On Oct. 8, 1996, Lucy Lawless suffered multiple pelvic fractures while filming a skit for The Tonight Show. The horse she was riding fell outside the NBC Studios in Burbank, California. (The horse was uninjured.) Lucy returned to work at the end of November, a month earlier than originally expected. In a May 1, 1997, appearance on Good Morning, America, Lucy said she was 100 percent recovered.
The accident had an enormous effect on the second season of the show. The broadcast schedule for some of the episodes had to be shuffled, and guest stars such as Bruce Campbell (Autolycus) were quickly enlisted to fill in. Members of the Xenastaff have confirmed that the ending of INTIMATE STRANGER [#31] was changed to leave Xena in Callisto's body, allowing actress Hudson Leick (Callisto) to portray Xena in the next episode, TEN LITTLE WARLORDS [#32]. The ending of DESTINY [#36] was also changed; instead of returning to her body, Xena remains dead, which allows the events of THE QUEST [#37] to occur. It was also necessary to film several "fight-light" episodes; HERE SHE COMES...MISS AMPHIPOLIS [#35] is a prime example.
Ten second-season episodes were filmed before the accident. They were:
ORPHAN OF WAR [#25]
REMEMBER NOTHING [#26]
GIANT KILLER [#27]
GIRLS JUST WANNA HAVE FUN [#28]
RETURN OF CALLISTO [#29]
INTIMATE STRANGER [#31]
WARRIOR...PRINCESS...TRAMP [#30]
A SOLSTICE CAROL [#33]
XENA SCROLLS [#34]
DESTINY [#36]
The episodes that were filmed after the accident were:
TEN LITTLE WARLORDS [#32]
HERE SHE COMES....MISS AMPHIPOLIS [#35]
THE QUEST [#37]
A NECESSARY EVIL [#38]
A DAY IN THE LIFE [#39]
FOR HIM THE BELL TOLLS [#40]
THE EXECUTION [#41]
BLIND FAITH [#42]
ULYSSES [#43]
THE PRICE [#44]
LOST MARINER [#45]
A COMEDY OF EROS [#46]