Christmas Countdown Characters #23

X might be for Xmas, but it took some searching to find today's celebrity lurking in the 1990s.

X is for Xena - Warrior Princess.

This may seem a strange selection for a Christmas celebrity list, but there are many Xena fans for whom Christmas would not be complete without a viewing of a Xena: Warrior Princess episode, "A Solstice Carol."

I think I am justifying Xena's inclusion here because she is one of those fictional characters who change from evil to good. The TV series focuses on Xena's quest to redeem herself for her dark past by using her formidable fighting skills to help people. Xena, with her partner Gabrielle, challenge ruthless warlords and their armies in an ancient mythological world. So, it is seemingly impossible for Xena to appear in a Christmas scene, but it happens. In one day Xena met Santa Claus, Jesus, and Nestor the Long-Eared Christmas Donkey, but not without criticism.The Christmas episode of Xena is undeniably another poor imitation of Dicken's ' A Christmas Carol' with even more Christmas ...

For today’s Christmas episode, we’re going to look at a Xena episode that somehow incorporates A Christmas Carol, Santa Claus, and Jesus into a single, gloriously insane story. Along the way, it reminds us of mid-90s syndicated television was really like
A Christmas Carol – Yeah, that’s the whole plot of the episode. Of course, since the episode is set 1800 years before the birth of Charles Dickens, Xena gets credit for coming up with the idea.

Santa Claus – Not only is there a character named Santicles (with a long “e” at the end.),He is clad in a red suit and fake beard, and he has to go down a chimney.

Nativity Scene – Xena and Gabrielle meet Joseph, Mary, and their newborn child.

Holiday Cheer-O-Meter – You know what? This episode is goofy as hell, the plotting is crazy sloppy, it’s cheesy, and most of the story requires everybody to be mentally deficient in some way. But as dumb as it is, I really had a lot of fun watching it. It made me genuinely laugh a couple of times, and even the stupid stuff was good-natured. I’m not going to pretend for one minute that it’s good TV, but I had a good time. That, plus the overwhelming amount of Christmas makes it a 10..... (from http://www.spunkybean.com)

Regardless of all of this incongruity surrounding Xena's association with Christmas, she is nevertheless a formidable tactician, inspirational leader, and strategic thinker - Xena, you belong here - Peace on Earth!

Postscript: Yesterday my friend June and I did something we have not done before... I think this Christmas festive spirit has overwhelmed us! Together we went into our local newsagency and we each bought a copy of the Christmas edition of The Australian Women's Weekly, just to get the recipe for a totally indulgent Christmas dessert we would like to include on a menu sometime during the festive season. It so happens that this dessert , Tiramisu Ice Cream Box was created by another "X" Christmas celebrity, Xanthe Roberts, assistant food editor of The Australian Women's Weekly If you want to see this sensation created, watch Xanthe demonstrate it here on the Nine Now website.

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