Ancient Web: A 1997 Whoosh! Essay Treated Xena's Whip as a Craft

Part of the Ancient Web Collection.

A television character carries a whip. One fan's response is to write more than three thousand words explaining why the prop behaves differently from the real thing.

Read Donald Plunkett's 1997 Whoosh! essay.

In November 1997, issue 14 of Whoosh!, the journal of the International Association of Xena Studies, published Donald Plunkett's “Whips in Xena: Warrior Princess.” It was classified as IAXS Project #356 and announced a length of 3,337 words. The article belongs to the elaborate fan-scholarship culture surrounding the television series, but it has a subject surprisingly far from episode gossip: the leatherwork, physics, terminology and performance demands of actual whips.

The writer opens by distinguishing Xena's lightweight screen prop from the equipment used by experienced performers. He identifies stock whips, bullwhips and blacksnake whips, and explains the popper, fall, braided thong, belly and handle. He also relates the different types to particular Xena episodes.

An unusually earnest fan reference

The site's annotated illustrations connect technical observations with photographs from episodes including The Xena Scrolls, The Price and The Quest. It mixes the show's dramatic inventions with an enthusiast's appreciation for the people who make and use specialized equipment.

Plunkett describes leather plaiting and the taper of a whip's body. A separate section addresses care, and the closing discussion explains why a flexible whip is an awkward close-quarters combat weapon despite television choreography. He repeatedly warns about injuries and the space required for real equipment; the article is not an invitation to imitate the fictional stunts.

Its final resource section points to a juggling-site guide, makers' catalogues and other specialist web pages. The references are period artifacts themselves: several addresses contain old dial-up-provider names or vanished hosting services. A biographical note says Plunkett was former military and practiced fencing, archery, judo, jujitsu and escrima.

The broader Whoosh! archive already deserves its own history. This single surviving feature reveals something more specific: early fandom could turn an apparently trivial costume accessory into a researched essay with diagrams, specialist vocabulary, a bibliography of web links and author credentials.

The fan journal gave an eccentric subject room to breathe. A reader arriving for Xena could leave knowing why stage equipment and television props were not interchangeable.

Explore the 1997 issue's complete illustrated feature.

Part of the Ancient Web Collection.