Last Updated: Aug 7th, 2004

• Xena: Warrior Princess
  • Series 1
  • Series 2
  • Series 3
  • Rittenhouse 9-Card Preview Set
  • Series 4/5
  • Rittenhouse R2 Costume Card
  • Rittenhouse Archive Collection
  • Series 6
  • Rittenhouse GC2 Costume Card
  • Beauty and Brawn
  • Rittenhouse GC3 Costume Card
  • Quotable Xena

Xena: The Quotable Xena - Rittenhouse, November, 2003

Rittenhouse Checklist

This series is comprised of a 135-card base set, along with 3 checklist cards (which is why some people will refer to a 138-card base set). In this regular base set the cards are all foiled with etchaFEX™. Along with this regular set, there is a unique parallel set (which is much harder to assemble) which is just a regular foil. Every pack from this series includes 6 cards, 5 of which are the regular etchaFEX™, and one of which is a parallel card. Got that? ;)

Okay, besides the point that I fell off in interest in updating this site for a bit, the process of finishing the Xena Quotables portion of the update was also especially laborious - on account of the cards being a hassle to scan. I had to scan many of the chase cards individually on an angle in order for the pictures to look half decent.

For previous sets, I would tend to make a flat scan and an angled scan when dealing with troublesome foil cards and show both (for example: Series 1 #X1), but for some of the cards in the Quotable series, flat scans were next to useless (for example: the checklist cards), so for these I don't include a flat scan. The Rittenhouse site has photos of some of the chase cards for this series, and for these cards I've included the Rittenhouse scan (some of which look as if they were taken before the foil process) along with whatever scans I have taken. For the promo cards that I have from this series, I have included a flat scan, an angled scan, and the Rittenhouse scan in their picture (#P1). These are all of the front of the card, of course, as the backs aren't foiled and scan flat just fine. Just trying to give the best sense of how these cards actually look. Anyway, I didn't bother trying to scan the base cards on an angle, because a) they look good enough scanned flat and b) scanning them all one-by-one would have driven me mad. The parallel set, on the other hand, will probably have to be scanned on an angle - if I even bother.

Which leads me to my comments:

COMPLAINTS

• If I've done my math properly then - including the 4 promo cards and the parallel set - this series is comprised of 341 collectable cards in total. Isn't that just a bit much? And why did we even need a parallel set? So Rittenhouse could make more money off of us?
• Compared to Beauty and Brawn and Series 6, this series just doesn't look nearly as nice.
• Was short a card from a complete regular set out of a 40 pack box. I'd have preferred to have that sixth parallel card from every pack go towards my regular set and chase.
• Some of the photos on the base cards have been squeezed (for example: #), and it doesn't appear to be in order to fit things in. Trying to make the girls look skinnier?
• 6 of the cards from my box were cut incorrectly. Maybe just an isolated mistake.
• Reports of the foil effect peeling off on cards. I've had a bit of trouble with this myself, mainly with card corners.
• Many of the chase cards in this series are a hassle to scan (which probably won't matter to most of you, and probably shouldn't matter in any case ;).
• And my last nut-bag complaint? Because of the title card, all of the card numbers are one ahead of the actual episode number (i.e. Prometheus is card #9, but it aired as episode number 8). Considering that the whole series of cards is a run-down of the episodes, I would have given the title card it's own special number, or just dropped it.

PRAISE

• Most of the front photos look crisp and clear. Some of the scans on the back are a little grainy, but not that bad.
• Pretty strong quote selection.
• Good idea for a series.

When it came to previous series, I just laughed off the amount of overall cards, never really intending to finish some chase sets. Some of my friends weren't so amused, however. This time even I've had enough. Rittenhouse, if you make future Xena series, which I'm sure you will, please cool off on the number of cards per set.

As I had 6 cards which were cut badly (#6, 23, 35, 41, 105 & 132) I'm not including them in my available singles, which is why I have so few. The only reason I was even able to complete my regular set was on account of my friend Julie giving me a few cards. I will be buying more boxes in the future, so I should have more stuff to trade with later.

Older comments on this set

SPECIALTY - INSERTS - CHASE
Promo Cards #Convention 2003, P1, P2 & P3 (Binder Exclusive)	Words From the Bard Subset #B1, B2, B3, B4, B5, B6, B7, B8 & B9
Eternal Friends Subset #E1, E2, E3, E4, E5, E6, E7, E8 & E9		Xena IN MOTION Subset #M1, M2, M3, M4, M5 & M6	Forged in the Heat of Battle Subset #F1, F2, F3, F4, F5 & F6
Autograph Cards #A35. Tsianina Joelson (Varia), A36. Alex Mendoza (Lucifer), A37. Jacqueline Kim (Lao Ma), A38. Bruce Campbell (Autolycus), A39. David Franklin (Brutus), A40. Tony Todd (Cecrops), A41. John D'Aquino (Ulysses), A42. Colin Moy (Phantes), A43. Joel Tobeck (Deimos), A44. Jay Laga'aia (Draco), A45. Dean O'Gorman (Homer), A46. Jeffrey Thomas (Cycnus), A47. Charles Mesure (Archangel Michael), A48. Daniel Sing (Ming T'ien), A49. George Kee Cheung (Ghengis Khan), A50. William Gregory Lee (Virgil) & A51. Gina Torres (Cleopatra)
Dual Autograph Cards #DA3. Alexandra Tydings (Crabella) and Meighan Desmond (Sturgina), DA4. Alexandra Tydings (Aphrodite) and Karl Urban (Cupid), DA5. Karl Urban (Caesar) and David Franklin (Brutus), DA6. Daniel Sing (Ming T'ien) and Marie Matiko (Pao S'su), DA8. Lucy Lawless (Annie) and Ted Raimi (Harry) [The #DA7 Cards with Renee O'Connor and Ted Raimi's signatures weren't released as the cards were lost in transit]
"From the Archives" Autographed Costume Cards #AC4. Lucy Lawless (Xena), AC5. Erik Thomson (Hades), AC6. Bruce Campbell (Autolycus), AC7. Timothy Omundson (Eli), AC8. Alexandra Tydings (Aphrodite) & AC9. Victoria Pratt (Cyane)			"From the Archives" Autographed Costume Card - Multi-Case Incentive #AC10. Renee O'Connor (Gabrielle)
"From the Archives" Costume Card - Binder Exclusive #C14. Xena (The Royal Couple of Thieves)	Case Topper - Lenticular Card #CT1. Xena	Collector's Storage Album/Binder	Dealer/Advertising Sell Sheet
72 CARD BASE SET
1. Title Card Season One 2. Sins of the Past 3. Chariots of War 4. Dreamworker 5. Cradle of Hope 6. The Path Not Taken 7. The Reckoning 8. The Titans 9. Prometheus 10. Death in Chains 11. Hooves and Harlots 12. The Black Wolf 13. Beware Greeks Bearing Gifts 14. Athens City Academy of the Performing Bards 15. A Fistful of Dinars 16. Warrior...Princess 17. Mortal Beloved 18. The Royal Couple of Thieves 19. The Prodigal 20. Altared States 21. Ties That Bind 22. The Greater Good 23. Callisto 24. Deathmask 25. Is There a Doctor in the House...? Season Two 26. Orphan of War 27. Remember Nothing 28. Giant Killer 29. Girls Just Wanna Have Fun 30. Return of Callisto 31. Warrior...Princess...Tramp 32. Intimate Stranger 33. Ten Little Warlords	34. A Solstice Carol 35. The Xena Scrolls 36. Here She Comes...Miss Amphipolis 37. Destiny 38. The Quest 39. A Necessary Evil 40. A Day in the Life 41. For Him the Bell Tolls 42. The Execution 43. Blind Faith 44. Ulysses 45. The Price 46. Lost Mariner 47. A Comedy of Eros Season Three 48. The Furies 49. Been There, Done That 50. The Dirty Half Dozen 51. The Deliverer 52. Gabrielle's Hope 53. The Debt I 54. The Debt II 55. King of Assassins 56. Warrior...Priestess...Tramp 57. The Quill is Mightier 58. Maternal Instincts 59. The Bitter Suite 60. One Against an Army 61. Forgiven 62. King Con 63. When in Rome 64. Forget Me Not 65. Fins, Femmes and Gems 66. Tsunami 67. Vanishing Act 68. Sacrifice I 69. Sacrifice II	Season Four 70. Adventures in the Sin Trade I 71. Adventures in the Sin Trade II 72. A Family Affair 73. In Sickness and in Hell 74. A Good Day 75. A Tale of Two Muses 76. Locked Up and Tied Down 77. Crusader 78. Past Imperfect 79. Key to the Kingdom 80. Daughter of Pomira 81. If the Shoe Fits 82. Paradise Found 83. Devi 84. Between the Lines 85. The Way 86. The Play's The Thing 87. The Convert 88. Takes One To Know One 89. Endgame 90. Ides of March 91. Deja Vu All Over Again Season Five 92. Fallen Angel 93. Chakram 94. Succession 95. Animal Attraction 96. Them Bones, Them Bones 97. Purity 98. Back in the Bottle 99. Little Problems 100. Seeds of Faith 101. Lyre Lyre, Hearts on Fire 102. Punchlines 103. God Fearing Child 104. Eternal Bonds	105. Amphipolis Under Siege 106. Married With Fishsticks 107. Lifeblood 108. Kindred Spirits 109. Antony and Cleopatra 110. Looking Death in the Eye 111. Livia 112. Eve 113. Motherhood Season Six 114. Coming Home 115. The Haunting of Amphipolis 116. Heart of Darkness 117. Who's Gurkhan? 118. Legacy 119. The Abyss 120. The Rheingold 121. The Ring 122. Return of the Valkyrie 123. Old Ares Had a Farm 124. Dangerous Prey 125. The God You Know 126. You Are There 127. Path of Vengeance 128. To Helicon and Back 129. Send in the Clones 130. The Last of the Centaurs 131. When Fates Collide 132. Many Happy Returns 133. Soul Possession 134. A Friend in Need I 135. A Friend in Need II Checklist Cards C1. Checklist 1 C2. Checklist 2 C3. Checklist 3

HAVE TO TRADE #B1 & #C1 (x2) Base cards #2, 15, 19, 22, 25, 29, 31, 37, 57, 67, 70, 85, 101, 114, 129, 130 & 134 Parallel card #21QX

WANT #Convention 2003 Promo Card, Any Autograph Cards except for #A47. Charles Mesure, Any Dual Autograph Cards except for #DA3. Alexandra Tydings (Crabella) and Meighan Desmond (Sturgina), Any Autographed Costume Cards, Any Forged in the Heat of Battle Cards except for #F1, Any Xena IN MOTION Cards except for #M6, Any of the Eternal Friends Cards except for #E1, E3, E4 & E7, Case Topper #CT1. Parallel cards #1QX, 3QX, 4QX, 5QX, 7QX, 8QX, 9QX, 11QX, 13QX, 14QX, 15QX, 16QX, 18QX, 19QX, 20QX, 22QX, 23QX, 26QX, 27QX, 28QX, 29QX, 32QX, 33QX, 36QX, 38QX, 40QX, 41QX, 45QX, 46QX, 47QX, 48QX, 49QX, 50QX, 51QX, 54QX, 55QX, 56QX, 57QX, 58QX, 59QX, 61QX, 62QX, 63QX, 64QX, 66QX, 68QX, 69QX, 70QX, 72QX, 73QX, 74QX, 76QX, 77QX, 78QX, 79QX, 81QX, 82QX, 83QX, 85QX, 86QX, 88QX, 89QX, 90QX, 91QX, 92QX, 93QX, 94QX, 95QX, 97QX, 98QX, 99QX, 100QX, 101QX, 103QX, 104QX, 106QX, 108QX, 109QX, 110QX, 111QX, 112QX, 113QX, 114QX, 115QX, 116QX, 118QX, 119QX, 120QX, 122QX, 123QX, 125QX, 126QX, 129QX, 131QX, 132QX, 133QX & 134QX

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Gabrielle GC3 Costume Card - Rittenhouse, February 2003

Rittenhouse GC3 Costume Card #GC3. Gabrielle

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Xena: Beauty and Brawn - Rittenhouse, December 2002

Rittenhouse Checklist

Rittenhouse Costume Card Checklist - Beauty and Brawn

Not surprisingly, this series took 1st Place in 2003 for the the 'Most Creative Set' category of Non-Sport Update's coveted Gummie Awards, and 2nd Place for 'Best Set' overall. Well done.

Okay, so the show is over and there are no longer any new seasons to justify new card sets. So, do Rittenhouse manage to pull off a series that doesn't feel redundant? Yes! This is a gorgeous set of cards, and the text is fabulous as well (reputedly written by Kym Masera Taborn of Whoosh.org fame). There are still a few slip-ups in the set (such as, the last three cards being numbered 71, 72 and 73, despite the fact that it's a 72-card set - maybe that missing #70 card will make a special appearance sometime in the future ;). Errors aren't nearly as prevalent as in Series 4/5, however. Some of the images on the cards are a little grainy, mainly shots on the back - but this is a petty complaint at best as they were really forced to use screen captures from episodes in order to fill in for the lack of high resolution photos of particular characters. This will most likely be the case for the upcoming Quotable Xena set as well, as some episodes (particularly early ones) weren't as well documented with stills as others. One possibly legitimate downside of the Beauty & Brawn set is that decks are that much harder to assemble, as only 6 cards are in each pack. This was attributable to the cards being thicker on account of the Silver Gemkote process, one that gives the cards a silvery, reflective finish, leaving the entire deck looking more like a chase set. Fortunately, the result is worth it.

It was also great to see the bittersweet set dedicated to the late Kevin Smith. It's nice to see that Rittenhouse understands how important the man was to fans. The cards are reminiscent in design of the Topps Season 3 Xena Incarnations clear-chrome set.

Just a few other chase sets here as well ;) And the Dual Autograph cards. Me want!

Maybe Rittenhouse's proofreader is the same person who puts the card names up onto their site. Some spellings there: Ceasar, Who's Gurkham, Velesca, Vaira. hehe

In any case, this was a card series that was obviously assembled with much care (and love). Nice work!

SPECIALTY - INSERTS - CHASE
Promo Cards #P1, P2 & P3 (Binder Exclusive)	Footsteps of a Warrior Subset #FW1, FW2, FW3, FW4, FW5, FW5, FW6, FW7, FW8 & FW9. The back of the 9-card set form a map of Xena's (and Gabrielle's) travels.
Amazon Warriors Subset #AW1, AW2, AW3, AW4, AW5, AW6, AW7, AW8 & AW9		Kevin Smith Tribute Subset #KS1, KS2, KS3, KS4, KS5, KS6, KS7, KS8 & KS9
Autograph Cards #A22. Victoria Pratt (Cyane), A23. Melinda Clarke (Velasca), A24. Alison Bruce (Melosa), A25. Jeremy Callaghan (Pompey), A26. Josephine Davison (Cleopatra), A27. Darien Takle (Cyrene), A28. Kate Elliott (Yakut), A29. Erik Thomson (Hades), A30. Meg Foster (Hera) - Exclusive Case Topper, A31. Tim Thomerson (The Mighty Meleager), A32. Marie Matiko (K'ao Hsin), A32. Marie Matiko (Pao S'su), A33. Brittney Powell (Brunnhilda) - Binder Exclusive & A34. Sheeri Rappaport (Otere)
Dual Autograph Cards #DA1. Lucy Lawless and Renee O'Connor (Xena and Gabrielle) & DA2. Hudson Leick and Renee O'Connor (Callisto and Hope)	"From the Archives" Dual Costume Cards #DC1. Autolycus (Vanishing Act), DC2. Cyane (Adventures in the Sin Trade), DC3. Gabrielle (Kindred Spirits), DC4. Xena and Gabrielle (Fallen Angel), DC5. Amarice (Them Bones, Them Bones), DC6. Gabrielle and Aphrodite (Little Problems), DC7. Gabrielle (Animal Attraction) & DC8. Xena (Destiny)
"From the Archives" Costume Cards #C1. Ares (Ten Little Warlords), C2. Argo (A Tale of Two Muses), C3. Autolycus (King of Assassins), C4. Gabrielle (If The Shoe Fits), C5. Callisto (The Bitter Suite), C6. Xena (Who's Gurkhan), C7. Xena (The Debt), C8. Leah (Warrior...Priestess...Tramp), C9. Xena (Chariots of War), C10. Borias (Past Imperfect), C11. Hades (Adventures in the Sin Trade), C12. Amarice (Endgame), C13. Lucifer (Heart of Darkness)
"From the Archives" Autographed Costume Cards #AC1. Alti (Them Bones, Them Bones), AC2. Callisto (Bitter Suite) & AC3. Discord (Takes One To Know One)		Xena Scrolls Subset #XS1, XS2, XS3, XS4, XS5 & XS6
Beauty and Brawn Cards #BB1. Draco & BB2. Xena Cards together		Collector's Storage Album/Binder	Dealer/Advertising Sell Sheet
72 CARD BASE SET
Xena 1. Xena 2. Xena 3. Xena 4. Xena 5. Xena 6. Xena 7. Melinda Pappas 8. Annie 9. Fairy Princess Gabrielle 10. Gabrielle 11. Gabrielle 12. Gabrielle 13. Gabrielle 14. Gabrielle 15. Gabrielle 16. Dr. Janice Covington 17. Mattie 18. Tyrella	Callisto 19. Callisto 20. Callisto 21. Callisto 22. Callisto 23. Callisto 24. Callisto Alti 25. Alti 26. Alti 27. Alti Ares 28. Ares 29. Ares 30. Ares Autolycus 31. Autolycus 32. Autolycus 33. Autolycus	Joxer 34. Joxer 35. Joxer 36. Joxer Other Characters 37. Amarice 38. Aphrodite 39. Argo 40. Athena 41. Boadicea 42. Borias 43. Caesar 44. Cecrops 45. Cleopatra 46. Cupid 47. Cyrene 48. Diana 49. Draco 50. Eli 51. Ephiny 52. Eve	53. Hera 54. Hercules 55. Hope 56. Iolaus 57. Jace 58. Jett 59. K'ao Hsin 60. Leah 61. Lila 62. Livia 63. Meg 64. Meleager 65. M'Lila 66. Najara 67. Palaemon 68. Pompey 69. Salmoneus Checklist 70. Checklist 1 71. Checklist 2 72. Checklist 3

HAVE TO TRADE Complete 72-card Set, #FW1 Base cards #7, 11, 13, 24, 37, 39, 46, 47, 62, 66 & 67

WANT #P3 Binder Promo Card, Any of the Xena scrolls except #XS5, Any of the Kevin Smith Tribute cards except #KS6 and KS9, Any of the Amazon Warriors subset except #AW1, AW2, AW3 & AW8, Any of the Costume Cards except #DC1 (Autolycus) & C3 (Autolycus)

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Gabrielle GC2 Costume Card - Rittenhouse, May 2002

Rittenhouse GC2 Costume Card #GC2. Gabrielle

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Xena Series 6 - Rittenhouse, December 2001

Rittenhouse Checklist

Rittenhouse Costume Card Checklist - Series 6

On the whole a gorgeous set. Clear, crisp pictures and a well-deserved Ares chase set. I really like the design of this set too, a modern, cool, crisp style. Very nice. Lots of new costume cards. And holy, they sure do go for sex appeal with this set. Could you tell with the incredibly subtle subset titles such as 'Busting Loose' and 'Wet, Wicked & Wild'? Course, this season of Xena was awfully adventurous as well ;)

And finally Renee's auto card!

Still some embarrassing errors, however. On the back of base card #4: "No longer mortal, Ares pleaded with a Fury..." I think they meant immortal. Then there's card #40, which isn't a shot from 'You Are There' but another shot from 'Path of Vengeance' (this was pointed out to me by my friend Julie). Adrienne Wilkinson's auto card is for the character 'Eve,' but the picture is of 'Livia.' Okay, granted, Livia is Eve, but c'mon. And a couple of the Friend in Need cards aren't from the right parts, but who really cares about that (other than an anal dork like me). They also have R5 listed as the binder exclusive costume card on their sell sheet. I wonder whether that was just a goof or if the R5 was originally supposed to be the binder edition.

SPECIALTY - INSERTS - CHASE
Promo Cards #BP1 (Binder Exclusive), #Gummie 2001, P1 & P2		God of War Subset #GW1, GW2, GW3, GW4, GW5, GW6, GW7, GW8 & GW9
Busting Loose Subset #BL1, BL2, BL3, BL4, BL5, BL6, BL7, BL8 & BL9		Wet, Wicked & Wild Subset #WWW1, WWW2, WWW3, WWW4, WWW5, WWW6, WWW7, WWW8 & WWW9
"From the Archives" Costume Cards #R3. Aphrodite, R4. Xena, R5. Xena (Demon), R6. Xena (Binder Exclusive), R7. Alti, R8. Borias, R9. Callisto (Angel), R10. Eli, R11. Caesar			Forever Gabrielle Subset #G1 & G2
Autograph Cards #A7. Hudson Leick (Callisto), A8. Adrienne Wilkinson (Eve), A9. Kathryn Morris (Najara), A10. Michael Hurst (TV Tabloid Reporter), A11. Alexandra Tydings (Aphrodite), A12. Renee O'Connor (Gabrielle), A13. Ted Raimi (Jace), A14. Lucy Lawless (Xena), A15. Ebonie Smith (M'Lila), A16. Paris Jefferson (Athena), A17. Meighan Desmond (Discord), A18. Jennifer Ward-Lealand (Boadicea), A19. Danielle Cormack (Ephiny), A20. Karl Urban (Caesar) & A21. Willa O'Neill (Lila)
"From the Archives" Costume Card - Case Topper #GC1. Gabrielle (Exclusive Case Topper)		Collector's Storage Album/Binder	Dealer/Advertising Sell Sheet
72 CARD BASE SET
1. Xena Montage 1 2. Xena Montage 2 3. Xena Montage 3 Complete Montage Season 6 Episodes 4. Coming Home 5. Coming Home 6. Coming Home 7. The Haunting of Amphipolis 8. The Haunting of Amphipolis 9. The Haunting of Amphipolis 10. Heart of Darkness 11. Heart of Darkness 12. Heart of Darkness 13. Who's Gurkhan 14. Who's Gurkhan 15. Who's Gurkhan 16. Legacy 17. Legacy	18. Legacy 19. The Abyss 20. The Abyss 21. The Abyss 22. The Rheingold 23. The Rheingold 24. The Rheingold 25. The Ring 26. The Ring 27. The Ring 28. Return of the Valkyrie 29. Return of the Valkyrie 30. Return of the Valkyrie 31. Old Ares Had a Farm 32. Old Ares Had a Farm 33. Old Ares Had a Farm 34. Dangerous Prey 35. Dangerous Prey	36. Dangerous Prey 37. The God You Know 38. The God You Know 39. The God You Know 40. You Are There 41. You Are There 42. You Are There 43. Path of Vengeance 44. Path of Vengeance 45. Path of Vengeance 46. To Helicon and Back 47. To Helicon and Back 48. To Helicon and Back 49. Send in the Clones 50. Send in the Clones 51. Send in the Clones 52. Last of the Centaurs 53. Last of the Centaurs	54. Last of the Centaurs 55. When Fates Collide 56. When Fates Collide 57. When Fates Collide 58. Many Happy Returns 59. Many Happy Returns 60. Many Happy Returns 61. Soul Possession 62. Soul Possession 63. Soul Possession 64. A Friend in Need Part I 65. A Friend in Need Part I 66. A Friend in Need Part I 67. A Friend in Need Part II 68. A Friend in Need Part II 69. A Friend in Need Part II 70. Checklist 1 71. Checklist 2 72. Checklist 3

HAVE TO TRADE 2 Complete 72-card Sets, Complete God of War Set, God of War Card #GW8, #P2 Promo Card, Series 6 Trading Card Sellsheet Base cards #5 (x2), 10, 12, 30, 32, 37, 40, 46, 58, 61, 64, 66 (x2)

WANT Busting Loose #BL2, Any of the Wet, Wicked & Wild Cards except #WWW4 & WWW5, Any of the Auto cards except for Hudson - #A7, Any of the Costume Cards except for #R6 (Xena) & R11 (Caesar)

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Xena Special Edition R2 Costume Card - Rittenhouse, June 2001

This card was released to commemorate the series-ending finale of Xena: Warrior Princess.

Rittenhouse R2 Costume Card #R2. Xena (Commemorative Edition)

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Xena Archive Collection - Rittenhouse, May 2001

These are 5" x 7" cards and are hand-numbered from 1 - 999.

Archive Collection X1. Xena, X2. Gabrielle, X3. Xena, X4. Gabrielle, X5. Xena and Gabrielle

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Xena Series 4 & 5 - Rittenhouse, March 2001

Rittenhouse Checklist

So, we get to find out what it means for Rittenhouse to release Xena cards: chase sets, special editions, chase sets, costume cards, chase sets.... Did I mention chase sets? The cards look cool, but you need to be wealthy or willing to mortgage your home (not that I have one to mortgage) in order to acquire all of the specialty cards. Or own your own card shop :P On the plus side, you can spend years working on your collection, which is what makes Rittenhouse so smart. They capitalize on the obsessive-compulsive in us collectors. Bastards ;) Are all the chase sets justified? Not really. But I don't really care. What I didn't like about this particular series, however, was that I got an Undressed Foil instead of an Autograph Card from my box. That pissed me off (as gorgeous as Kevin is on the card ;). Make them have the same ratio, fine. But I want at least one autograph out of each box. Something that Rittenhouse did thankfully come through on with future series. As to why they decided to cram the fourth and fifth season into one Xena set? Who knows. Did they actually think that the Xena franchise wasn't going to make them money?

On the whole, the cards look pretty good. Still too dark though (I'm such a whiner :) And the design is a little on the muddy side, but I suppose that it's more in keeping with the show than the crisp, modern style of Series 6. Still, I like 6 better. Nice to see the continuation of autograph cards, including the ultimate coup: Lucy's. And the beginning of the costume cards...

The downside, to this particular series anyway, is errors. And then some. Let's see.... The #X1. card, the special Xena: Warrior Princess card, which is known as the 'Xena and Argo Card,' doesn't actually feature Argo; it features a dark, non-descript horse (looks like a shot from 'Adventures in the Sin Trade'). And for some reason there's a pic of Gabrielle walking away on the back (from 'Seeds of Faith'). Isn't it supposed to be Xena's card? This is reflective of the series in general, which is riddled with errors - spelling, grammatical and factual. The picture from Xena: Face of a Warrior #W1 claims to be from the episode 'Locked Up and Tied Down' but it's actually from 'Motherhood.' Then there are grammatical and typographical gems like, "Gabrielle is caught trying to break Xena out of her prison cell and sentenced to death by hanging" (#8); "She wants him see his kingdom through the eyes of a child..." (#11); "The daughter of one of the surviving members of Xena's old army captured by the Horde when she was a child and raised as the daughter of their leader" (#12). Okay, and she did...what? Or my personal favourite, "" (#). Then Hera is referred to as Hercules' mother on card # while they discuss him finding his father Zeus. Remember Hercules and the whole half-god, mortal-mother thing, guys? And the ultimate outrage, especially considering all the confusion of the first season, Argo is referred to as a male on card #5. Poor Argo and her gender confusion ;) And those are just some examples from the first 35 cards! It's one thing when there's the occasional goof that only a geek like me would recognize, and it's another when every other card has some kind of typo, formatting flub or error. Somebody was asleep at the wheel.

The text was apparently written by Sharon Delaney, the President of the Xena Fanclub run by Creation. I don't mean to dump on Sharon, cause she obviously does care about the show and her text is sometimes effective (particularly with the quite sweet prose gracing some of the Xena & Gabrielle cards at the end of the basic set), but some of the language is horribly awkward (even ignoring the obvious grammatical gaffes). You almost get the feeling at times that someone's initial run-down of what happened in every episode was just transferred to the cards. In Sharon's defense, the language might have nothing whatsoever to do with her. Hell, maybe she wasn't the one who wrote the stuff. But if she did, the errors could be the fault of an editor, or typesetter. This might even be backed up by one embarrassing goof that happens more than once: some of the cards will have the title of the episode spelt one way on the front of the card, and another way on the back. And even if Sharon did make a few goofs, ultimately, all fault lies with Rittenhouse. Couldn't they have hired a proofreader? Preferably one who spoke English? In any case, future sets definitely improved on accuracy. They must have taken too much ribbing from the errors in this set ;)

And Phlanagus?

SPECIALTY - INSERTS - CHASE
Promo Cards #BP1 (Binder exclusive), #P1, P2, P3 & P4		Allies Subset #F1. Gabrielle, F2. Joxer, F3. Eli, F4. Callisto, F5. K'ao Hsin, F6. Amarice, F7. Argo, F8. Borias & F9. Phlanagus
Enemies Subset #E1. Ares, E2. The Destroyer, E3. Demon Gabrielle, E4. Aidan, E5. Najara & E6. Alti		Gabrielle: The Battling Bard Foil Subset #G1, G2, G3, G4, G5, G6, G7, G8 & G9
Xena: Face of a Warrior Foil Subset #W1, W2, W3, W4, W5, W6, W7, W8 & W9		Undressed Foil Subset #U1, U2, U3, U4, U5 & U6
Autograph Cards #A1. Lucy Lawless (Xena), A2. Ted Raimi (Joxer), A3. Jennifer Sky (Amarice), A4. Kevin Smith (Ares), A5. Claire Stansfield (Alti), A6. Timothy Omundson (Eli - Exclusive Binder Autograph)
Xena: Warrior Princess #X1 - Xena and Argo (Hand-numbered 1-999)	"From the Archives" Costume Card #R1. Xena (Exclusive Case Topper)	Collector's Storage Album/Binder	Dealer/Advertising Sell Sheet
72 CARD BASE SET
1. Xena: Warrior Princess (Checklist) Season 4 Episodes 2. Adventures in the Sin Trade 3. Adventures in the Sin Trade II 4. A Family Affair 5. In Sickness and in Hell 6. A Good Day 7. A Tale of Two Muses 8. Locked Up and Tied Down 9. Crusader 10. Past Imperfect 11. Key to the Kingdom 12. Daughter of Pomira 13. If the Shoe Fits 14. Paradise Found 15. Devi 16. Between the Lines 17. The Way 18. The Play's The Thing	19. The Convert 20. Takes One to Know One 21. Endgame 22. Ides of March 23. Deja Vu All Over Again Season 5 Episodes 24. Fallen Angel 25. Chakram 26. Succession 27. Animal Attraction 28. Them Bones, Them Bones 29. Purity 30. Back in the Bottle 31. Little Problems 32. Seeds of Faith 33. Lyre, Lyre, Hearts on Fire 34. Punch Lines 35. God Fearing Child 36. Eternal Bonds	37. Amphipolis Under Siege 38. Married with Fishsticks 39. Life Blood 40. Kindred Spirits 41. Antony and Cleopatra 42. Looking Death in the Eye 43. Livia 44. Eve 45. Motherhood Warriors in Action 46. Xena 47. Gabrielle 48. Xena 49. Xena 50. Xena 51. Xena 52. Gabrielle 53. Xena 54. Xena 55. Gabrielle	56. Gabrielle and Amarice 57. Xena 58. Xena 59. Gabrielle 60. Xena Faithful Argo 61. Xena and Argo 62. Argo 63. Xena and Argo Sisters in Arms 64. Xena and Gabrielle 65. Xena and Gabrielle 66. Xena and Gabrielle 67. Xena and Gabrielle 68. Xena and Gabrielle 69. Xena and Gabrielle 70. Xena and Gabrielle 71. Xena and Gabrielle 72. Xena and Gabrielle

HAVE TO TRADE Complete Allies Set, Allies #F2 & F8, Promo Cards #P1 & P2, Enemies #E2 Base cards #3, 5, 10 (x2), 11 (x2), 17, 18, 21 (x2), 22, 23, 28, 33, 34, 43, 49, 57, 58 (x2), 60 (x2), 61, 62, 64, & 71

WANT Promo cards #P3 & BP1, Any of the Autograph Cards (particularly Kevin Smith), Any of the Xena: Face of a Warrior Cards, Any of the Undressed set - except #U4, Any of the Gabrielle The Battling Bard set - except #G1 & G4, Enemies #E4, Costume Card #R1

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Xena 9-Card Preview Set - Rittenhouse, March 2001

This set was released to commemorate the launch of Xena: Warrior Princess trading cards from Rittenhouse Archives.

9-Card Preview Set #P1, P2, P3, P4, P5, P6, P7, P8 & P9

Rittenhouse Checklist

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Xena Series 3 - Topps, 2000

Personally, I find this series pretty ugly. The cards are too dark, the pictures don't look crisp enough, and the colors are really dull and flat. Sometimes the pictures on the backs of the cards look better than the fronts. It's too bad too, because the subject matter is sure interesting; The third season was one of the most exciting of the series, all kinds of cool new characters were introduced, and Xena and - especially - Gabrielle, had major developments. Instead, we get one chase set that's all Xena, and another that include Callisto and Ares - both wicked, but very well-established characters. This would be okay if the base set itself was nice, which I don't think it is; Graphically, anyway. Redeeming factors? The text is good. The clear chromes really are pretty sharp. The behind-the-scenes set is great too, in particular the awesome card with Xena the Conqueror (Lucy) reading the Topps Xena mag on the front and Callisto (Hudson) ripping it to shreds on the back. This card alone makes the set worth it ;)

Still, I don't get why Topps half-assed on this set. Season's One and Two don't look this awful. Season One actually looks fairly nice - at least it had some color. Season Two again is too dark, but it doesn't look as 'browned out' as this set does. And how come no autos?

I guess it really was for the best that the franchise went to Rittenhouse, even if it would mean that we would be made broke by all the hard to get chase sets. Topps just seemed to lose interest. It's interesting to speculate about the 9-card preview set released by Rittenhouse to commemorate the launch of their Xena cards. It's almost like they released the cards to say 'hey, look! Our cards aren't going to suck!'

However, as far as content goes, all three sets by Topps were solid, with great writing by Gary Gerani. Apart from the inconsistencies in the artwork, the Topps team did good work. Thanks!

SPECIALTY - INSERTS - CHASE
Promo Card #P1	Destiny Bound Double-Sided Chromium Cards #1 of 2 & 2 of 2		Dealer/Advertising Sell Sheet
Clear Chrome Xena Incarnations #1 of 9, 2 of 9, 3 of 9, 4 of 9, 5 of 9, 6 of 9, 7 of 9, 8 of 9, 9 of 9
72 CARD BASE SET
1. Title Card Allies And Adversaries 2. Xena 3. Gabrielle 4. Joxer 5. Autolycus 6. Alti 7. Cyane 8. Najara 9. Hope Goodbye, Callisto 10. Partners In Evil 11. Blade Sisters 12. The Warrior Queen Dies The Search For Gabrielle 13. Xena's Quest 14. Slaughter Of The Amazons 15. Beyond Life And Death Daughter Of Dahak 16. Reunited	17. The Destroyer 18. Hellspawn Battling On 19. Shaman Wars 20. Xena Unchained 21. Another Staff Job 22. A Warrior's Fury 23. Face-To-Face With Peril 24. Chakram Assault 25. Hearts Of Steel 26. The Rites Of Passage 27. Set This World A Flame Behind-The-Scenes 28. Shady Lady 29. Characters In Transition 30. It's In The Script 31. A Dramatic Exchange 32. The "Sin Trade" Shoot 33. Choice Reading (And Ripping!) Time Out For Comedy 34. Multiple Madness	35. Fish Shticks 36. A-Musing Antics Season Three Episode Guide 37. The Furies 38. Been There, Done That 39. The Dirty Half-Dozen 40. The Deliverer 41. Gabrielle's Hope 42. The Debt (Part I) 43. The Debt (Part II) 44. The King Of Assassins 45. Warrior...Priestess...Tramp 46. The Quill Is Mightier... 47. Maternal Instincts 48. The Bitter Suite 49. One Against An Army 50. Forgiven 51. King Con 52. When In Rome... 53. Forget Me Not 54. Fins, Femmes & Gems	55. Tsunami 56. Vanishing Act 57. Sacrifice (Part I) 58. Sacrifice (Part II) Xena Art Gallery 59. Xena Comics 60. The Dragon God 61. Xena And Callisto 62. The Orpheus Trilogy 63. The Original Olympics 64. The Bitter Suite 65. Xena Vs. The Stone Colossus 66. Gabrielle, Child Of Light 67. Hope, Daughter Of Darkness 68. Xena Pin-Up 69. Gabrielle & Iolaus Pin-Up Epilog, Checklist 70. Threesome 71. Gal Pals 72. Checklist

HAVE TO TRADE Base cards #2, 3 (x2), 4 (x2), 10 (x2), 13 (x2), 18, 21, 25, 26, 29, 39, 43, 44, 45 (x2), 47, 49, 50 (x2), 51, 54, 56, 58, 61, 62, 63, 64, 66 (x3) & 70

WANT Promo Card #P1

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Xena Series 2 - Topps, 1999

An okay series, although some of the photos are too dark and flat (just like Season Three). Nice to see the autograph cards start, even if they didn't get Lucy or Renee. Good text, particularly the Turning Points subset, bringing home the importance of events in season three of Xena. Topps never held to the idea that the card series number had to correspond with the actual season of the show (i.e. Series 2 cards only having content from Season 2 of Xena). And I think that was okay, particularly when considering that Xena Trading Cards didn't even come out until 1998, after Xena: Warrior Princess had been on for a few years already. Which might be another reason why Rittenhouse released the 4/5 series as one set. They wanted their cards to catch up with the show as their card series do stay true to the show's seasons.

One beef? No Xena card series should have the first sheet of nine cards with no image of Gabrielle in sight. Even back then, when 'outsiders' didn't realize that Lucy and Renee were co-stars. Okay, well, Beauty & Brawn doesn't count, cause the following nine cards are all Gabrielle. Well, there are 7 shots of Renee on the second page with this one too. And really, come to think of it, Lucy doesn't really feature in the first two pages at all. Oh, forget it ;)

SPECIALTY - INSERTS - CHASE
Promo Card #P2. Series Two	Chromium Cards #XC1. Xena, XC2. Gabrielle, XC3. Ares, XC4. Autolycus, XC5. Xena and Gabrielle & XC6. Callisto		Dealer/Advertising Sell Sheet
Autograph Cards #A1. Ted Raimi (Joxer), A2. Kevin Smith (Ares), A3. Bruce Campbell (Autolycus), A4. Hudson Leick (Callisto), A5. Melinda Clark (Velasca), A6. Michael Hurst (Iolaus), A7. Alexandra Tydings (Aphrodite), A8. Tim Thomerson (Meleager), A9. Robert Trebor (Salmoneus), A10. Danielle Cormack (Ephiny), A11. Karl Urban (Caesar), A12. Jennifer Ward-Lealand (Boadicea)
72 CARD BASE SET
1. Title Card Allies And Adversaries 2. Ares 3. Aphrodite 4. Callisto 5. Ephiny 6. Cupid 7. Salmoneus 8. Boadicea 9. Lao Ma 10. Ming T'ien 11. The Deliverer 12. Hope Gabrielle's Many Faces 13. Girl From Poteidaia 14. New Amazon Princess 15. Terror And The Target 16. Clothes Make The Woman 17. Warrior Sidekick 18. The Rift	Turning Points 19. She Comes To Bury Caesar 20. Enemies Become Allies 21. Vessel of Dahak 22. Generations 23. Solan 24. Birth of Hope 25. Land Of Chin 26. Taste For Death 27. Repaying A Debt Classic Confrontations 28. Xena Vs. Draco 29. No Match For Xena 30. Day Of Deliverance 31. Challenge Of Callisto 32. Friend Against Friend 33. The End Of Joxer? Parallel World Perils 34. Empress Of The World 35. When In Doubt, Kill	36. Double Damned Season Two Episode Guide 37. Orphan of War 38. Remember Nothing 39. The Giant Killer 40. Girls Just Wanna Have Fun 41. Return Of Callisto 42. Warrior...Princess...Tramp 43. Intimate Stranger 44. Ten Little Warlords 45. A Solstice Carol 46. The Xena Scrolls 47. Miss Amphipolis 48. Destiny 49. The Quest 50. A Necessary Evil 51. A Day In The Life 52. For Him The Bell Tolls 53. The Execution 54. Blind Faith 55. Ulysses	56. The Price 57. The Lost Mariner 58. A Comedy Of Eros FX Showcase 59. Wheel Of Illusia 60. Welcome Home, Xena 61. Torment 62. Torment's Destruction 63. In Dahak's Embrace Xena Art Gallery 64. Jim Silke 65. Alex Ross 66. Aaron Lopresti 67. Adam Hughes 68. Terese Nielsen 69. John Van Fleet Epilog, Checklist 70. The Heroic Trio 71. Horse Called Argo 72. Checklist

HAVE TO TRADE Base cards #14, 18, 19, 21, 23, 25, 32, 36, 37, 40, 43, 44, 54, 58 & 69

WANT Series 2 Dealer Sell Sheet from Topps, Any Autograph Cards

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Xena Series 1 - Topps, 1998

All in all, a pretty nice start to the franchise.

Note: Be aware that the order of season one episodes in this card series is not the actual order of aired episodes. See the Quotable Xena series for the correct order.

SPECIALTY - INSERTS - CHASE
Promo Card #P1. The Gods Have Spoken	Bonus Foil Card #B1. (Special dealer offer)	Foil Cards X1. Xena, X2. Gabrielle, X3. Joxer, X4. Callisto, X5. Hercules and Iolaus & X6. Warrior Princess
Chromium Cards #C1 & C2		Refractor Cards/Case Toppers #CR1 & CR2 - Same images as Chromium Cards
72 CARD BASE SET
1. Title Card 2. Xena Allies 3. Gabrielle 4. Joxer 5. Hercules 6. Iolaus 7. Draco 8. Autolycus 9. Duo For Danger Xena's Greatest Adventures 10. Pledged To Fight Evil 11. Stalked From On High 12. Clashing With Callisto 13. Night Of The Bacchae 14. Supreme Swordswoman 15. In The Thick Of Battle 16. When You're Hot... 17. The Bigger They Are 18. Of War And Orphans	19. Up From The Depths 20. Engulfed By The Fire Demon 21. Fighting The Furies 22. Staff Of Justice 23. Harpies Against Us 24. Xena Vs. The Dryads The Champions Of Evil 25. Ares 26. Callisto 27. Julius Caesar 28. Thersites 29. Velasca 30. Bacchus Behind-The-Scenes 31. Storytelling Team 32. Hold On, Gabrielle! 33. Filming Aboard "Ship" 34. Photographing Callisto 35. Cast and Crew 36. Conferring With Michael Hurst	Season One Episodes 37. Sins Of The Past 38. Chariots of War 39. Death in Chains 40. The Titans 41. Dreamworker 42. Cradle of Hope 43. The Path Not Taken 44. The Reckoning 45. Prometheus 46. Hooves And Harlots 47. The Black Wolf 48. Beware Greeks Bearing Gifts 49. The Prodigal 50. Athens City Academy Of The Performing Bards 51. Death Mask 52. A Fistful Of Dinars 53. Mortal Beloved 54. Callisto 55. Warrior...Princess	56. The Royal Couple Of Thieves 57. Ties That Bind 58. The Greater Good 59. Is There A Doctor In The House? 60. Altared States Xena Art Gallery 61. Dave Stevens 62. Terese Nielsen 63. Zina Saunders 64. Aaron Lopresti 65. Earl Norem 66. Jim Silke 67. Joe Smith 68. Dave Devries 69. The Battle For Mount Olympus Toward The Future 70. Battle On, Xena 71. A Heroine's Destiny 72. Checklist

HAVE TO TRADE N/A

WANT Series 1 Dealer Sell Sheet from Topps, Bonus Foil Card #B1, Refractor Cards #CR1 & CR2

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