From: davideml@bellsouth.net   
      
   4-12  If The Shoe Fits   
      
      
      
             First air date was Jan 25, 1998.   
      
             The story starts out with a naked Gabrielle taking a shower with   
   water coming out of the   
   bottom of a copper pot with holes in it.   
      
             Xena wakes up late muttering about Gabrielle not waking her up when   
   she has a warlord   
   named Zantar where she wants him.   
      
             We see Gabrielle from a distance still showering and her blouse is   
   stolen, leaving only   
   her skirt.   
      
             Cut to Zantar and two henchmen. He says he's not going back to   
   prison. Suddenly Xena   
   slides down a rope from a tree and captures him and back up they go.   
      
             Back to Gabrielle who is now wearing a long sack dress because her   
   blouse was taken. Then   
   she sees Zantar is gagged with it. Xena says she had no more rope.   
      
   Cut to Xena, Gabrielle, Joxer and Zantar waking past a temple and they hear an   
   explosion. Going   
   inside they hear Aphrodite chewing out someone for playing with a bottle   
   marked Passion, which is   
   explosive. When Xena asks Aphrodite what is going on, a little girl comes out   
   and goes to Xena, who   
   recognizes her as Princess Alesia. Xena knows her father. She begs for Xena to   
   save her from the   
   evil  fairy godsmother -Aphrodite. Aphrodite says she wandered in talking   
   about an evil stepmother.   
   Alesia said she ran away from home because of her. Xena decides to take her   
   home.   
      
             Cut to the king and queen. He's been looking for Alesia and goes   
   back out. The queen   
   blames herself because Alesia hates her.   
      
             Gabrielle volunteers to scout ahead. Xena asks Alesia why she ran   
   away. Then starts to   
   tell her about her own stepfather. Gabrielle falls out of a tree and wants to   
   know about Xena's   
   stepfather. She blows her off. Gabrielle says she saw Zantar's men following.   
   Xena says she will go   
   back to stop them and for Gabrielle  to tell Alesia a story. Alesia wants a   
   happy ending.   
      
             Gabrielle starts with a Cinderella story with ugly Xena as the   
   stepmother and ugly   
   Aphrodite as the stepsister. Gabrielle is Tyrella, the sweet, over-cheerful   
   stepdaughter.   
      
             Cut to Aphrodite in her temple. She finds Alesia's shoe and begins   
   to miss her. She looks   
   in the mirror and her image talks her into making Alesia her mascot - a   
   demigoddess of puppy love.   
      
             Back to Gabrielle telling the story again, but Aphrodite interrupts,   
   and begins telling   
   the story her way. She is the beautiful stepmother and Xena is her almost   
   attractive daughter.   
   Gabrielle is the goofy looking stepdaughter with a missing front tooth. Joxer   
   is the king's   
   messenger announcing a royal ball for the king to pick a bride.   
      
             Xena stops the story and tells Aphrodite she thought she was out of   
   it, Aphrodite   
   disappears.   
      
             Xena volunteers to cook supper so Gabrielle can finish the story.   
   But Xena can't find   
   anything so Gabrielle tells Joxer to finish it so she can cook.   
      
             In Joxer's story he is Tyrone, the handsome stepson/brother who   
   wants to go to the ball.   
   His ugly stepfather and stepbrothers make fun of his clothes. Tyrone's fairy   
   godsmother (Xena)   
   shows up and gives him social skills and fine clothes to go to the ball. But   
   the sands of the   
   'hourglass' run out at sunup.   
      
             Tyrone goes to the ball but his stepfather and brothers don't   
   recognize him. He sees a   
   beautiful woman (Gabrielle -the princess?) and dances with her. They waltz and   
   then he does a disco   
   number by himself. They sing a duet, then the sands run out and he runs away,   
   taking her shoe with   
   him by mistake.   
      
             Xena comes back and Alesia is gone. She blames Gabrielle even though   
   she was cooking.   
   Zantar says she ran away. Xena goes looking for her.   
      
             Aphrodite disguised as an old woman tells Gabrielle Zantar's men   
   attacked her and   
   Gabrielle goes off to fight them. Aphrodite kisses Joxer, he faints and she   
   frees Zantar.   
      
             Xena finds Alesia hanging onto a vine on the side of a cliff. She   
   saves her.   
      
             At the camp they find Joxer tied up and Zantar is gone. Joxer says   
   Aphrodite said   
   something about going to an old castle.   
      
             Xena starts telling the story. But Tyrella is a no-nonsense   
   butt-kicker. The prince   
   (Joxer) comes to have the shoe tried on. She sees Tyrella and passes by the   
   others. But Tryella   
   tells him she doesn't need a man to make her happy. Just then her fairy   
   godsister (Gabrielle) comes   
   in and tells her that her stepmother and stepsisters are going to rob the   
   kingdom of the crown   
   jewels. She asks Tyrella if she needs help and she tells her to wash the   
   dishes.   
      
             Gabrielle interrupts the story, insulted that that is all Xena   
   thinks of her - as the   
   fairy godsister of dishes. Xena says it's because she thinks of her as family,   
   but she stomps off   
   saying she needs her space.   
      
             Xena, Joxer and Alesia go to the castle and the king and queen are   
   tied to their thrones.   
   Zantar and his men have stolen the crown jewels.   
      
             Xena locks Alesia and her stepmother in a room so they can talk out   
   their issues, then   
   goes after Zantar and his men.   
      
             Gabrielle comes upon an outdoor shrine to Aphrodite and knocks a   
   couple urns over until   
   she appears.  She berates Aphrodite about confusing Alesia so she doesn't   
   realize she misses the   
   family who loves her.   
      
             Alesia and the queen come to an understanding.   
      
             Xena fights, Gabrielle helps, and they recover the jewels. Xena   
   finishes the story,   
   telling Alesia Tyrella and the prince didn't get married but she and her fairy   
   godsister made a   
   pact to help the other to be all they could be.   
      
             Xena asks Gabrielle why she came back and she tells her they are   
   family and they have to   
   stay together to work things out.   
      
   .......   
      
             Another comedy episode.   
      
             No nitpicks because it wouldn't make sense in a story like this. So   
   I will mention the   
   things I liked and other comments -   
      
             Naked Gabrielle taking a shower with the never emptying water pot.   
   The close up on   
   Renee's back and shoulders showed some real definition. She was in SHAPE!   
      
             Gabrielle as the princess at the ball was as beautiful as I've ever   
   seen. I HAVE to find   
   some screencaps of her.   
      
             Gabrielle's sack dress kept getting smaller and smaller as she   
   snipped away at it.   
      
             Gabrielle telling Xena she didn't wake up  Joxer because she was   
   topless.   
      
             Alesia looked an awful like Aphrodite.   
      
             Xena's comment after Gabrielle asked what she wanted next from her -   
   skirt, boots,   
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)