_____ ______ ._ `\`/>`\ /`/` /`__________,.'>___ _____ )~\ /<`\ `\ /`/` /``\ \./------> /|\./\ |\./| / | \ /< `\`\ `\ /`/` /` | | |----\ / | |\ \ | | |././^\ \ |\__{o}\--`\`\ `\/`/` /`-----| | |-----`------\`\`\--| | |----^ \ \----. [\\\\\\\{*}==`> <`=======| | ==============`\`\`\| | |=====\ \ \==--> |/~~{o}/-- /`/ /\ \ `\------| | |---------------`\`\\ | |------\ \ \--' \< /`/` /` `\`\ `\ | | |_____,.'>| | | `\`\| | /' \ \ \ \< /` /` `\`\ `\ ,/ /^\------> / |/^\| \ | |/ \/^\\. /`/\>/` `\`\ `\`~~~~~~~~~~~\ / ~~~~~ )^\,\, '~~~~~ `~~~~~` '~~~~~` ` ~~~~~~ ===================== XENA MEDIA REVIEW #02 ===================== http://www.teleport.com/~gater/IAXS.html P.O. Box 81181, Bakersfield, CA 93308 RIF BBS (805) 588-9349 84 subscribers and growing! This document has 532 lines. Xena Media Review (XMR) is an annotated review of mainstream media reports regarding Xena: Warrior Princess, and the actresses Lucy Lawless and Renee O'Connor. For a free e-mail subscription send "subscribe XMR" to ktaborn@lightspeed.net. Issue No. 02 Release date: April 5, 1996 2nd edition: 07/10/96 Covering 05/05/95 - 05/10/95 Xena: Warrior Princess Announced! Annotations 008- [008] DAILY VARIETY. 03/05/95. MCA aside about XWP. [009] DAILY NEWS. 03/09/95. Leak about XWP as Hercules spinoff [010] VARIETY. 03/13/95. Calls "The Warrior Princess" a pilot **[011] DAILY VARIETY. 05/03/95. XWP info pre-release [012] CHICAGO SUN-TIMES. 05/04/95. XWP to replace Vanishing Son **[013] PR NEWSWIRE. 05/05/95. First official release about XWP [014] VARIETY. 05/08/95. XWP to replace Vanishing Son/Quotes **[015] ELECTRONIC MEDIA. 05/08/95. Trade-paper spin **[016] BROADCASTING & CABLE. 05/08/95. Another trade-paper spin [017] INSIDE MEDIA. 05/10/95. Passing reference. ------------ Introduction: ------------ This issue (the second!) and the two subsequent (XMR03 & XMR04) cover the time between the announcement of Xena: Warrior Princess (XWP) (May 1995) to the beginning of the production of the show (June 1995). Xena: Vanishing Son-Killer and the untimely demise of Pan and Khan the Great (ah, it makes you wonder what these characters could have added to or detracted from the currently minimalist XWP) are just a few of the tidbits contained in the first sporadic news of XWP. From the initial mysterious reference in the Daily Variety to the full-blown announcement and finally to the scurrying of the trademongers as they determine amongst themselves what kind of show and risk XWP will offer, Xena came with a whimper but within two months hit the market like a sledge-hammer. The powers that be knew it had a potential winner and it peaked the trade journal's interest. From there, it was a proverbial piece of cake getting 94% national coverage and a commitment to run the episodes to September 1996. None of the subsequent Star Treks had that high of an initial coverage at their debuts. As the march of time showed, MCA's and Renaissance Pictures' expectations were not only met but far surpassed. It is illuminating to see how their path to success was tread. Now that we are in our 2nd issue, I invite readers to send in mail to discuss or share thoughts about the XWP phenomenon. If enough interest is shown, I will publish the commentary and observations. Also, I invite people to send me in any and all references they find or have found to Xena in print, electronic form, and/or broadcast media. A complete cite would be appreciated; a copy of the article or comments would be greatly appreciated; but even partial leads are acceptable. I would like to become a repository for XWP references. This includes any references at any time. Just send them to me at ktaborn@bak2.lightspeed.net. I am busy with some matters at hand, however, when I carve out some discretionary time I will set up my web pages (I have 1 meg. on one system and 3 megs. on another) and have a spot for Xena: The Media Review and the on-going collection and annotation of references. Again, I thank every subscriber for their support. This has been a delightful diversion from my regularly stressful life. Having so many to share it with makes it even more rewarding. ---The editor, ktaborn@bak2.lightspeed.net ----------- ANNOTATIONS ----------- [008] 03-05-95 DAILY VARIETY. Section: News; Pg. 1. 659 Words. "Meidel Snaps up McNamara". By Jim Benson. COMMENTARY: Here it is. The very first mention of Xena in a trade paper. It's not a press release or an announcement (as it later is on May 5, 1995), but appears as a trailing thought in a paragraph pondering why MCA would be considering international co-partnerships. What implication(s) did this have? The first Hercules episode with Xena was released March 13, 1995, eight days after this article. This is pretty strong evidence that Xena was conceived of from the get go as a series to be ran in the wake of Hercules' anticipated wave of popularity. That some suit at MCA would give a Variety reporter this information so non-chalantly shows that: (1) MCA had been already sold on the Xena idea and it was just business as usual; or (2) MCA wanted to start the hype on Xena by slowly seeping to Variety that something was up. For goodness sake, the source even gave the proper title "Xena: Warrior Princess". The episode yet to be released was named "The Warrior Princess." The evidence suggests that the decision was made by that time or that someone in MCA wanted to start the bandwagon rolling so the final decision would be made. Either way, Xena was blessed from the start. EXCERPT: MCA Television Group chairman Greg Meidel, in his first move toward restructuring the studio's TV operations, has recruited former New World Entertainment president and CEO James McNamara to serve as worldwide TV distribution president. McNamara will oversee the studio's domestic syndication, ad sales, international and firstrun program development wings in the newly created post. Meidel confirmed the high-profile appointment late Monday, McNamara's 42nd birthday. The one-time sports agent will officially begin his new job April 1. TX:"This is unprecedented that a major studio has put its entire sales and firstrun arms under one umbrella," Meidel said. "His global perspective and deep understanding of the business of domestic and international distribution will be instrumental to us as we reposition our company around the world."... ...The appointment represents a major realignment of MCA/Universal's TV operations. The studio frequently has been criticized by competitors over the years for having separate sales and firstrun programming reporting structures. Domestic TV sales has been under the control of current MCA TV prez Shelly Schwab, while firstrun programming now is overseen by Universal TV exec VP Ned Nalle. Nalle will now report to McNamara instead of Universal TV president Tom Thayer, the head of the studio's network production arm. Foreign TV sales at MCA have long been under the command of international president Colin Davis, who has at least two years remaining on his contract. Meidel said Davis' position at the company will be addressed after the upcoming Mip confab in Cannes and May TV Screenings in L.A... ...Meidel said McNamara was the ideal candidate for the post because he sees international as the "backbone" of the TV business. As that component of the industry grows, foreign sales will account for an increasingly larger share of the revenue pie, he noted. The recently appointed MCA TV Group chairman credited McNamara with pioneering new sales techniques in the international business. He singled out New World's sales of the soaps "Santa Barbara" and "The Bold and the Beautiful" to France, Italy and other territories, where they have become primetime hits. McNamara's strong global background is needed at a time when MCA has been approached about a number of international co-partnerships, according to Meidel. The inquiries follow the success of firstrun action hours "Hercules: The Legendary Journeys" and "Xena: Warrior Princess."... [009] 03-09-95 DAILY NEWS (New York). Section: Gossip Pg. 24. 726 Words. "Carvey Could Make 'SNL' Precious Again". By Mike Fleming COMMENTARY: Four days after the Daily Variety reference and four days before the release of "The Warrior Princess" what is leaked to the New York Daily News Gossip section? Is it MERE COINCIDENCE that they use the phrase "trying to spin off a pilot"? This "coincidence" suggests that "The Warrior Princess" was originally conceived of as a pilot from almost day one, if not day one. The "pilot" portrayed the evil Xena. The ending of "The Warrior Princess" clearly implied a sequel, even though the words "to be continued" were not plastered across the screen. A sequel where Xena saw the light and was rewarded with a quick (yet meaningful) fling with Hercules [you know it's meaningful because Herc starts to make those sensitive looks and brings up his deceased wife in conversation; he only does that about once a month!] was definitely the career move Xena needed to carry her to her own show. It appears that Mr. Fleming did not have access to the show since Xena was spelled wrong in the blurb. Could leaking this news to Mr. Fleming have been part of "the plan"? [See XMR #01 for more thoughts concerning..."the plan"]. EXCERPT: ..."Hercules: The Legendary Journeys," is close to reproducing. The series is trying to spin off a pilot for actress Lucy Lawless, who co-stars as the character Zena with Kevin Sorbo in the syndicated series... [010] 03-13-95 VARIETY. March 13, 1995 - March 19, 1995. Section: Buzz; Pg. 3. 1183 Words. "Stone's View of Nixon ... The New H'wood Hacks". By Michael Fleming. COMMENTARY: Surprise! Surprise! On the day of the release of "The Warrior Princess", Mr. Fleming, now writing for Weekly Variety, finally spelled Xena's name correctly and announced to the world in clear and uncertain terms that "The Warrior Princess" was indeed a pilot! EXCERPT: ...'HERCULES' SPAWNS A NEW SERIES The syndicated show "Hercules: The Legendary Journeys" is spinning off. The series, exec produced by Sam Raimi and Rob Tapert, is trying to spin off a pilot for Lucy Lawless (Xena), who co-stars with Kevin Sorbo in the syndicated series. [011] 05/03/95 DAILY VARIETY. Wednesday. Section: News; Pg. 3. 252 Words. "MCA Sets 'Hercules' Spinoff". By Jim Benson COMMENTARY: At last! No more innuendo! No more gossip! Daily Variety finally announced that MCA will begin production on 22 Xena episodes in June 1995 to be released September 9, 1995; and that the character Xena will appear in a total of three episodes of Hercules in the 1995 season. "The Gauntlet", the second Xena episode in Hercules first season, was released May 1, 1995. It was followed a week later by "Unchained Heart", released May 8, 1995. This official announcement therefore came out between the two episodes; before Xena's new leaf had been consummated. Because of it's historic nature and modest size, the article is reprinted in full. REPRINT: What else could follow the weekly light comedy-action hour hit "Hercules: The Legendary Journeys" but "Xena: Warrior Princess?" The spinoff of the new cult favorite, which comes from "Hercules" exec producers Sam Raimi and Rob Tapert, will debut the week of Sept. 4. Pulled the plug To make room for "Xena," syndicator MCA TV has pulled the plug on "Vanishing Son," whose combined 4.5 rating for the weekly original and rerun episode ranks it fifth out of 14 firstrun action hours this season. That makes "Son," which debuted as a weekly in January for what was supposed to be a minimum yearlong run, the highest-rated firstrun hour to be canceled. But the syndicator is hoping to revive the series, in either cable or broadcast TV. MCA TV prexy Shelly Schwab called the "Vanishing Son" case a "very unusual situation." Better fit He said many major-market stations that run a two-hour block with "Hercules" leading into "Vanishing Son" wanted a more compatible fit. Although "Son" is generating respectable numbers and is considered a moderate success, Schwab indicated the programs had two distinct audiences. He said stations were looking for a series that could retain the strong household and young demographic ratings of "Hercules," which was launched as a weekly in January and quickly rose to become one of the top-three-rated action hours. "Xena" star Lucy Lawless will appear in three "Hercules" segs this season. The new show is set to begin production on 22 episodes in June. [012] 05-04-95 CHICAGO SUN-TIMES. Pg. 40. 150 Words. "Ex-Clinton Aide Gets Co-host Spot". COMMENTARY: Within a day of the Daily Variety announcement, XWP began to receive national coverage in the major city dailies. A Chicago paper jumped on the bandwagon quickly, no doubt because of WGN's (a Chicago super station) contract with the Universal Action Pack/MCA consortium. Chicago seems to cover more than its share of Xena copy. EXCERPT: ...The TV cult favorite "Hercules: The Legendary Journeys" has spawned a sequel. Variety reports that "Xena: Warrior Princess" will begin production next month for a September debut. To make room for "Xena," syndicator MCA-TV has pulled the plug on "Vanishing Son," which follows "Hercules" on Sunday nights on WGN-Channel 9. [013] 05-05-95 PR NEWSWIRE. SECTION: Entertainment, Television, and Culture. 415 Words. "MCA TV Set to Launch 'Xena Warrior Princess,' New Action Hour Spin-off of 'Hercules the Legendary Journeys' this Fall; Spin-off Series Star Lucy Lawless Guest Stars as Xena in Currently Airing Episodes of 'Hercules' (w/o May 1 and May 8). COMMENTARY: A day later, a major newswire organization released the most complete story to date. Detail had been added. Since it was for general readership, the business details were downplayed while information about Lucy Lawless began at last to filter out. The article implied that the idea of a series for Xena was not decided until AFTER the release of "The Warrior Princess." As shown in this issue and the previous issue, the timeline of production and the paper trail does not support this implication. Supporting characters announced were Gabrielle, a reckless teenage runaway; Pan, an acrobatic gymnast; and Khan the Great, an annoying warlord who insisted upon pursuing Xena. Apparently Pan and the Great Khan wound up on the cutting room floor. EXCERPTS: MCA TV will follow up the huge success of "Hercules: The Legendary Journeys," this year's most highly rated new syndicated hour, with "Xena: Warrior Princess," another action hour from critically acclaimed filmmakers Sam Raimi and Rob Tapert. Set to premiere in national syndication this September, the new series is a spin-off of "Hercules: The Legendary Journeys" and stars New Zealand actress Lucy Lawless, who is guest starring as Xena in currently airing episodes of "Hercules" (weeks of May 1 and May 8). Designed to deliver the successful combination of non-stop action and humor that has made "Hercules" the breakout hit of the season in syndication, "Xena" will feature dazzling sequences of martial arts and acrobatics with both comical characters and the ultimate female hero -- Xena. Xena first appeared in a March episode of "Hercules: The Legendary Journeys" as the half-man, half-god's most formidable female foe. Lawless drew an incredible audience response for her portrayal of the character, with her "Hercules" episode scoring a 6.3 (GAA%) rating, over-achieving the series 6.2 season to date... ...The warrior princess was initially presented as a provocative but militant force bent on destruction. In the currently airing episodes, however, an enlightened Xena emerges who is committed to mending her wicked ways and dedicating herself to helping mankind. The new Xena is like a "soul mate" to Hercules. While she may not be half-god, she is definitely all hero. Pursued by the evil warlord Khan the Great, she travels from town to town -- and battle to battle -- and invariably finds herself caught between the innocent and the forces of darkness. Her band of self-invited comrades includes Gabrielle, antiquity's version of a teenage runaway who recklessly follows the warrior princess in search of a more exciting life, and Pan, an acrobatic gymnast of the forest. "Hercules: The Legendary Journeys" resumed production in New Zealand this month for its return in the fall. "Xena: Warrior Princess," which will air as its companion series, is set to begin production of 22 episodes in June, also on location in New Zealand. "Xena: Warrior Princess" will be produced by Renaissance Pictures and distributed exclusively in national syndication by MCA TV. CONTACT: Leah Krantzler (Los Angeles), 213-965-1990, or Michael Wright (New York), 212-986-7080, both of The Lippin Group [014] 05/08/95 VARIETY. May 8, 1995 - May 14, 1995. Section: Television; the Syndicators; Pg. 80. 208 Words. "Trolling for Tapes". By Jim Benson. COMMENTARY: Le morte d'Vanishing Son. Xena: a "compatible fit". You heard it here first! EXTRACT: ...'Hercules' finds mate MCA TV's syndicated action hour hit "Hercules: The Legendary Journeys" will be paired with "Xena: Warrior Princess" in September. To make room for the spinoff, which comes from "Hercules" exec producers Sam Raimi and Rob Tapert, MCA will yank "Vanishing Son" despite its healthy 4.5 national rating. MCA TV president Shelly Schwab says many major-market stations that run a two-hour block with "Hercules" leading into "Son" wanted a more compatible fit and were unwilling to commit to a second night. But the syndicator is trying to revive "Son" at a cable or broadcast network. [015] 05/08/95 ELECTRONIC MEDIA. Section: News; Pg. 22. 733 Words. "MCA Set to Pair New 'Xena' with 'Hercules'". By Thomas Tyrer COMMENTARY: You may have been asking yourself, what does Electronic Media think of all this Xenamania??? More of Mr. Schwab, apparently! And don't forget the intricacies of barter time. This article covered aspects of syndication as a whole which affected XWP and explained ONCE AND FOR ALL why Hercules got a series name change midseason. EXCERPTS: LOS ANGELES-MCA TV, which has struggled to establish new first-run series, is now building off its popular midseason weekly hour, ''Hercules: The Legendary Journeys.'' MCA said last week it will substitute a new ''Hercules'' spinoff, ''Xena: Warrior Princess,'' for its original ''Hercules'' companion, ''Vanishing Son,'' starting next fall. MCA launched ''Hercules'' and ''Vanishing Son'' as weekly barter hours in January, after introducing the two concepts as part of its canceled ''Action Pack'' movie wheel the season before. Most of the 176 stations (with 94 percent national coverage) licensing ''Hercules'' and ''Vanishing Son'' for January debuts committed to barter episodes of the programs through September 1996... ..."Vanishing Son'' has performed relatively well, but major station carriers, such as Tribune Broadcasting Co., asked MCA to create a new second hour more compatible with the audience watching ''Hercules.'' "Both shows really appeal to a different audience,'' MCA TV President Shelly Schwab says of the original pairing. "Stations already signed on for 84 weeks, so we don't have to go out and sell them again,'' he adds. Mr. Schwab says the first-run market for action hours is too congested to guarantee the level of prime-time clearances MCA would need to offset the production costs of ''Vanishing Son.'' Instead, MCA will try to sell that series to a broadcast or cable network. Some past MCA first-run projects, such as ''TekWar,'' have segued to USA Network, which MCA co-owns with Paramount. The new ''Xena: Warrior Princess'' will debut Sept. 4. It features a character first introduced on ''Hercules'' this season. The Xena character is an evil warrior princess bent on destruction but who in more recent episodes has committed to mending her ways and dedicating herself to helping mankind. Stations will carry that hour on the same barter terms as ''Vanishing Son'' or ''Hercules.'' Stations double-run each weekly episode for a total of 52 weeks. They will run an initial 22 weeks of original episodes, with MCA taking nine minutes of barter time and stations getting five minutes. When those shows repeat during the second 22 weeks of the cycle, MCA will get eight minutes of barter time and stations will get six minutes... ...A total of eight episodes will run a third time, with both MCA and stations taking seven minutes of ad inventory, bringing the cycle to its full 52-week complement. Several syndicators like MCA or Turner Program Services, with its new ''The Lazarus Man,'' have been involved in the action genre of late. That's at least in part because Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution is soon expected to allow its Prime-Time Entertainment Network carriers to be more flexible in the scheduling of ''Babylon 5'' and ''Kung Fu: The Legend Continues,'' before shutting down that venture in a season or two. Syndicator ACI committed last week to going forward for a second season with its own weekly action series, ''High Tide,'' despite marginal ratings. MCA also last week retitled ''Legendary Journeys of Hercules'' to ''Hercules: The Legendary Journeys'' for what Mr. Schwab described as promotional purposes. [016] 05/08/95 BROADCASTING & CABLE. Section: Vol. 125 ; No. 19 ; Pg. 54; 448 Words. "MCA Hopes Xena Has Strength of Hercules". By D. Tobenkin. COMMENTARY: More on how the trade journals reported the news of MCA's announcement of Xena. REPRINT: 'Vanishing Son' will disappear to make way for spin-off series MCA TV is set to begin production on a syndicated action hour spin-off of its hit Hercules series that, on Sept. 4, will replace Hercules' companion action hour, Vanishing Son. Xena: Warrior Princess will be produced by Hercules: The Legendary Journeys producers Sam Raimi and Rob Tapert and seeks to deliver the high-action, highproduction value elements that have made Hercules the most successful new action hour of the 1994-95 season. The show has averaged a 6.2 Nielsen household gross average audience rating since launching in January and already has been renewed for fall. Most stations currently air in tandem the campy Hercules superhero saga and serious Chinese-American-themed drama Vanishing Son, which has earned strong though lower ratings. However, Xena is thought by MCA officials to be a more compatible complement to Hercules. "This is a highly unusual situation where we are replacing a hit show," says MCA TV President Shelly Schwab. "In many markets, Hercules is the lead-in to Vanishing Son, and it became obvious that the two shows appeal to different audiences and that people watching Hercules didn't stay for Vanishing Son, which was more of an adult show. Stations said we were not taking advantage of that huge lead-in." A total of 22 episodes of Xena will be produced by Renaissance Pictures in New Zealand beginning in June. Title character Xena appeared in Hercules as the superhero's nemesis, but the new show will see her mend her wicked ways and dedicate herself to helping mankind. New Zealand actress Lucy Lawless will reprise the role of Xena, which she originated in three episodes of Hercules. MCA said that Vanishing Son, which has earned a solid 4.5 Nielsen household gross average audience since launching in January, is being shopped to cable and broadcast networks for a possible run there. Although some industry sources were surprised that MCA TV would risk killing off a successful show like Vanishing Son in favor of a new show, others were not. One station representative executive said that with 13 one-hour episodes of the show to have been produced by fall and 4 two-hour Vanishing Son movies produced last season when the series was part of MCA TV's Action Pack wheel of first-run syndicated movies, the syndicator already may have enough hours to sell to a cable network, even if the show is not picked up for further production. "I think replacing Vanishing Son with Xena makes a lot of sense." says Blair Television Director of Programing Lou Dennig. "They could well have more success with a mythic show than with Vanishing Son." [017] 05/10/95 INSIDE MEDIA. Section: Pg. 18; 632 Words. "Hercules Will Muscle a Spin-off; Syndicated TV Programs". By Wayne Friedman COMMENTARY: More from the trade journals. EXCERPT: ...MCA Television's "Hercules" has generated big ratings so quickly that MCA is already looking at a spin-off of the genre. It will launch "Xena: The Warrior Princess," another mythology type character, as a companion piece in 1996... ------------- THE BACK PAGE ------------- Issue #3 will contain annotations #19 through #20q, dated from May 11, 1995 to May 11, 1995. It is scheduled to be released April 12, 1996. PREFERRED CITATION: When citing an annotated review, use the format: XMR 01:007. This example means Xena Media Review, issue #01, annotation #007. DISCLAIMER: XMR (Xena Media Review) is a free non-profit informational release. XMR in no way intends to challenge, disregard or profit from any of the original copyright holders of the material excerpted, reprinted, or referred to (including but not limited to MCA, Universal, Renaissance Productions, the Daily Variety, the Daily News, Variety (Weekly), the Chicago Sun-Times, the PR Newswire, Electronic Media, Broadcasting & Cable, and Inside Media). This newsletter is an academic and educational pursuit to archive, annotate, and study the media response to Xena: Warrior Princess (a television production from MCA/ Universal/Renaissance) and the actresses Lucy Lawless and Renee O'Connor. Only national/international major media released in electronic form are considered. Banner graphic by Colleen Stephan. Copyright 1996 by Kym Masera Taborn.