From: davideml@bellsouth.net   
      
   4-06 A Tale Of Two Muses   
      
      
      
             First air date Nov 22, 1996.   
             The episode starts with Xena and Gabrielle walking though the   
   desert. Gabrielle is   
   reading a poem about the heat, and is complaining about how hard traveling is   
   on her shoes.   
      
             Cut to a village. It is night, and a young woman starts dancing. She   
   is joined by a   
   young man. Others are watching or playing instruments (we hear music).   
   Suddenly a man, Istafan,   
   grabs the girl by the shoulders and says she broke the goddess' law and must   
   be punished. The young   
   woman is Tara (from episode 3-14 "Forgiven")   
      
             It is daylight and Tara is tied to a post, her back is exposed and   
   Istafan says she must   
   be given ten lashes with a whip. Xena and Gabrielle walk up just then, and   
   they fight off the town   
   militia to keep the girl from being whipped. When the fighting is over they   
   see it's Tara.   
      
             Istafan tells X&G Tara committed an insidious crime. Just as   
   Gabrielle is berating Tara,   
   Istafan says her crime is that she danced.   
      
             Xena tells Istafan that they are leaving. A man, Telamon, convinces   
   Istafan that   
   banishment is punishment enough. Tara says goodbye to Telamon and Andros, the   
   young man she was   
   dancing with when she got caught.   
      
             Outside of town Tara explains that dancing was banned when a fire   
   ravaged the town after   
   a big dance. She intends to sneak back into town because she is on a mission   
   to change things so   
   they can dance. Xena tells her they will go back with  her.   
      
             In town Istafan is quoting the Muse Calliope that no one will dance.   
   Xena says she agrees   
   with him, and that Tara is there to apologize and she and Gabrielle will stay   
   a few days to make   
   sure Tara behaves herself.   
      
             That night Gabrielle and Xena bed down somewhere other than outside   
   or in Telemon's   
   store. Gabrielle says that since she heard dancing isn't allowed, it's all she   
   wants to do.   
      
             The next morning Gabrielle takes her boots to a shoe repair man and   
   tells him to make   
   sure her boots will last. Since she is barefooted, he gives her goofy looking   
   loaner boots with a   
   curled up toes.   
      
             The town is gathered for the arrival of Philipon the Reformer, who   
   turns out to be   
   Autolycus, who Xena sent a carrier pigeon to. They have a plan. When he finds   
   out there is no   
   monetary reward, he balks until he talks to Istafan and realizes he is a   
   horses' ass when he makes   
   fun of the king of thieves,  then he decides to go along with the plan.   
      
             Philipon starts preaching to the crowd about the evils of music,   
   which leads to dancing.   
   Then he adds painting and flashy embroidery as sins also. The crowd is caught   
   up in the sermon,   
   except for Telemon, who leaves.   
      
             The next day Telemon tells Xena that his son moved to Athens and   
   Andros is all he has   
   left.   
      
             Philipon and Istafan come into Telemon's butcher shop. And when   
   Philipon sees a painting   
   of a village with twin hills and a tower he proclaims the painting as obscene   
   and has to be   
   destroyed. Andros defends his father's painting.   
      
             It is dark again and Tara begins dancing to a song. Andros joins   
   her. When the dance is   
   over he says he is leaving for Athens and wants Tara to go with him.   
      
             Later Telemon tells Xena that Andros and Tara have gone. Xena finds   
   them and scolds them   
   about running away instead of standing and fighting for what they believe in.   
      
             Gabrielle has her boots back and the shoe repairman put steel on the   
   soles. She likes the   
   tapping sound they make.   
      
             Philipon tells Istafan that military training by Xena is what the   
   children of the town   
   need. Istafan mentions the election the next day for magistrate of the town.   
      
             Xena and Gabrielle arrive, then Tara and the children march to the   
   platform. Xena shows   
   them martial arts moves using the staff. They all join in the exercises. Xena   
   tells Istafan that   
   she works better without an audience. Istafan tells everyone to leave.   
      
             Then Xena and Gabrielle start showing the children dance steps.   
      
             Later that day Xena tells Istafan the training went well and the   
   next day she will show   
   them hand-to-hand killing techniques. Telemon says he doesn't want his son to   
   learn to kill and he   
   is running against Istafan as town magistrate to make changes.   
      
             The next day Telemon and Istafan are to make election speeches.   
   Someone fires a arrow at   
   Philipon and Xena saves him. Istafan says it's because of dissention. Xena   
   accuses Licinius,   
   Istafan's right hand man.   
      
             Xena brings the children of the town out and they all begin dancing.   
   Istafan wants them   
   arrested, but suddenly Philipon has 'seen the light' and starts dancing with   
   Xena. The rest of the   
   town joins in.   
      
             The episode ends with a Xena and Gabrielle laughing and hugging each   
   other.   
      
   .......   
      
             A lite episode after the drama of last week's good day of fighting   
   when thousands of men   
   were killed.   I liked most of this episode better than I thought I would.   
      
             Like all non-dramatic eps it's hard to find anything to criticize   
   since any 'bloopers'   
   were most likely done on purpose. So I will just mention a few things I   
   noticed ---   
      
             "A Tale of Two Muses" - Calliope and ????????  Who was the second   
   Muse?   
      
   (BTW Calliope was the eldest of the nine Muses and the Muse of eloquence and   
   epic or heroic poetry.   
   So what does she have to do with dancing?  Polyhymnia was the Muse of dance   
   and music.)   
      
             I liked Tara much more than I did the first time around. Of course,   
   but this time Roswell   
   was airing so I knew who Shiri was.   
      
             Gabrielle had some really good moves, as did Tara.   
      
             I don't usually pay too much attention to the background music, but   
   I this time I was   
   aware of all of it, and I especially liked the song Tara and Andros were   
   dancing to - 'Let the   
   Spirit Move Me.'   
      
             Philipon's (Auto's) southern evangelist persona was a bit over the   
   top, but it was kind   
   of clever.   
      
             Liked the group training led by Xena with the staff when the   
   villagers were watching.   
      
             Lots of different styles of dancing it seemed, but the 'Riverdance'   
   Gabrielle was doing   
   is the most recognizable. I wonder if they were Renee's feet we were   
   watching?  Probably not,   
   otherwise we would have seen the feet connected to the rest of her.   
      
             I guess Gabrielle got the very first pair of tap shoes ever made.   
   (I'd hate to be wearing   
   steel-soled shoes over burning hot sand!!)   
      
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)