What good are statistics if we don't do silly things with them?
Here are answers to some burning questions that are... well, not keeping anyone up at night. But they're still fun to look at!Check the Charts to see the ratings as pretty pictures.
The questions Rate-A-Xena dares to answer!
(If you have any ideas for questions to add,
let me know. If it's
intriguing, and my spreadsheet can do it, I'll add it in!)
Which season is the best?Which season is the best?
Do we like comedies, adventures, or dramas best?
What episodes do we disagree on the most?
What characters do we disagree on the most?
What ratings do the writers have? What ratings do the directors have?
When all is said and done, sixth season made an impressive run for the crown, but second season claims the prize as Favorite Season of All.
First season 7.06 Second season 7.43 Third season 7.25 Fourth season 7.00 Fifth season 6.86 Sixth season 7.29
Do we like comedies, adventures, or dramas best? What about other types of shows?
I grouped together some of the types of episodes to see how they fare in the ratings. Keep in mind that these groupings are very arbitrary. Almost all episodes have at least some comedy, some adventure, and some drama. I picked episodes here that were pretty pure in their intent to make us laugh, give us knock-down drag-out thrills, or grip our guts. The subtext-heavy episodes were the ones that weren't being too subtle in suggesting... well, what they suggest. (Any kids in here?)
If you think I'm missing something obvious, or have an idea for another genre to add, let me know!
| Episode Type | Rating | Episodes |
| Average episode rating | 7.15 | |
| "Sub"text? How "sub" was that? | 7.98 | Altared States, Girls Just Wanna Have Fun, The Quest, A Day in the Life, Been There Done That, One Against an Army, Fins Femmes and Gems, A Family Affair, Crusader, Devi, Ides of March, Heart of Darkness, The Ring, Return of the Valkyrie, You Are There, When Fates Collide, Friend in Need 2 |
| Dramas | 7.83 | Sins of the Past, Dreamworker, The Reckoning, Mortal Beloved, Ties That Bind, The Greater Good, Callisto, Is There a Doctor in the House?, Remember Nothing, Return of Callisto, Destiny, The Quest, The Price, The Deliverer, Gabrielle's Hope, The Debt, The Debt II, Maternal Instincts, One Against an Army, Sacrifice, Sacrifice II, Adventures in the Sin Trade, Endgame, Ides of March, God Fearing Child, Looking Death in the Eye, Livia, Eve, Who's Gurkhan, To Helicon and Back, Friend in Need 1 and 2 |
| Germanic/Norse legends travelogue | 7.73 | The Rheingold, The Ring, Return of the Valkyrie |
| The infamous Rift | 7.71 | Deliverer, Gabrielle's Hope, Debt I, Debt II, Maternal Instincts, Bitter Suite |
| India travelogue | 7.62 | Devi, Between the Lines, The Way |
| China travelogue | 7.47 | Debt I, Debt II, Purity, Back in the Bottle |
| Comedies | 7.27 | Warrior... Princess, Warrior... Princess... Tramp, A Solstice Carol, A Day in the Life, For Him The Bell Tolls, A Comedy of Eros, Been There Done That, Warrior... Priestess... Tramp, The Quill is Mightier, Fins Femmes & Gems, In Sickness and In Hell, If the Shoe Fits, The Play's the Thing, Deja Vu All Over Again, Lyre Lyre Hearts on Fire, Punch Lines, Married with Fishsticks, You Are There |
| Siberia travelogue/the Thunderdome Amazons | 7.27 | Sin Trade 1 & 2, Them Bones Them Bones, Lifeblood, Kindred Spirits |
| Adventures | 6.99 | The Path Not Taken, The Titans, Prometheus, Death in Chains, The Black Wolf, A Fistful of Dinars, The Royal Couple of Thieves, The Prodigal, Intimate Stranger, Ten Little Warlords, A Necessary Evil, Blind Faith, Lost Mariner, The Dirty Half Dozen, When in Rome, Tsunami, Locked Up and Tied Down, Succession |
| XenaTwins | 6.91 | Warrior... Princess, Warrior... Princess... Tramp, Warrior... Priestess... Tramp, Key to the Kingdom |
| Clip shows | 6.82 | Athens City Academy of the Performing Bards, The Xena Scrolls, Forget Me Not, Deja Vu All Over Again, Punch Lines, Lifeblood, You Are There, Send in the Clones |
| Lucy-lites | 6.77 | Athens City Academy of the Performing Bards, The Prodigal, Ten Little Warlords, The Quest, For Him the Bell Tolls, The King of Assassins, The Quill is Mightier, Forget Me Not, Key to the Kingdom, The Play's the Thing, Little Problems, Married with Fishsticks |
| Boy Toys | 6.54 | Chariots of War, The Path Not Taken, The Titans, Prometheus, Death in Chains, Beware of Greeks Bearing Gifts, Fistful of Dinars, Mortal Beloved, Return of Callisto, Ulysses, King Con, Back in the Bottle, Antony and Cleopatra |
| Orci & Kurtzman | 6.35 | Purity (Creative Consultants), Back in the Bottle (Creative Consultants), Little Problems (Co-Executive Producers), Seeds of Faith (Co-Executive Producers), Lyre Lyre Hearts on Fire (Co-Executive Producers), Punch Lines (Creative Consultants), God Fearing Child (Co-Executive Producers, Teleplay), Eternal Bonds (Co-Executive Producers), Married with Fishsticks (Co-Executive Producers) |
What episodes do we disagree on the most?
The following episodes are the ones with the greatest variety in answers; the responses to them have been all over the map. For those who are really into the math, the number in parentheses is the standard deviation for the episode's ratings.
| Friend in Need Part II | (3.31) | I've never seen so many 1s and 10s in all my rate-a-years! |
| Married with Fishsticks | (3.12) | Yes, there are some people who rated it highly. But they're vastly in the minority. |
| Lyre, Lyre, Hearts on Fire | (2.91) | |
| For Him the Bell Tolls | (2.75) | |
| Friend in Need part 1 | (2.69) |
What characters do we disagree on the most?
Same thing again, but this is the five characters that have the most variety in ratings.
| Hope | (3.16) | Three very different incarnations, born under the most controversial of circumstances... no wonder Hope's ratings are all over the map. |
| Eve | (3.13) | |
| Najara | (3.08) | |
| Joxer | (3.01) | |
| Velasca | (2.99) |
What ratings do the writers have?
Before our beloved actors get to breathe life into their characters, the writers have to create them. I haven't listed any writers who have only worked on one episode; you can look at that episode's rating to see how he or she fared.
| Writer | Rating | Episodes written |
| Carl Ellsworth | 7.72 | Antony and Cleopatra, Looking Death in the Eye |
| Chris Black | 7.67 | Amphipolis Under Siege, You Are There |
| Hilary J. Bader | 7.61 | Been There, Done That; The Quill is Mightier; Forget Me Not; Locked Up and Tied Down |
| Paul Robert Coyle | 7.56 | Ten Little Warlods, A Necessary Evil, The Execution, Sacrifice II, Send in the Clones |
| Robert Tapert | 7.51 | Sins of the Past (story), Destiny (story), The Debt I and II (story), Fins Femmes & Gems (story), Adventures in the Sin Trade I and II (story), Locked Up and Tied Down, Fallen Angel, Lifeblood, Motherhood, Who's Gurkhan, Legacy, Friend in Need (1 and 2) |
| R.J. Stewart | 7.51 | Sins of the Past (teleplay), The Titans, Prometheus, Athens City Academy of Performing Bards, A Fistful of Dinars, Mortal Beloved, Callisto, Return of Callisto, Warrior... Princess... Tramp, Destiny (teleplay), The Quest (story), A Day in the Life, Ulysses, The Furies, Gabrielle's Hope, The Debt I and II (story & teleplay), Forgiven, Adventures in the Sin Trade I and II (story & teleplay), Crusader, Ides of March, Deja Vu All Over Again, Fallen Angel (story & teleplay), Lifeblood, Antony and Cleopatra, Looking Death in the Eye, Motherhood, Who's Gurkhan, The Rheingold, Old Ares Had a Farm, Friend in Need (1 and 2) |
| Steven L. Sears | 7.50 | Dreamworker, Hooves & Harlots, Athens City Academy of Performing Bards, A Fistful of Dinars, The Royal Couple of Thieves, The Greater Good, Orphan of War, Remember Nothing (story), Intimate Stranger, Destiny (teleplay), The Quest (story & teleplay), The Price, Lost Mariner, The Dirty Half Dozen, The Deliverer, Bitter Suite, When In Rome..., Sacrifice, A Good Day, Past Imperfect, Between the Lines, Endgame, Succession |
| Liz Friedman | 7.48 | A Family Affair (story), To Helicon and Back, Many Happy Returns |
| Emily Skopov | 7.39 | Heart of Darkness, Return of the Valkyrie, The God You Know |
| Chris Manheim | 7.26 | The Prodigal, Altared States, Remember Nothing (story & teleplay), A Solstice Carol, Here She Comes... Miss Amphipolis, The Quest (story), A Comedy of Eros, Maternal Instincts, Bitter Suite, King Con, Tsunami, A Family Affair, Paradise Found, Devi, The Convert, Chakram, Animal Attraction, Punch Lines, God Fearing Child, Eternal Bonds |
| Melissa Good | 7.02 | Coming Home, Legacy |
| Joel Metzger | 7.00 | Haunting of Amphipolis (story, teleplay), The Ring, Dangerous Prey, Path of Vengeance, Last of the Centaurs |
| Adam Armus & Nora Kay Foster | 6.88 | Chariots of War (teleplay), Death in Chains (story & teleplay), Beware of Greeks Bearing Gifts (teleplay), Ties That Bind, Girls Just Wanna Have Fun, The Xena Scrolls (teleplay), For Him the Bell Tolls, Blind Faith, King of Assassins, Warrior... Priestess... Tramp, Fins Femmes & Gems (story & teleplay), In Sickness and In Hell, If the Shoe Fits, Lyre Lyre Hearts on Fire |
| George Strayton & Tom O'Neill | 6.85 | Seeds of Faith, Lifeblood (teleplay), Kindred Spirits, Eve |
| Peter Allen Fields | 6.81 | The Reckoning, Death Mask |
| Josh Becker | 6.76 | Chariots of War, Locked Up and Tied Down |
| Jeff Vlaming | 6.18 | Takes One to Know One, Purity |
| Terence Winter | 6.08 | Cradle of Hope, The Giant Killer, Vanishing Act |
What ratings do the directors have?
From the writers' minds to the directors' control; the directors are the most immediately responsible for what we end up seeing on the screen. Again, only directors of multiple episodes are listed here.
| Directors | Rating | Episodes Directed |
| Oley Sassone | 7.88 | The Price, The Deliverer, The Debt I and II, Bitter Suite |
| Paul Lynch | 7.80 | One Against An Army, Crusader |
| Michael Hurst | 7.71 | A Day in the Life, A Tale of Two Muses, Antony and Cleopatra, Who's Gurkhan, To Helicon and Back |
| T.J. Scott | 7.64 | Beware of Greeks Bearing Gifts, Callisto, Is There a Doctor in the House?, Girls Just Wanna Have Fun, Return of Callisto, Adventures in the Sin Trade I and II |
| Doug Lefler | 7.59 | Sins of the Past, A Family Affair, Chakram |
| John Fawcett | 7.53 | The Way, Fallen Angel, Them Bones Them Bones, The Rheingold, Return of the Valkyrie, When Fates Collide |
| Mark Beesley | 7.47 | A Necessary Evil, Maternal Instincts, Lyre Lyre Hearts on Fire, Eternal Bonds, Amphipolis Under Siege, Coming Home, Heart of Darkness, Many Happy Returns |
| Gary Jones | 7.38 | The Greater Good, The Giant Killer, Intimate Stranger |
| Robert Tapert | 7.31 | Destiny, Paradise Found, Friend in Need (1 and 2) |
| Andrew Merrifield | 7.23 | Been There, Done That; Gabrielle's Hope; The Quill is Mightier; Vanishing Act; Punch Lines |
| Charlie Haskell | 7.23 | The Xena Scrolls, Forget Me Not, Send in the Clones |
| Jace Alexander | 7.20 | Hooves & Harlots, Athens City Academy of Performing Bards |
| Charles Siebert | 7.16 | The Reckoning, Death in Chains, Ties That Bind, Orphan of War, Ten Little Warlords, Comedy of Eros, Gabrielle's Hope, Old Ares Had a Farm |
| Rick Jacobson | 7.14 | The Dirty Half-Dozen, Sacrifice II, A Good Day, Locked Up and Tied Down, Between the Lines, Succession, Motherhood, The Abyss, The Ring |
| Chris Martin-Jones | 7.14 | Legacy, Path of Vengeance |
| Michael Levine | 7.14 | Cradle of Hope, Warrior...Princess, Altared States, The Quest, Ulysses |
| Josh Becker | 7.07 | A Fistful of Dinars, Warrior...Princess...Tramp, For Him the Bell Tolls, Blind Faith, Fins Femmes & Gems, In Sickness and In Hell, If the Shoe Fits, Kindred Spirits, Soul Possession |
| Renee O'Connor | 6.89 | Deja Vu All Over Again, Dangerous Prey |
| Garth Maxwell | 6.85 | Mortal Beloved, The Execution, Lost Mariner, Forgiven, Past Imperfect, Devi, Endgame, Seeds of Faith, Looking Death in the Eye, Haunting of Amphipolis, Last of the Centaurs |
| John Laing | 6.80 | When in Rome..., Tsunami, You Are There |
| Stephen L. Posey | 6.72 | The Path Not Taken, Prometheus |
| John T. Kretchmer | 6.28 | The Prodigal, A Solstice Carol |
| Bruce Campbell | 5.82 | King of Assassins, Key to the Kingdom |
| Paul Grinder | 4.94 | Married with Fishsticks, Lifeblood |
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