January 2018 Archives

Well yes. Who else but Xena was ahead of the curve when it comes to breaking new ground with the first scifi Musical than Rob Tapert and Co. It wasn't Josh Whedon who pioneered the SciFi Musical. While people think it's Buffy - it's Xena who pioneered a lot of things and Buffy followed. Xena does NOT get the credit it deserves and Buffy steals her thunder which is a real shame. Don't get me started on Buffy Vs Xena or else this post could be THOUSANDS of words rather than a few paragraphs.

Anyhoo...SyFyWire had a whole article and video about Xena's awesome musical The Bitter Suite (the fans actually created a parody of it called The Bitter Treat. It's somewhere in the Xenaverse - gosh I wish someone would post it).

The past 20 years have seen an unusual trend on TV in which a series would feature a very special musical episode. What better place to explain characters bursting into spontaneous (yet intricate) numbers of song and dance than genre TV, where spells, technology, trickster demons, and supervillains can justify having the whole cast suddenly being in, well, a musical?

SYFY WIRE's Dany Roth takes a look at this particular sub-genre, revealing which TV show was the very first to start the whole trend. While you might think it all began with Buffy the Vampire Slayer's excellent "Once More, with Feeling," it was actually another badass female character who "planted the flag" into the musical episode genre three years earlier on Feb. 2, 1998: Xena: Warrior Princess.

Created by Rob Tapert, Xena: Warrior Princess aired for six seasons between 1995 and 2001. "The Bitter Suite" was the twelfth episode of the show's third season, which earned two Emmy Awards nominations for Best Song: one for regular series composer Joseph LoDuca for "The Love of Your Love," and the other for LoDuca and Dennis Spiegel for "Hearts Are Hurting." "The Bitter Suite" proved to be so successful that Xena would return to the musical genre two years later in the Season 5 episode "Lyre, Lyre, Hearts on Fire."

Renee is set to appear at the Indiana Comic Con from March 30 - April 1.

https://imaginariumtickets.com/

Renée O’Connor was born in Houston, Texas, to Walter and Sandra O’Connor (now Wilson), and raised in Katy, a Houston suburb. She attended Taylor High School and the Houston High School of Visual and Performing Arts. Renée has one older brother, Chris.

Renée appeared in commercials, including one for McDonalds, a feature film called Night Game (1989), and some work for The All New Mickey Mouse Club (1989) (aka “The Mickey Mouse Club) in 1989. She also made guest appearances on TV shows such as NYPD Blue (1993), before starring as “Deineira” in the Hercules TV movie Hercules: The Legendary Journeys – Hercules and the Lost Kingdom (1994). She caught the eyes of executive producers Sam Raimi and Rob Tapert, who cast Renée in the 1994 film Darkman II: The Return of Durant (1995). Soon after, Hercules’ sister show, Xena: Warrior Princess (1995) was launched, and Renée was cast as “Gabrielle”, Xena’s trusty sidekick.

Until 2001, Renée resided in Auckland, New Zealand, where “Xena” was filmed. She was married to restaurant owner Steve Muir (a kiwi, or New Zealander) in October 2000, in Austin, Texas, and they had a son. However, after the series ended, Renée returned to Texas and was divorced from Steve. In 2005, she had a baby girl with her new boyfriend, actor Jed Sura.

Indiana Comic Con at the Indianapolis Convention Center.

https://imaginariumtickets.com/

3-Day: $60
Friday-Only: $30
Saturday-Only: $40
Sunday-Only: $30

Renee was on Facebook and she did a live Q&A about the movie "Beyond The Farthest Star" Check it out below!