On 8 October actor Lucy Lawless who plays the Xena in Hercules spinoff Xena: Warrior Princess, was injured when she fell from a horse when the animal lost its footing during the taping of a comedy sketch for The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.
As a result of the incident outside The Tonight Show studio, paramedics treated Lucy onsite and transported her to a local hospital, where she was hospitalised with pelvic fractures.
During the show, Leno reported on the accident, saying, “Folks, on a serious note, Lucy Lawless, who plays Xena: Warrior Princess on a very popular syndicated show, was supposed to be a guest of ours on the program tonight. She came in this afternoon to tape a comedy bit with us, and she got thrown from a horse right here in our parking lot and got some injuries. So she’s laid up for a little while, I’m sorry to say, so she won’t be with us tonight. From what I’m told, she’s going to be fine. She’s resting, and we will have her back as soon as possible. I thank her for being a good sport, and I’m sorry that happened, but we’re going to keep you posted on how she is. It’s terrible when those things happen. Okay, we’ll check up this week, and we’ll let you know.”
What impact did Lucy’s accident have on Xena?
As a result of Lucy’s injuries, changes had to be made to the show’s second season schedule.
The broadcast schedule for some of the episodes was shuffled around, and guest stars such as Hudson Leick, who plays Callisto and Bruce Campbell, who plays Autolycus, were quickly recruited to fill in.
According to Whoosh, members of the Xena production have confirmed that the ending of Intimate Stranger was changed to leave Xena in Callisto’s body, allowing Hudson Leick to portray Xena in the next episode, Ten Little Warlords. The ending of Destiny was also changed; instead of returning to her body, Xena remains dead, which allows the events of The Quest to occur.
It was also necessary to film several episodes where Xena wasn’t required to fight. The Joxer focussed episode For Him the Bell Tolls, and Here She Comes…Miss Amphipolis are prime examples.
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