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"Xena" is a show that I never really watched on a regular basis, but every now and then, I would have some trouble sleeping, turn over to the night table, accidentally pick up the remote instead of the sleeping pills, then flip on the TV and manage to catch an episode of "Xena" at 4 in the morning. Who in the hell knows what channel it was on. You know, I actually kinda liked this show, the times that I saw it. It helped me fall asleep, but not in a bad way. It helped in the sense that I watch this show starring this dominatrix in fantasy land, then the show is over, and I think to myself: well my day is officially complete. It is then that I can get some sleep.******

Truth be told, I'm really not that big of a fan of fantasy fiction. It's not really my cup of tea. I prefer my tea cold, and fantasy is just too hot. There are some that I do find to be interesting, but they have to be really really damn good, like "Excalibur" good. I think what I liked about this here show is that, lets face it, the thing is a comedy. It's hilarious. And I think it's intentionally so. I'm watching this show, cracking up at the sheer camp I'm witnessing on screen, and there's so much zany activity in this series that no one could ever watch it and not smile. You got Sam Raimi as executive producer, and the brilliant Bruce Campbell turns up as the world's greatest thief, so in my eyes, this show's out for some laughs. The tongue in cheek style of writing and directing, plus the witty characters worked so much better in this series than it did for "Hercules" in my opinion.******

As far as the plot goes, here is what I gathered from the episodes that I managed to come across. Okay, so Lucy Lawless (who owns every scene of any movie she is in) is Xena, Warrior Princess. Sweet, that's one bonus point! She once led an army of outlaws to terrorize Greece, and now, in her newfound respect for life, she is regretful of all the harm that she caused. So she gets herself a sidekick, Gabrielle (who could not be anymore in love with Xena) and roams the lands, fighting the forces of evil. It's a fantasy show, so the term "forces of evil" has to be thrown in there somewhere******

What Anchor Bay has done here is pretty damn clever. This box set coincides with the 10th Anniversary of the show's premiere, and the set is made up of what are considered to be the best episodes. Instead of critics choosing what episodes should be selected, it's the die hard fans of the series who made up this list of what they feel are the best this show had to offer. That's a pretty nice way of going about putting together a best of set.*******

The episodes included here are the first episode "Sins of the Past" which detail her rebirth a d also feature her fighting with a cyclops. Other episodes are "Callisto," "Is There a Doctor in the House," "A Day in the Life," "Been There Done That," "The Bitter Suite," "One Against an Army," "The Ides of March," "Fallen Angel," "Lyre Lyre Hearts on Fire," "Amphipolis Under Siege," "Motherhood," "Old Ares Had a Farm," "When Fates Collide," "Many Happy Returns," and the two-part, not to mention depressing, finale "A Friend in Need."

You can tell when a company absolutely loves the product they're putting out, and if extras are any indication at how well a company not only likes the program, but also the fans, then it's true that Anchor Bay truly digs "Xena: Warrior Princess." There's an unearthly amount of extras here, most of them being pretty damn original. There's footage from a 10th Anniversary "Xena" convention, which features a lot of unattractive guys and a lot of gorgeous tough women. There's two fan submitted contests, one of which being fans explaining why they're the biggest "Xena" fanatic, and the other showing various "Xena" reenactments. Some are funny, some are scary, some both. "Comic Relief" is an interview with actor Robert Trevor who portrays Salmonius. "Xena's Hong Kong Origins" features the show's creators talk about their influence from Hong Kong action movies in the way they portrayed the show's action sequences. Alex Tydings is featured in "Mythology Vs Xena" where she talks about her character Aphrodite who was featured in both "Xena" and "Hercules." In another interview feature, "Seeing Double," stunt woman Zoe Bell talks about her experiences working on "Xena."********

Possibly the two best features on this DVD include the documentary "Extra" which explores the life of an extra, both on the set of "Xena" and at their home in New Zealand. I can't think of another DVD which proudly has a feature solely dedicated to an extra, so this is a nice treat. We also get "B is for Bruce," a documentary detailing the career of legendary actor Bruce Campbell, who plays Autolycus in 8 of the show's episodes.