-2 Village in peril-2 Duel to settle things-1 The Pinch; 2 Xena animal skills; 2 Xena fire-breathing; 2 Kills; Xena; 6 Best quote; Villager (of Xena); “Truly I say that she is the very soul of goodness” Greek myths; Ares the god of war. Just as portrayed here the Greek Gods could become invisible at will although Ares in Greek mythology is portrayed as a more bestial, barbaric figure than the schemer he’s seen as in Xena/Hercules. Hector, Achilles and Agamemnon referenced from the Trojan War. Subtext; Gabby invites Xena to join her bathing. Other; we finally see what Gabby wears under her peasant dress as she bathes by the stream plus what Xena wears under her armour. Xena smacking Gabby in the midst of her fighting frenzy sure is a shocker. Gabby refers to ‘Argo’, is this the first time she’s named? Although they’ve obviously had a past history this appears to be the first time Xena actually sees Ares in human form. Rating; 7/10

1. God, Professor Pyg is truly repellent! I thought Zsaz and Anubis were creepy but he takes the biscuit! I thought he might be Alexander Siddig given his name in the titles but no. 2. No Tabby, Selina, Bruce, Alfred, Ivy, Lucius, Barbara? Let's see more of them. 3. Another great Penguin/Zsaz ep, Sophia is beginning to remind me of Gay Byrne's character in Miller's Crossing and Zsaz of The Dane. 4. So, Lee hasn't just ditched her morality to become a rocker chick, she still cares. I really like the whole Beauty and the Beast vibe between her and Butch/Grundy. 5. Jim and Harvey have the showdown we always knew would come, I wonder where Harvey's debts come from?

1. Immigration service agent; "Sorry but we can't help you" Benson; "Why not? This is important" INS; "So is apprehending illegal immigrants but you won't help us" Benson; "No, this is a sanctuary city" INS; "So if you won't help us, why should we help you?" 2. Benson; "Okay so the suspect was found innocent in court but we'll follow him around until he offends again" Carisi; "But what if he just waits us out? We can't follow him forever?" Benson; (shocked) "Can anyone do that?" Finn; "Doesn't matter anyway, I heard he left town" Benson; (incredulous) "Left town? Is that even possible?" 3. Benson; "Hi, I'm a madam who wants to buy some underage prostitute slaves" Pimp; "Wait a second aren't you that cop who is always in the newspapers and appearing on TV to talk about sex crimes?" 4. Benson; "Hi, we've just shut down a juvenile detention centre/homeless shelter/orphanage/old people's home/private hospital etc etc because they weren't up to scratch, where will we put all these people now?" Social worker; "Search me? The whole reason we had to put up with that place was that there was no alternative. They're your responsibility now. Do you want to put them up at your police station?" Benson; "Wuuuuuuuuuh?" 5. Carisi; "I'm going to bring the prisoner out now" Finn; "Hold on a second, we're bringing the victim out, we don't want them to meet one another" 6. Benson; "Hello Stone, mind if I join you at the bar and talk about the case?" Stone, "Hell no, it wouldn't be ethical, especially as I've had a few. See me in my office on Monday" Benson; "But this case means a lot to me" Stone; "Which is why my decision shouldn't be influenced by you. It should be an independent decision based purely on the facts" 7. Finn; "There he is, let's get him" Carisi; "Yeah, tell you what let's wait until we are within touching distance of him before showing our badges, that way he can't run" Finn; "Huh, I never thought of that" Carisi; "Also can you not insult the witnesses whose help we need?" 8. Benson; "Well we can't convict the suspect for the crime we arrested him for so what else can you think off to prosecute him for?" Stone; "Why would we want to do that? Cut him loose" 9. Finn; "The hostage negotiator is here Liv" Benson; "Okay, I better hand over the phone the hostage taker is on to them then" 10. Rawlins; "So who do you think did it?" Finn; "In my experience the white, rich doctor, Wall Street type or college student. If he's played by the guest star he's definitely guilty" 11. Social worker/parole officer/health inspector etc "Unfortunately we weren't able to visit that day as I was impossibly overworked" Finn; "We understand, I mean we're all only human" 12. Finn; "Yeah, the victim is an obese, elderly, Asian male" Rawlins; "Really? You sure it's not a pretty rich white girl? That's what our fans like to see"

Well then explain why?

Nah, Willow helped Richard to the hospital and Dawn is the love of Buffy's life as the end of s7 proves. What exactly did she lie to Dawnie about? I actually thought it was quite plausible how Willow came to be the suspect and rather clever plot, the audience know but the Scoobs genuinely don't.

1. DS; "Lt Benson, you have testified that because the accuser didn't report immediately, wasn't injured, seems calm and collected and actually waited years before making any accusations that is not atypical behaviour of a rape victim" Benson; "In my long experience, that's correct" DS; "But if they had reported immediately, were injured and were hysterical that wouldn't be atypical behaviour either?" Benson; "Yes" DS; "Lt Benson is there any behaviour you would say is NOT typical of rape victim?" 2. DS; "Lt Benson if we could delve into your background for a moment, did you always want to work in sex crimes?" Benson; "Yes, I did" DS; "Because you are actually a child of rape yourself?" Benson; "Yes" DS; "You never knew your father and your alcoholic mother abused you as a child to take out her anger at what he did to her?" Benson; "Yes" DS; "So really your entire career has been one long quest for revenge against him and the people you persecute are surrogates for the dead father figure you can never punish in real life?".

The Path Not Taken The Good; the story of Marcus which is actually quite touching. The Bad; Gabby seems rather wasted in this one. Recurring Characters; Here’s Marcus, Xena’s ‘true love’ (at least for the moment). Falafel; 1 Cyrene-1 Lila-1 Gabby's dad-1 Perdicas-1 Draco-1 Xena cliches; the estranged couple who need reuniting. Argo shows her tricks for the first time, kicking on demand and obeying Xena’s whisper. Plus Xena fire-breathing. Gabby in the stocks. Xena’s funeral dirge. Loyal advisor who is actually the villain-1 Gabby captured-2 Village in peril-2 Duel to settle things-1 The Pinch; 2 Xena animal skills; 2 Xena fire-breathing; 2 Kills; 2 more for Xena, the first with the Chakram. Xena; 6 Best quote; Gabrielle (of Marcus) ‘To be remembered like that is a good thing’ Greek myths; no but Xena's advice about not flashing your gold in a tavern is reminiscent of Robinson Crusoe. Subtext; nope, very hetero ep in fact. Other; Gabby is outraged that she and Xena are being taken for hookers but still seems keen on the bag of gold. How do they fund themselves? Gabby’s barding or does Xena rely on her hoard of buried loot? Much like Draco, Marcus tried to walk away from the warlord/mercenary life but found he couldn’t readjust to the civilian world. Rather a downbeat ending. Rating; 7/10

The Good; we get to see Gabby and Xena as their own little family and Xena do a sexy dance. Gabby makes herself useful by finding Ophelia telling Xena, "I do the talking, you do the fighting". The Bad; not much, maybe it would have been more effective if Nemos' villainy had been concealed until later in the ep. Recurring Characters; we never see Gregor again but he's actually the most familiar king in the Xenaverse as he features in the credits every week, suitably enough for this storyline the actor's surname is 'Newborn'. But we do have Falafel, the recurring street vendor from Hercules who pops up from time to time. Falafel; 1 Cyrene-1 Lila-1 Gabby's dad-1 Perdicas-1 Draco-1 Xena cliches; seemingly loyal advisor who is actually the villain-1. Plus The Pinch for the 2nd time and Xena's skills with animals as she dismisses the guard dog, very Wonder Woman. Also Lucy does her fire-breathing act for the first time. Gabby captured-1 Village in peril-2 Duel to settle things-1 Kills; yep, byebye Nemos! Xena; 4 Best quote; Nemos-'My desire is pleasure not pain'. Then you picked the wrong girl because Xena's BIG with the kinky. Greek myths; Here we have Pandora and her infamous box. The search for the child resembles King Herod and Jesus plus the myth of Moses. Also another reference to Oedipus, also prophesised to take over a kingdom. The serving girl is called Ophelia which is the name of Hamlet's drowned girlfriend and means 'Help, aid, succour' in Greek and like Callisto is also the name of a moon, (Uranus for Ophelia, Jupiter for Cally). Tragically they didn't stick with the name of Xena and Gabrielle for the dwarf planet and its' moon discovered in 2005. Subtext; rather a lesbian fantasy that Xena and Gabby just stumble across a baby to mother in these pre-IVF/sperm bank days. Other; I did actually have the Xena harem dancer doll from this ep but ended up giving it to my niece. Nice scene between Gregor and Xena, he very much of the opinion that she's the bad guy here and she quite accepting of that role. Of course this all has much greater resonance later with 'Hope' (interesting ep title?) who Gabby also places in a basket and chucks in the river because this time it's Xena who's out to kill the 'evil' baby. Xena's 'grab the sword' will later be re-used by Buffy against Angelus. Rating; 7/10

Well, this certainly sped things along! 1. Poor Butch, once a respected gangster having threesomes with Tabby and Barbara, now some gibbering freak. Still, at least he got his hand back. 2. Speaking of which, no Tabby, no Selina, no Ivy, let's have them back on the show. Plus more Harvey. 3. Shame they couldn't have got Lori Petty back as the runner of the fight club, she was great. 4. Well, that sure is a career change for Lee! Interesting to see where this goes. 5. Is Doctor Bashir dead or is it one big trick? Only time will tell. 6. Interesting to see Alfred the walking armoury, he packs a Browning 9mm and a Walther PPK, classic SAS weapons. 7. Entertaining to watch Ed try to get his groove back, the odd thing about Gotham is it makes you care about people who are pretty despicable if not outright evil. 8. So the seduction of Oswald continues, he knows it but just can't walk away.