THIS WEEK IN XENA NEWS... TWXN 104 09/02/97 The advance sheet of XENA MEDIA REVIEW (XMR): http://xenafan.com/xmr Excerpts from the following cites will appear in future issues of XMR. From the editor: 1. Due to a massive time crunch, XMR and TWXN will be slightly out of kilter in September, but they will get out to the masses...one way or another. 2. And that's it! I am too tired to say anything else. If you are curious what's in this issue, THEN READ IT. If you are curious what's in the next one, be patient....tomorrow is another day after all. Here's the stuff: [ ] 04-17-97 THE TORONTO STAR. Thursday. Page J1. 568 words. "More 'Doom' and gloom: by William Burrill COMMENTARY: Cultural reference. Like what else is there THESE DAYS???? EXCERPT: The other week I was whining that too many of the new carts are either fighting games, Doom-clones or two-dimensional platform hoppers. And, as if to prove my point, three of the most heavily hyped new games to have crossed my desk in recent days are - surprise! - a fighting game, a Doom clone and, three guesses . . . yes, a 2-D platform hop 'n' bopper. In the video game industry tradition of mass-producing sequels of successful games, the three new contenders lack originality and give us the same ol' same ol'. I must grudgingly admit that - while these games are nothing new - they are still very good games if you like that sort of thing. * Tekken 3: Soul Blade:... ...Xena The Warrior Princess would love this game, and with good reason, because Soul Blade, for all the hype, is a very good fighting game. The graphics are fantastic and there are new weapons and techniques to be picked up as you slice, dice, hack and grate your way through the different levels.... [ ] 04-17-97 CALGARY HERALD. Thursday. Page 8. 764 words. "Toast! Cafe & Grill will be jam-packed" by Brent Morrison, Herald Writer COMMENTARY: Cultural reference. Just imagine that, will you???? EXCERPT: When you think of toast, a cafe & grill is not the first thing that pops into mind. Yet there is something quite intriguing about a cafe named Toast. Especially with the billing on the front door that exclaims: The first Toast! Cafe & Grill in Canada. Xena (my friend not the warrior princess) lives in the Somerset area and emplored me to go with her to try out this new establishment.... [ ] 04-18-97 THE JERUSALEM POST. Friday. Page 11. 3397 words. "TV links Shoah survivors" By Penny Starr COMMENTARY: XWP is in Israel!!! I don't know about you, but when I come home after a hard day's work, I turn down the lights, snuggle into my most comfortable chair, and chant to myself "Butch Xena and her girly sidekick Gabrielle". It's great therapy. Try it! EXCERPT: ...A second show is scheduled for Holocaust Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Day. But how sad that it has never been done before. The people with lost identities are at least in their fifties and have suffered for so long. ON A much, much lighter note is Xena, Warrior Princess (cable Channel 3, Saturdays, 18: 55), which is definitely one of the strangest shows on TV. Long, long ago there lived a warrior princess with a metal bra.... No, that can't be right. But hark! I hear the rattle of a steel bustier! Xena is an overstuffed half-hour of mything about. It's vaguely set in ancient Greek times, and in this week's 30-minutes worth, butch Xena and her girly sidekick Gabrielle rescued Pandora's granddaughter from a lynching, found a baby in the bulrushes, fought off the king's men, recaptured Pandora's box and organized an heir to the throne. And wedged in among all this plot were a couple of fight scenes - mainly martial arts in miniskirts. These mini-epics (see Hercules et al.) seem to be all the rage. But even more fun are the down-to-earth documentaries on Channel 8... [ ] 04-18-97 CALGARY HERALD. Friday. Page C1. 463 words. "Fanfare" By Mike Dempster, Calgary Herald and Bob Duff, Windsor Star COMMENTARY: This is not about "THE" Red Wing incident, but it is definitely foreshadowing of what we know is about to come... EXCERPT: ...Xena, Red Wing fan Just call her Xena, Red Wing princess. Lucy Lawless, the actor who portrays Xena, Warrior Princess, in the popular TV show of the same name, is a huge Detroit Red Wings' fan. Her publicist recently contacted the Red Wings' public relations staff, letting them know of Lawless's fondness for the Winged Wheel and indicated that any programs, media guides, or other souvenirs which could be sent her way would be appreciated. The team assembled a package of paraphernalia and shipped it to Lawless. Shortly thereafter, the team received a hand-written letter from Lawless, expressing her heartfelt thanks for the gifts. Lawless said she'd be thrilled to attend a Wings' game and even made a standing offer to come to Joe Louis Arena and sing the national anthem before a game. Maybe she could give the team a few pointers on how to drive through the opposition and win those one-on-one battles while she's at it. -- Bob Duff, Windsor Star [ ] 04-20-97 SUN-SENTINEL (Fort Lauderdale, FL). Sunday. Sports. Page 2C. 1162 words. "Gods Shine On, Then Burn Writer at Fabled Augusta" By Randall Mell COMMENTARY: Cultural reference. Da da da. EXCERPT: I don't hit the golf ball particularly long, but I make up for it by being exceedingly crooked. That's the state of my golf game, which made me wonder what in God's name I was doing on the first tee at Augusta National the morning after Tiger Woods made history with his rout at The Masters.... ...The luck of the draw brought me to golf's Holy Grail. Or maybe it was a blessing. The powers-that-be at Augusta National throw the media some delicious scraps Monday morning. They hold a lottery on Saturday. More than 300 media draw numbers, and a fortunate 40 get tee times. They pulled my number, and I'm proud to say I restrained myself to a half-dozen cartwheels. The drawing didn't have quite the same effect on my colleague, Sun-Sentinel columnist Michael Mayo. Informed that I was among the chosen few - and he was not - Mike's mood grew dark. He looked at me as if I had stolen his prized "Xena: Warrior Princess" videotape collection. "I hate you," he said in a tone more sincere than anything he had said all week. This was Mike's seventh Masters, and his number has yet to be chosen. This was my first Masters. Over the next two hours, Mike would limit his communication with me to hostile, bitter grunts.... [ ] 04-20-97 THE ORLANDO SENTINEL. Sunday. Page TV3. 462 words. "Projects Keep Mccallum Busy" COMMENTARY: Velasca!!! Yes, there really is a Mindy Clarke. EXCERPT: ...Q: Didn't actress Mindy Clarke from Return of the Living Dead 3 also play on Days of Our Lives (1 p.m. weekdays on WESH-Channel 2)? A: Yes, she was Faith Taylor, the sheltered daughter of the late Rev. Saul Taylor. Her real-life dad's still on the soap: Actor John Clarke plays Mickey Horton. The actress' only other TV roles were on the 1994 series Heaven Help Us, and a recent guest shot on Xena: Warrior Princess. Look for her this year in the motion picture Spawn.... Notices: All back issues of XMR and TWXN are available at (http://xenafan.com/xmr). We herein give praise and thanks to Tom Simpson for the space he has graciously donated from his spectacular, TOM'S XENA PAGE (http://xenafan.com). If you have never been there, you are **not** a xenafan! TWXN is the advance sheet for XMR, an annotated world press review of reports regarding the internationally syndicated television show XENA: WARRIOR PRINCESS (1995 - 2000+?) and the castmembers, Lucy Lawless and Renee O'Connor. TWXN is not available for subscription, however it is posted Monday, Wednesday, and Friday on the XenaVerse, Hercules-Xena, and Chakram Mailing Lists (thank you Lucia! I am greatly indebt to you), the MCA NetForum, the Xenite Message Center, and alt.tv.xena. I also would like to thank sirvin@law.wfu.edu for assitance in collecting the newstories. For a free e-mail subscription to XMR subscribe by e-mail to ktaborn@lightspeed.net by stating somewhere in the subject or text "sub xmr".