Review
This sixth and last boxed set of "Xena: Warrior Princess" will definitely be a must-own for completists, but it's also one of the essential sets of the collection for casual fans too, as season six includes a lot of the show's best episodes, including a director's cut of the series finale (previously available only in its original cut). And, as with the other five boxed sets, this whopping 10-disc collection is loaded with yet-another set of extras guaranteed to amuse Xenaphiles everywhere.
All 22 episodes of the last season are spread out over these ten discs (though I must take some issue with the inconvenient way they are packaged, much like the previous two sets). The show was always best when it threw logic to the wind and took liberties with historical accuracy, or had some fun with the concept of the show itself, the best examples being the hilarious "You Are There," a clever parody of tabloid journalism, and "Soul Possession," where modern-day reincarnations of Xena, Gabrielle, Ares & Joxer turn up to reignite centuries-old conflicts. Other stand-out episodes include "The Rheingold," in which Xena & Beowulf team up, and of course, the surprisingly dark (for this show anyway) two-part series finale, "A Friend In Need," in which Xena finally passes into the next world.
Picture and Sound
The video transfer is probably the worst aspect of this set. Quite often, the colors are muted and the picture quality is sometimes grainy. The same can't be said for the audio transfer; these episodes are rendered in 5.1 Dolby Digital, and they sound great, much better than the original broadcasts.
Extras
Again, there are more extras than you can shake a stick at, some better than others. Several interviews with cast & crew are included, some of whom offer audio commentary for selected episodes (though sometimes distressingly short ones). There's an additional featurette covering the monster effects by K.N.B. EFX group, as well as one covering the 2004 Xena Convention, which is sort of a hoot. Sketch & photo galleries and behind-the-scenes footage are included, as well as some bloopers, though the latter stuff has also been included with previous sets. Additional CD-ROM content includes cast & crew bios, production sketches & a bit of "Xena" trivia."
Summary
Though the quality of the image transfer is sort of suspect (then again, none of the previous sets really excelled in that area), there's always been plenty of stuff in these collections for "Xena" fans to love, and Season 6 offers more-of-the-same. As usual, Anchor Bay has the series' cultists in-mind when putting it together.
