Inspiration
Even scenes in Xena: Warrior Princess were influenced by Hong Kong films. A popular fight sequence in the one of the episodes was inspired by the films Once Upon a Time in China and The Bride with White Hair.
Romance
A lot of people tend to focus on the “romance’ between Xena and Gabrielle. While it was all subtext, they were, in fact, each other’s soulmate, just not in the way people think. The show would have been totally different had these two not shared a special bond.