PROMO TRANSCRIPTION
XENA BATTLES POSEIDON, GOD OF THE SEA
Cecrops: Are you out of your mind?
Xena: Looks like it.
ON THE NEXT XENA: WARRIOR PRINCESS
Cecrops: You know the risk.
SHE'S ON A SHIP CURSED FOR ETERNITY
Gabrielle: What?!
Cecrops: I can't die and I can't return to land.
AND THOSE WHO BOARD CAN NEVER EXCAPE
Xena: You just have to have faith.
THOSE WHO TRY, DIE AT SEA
Cecrops: Don't be a fool!
CAN XENA BREAK POSIDEN'S EVIL SPELL?
BATTLE ON, XENA
TV GUIDE PROMO
After a shipwreck, Gabrielle finds herself aboard the cursed
vessel of the lost mariner Cycrops [sic]. Soon, she and Xena are confronted by pirates and the nasty god Poseidon.
Xena and Gabrielle become stranded aboard a cursed pirate ship on which
there is no escape other than death.
Xena challenges the sea god Poseidon when Gabrielle becomes trapped aboard a ship that's cursed to remain at sea forever.
AIRING AND RATING INFORMATION
1st RELEASE: 05-05-97
An AA average of 5.6
Competition from Syndicated Action Dramas:
(1) XENA 8th with 5.6
(2) STAR TREK DS9 10th with 5.3
(3) HERCULES 13th with 5.0
(4) BAYWATCH 18th with 4.3
(5) FX 2.8
2nd RELEASE: 09-01-97
An AA average of 4.8
Competition from Syndicated Action Dramas:
(1) XENA/HERCULES 8th with 4.8
(2) STAR TREK DS9 16th with 3.7
(3) BAYWATCH 23rd with 3.0
SYNOPSIS:
This synopsis is by Bluesong.
The show opens with Xena and Gabrielle
on a ship, which crashes into some rocks. A pirate ship
survives. Gabrielle is fished from the water by another ship,
the ship of the Lost Mariner, Cecrops, who has been cursed by
Poseidon to live his immortal life on the sea. No one can leave
his ship without dying. Gabrielle sees that when another survivor
jumps overboard.
Cecrops has been sailing for 300 years.
He was cursed in a feud between Athena and Poseidon and only love
can redeem him and set him free. Cecrops tells Gabrielle that
Xena probably died in the crash; if she did not she was better
off than Gabrielle who will forever be trapped on his ship.
But soon Xena appears on the shore,
with pirates chasing her, and Gabrielle yells to her. Cecrops
tells Gabrielle to think about what she was doing before asking
her friend to join her aboard the vessel. Xena has to get away
from the pirates, first, and in first-class Xena-style manages to
do so and fling herself aboard the lost ship at the same time.
She immediately embraces Gabrielle and checks to be sure she is
okay. Cecrops interrupts their reunion to ask Xena if she knows
that she is now trapped. Xena says she could not let him sail
away with her best friend.
The pirates chase after the ship.
Gabrielle is seasick and Xena does a pinch thing in Gabrielle's
arm that wards off the seasickness but lets her tastebuds go
slack, so Gabrielle eats a lot of strange things. Xena convinces
Cecrops to return to where it all began, near a huge whirlpool
east of their location. As they head in that direction Poseidon
rises from the water. He tells Xena and Gabrielle they can leave
the ship, but Xena realizes she must be on to something or
Poseidon would not have interferred with their journey. She
declines Poseidon's offer, which angers Poseidon. Later, he tells
Cecrops that if he will throw Xena into the whirlpool, Poseidon
will let everyone go. Before they reach the whirlpool he sends a
storm, along with a whopping tidal wave that nearly takes out the
ship. Xena grabs Gabrielle and makes sure she does not get
squashed by rolling cargo; one crewman who had befriended
Gabrielle is not so lucky. Cecrops grieves for this man.
The ship gets to the edge of the
whirlpool and Cecrops has a chance to throw Xena over the side,
but does not. He realizes that it is not the love that someone
can give him that will save him, but the love he gives to others.
"The love you have for Gabrielle, Xena -- .... you're right, it
really is just that simple!" he cries, then jumps into the
whirlpool. Everyone else washes up on the beach; Cecrops does as
well (he is immortal, after all). Poseidon has to find a new
person to trounce (apparently the pirate who was chasing them).
COMMENTARY:
Commentary Beth Gaynor.
Why did I like this episode? There wasn't much action, the plot didn't even travel all that far. But with the help of
fine performances and pretty ships (I'm a land-lubber who's a sucker for the high seas) this was a great popcorn-chewing episode; the brain could putter along in low gear while the enjoyment settled in. I had quite a fun time.
I didn't notice this nearly as much with Destiny or Ulysses, but this time, all the photography on the ship *really* showed the rolling of the waves; those sets were pitching to and fro so much I kept wanting to grab my Pepsi can to keep it from falling off the end table. They should put a warning label on this episode to tell people with severe motion sickness to take their dramamine before watching. The actors were all clutching table edges in nearly every scene as they tried their darndest to look seaworthy (except for Renee, of course - she didn't have to pretend for a second that she had sea legs).
Cecrops was a great character, and the actor was fantastic. That guy had panache. The show dove back into the deep end of the talent pool after wading around with Ulysses. Anyone notice that Cecrops was big enough to make even Xena look short? Fantastic voice he had, too. It was good to see Xena and Gab run into an immortal that they can get along with; maybe we'll see the Found Mariner pop up again sometime.
After these past two out of three episodes, I think Gab will be perfectly justified in threatening Xena with a
staff-bashing if they set foot anywhere near a shore again. Two shipwrecks, one tidal wave, one whirlpool... this all adds up to "I'll take my water fresh, thank you very much."
beowolf@cgocable.netThe producers keep out-doing themselves with over-the-top, ridiculously funny effects. Xena making a football-field-sized horizonal leap to get to the ship - no arc whatsoever in that jump - was to die for. I laughed so hard I almost missed the joyous reunion of Xena and Gab. That scene - and Gabrielle suddenly remembering how seasick she was ("I'm seasick... come to think of it, I'm *really* seasick") to collapse against Xena - pegged the subtext meter. Any way you want to slice it, Cecrops had zip chance of taking off with Gab without Xena. And then Poseidon tries to do the same bloody thing and tells Xena to walk without Gab; at least Cecrops didn't know any better. Poseidon's a god, he shoulda known to give his offer to both without wasting any time. Silly water god.
WHIMPERS, MURMURS, AND A LOVE GONE TOO
FAR
12-16-98. Someone asked Renee O'Connor at the Creation Valley Forge, PA Con (10-04-97) about the "squid" in LOST MARINER. Renee points out it was marinated octopus. She resigned herself to eating it, and then decided she might as well try to gross out everyone on the set possible.
PRE-COMMENTARY: Xena and the Gabster on the open seas again and it looks like this time they gets stuck in The Flying Dutchman myth.
CHANGING TIMES
Changing Times is by Debbie White.
Coming whenever
HIGHLIGHTS:
Highlights by Beth
Gaynor.
Speaking of our bard, Gabrielle sets the bar high right off the bat with the line of the episode, "So unless you want a
quick and colorful deck-washing..." The puppy love she endures from Altrech and the squid-eating are great running jokes. ("Whoops, we got serious for a whole three pages, here. Quick, let's put Gabrielle on a crate with a tentacle hanging out of her mouth!")
THINGS TO LOOK OUT
FOR
These things are by Beth Gaynor.
Two minor plot threads that got left hanging: WHAT was up with the statue head that was supposed to come to life and
speak during full moons? Cecrops and Gabrielle talked about it, a shot of the sea showed a nice, beautiful full moon - I was waiting for that darned head to pop up any moment, but it never showed. The oft-mentioned treasures of Poseidon were also swallowed up without a second thought, except for
the emerald.
MORE THINGS TO LOOK OUT FOR
12-16-98. From Nicholas Nayko. For recycled props department: Aphrodite's temple in THE QUILL IS MIGHTIER... has the Lost Athena bust from LOST MARINER in it. From Joan Leib. The same bust also appears as Aphrodite in HTLJ episode "Love Takes a Holiday".
12-16-98. Although called squid in the show, what Renee O'Connor was really eating was marinated octopus.
SHOOTING SCRIPT
DIFFERENCES: March 21 1997
Prepared by Utahfan.
Below are some interesting points or variations in the shooting draft of Lost Mariner. Nothing earth shattering, but some omitted lines and scenes, a few descriptions, etc., and some clarification of whether Xena turned down Poseidon's offer of safe passage without asking Gabrielle. Most important, it gave me an excuse to re-watch a really good XWP episode. The cross I bear...
LOST MARINER. By Steven L. Sears. Directed by Garth Maxwell. Shooting Draft March 21, 1997
Just in case you wanted to know exactly what was going on in the opening stock footage: "A variety of shots that basically follow this track: Two ships sail at a fast pace through the ocean. One, a pirate ship, is in pursuit of the other. The other ship is trying desperately to evade the Pirate ship. It's forced toward the shoreline to try and draw a shallow draft. The risk here is: Rocks. The ship can't avoid them in time. It hits the rocks and splits open, the waves sucking the remains of the ship down under the water." [Note: In the televised
version, the wreck looks as though it's caused primarily by the raging
storm, which I think makes more sense, since it is Xena at the helm,
after all. She wouldn't wreck a ship just trying to get away from
pirates.] Xena's plaintive voiceover cry -- "Gabriellllle!" -- isn't in
the script.
In the script, when Gabrielle is floating on the log, she looks up and sees a figure standing on the railing of a ship, holding onto the rigging. She says "Xena?" but then "can see it isn't Xena, but a man in his thirties, wearing a baggy Penzance-type shirt. Strikingly good-looking, he has an intensity in his eyes. We will know him as Cecrops." As televised, Gabrielle doesn't say anything when she sees
the ship, just kind of grunts.
In the script, Cecrops tells Gabrielle it's too bad Xena is probably pushing up seawood by now because he always wanted Xena on his ship. (There's a little more on this later.)
Originally, the initial confrontation between Basculis and Xena occurs during the teaser, rather than at the beginning of the second act. Basculis is described as "a cross between Charles Atlas and Basil Rathbone (picture that). He has an annoying way of tilting his head
when he listens and pointing an ear at you." [K J: I liked this guy's
portrayal of a goofball so much in Black Wolf that it was hard for me to
take him seriously as a menacing pirate.]
In their initial discussion, Basculis tells Xena that Gabrielle is on Cecrops' ship. Then, in an omitted line, he adds, "Face it, Xena. Your friend belongs to Cecrops. And you belong to *me*!"
[Sigh. The great running-across-the-beach-after-Gabrielle scene. A Top Ten XWP moment for sure.]
Part of the discussion between Gabrielle and Cecrops in his cabin was omitted in the televised version. Sort of questioningly, Gabrielle says she's now part of Cecrops' crew, then:
Cecrops: "If I had my choice, you could have drifted to the
island. But... Well, there were sharks in the water. There is 'death'
and there is 'dying.' Being eaten is not a particularly--"
"Gabrielle grabs her stomach, about to react...
Cecrops: "Sorry. No food talk."
Gabrielle: "Thank you. (then) When I mentioned my friend Xena,
you acted as if you knew her."
Cecrops: "Oh, I've heard of her. Most of my crew are pirates that
I've captured. At one time, Xena had several vessels that preyed on the
coastal shipping. Caesar got to her before I could. I'm no fan of his,
but at least he stopped her pirates."
Gabrielle: "She's changed. She's no longer like that. And, excuse
me for saying this, but Cecrops the Mariner is hardly known as a
champion for good."
"Cecrops considers her for a moment." Then he tells her the story
about how he came to be cursed as a result of the contest...
As written, at first when Cecrops tells Gabrielle that if she cares
about her friend, she won't want her on board, "Gabrielle realizes and
silences herself." As the men try to steer away from the outcropping,
"Gabrielle is conflicted."
Most of the great expressions on Xena's face -- like the great
concerned/angry look she gets when she sees the sail going up -- and
Gabrielle's delighted grin when Xena takes down the sail with her
chakram -- aren't scripted. Great direction.
The leap onto Cecrops' ship is depicted as a bit more realistic in the
script. "Xena lets go [of the branch] and flies through the air. She
drops down and hits another branch, using it as a diving board to propel
her out over the water. In a swan dive form, she tucks at the apex of
her flight and spins around, extending feet first toward the rigging of
Cecrops' ship. She wraps her arms around it to keep from bouncing back
off."
Whatever it is that Gabrielle mumbles into Xena's shoulder is not in
the script. [So we can still twist it into anything we like.]
Not that it matters, but in the scripted version, Xena tells Cecrops
that she wasn't going to let him take off with her friend (not "best
friend," as in the televised version).
An omitted scene: After Xena comes on board (and also after the pirates decide that Xena must have a plan),
"Cecrops is mulling about [in his cabin], angry. He picks up a small statuette. Hidsim stands near the door."
Cecrops: "You saw me. I gave them every chance to avoid it. And
now they're here. They're cursed."
Hidsim: "That warrior... first time I remember anyone coming on
board voluntarily. The little one... She reminds me of... someone.
(beat) So, what you think, Rama? Bad luck to have a woman on board.
You think we're in for bad luck?"
"Cecrops doesn't answer. Then, he throws the statuette against the
wall."
Cecrops: "You're a good friend, Hidsim. Catch me on a better day,
and I might just kill you."
Hidsim: "Not gonna hold out hope. It's not your nature to kill."
"And he exits. Cecrops stares after him."
Cecrops: "Isn't it?"
An omitted line: When Gabrielle tells Xena they don't have a lifetime
to figure out the curse because she can't live through the seasickness,
she adds, "And he thinks *he's* cursed."
When Xena sees the pirates coming up on them, Altrech (Gabrielle's unsubtle admirer) says, "We gonna attack? You want a new crew, that's them. You hate pirates. (sees Gabrielle) And I'm ready to take on a few myself!" The Cecrops crew discusses some evasive maneuvers in some nautical dialogue that was mercifully cut from the televised version:
Cecrops (to Xena): "The wind's not good. Those pirates are going
to catch us anyway. Hidsim, grab the wheel! Take us into the current!"
"Xena is peering over the side."
Xena: "You're going to draw shallow water here, Cecrops. You've
got a channel running alongside us to port."
"Cecrops runs to port and looks over."
Cecrops: "We can use that. There must be a reef around here."
"Xena looks at the Pirate ship."
Xena: "It's too late. They found the channel."
"She gives a look to Cecrops and draws her sword. He nods and yells
to his men."
Cecrops: "They're coming alongside! Battle arms! Every man to the
side! Full weapons!"
Then Xena tells him to wait, and Poseidon rises out of the water...
One thing people commented about when the episode aired was that Xena
appeared to reject Poseidon's offer of safe passage without consulting
Gabrielle. As scripted, after Poseidon says Cecrops doesn't even know
where to look for love, "Xena reacts to his words, then gives a look to
Gabrielle. Gabrielle looks at her questioningly, then realizes she's on
to something. Gabrielle nods to her." Then Xena tells Poseidon no
thanks...
That great "back off" glare Xena gives Altrech when he's sniffing
around Gabrielle again isn't mentioned in the script.
In the script, Poseidon tells Cecrops that Xena defied him, "first with
Ulysses and now with you." Blissfully, we were spared any reminders of
Useless in the televised version.
After Poseidon tempts Cecrops to sacrifice Xena to him, Xena appears in the doorway of his cabin, and there's a bit of omitted dialogue.
Xena: "I just wanted to say I'm sorry."
"He waves it off."
Cecrops: "Hidsim was a pirate. He probably lived longer than he
would have, anyway. Longer than he deserved, I'm sure." He then says
they're heading to Charybdis, where it's going to end...
Gabrielle's line on the beach after Altrech says he hopes she
understands, "Yeah, it was great for me," isn't in this version of the
script. [Bet she's said *that* before.]
SHOOTING SCRIPT
DIFFERENCES: February 19 1997
Prepared by UtahFan.
I did a script differences post earlier for Lost Mariner, using the only
script I had available at the time, the March 21, 1997, version. I now
have the first draft, dated February 19, 1997, and have made some
notations about changes from this version. They include the original
description of Cecrops (definitely *not* with Tony Todd in mind), some
menacing of Gabrielle by a crew member, a cute omitted scene between
Xena and Gabrielle, and other little details.
LOST MARINER ("Cecrops, The Sailor") by Steven L. Sears. Directed by Garth Maxwell. Shooting drafts February 19 and March 21, 1997
The February 19 version is the first draft. References to "the
script" without distinction as to date indicates that the two versions
are materially the same.
Just in case you wanted to know exactly what was going on in the
opening stock footage: "A variety of shots that basically follow this
track: Two ships sail at a fast pace through the ocean. One, a pirate
ship, is in pursuit of the other. The other ship is trying desperately
to evade the Pirate ship. It's forced toward the shoreline to try and
draw a shallow draft. The risk here is: Rocks. The ship can't avoid
them in time. It hits the rocks and splits open, the waves sucking the
remains of the ship down under the water." [Note: In the televised
version, the wreck looks as though it's caused primarily by the raging
storm, which I think makes more sense, since it is Xena at the helm,
after all. She wouldn't wreck a ship just trying to get away from
pirates.] Xena's plaintive voiceover cry -- "Gabriellllle!" -- isn't in
the script.
In the script, when Gabrielle is floating on the log, she looks up and
sees a figure standing on the railing of a ship, holding onto the
rigging. She says "Xena?" but then can see it isn't Xena. As
televised, Gabrielle doesn't say anything when she sees the ship, just
kind of grunts.
The description of Cecrops varies a little between the Feb. 19 and
March 21 drafts. The first draft describes the mariner as "a man in his
thirties, wearing a baggy Penzance-type shirt. He has blond hair and
blue eyes. [Gee, was this written before Tony Todd was selected for the
role?] His beard is sparse, but ragged as is the mane of untamed hair.
He scratches his neck under his chin a lot." By March 21, we have "a
man in his thirties, wearing a baggy Penzance- type shirt. Strikingly
good-looking, he has an intensity in his eyes."
The first-draft Cecrops shows no recognition of Xena's name. By the
March 21 version, he is familiar with Xena from his crew, and tells
Gabrielle that it's too bad Xena is probably pushing up seawood by now
because he always wanted her on his ship. (There's a little more on this
later.)
In the first draft, Gabrielle's situation on the ship is more
precarious than it ended up later. Cecrops tells Gabrielle to deal with
the situation quickly. "If I don't find a use for you, some of my men
will." Gabrielle looks around and, sure enough, "several of the men are
eyeing her hungrily." Altrech comes over and is not as friendly as he
ended up, telling Hidsim to mind his own business when Hidsim tells him
to leave Gabrielle alone. Altrech leers at Gabrielle, stares at her,
and later threatens her with a knife. In later versions, Cecrops merely
says that she should deal with it because he doesn't like his men
distracted. The crew, and particularly Altrech, are not very
threatening.
Originally, the initial confrontation between the pirate Basculis and
Xena occurs during the teaser, rather than at the beginning of the
second act. Basculis is described as "a cross between Charles Atlas and
Basil Rathbone (picture that). He has an annoying way of tilting his
head when he listens and pointing an ear at you." [I liked this guy's
portrayal of a goofball so much in Black Wolf that it was hard for me to
take him seriously as a menacing pirate.]
In their initial discussion, Basculis tells Xena that Gabrielle is on
Cecrops' ship. Then, in an omitted line, he adds, "Face it, Xena. Your
friend belongs to Cecrops. And you belong to *me*!"
[Sigh. The great running-across-the-beach-after-Gabrielle scene. A
Top Ten XWP moment for sure.]
Part of the discussion between Gabrielle and Cecrops in his cabin was
omitted in the televised version. Sort of questioningly, Gabrielle says
she's now part of Cecrops' crew, then:
Cecrops: "If I had my choice, you could have drifted to the
island. But... Well, there were sharks in the water. There is 'death'
and there is 'dying.' Being eaten is not a particularly--
"Gabrielle grabs her stomach, about to react..."
Cecrops: "Sorry. No food talk."
Gabrielle: "Thank you. (then) When I mentioned my friend Xena,
you acted as if you knew her."
Cecrops: "Oh, I've heard of her. Most of my crew are pirates that
I've captured. At one time, Xena had several vessels that preyed on the
coastal shipping. Caesar got to her before I could. I'm no fan of his,
but at least he stopped her pirates."
Gabrielle: "She's changed. She's no longer like that. And, excuse
me for saying this, but Cecrops the Mariner is hardly known as a
champion for good."
"Cecrops considers her for a moment." Then he tells her the story
about how he came to be cursed as a result of the contest...
In the Feb. 19 script, Cecrops caps his observation about women having
an attitude toward him by speculating, "Maybe it's the beard . . . ."
Ultimately, of course, he doesn't have a beard.
Gabrielle's emotions when Cecrops tells her that if she cares about
her friend, she won't want her on board: "Gabrielle realizes and
silences herself." As the men try to steer away from the outcropping,
"Gabrielle is conflicted."
Most of the great expressions on Xena's face -- like the great
concerned/angry look she gets when she sees the sail going up -- and
Gabrielle's delighted grin when Xena takes down the sail with her
chakram -- aren't scripted. Great direction.
In the first draft, Xena taking down the sail is followed by a remark
from Cecrops, "Man, she's good! (to Gabrielle) Your friend's foolish,
but she's good." In the March 21 and screen versions, he yells out
instructions for getting them away from shore instead.
The leap onto Cecrops' ship is depicted as a bit more realistic in the
script. "Xena lets go [of the branch] and flies through the air. She
drops down and hits another branch, using it as a diving board to propel
her out over the water. In a swan dive form, she tucks at the apex of
her flight and spins around, extending feet first toward the rigging of
Cecrops' ship. She wraps her arms around it to keep from bouncing back
off."
Whatever it is that Gabrielle mumbles into Xena's shoulder is not in
the script. [So we can still twist it into anything we like.]
Not that it matters, but in the scripted version, Xena tells Cecrops
that she wasn't going to let him take off with her friend (not "best
friend," as in the televised version).
An omitted scene: After Xena comes on board (and also after the
pirates decide that Xena must have a plan), "Cecrops is mulling about
[in his cabin], angry. He picks up a small statuette. Hidsim stands
near the door."
Cecrops: "You saw me. I gave them every chance to avoid it. And
now they're here. They're cursed."
Hidsim: "That warrior... first time I remember anyone coming on
board voluntarily. The little one... She reminds me of... someone.
(beat) So, what you think, Rama? Bad luck to have a woman on board.
You think we're in for bad luck?"
"Cecrops doesn't answer. Then, he throws the statuette against the
wall."
Cecrops: "You're a good friend, Hidsim. Catch me on a better day,
and I might just kill you."
Hidsim: "Not gonna hold out hope. It's not your nature to kill."
"And he exits. Cecrops stares after him."
Cecrops: "Isn't it?"
An omitted line: When Gabrielle tells Xena they don't have a lifetime
to figure out the curse because she can't live through the seasickness,
she adds, "And he thinks *he's* cursed."
The first draft does not mention the pressure point that Xena shows
Gabrielle to combat nausea. The original scene is substantially
different. Xena heads toward the cabin door to speak with Cedrops,
while an ill Gabrielle sits down on a crate.
Gabrielle: "Focus . . . focus . . . Don't think about the water . . .
the rolling, moving, bouncing, water . . ."
"She takes a deep breath and closes her eyes. She doesn't see Altrech,
who heads over and sits next to her. Her eyes pop open. He casually
takes out a knife and cleans his nails with it, displaying it so that
Gabrielle understands the threat."
Gabrielle: "Please . . . you *really* don't want to make a move on me
right now . . ."
Altrech: "You smell nice . . . You smell *so* nice . . . I bet your
skin tastes like--"
"And a fist enters frame and knocks him to the ground. Xena stands over
him. She just points at him."
Xena: "This boat is too small to hide from me, got it?"
"And, with that, she heads back toward Cecrops' cabin."
In the first draft only, after Xena tells Cecrops not to give up hope,
she turns back and adds, "And if you'd shave that beard, it wouldn't
itch."
The first draft includes a subsequent scene omitted from later
versions.
"Xena comes out of Cecrops' cabin. Gabrielle is still sitting on the
crate."
Gabrielle: "Well, what did he say?"
Xena: "I don't think I've ever met someone so cynical."
Gabrielle (reacts; then): "Hello, Mister Pot, meet Miss Kettle."
Xena: "I'm not *that* bad."
Gabrielle: "Well, he's had more time to perfect it."
"At that moment, Cecrops comes out of his cabin and walks past them
toward the gangway. He doesn't even look at them as he heads topside."
Gabrielle: "I feel sorry for him."
Xena: "Don't. If we pity him, we spend our lives on this ship."
"At that moment, the deck leans a bit. Gabrielle grabs her stomach
again, feeling the movement."
Gabrielle: "He's turning the ship . . . Oh, why is he turning the
ship?"
Xena: "Eastward. Toward Charybdis."
"She heads up to the deck."
In the first draft, Hidsim tells Gabrielle that he was about her age
when he was taken aboard Cecrops' ship. In later versions, the
reference to his age is omitted.
When Xena sees the pirates coming up on them, Altrech says, "We gonna
attack? You want a new crew, that's them. You hate pirates. (sees
Gabrielle) And I'm ready to take on a few myself!" (The last line is
not in the Feb. 19 version.) The Cecrops crew discusses some evasive
maneuvers in some nautical dialogue that was mercifully cut from the
televised version:
Cecrops (to Xena): "The wind's not good. Those pirates are going
to catch us anyway. Hidsim, grab the wheel! Take us into the current!"
"Xena is peering over the side."
Xena: "You're going to draw shallow water here, Cecrops. You've
got a channel running alongside us to port."
"Cecrops runs to port and looks over."
Cecrops: "We can use that. There must be a reef around here."
"Xena looks at the Pirate ship."
Xena: "It's too late. They found the channel."
"She gives a look to Cecrops and draws her sword. He nods and yells
to his men."
Cecrops: "They're coming alongside! Battle arms! Every man to the
side! Full weapons!"
Then Xena tells him to wait, and Poseidon rises out of the water...
One thing people commented about when the episode aired was that Xena
appeared to reject Poseidon's offer of safe passage without consulting
Gabrielle. As scripted, after Poseidon says Cecrops doesn't even know
where to look for love, "Xena reacts to his words, then gives a look to
Gabrielle. Gabrielle looks at her questioningly, then realizes she's on
to something. Gabrielle nods to her." Then Xena tells Poseidon no
thanks...
In the first draft of the script, while the crew are bolstering the
ship against the storm, Hidsim and Altrech ask Xena about their fate if
Xena manages to break Poseidon's curse:
Hidsim: "If you defeat him . . . well, we want to know . . . what
happens to us?"
Altrech: "We were all pirates, every one of us. But we've paid. The
gods know, we've paid for it."
Xena: "And what would you do if you got a second chance? Go back to
sea?"
Altrech: "Closest I get to the water will be a well on my farm! Gonna
help people, not hurt them. I don't make promises I can't keep."
"Xena nods, then steps down from the gangway and heads to the Captain's
cabin."
Inside the cabin (in the first draft only), Xena "stops to find
Cecrops looking into a mirror and finishing up a shave. His hair is
pulled back and tied. A very green Gabrielle stands nearby with a
bucket in her hands. She hasn't filled the bucket . . . yet."
Xena: "What's the matter?"
Cecrops: "She was telling me a story when . . . ."
Gabrielle: "I was telling him about the trip we took with Ulysses. It
reminded me of my first day of the boat . . . and with these waves
rolling us to and fro, and to and. . . I'm *so* miserable."
Cecrops (smiling): "Next time I find you floating in the ocean, I'll
leave you for the sharks."
Gabrielle: "Next time, I'd appreciate it."
"Suddenly, she picks up the bucket and rushes for the door. As the door
shuts, we hear a few of the crew exclaim, 'Hey! Careful with that!
'Watch where you're aiming!'"
"Xena turns to Cecrops. He is smiling."
Cecrops: "I have to admit, I like your friend. She makes me laugh.
It's . . . different. (re: shave) So, what do you think? Doesn't
itch."
Xena: "Very nice. You haven't said anything to me since Poseidon.
Aren't you even curious?"
Cecrops: "Curious? Yes. But it doesn't change anything." Then he
tells her he has changed his mind about returning to Charybdis . . . .
That great "back off" glare Xena gives Altrech when he's sniffing
around Gabrielle again isn't mentioned in the script.
In the first draft, as the ship starts pitching violently, Gabrielle
says to herself, "I figured it out . . . . it's *me* Poseidon is after .
. . I have *got* to twine some rope . . ."
In the March 21 version (not the original draft), Poseidon tells
Cecrops that Xena defied him, "first with Ulysses and now with you."
Blissfully, we were spared any reminders of Useless in the televised
version.
After Poseidon tempts Cecrops to sacrifice Xena to him, Xena appears
in the doorway of his cabin, and there's a bit of omitted dialogue.
Xena: "I just wanted to say I'm sorry."
"He waves it off."
Cecrops: "Hidsim was a pirate. He probably lived longer than he
would have, anyway. Longer than he deserved, I'm sure." Cecrops then
says they're heading to Charybdis, where it's going to end...
In the original draft, Xena knew all along that the key to breaking
the curse was Cecrops' love for others, but tells him that he had to
figure it out on his own, or it would mean nothing. In the March 21
draft and filmed version, Xena was clued in by a comment from Poseidon
that Cecrops didn't even know where to look.
Gabrielle's line on the beach after Altrech says he hopes she
understands -- "Yeah, it was great for me" -- isn't in this version of
the script. [Bet she's said *that* before.] In the original draft,
there is no encounter with the crew on the beach, except for Cecrops.
The original version: "The men from the ship are scattered in the
background, in several stages of exhaustion. But they are all happy.
The curse is lifted. Gabrielle is looking through the debris. She
finds her bag. Every now and then, she picks up some sand and rubs it
into her cheeks. She looks over to find Xena staring out to sea and
walks over to her."
TRANSCRIPT
Click here to read a transcript of LOST MARINER .
DISCLAIMER:
Cecrops' "Joie de Vivre" was not harmed
during the production of this motion picture.
