THIS WEEK IN XENA NEWS... TWXN 109 09/20/97 Saturday 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. I have FINALLY secured transportation to the San Francisco Convention (10/18/97). Now all I need is a place to stay for me and my chauffeur. We are willing to take anything: a bit of floor space, a couch, a RV, a spare bed, I MEAN ANYTHING!!!! If YOU think you can furnish something like that (including all REASONABLE facsimiles), contact ME at ktaborn@lightspeed.net with the subject "SF OR BUST" (hahahaha, why is it whenenever I see the word bust I think of 7 of 9??? Must just be me). There will be INCENTIVES offered for YOUR hospitality. 2. Lucy Lawless brought up that spanking lawyers theme again on Conan O'Brien (09/18/97). I was wondering, is she stating an actual observation OF FACT or is she just politely informing us that SHE'd like to spank a few lawyers? (I have known some I'd like to slap around, but, nah, not spank.) SO, I have decided to liven up this charactistically dry newsletter by IMPLORING all you lawyers out there...DO YOU WANT TO GET SPANKED? And...DO YOU WANT "IT" ENOUGH TO PHONE UP LUCY LAWLESS (or have one of your people "take care of it") AND ASK FOR "IT" (politely, I assume)? Heck, let's include law students, paralegals, and anyone connected with the legal profession in this GREAT COUNTRY of ours. ALL RESPONSES WILL BE KEPT CONFIDENTIAL, or my name isn't "Just" Kym. If anyone dares to respond, I will RELEASE the results in a later issue of TWXN. 3. Today's TWXN is an eclectic bunch so my ADVICE is just to jump in. I am wordy today because I am still debriefing myself from my NYC Xena Adventure (tm). At some point I will have to exorcise myself of the events, but lucky you, not today! And now....the NEWS: [ ] 05-01-97 MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL. Friday. Page 4. 279 words. "Word Series" COMMENTARY: My husband has relatives in Milwaukee and for a while it looked like we might be moving there. I immediately checked out the on-line Milwaukee Xena fan population and it gave me the distinct impression that they were a fun group. And is this any wonder, what with average citizens off the street professing their LOVE of the warrior princess? Check out Anne, 12 years old, but old enough to recognize the best darn television show currently on the air. And she wants to be a lawyer when she grows up AND OPEN A SPA!!! (Whew...it was too close to spanking for my COMFORT). EXCERPT: ...Student's name: Anne W. Conway Grade and age: Grade 7, age 12 Favorite school subject: Math Favorite book: "Nancy Drew" series Favorite TV show: "Xena: Warrior Princess" Hobbies and interests: I like reading, sports and "Star Wars." Plans for the future (What do you hope to do after school): I want to be a lawyer and an actress. I would also like to open a spa.... [ ] 05-02-97 ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY. Page 46. 905 words. "and Away She Goes; As 'Roseanne' Closes the Door on its Final Season, Ken Tucker Argues Why this Groundbreaking Sitcom--and its Grande Dame -- Continue to Be Tv's Greatest Working-class Act" By Ken Tucker COMMENTARY: A very fleeting and zero-information reference to XWP. For those who may not know, last season, Roseanne was one of many who inserted a XENA parody into her TV show. This reminds us of how quickly XENA became part of our popular culture last season. It was only XWP's 2nd season, and yet programs on network TV with ratings double that of XWP were making canny references to the show with the assumption that their audience would "get" the allusions. EXCERPT: ...Roseanne has said that even disaffected fans will appreciate the series' concluding story line, which is scheduled to air May 20 and which she vows will explain much of the foolishness that's gone on this season (gee, even those Xena and Rambo parody episodes?).... [ ] 05-02-97 ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE. Friday. Page 1E. 598 words. "Making the grades" by Charles Allbright COMMENTARY: This coverage of a local court action contains a subtle reference to XWP. It is an example of how deeply entrenched the idea of the warrior princess is becoming in our culture. She just pops up everywhere! In this case, the reporter uses a reference to XENA to add a little editorializing about the accused's mother. It is interesting to note that the actress Lucy Lawless, who plays Xena, is reportedly 5'10 1/2 inches tall. Xena, her character, usually is referred to being 6' feet tall. Perhaps Little Lee's mama is over 6'4"? The simile to Xena is factually incorrect, but the author was referring to the impression of height that an imposing character, like Xena, can provide. EXCERPT: ...The accused stood before the court, and heard the judge say, "I understand around the dirt track you are known as Leroy 'The Rocket' Richards -- is that so?" "No, sir, your honor. I'm just Leroy Richards. Mama calls me little Lee." Mama would be Xena: Warrior Princess. Little Lee is 6 feet 4 inches and 280. His honor continues, "Mr. Rocket, Officer Bumphry here concedes that his radar gun malfunctioned just as you passed through the intersection. Although he was seated in his unit, the hat on Officer Bumphry's head was sucked right out the window. Very well. For this court you will now estimate your speed on passing through the intersection." "Yes, sir. It'd be only a guess, but I was doing something over 15, and about the same amount under 90." Little Lee went to jail doing 100. It works only when a lawyer says it... [ f] 05-03-97 THE FRESNO BEE. Saturday. Page A2. 630 words. "Movie set must be jinxed" by Bee News Services COMMENTARY: This blurb is a mesh of two separate news releases. It includes the annoucement of Ms. Lawless' plans for a limited Broadway run in "Grease" (the starting date was given wrong; it was Sept. 2nd that Ms. Lawless started her Broadway marathon); and Ms. Lawless' appearance in People Magazine's 50 Most Beautiful People issue. EXCERPT: ...Lucy Lawless, star of TV's "Xena: Warrior Princess," is more than a sword-swinging phenom in mini metal skirts who forces mere mortals to bow down in awe. The actress will join the Broadway cast of "Grease" from Sept. 1 to Oct. 19. "This is my childhood dream come true," said the 6-foot New Zealander of her Broadway debut. Lawless also is crowned one of People magazine's "50 Most Beautiful People In The World, 1997." Costume designer Ngila Dickson rhapsodizes over Lawless' figure and features: "magnificent shoulders, beautiful arms, lovely cleavage and a beautiful face." Lawless, however, would allow only that "I have nice feet. Long and skinny, with long toes. I wear my dark silk lingerie and paint my toenails and I feel like a kept woman."... [ ] 05-04-97 THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER. Sunday. Page C01. 885 words. "Ducks feeling wrath of Vlad The Impaler" By Mark Whicker, (Orange County Register) COMMENTARY: Three days before the unfortunate DuCks vs. the Red Wings hockey game incident, Xena was mentioned in an article along with Red Wings player Vladimir Konstantinov. The mention is a throw away line trying to make light of Konstantinov's nickname of Vlad the Impaler. EXCERPT: Ted Drury is questionable for today's game because of Vladimir Konstantinov, who is questionable during every game. In Game 1, Drury looked down to gather a pass that he hadn't expected. At that instant he became the tugboat and Konstantinov became the torpedo. His skate-by blast on Drury's shoulder left the Mighty Ducks'forward on the ice for a while. "Ted's got a burner," Ron Wilson said. Makes sense. Konstantinov, the toughest customer on Detroit's back line, can escalate your temperature and blood pressure, too. "When I played in St. Louis, I thought he was a borderline dirty player," Brendan Shanahan said. And now? "Now I know he's a borderline dirty player. " Konstantinov is known as Vlad The Impaler, which sounds like the perfect blind date for Xena The Warrior Princess.... [ ] 05-04-97 ABC NEWS. ABC GOOD MORNING AMERICA SUNDAY (10:00 am ET). 1087 words. "Action Heroines" By Dana Kennedy COMMENTARY: I liked this reference because it touched upon (however slightly) a trend which appears to be redefining what it means to be a woman in popular culture media. Mark Gill captures the whole essence of the frustration and the accompanying relief, when he asks, "Why has it taken this long? I wish it had happened sooner, you know. I wish, you know, we'd desegregated the country a lot sooner. I wish a lot of things would have happened sooner. They just don't. It takes time." EXCERPT: ...DANA KENNEDY: (voice-over) Unlike Hollywood, TV's always been home to the action babe. "The Avengers" with the elegant but deadly Diana Rigg was a hit back in the '60s. "Wonder Woman" was a hit in the '70s, and "Xena, Warrior Princess" is the number one syndicated hit of the '90s. And action heroines like Michelle Yo (ph) have packed a punch in Hong Kong movies for years. MARK GILL: Why has it taken this long? I wish it had happened sooner, you know. I wish, you know, we'd desegregated the country a lot sooner. I wish a lot of things would have happened sooner. They just don't. It takes time.... 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 assistance 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".