THIS WEEK IN XENA NEWS... TWXN 82 07/04/97 Friday Brought to you by XENA: MEDIA REVIEW (XMR): http://xenafan.com/xmr All back issues of XMR and TWXN are available at the above site. 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). 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!), the MCA NetForum, the Xenite Message Center, and alt.tv.xena. 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". Excerpts from the following cites will appear in future issues of XMR. From the editor: Okay, it was a major holiday and this is coming out late. I have been somewhat preoccupied the last day or so. Live with it. [ ] 02-20-97 THE BALTIMORE SUN. Thursday. Page 3E. 432 words. "Journey of pain for Herc" By Chris Kaltenbach (Sun Staff) COMMENTARY: Xena to the rescue!!! Ain't THAT right! EXCERPT: All you who figured Hercules' marriage to a half-woman, half-deer would never last ... looks like you were right. Check out WNUV tonight... "Hercules: The Legendary Journeys" (8 p.m.-9 p.m., WNUV, Channel 54) -- Herc's marriage to Serena comes to a murderous end, and Herc himself seems the prime suspect. But never fear, it's Xena to the rescue.... [ ] 02-21-97 LOS ANGELES TIMES. Friday. Page E1. 1651 words. "Sound Thinking/ the Ear 'Hears,' but the Message Doesn't Make it to the Brain. The Problem Has Stumped Researchers until Now--but Two Southland Experts Are Collecting Data in Hopes of One Day Helping Such People as O.c. Test Subject Johnny Martinez, 5, to Hear" By Nancy Wride (Times Staff Writer) EXCERPT: Johnny Martinez can't hear, but this 5-year-old can still make Bwwooooo! Bwwooooo! sounds like a trucker climbing the Grapevine. He is learning sign language, with first things first: mine (a necessity when you have a little brother), McDonald's (his favorite restaurant) and candy (self-explanatory). On a wintry afternoon, he gleefully shakes his Etch-A-Sketch and insists others in the family's Laguna Hills living room draw with him, communicating in finger-points, nods and grins. He signs an X for Xena, the TV warrior princess, then shows off his newly learned signs for the alphabet. He is joyfully oblivious to the fact that he is helping researchers study what may be a potential breakthrough in ear nerve problems, one that may change the way hearing disorders are treated.... [ ] 02-21-97 THE ARIZONA REPUBLIC. Friday. Page D1. 349 words. "Warp Minds: Convention to Draw Trekkers, X-philes" COMMENTARY: Indirect mention of fandom's own Chris Clogston, the Keeper of the Big Bucks Chakram. I won't even start to speculate on Chris' chakra! EXCERPT: The truth is out there. No, not there. Try a little to your left. Or you might want to look for it at the Creation Sci-Fi Convention on Sunday at Phoenix Civic Plaza. You'll likely have more success than FBI agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully, who have been chasing the truth for years on the Fox network's The X-Files.... ...The more down-to-earth may simply wish to bring their checkbooks to bid on sci-fi-related merchandise. Some items used in recent shows may come with astronomical prices. At a recent convention in Los Angeles for the Xena: Warrior Princess series, someone paid $8,500 for a chakra, a weapon that doubles as a flying ring, sort of like a death Frisbee.... [ ] 02-22-97 THE HERALD (Glasgow). Page 4. 1907 words. "Kirsty, comics and Xena the Warrior Princess" By Allan Laing EXCERPT: IT can't be easy being the newest - and the poorest - kid on the box. "Mmm," agrees the young lady from the Channel Five press office, albeit reluctantly. "It does mean that you have to use your budget creatively." She has a masterful grasp of the understatement. With only @110m to spend a year on programmes, Britain's last commercial terrestrial station is facing an uphill struggle to capture an audience. Mind you, in the heady world of television finance, there is no cost-accounting for taste. Rupert Murdoch's Sky Channels - with their constant diet of cheap, imported pap - is gloomy proof the British viewing public would watch paint dry on the television provided there was a break for a Dulux advert.... ...For the most part, drama on C5 will be mainstream American imports or, as the station's publicity machine prefers to call them: "the very best programming from around the world." Much of it will be material previously screened on Sky . . . shows like Melrose Place and Beverly Hills 90210. Basically, we are in Baywatch territory. More your Aaron Spelling than your Steve Bochco. The titles say it all - Sunset Beach and Pacific Blue. Californian babes and muscled hunks in designer swimwear. Then there's the action adventure shows - Xena: Warrior Princess and Hercules. For the more discerning viewer, the phrase "haud me back" somehow springs to mind.... [ ] 02-22-97 THE RICHMOND TIMES DISPATCH. Saturday. Page F4. 1287 words. "Strong, Leather-clad Macho Men Dominate Escapist TV Worlds" By Douglas Durden EXCERPT: They're brave, they carry big weapons, and they have a lot of hair. They're the macho men of TV, and they're the exclusive property of syndicated or cable TV. ''Hercules: The Legendary Journeys,'' ''Highlander, The Series'' ''Renegade'' and ''The New Adventures of Robin Hood.'' The titles reek of testosterone and so do the characters. To the uninitiated, these are shows distinguished by their bad scenery, bad dialogue and indifferent acting. They would be missing the point, however. What these shows are really about is escapism. While their network brethren on ''NYPD Blue,'' ''Homicide: Life on the Street'' or ''The X-Files'' battle the personal demons of alcoholism, illness or guilt, these mighty men are all action, almost no angst. Not that they don't have their problems.... ...Hercules, played by Kevin Sorbo, and Robin Hood, played by Matthew Porretta, live in a world of magic usually controlled by vengeful women.... Another thing they have in common is that all four series require an explanation at the beginning of each show. Who is the most manly of all? We provide the following macho meter based on a scale of one to 10. * * * ''HERCULES: THE LEGENDARY JOURNEYS'' (5 p.m. Saturday, WGN; 7 p.m. Saturday, Channel 6). He lived ''when the ancient gods were petty and cruel, and plagued mankind with suffering.'' 1) Hair apparent. Long, but not excessive compared to his macho competitors. 6 points. 2) Accessories. Leather arm bands. 5 points. 3) It takes a strong man to be gentle. In a recent episode, ''Herc'' was willing to give up his superpowers for the woman he loved. Unfortunately, she had a habit of turning into a hind (ancient speak for female deer) when touched by a mortal. 9 points. 4) Clothes make the macho man. Sleeveless open shirt, the better to display his biceps; pants of latticed leather. 7 points. 5) A macho man is known by the company he keeps. The faithful Iolaus (Michael Hurst) makes up for his lack of superpowers with super sarcasm. 6 points. 6) Courage in the face of overwhelming odds. Herc's chief enemies are those ''petty and cruel'' gods; special effects often add dragons and centaurs and hydras, oh my. 8 points. 7) Distinguishing characteristics. Superpowers, sense of humor. 8 points. 8) All in a day's work. To free his friends and family from the grip of a deadly poison, he took on the wrath of Hera, his spiteful stepmother. 7 points. 9) Bonus points. Viewers might actually learn something about mythology by watching the show. 7 points. Total: 63 points.... ...No contest. Hercules, with his brawn tempered by good-natured humor, is the macho man for all seasons. Highlander edges out the Renegade, thanks to a series with better plot lines and more imagination. But all of TV's macho men should be looking over their shoulders for the next wave of tough guys . . . who are actually tough gals. ''The New Adventures of Robin Hood's'' Marion, played by Anna Galvin, has already proven herself more resourceful and reckless than Robin. And Lucy Lawless as Xena, Hercules' former adversary, proved so popular that she now has a series of her own. What's next? ''Highlander Lassie'' and ''Ms. Renegade?''