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Little Problems Reviewed

Another rest for Lucy Lawless as Xena switches bodies with a little girl and Gabrielle teams up with Aphrodite

Xena and Gabrielle beat off some two bit thugs from Aphrodite`s temple. The goddess of love is grateful and shows them her new venture: using her temple as a hospice. Hey, Gabrielle, you`ve found your place! Oh no, that was the old Gab....
Anyway, while there, Xena and Gabrielle see a young girl named Daphne who lies unconscious after the death of her mother. After a spell of Aphrodite`s goes wrong, Xena becomes trapped inside the girl`s body! While Xena and Daphne get used to sharing a body, Gabrielle and Aphrodite have to figure out a way to restore Xena. This involves a trip to the Gemini club - on twins night - and oil wrestling with Castor and Pollux.

Once again, an ingenious episode that lets Lucy Lawless out of the heavy action. Renee O`Connor and Alexandra Tydings carry things well, and the young girl playing Daphne is also very good. Having said that, the story is just a bit thin. The baddie of the week is a very poor character. I assume he was edited out a bit in favour of the Gab/Aphrodite stuff as Tharon and his pointless metal mask is barely worth the trouble. His warriors are about the biggest bunch of wimps we have ever seen who run away when Gabrielle hits them with a rope!

The main attraction of the episode is in the comedy. Gabrielle and Aphrodite's Swedish twins, Brun and Hilda are a hoot. There is a scene when they are trying to get into the Gemini club and their Viking horned helmets get tangles up and Aphrodite`s helmet ends up over her eyes. This looked like a genuine accident that they decided to keep in - and it was, as Alexandra Tydings has confirmed. Certainly Renee and Alexandra are very funny together.

The actual oil wrestling and chat up with Castor and Pollux were rather smutty. (Edited out on UK tv..) All that gyrating on top of each other - supposedly wrestling - was also a little gross, but funny I suppose - perhaps indicative of the direction of the show the first half of this season. Hercules writers Robert Orci and Alex Kurtzman were responsible for some of the more schoolboy humour episodes on HERCULES, and certainly the humour has lacked subtlety so far. Having said that, this episode is only the fifth out of nearly a hundred to be directed by a woman.

The young girl playing Daphne appeared in two of the original Hercules tv movies, and she shows her experience. It is not an easy role as she has to play a girl whose father won`t tell her the truth. She is very good at playing Xena, and gets quite a menacing tone to her voice. It is amusing to see the stunts performed by her - as Xena of course. Also, look out for Colin Moy as Daphne`s father. He is best known for playing Phantes in Hooves and Harlots, who went on to marry Ephiny.

Finally, I would like to praise the final scene, a beautiful sunset on a beach. We don`t get that many picturesque Xena episodes. Usually the emphasis is on action and characters, but this was a lovely ending to a funny episode. Although I will be happy to see Lucy Lawless back and fighting.

Hits

Gabrielle and Aphrodite as the twins..a good giggle
Young Rose McIver as Daphne was more charismatic than quite a few of the other guest stars we have seen recently.
The pretty end scene. Also, Lucy's little neck grab - which LOOKED like Lucy rather than Xena doing it - was cute.

Misses

That bad guy Theron - useless. Is he THE most forgettable villain ever? His henchmen weren't much better. By making the bad guys so pathetic, it diminishes the show I think
The "how can we let Lucy off work" plan is starting to wear just a little thin now. A slim story.

A lightweight comedy that passes the time and has a few good moments, but is not exactly a classic

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