XENA MEDIA REVIEW #29 (11/03/97) Borg 1 of 5 =============== CUT HERE ==================== _____ ______ ._ `\`/>`\ /`/` /`__________,.'>___ _____ )~\ /<`\ `\ /`/` /``\ \./------> /|\./\ |\./| / | \ /< `\`\ `\ /`/` /` | | |----\ / | |\ \ | | |././^\ \ |\__{o}\--`\`\ `\/`/` /`-----| | |-----`------\`\`\--| | |----^ \ \----. [\\\\\\\{*}==`> <`=======| | ==============`\`\`\| | |=====\ \ \==--> |/~~{o}/-- /`/ /\ \ `\------| | |---------------`\`\\ | |------\ \ \--' \< /`/` /` `\`\ `\ | | |_____,.'>| | | `\`\| | /' \ \ \ \< /` /` `\`\ `\ ,/ /^\------> / |/^\| \ | |/ \/^\\. /`/\>/` `\`\ `\`~~~~~~~~~~~\ / ~~~~~ )^\,\, '~~~~~ `~~~~~` '~~~~~` ` ~~~~~~ ========================== XENA: THE MEDIA REVIEW #29 ========================== A Labor of Love Publication http://xenafan.com/xmr P.O. Box 81181, Bakersfield, CA 93308 Xena Media Review (XMR) is a periodic 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. For a free e-mail subscription send "subscribe XMR" to ktaborn@lightspeed.net either in the subject or body of the e-mail. Copyright, legal, and editorial notices are found at the end of this newsletter. Issue No. 29 Release date: November 3, 1997 Subscribers: 1289 Covering 09/16/96 - 09/30/96 Annotations 502 to 532 FROM THE EDITOR: The Problem with Men on XWP "XENA: WARRIOR PRINCESS Meet Lucy: Media Darling" "Let's Get GREASE-y" AMENDED ANNOTATIONS ANNOTATIONS THE BACK PAGE Letters Xena Media Review Staff Back Issues This Week in Xena News Reprint Policy Solicitations for Future Newsletters Disclaimer =============== FROM THE EDITOR =============== THE PROBLEM WITH MEN ON XWP or WHY MADONNA AND MARTHA STEWART ARE STILL SINGLE ----------------------------------------------- Why is it so difficult to picture a male mate for Xena? We have no trouble at all imagining the Warrior Princess with Gabby at her side, satisfied in every way with the bard's gentle presence, her sweet, kind demeanor softly sanding off Xena's gruffy edges a little more each day. So why does a male counterpart with those same qualities make us go belly up at the very thought? Gee, I don't really know. I was hoping someone else had the answer to this one. But just for the record, let's take a look at some of Xee's boy toys and dish on why they offend us so much. HERCULES Clearly, David Schwimmer's ancestors were pre-Mycenaean demigods. If there ever was a Mr. 90's sensitive guy, Herc is it. Who didn't shriek with joy when Xena announced on HTLJ that the window of opportunity for a Xee-Herc union had been slammed shut (with weather stripping and plenty of caulking added). He just isn't tough enough to tame her, but he's big enough to seem plausible for a second or two which is more than Bachelor Number Two had going for him. DRACO Has this guy been hitting the Hostess Fruit Pies a little too hard or what? He was pretty convincing in that arm wrestling scene from COMEDY OF EROS but once he took his bathrobe off to get in the hot tub, all I was thinking was "Somebody poke his belly button and see if he giggles." Add to it that rooster thing on his head and you've got a guy who's fodder for Velasca's next S&M binge. ULYSSES HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. This guy should be doing baked bean commericals! CAESAR...JULIUS CAESAR Just call him "runty". Who could possibly consider this guy a contender after seeing him play the scowling, whiny adolescent out to ice his little bro' in ALTARED STATES. HEY CASTING PEOPLE, WE REMEMBERED!! MARCUS I got my first peak at Marcus a few weeks ago when THE PATH NOT TAKEN aired in reruns. I was expecting a smoldering, hunky man and for the most part, Marcus came through. But again, he's just a little too smooth, too well-groomed (has anyone else noticed that only the main characters in every ep of XWP are clean? Everyone else is smudged with grime. Weird.) Xena needs someone who wrestles with the good/bad continuum as much as she does. Marcus gave in to goodness just a little too quickly. He *is* big, however, and that's important. ARES The hunky god of war is still my number one choice for Xena's love object (after Gabby, Callisto, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer, of course). He's bad, he's big, he's built, and he's not going to get good over night. Plus his hair is so much better this season! As for Madonna and Martha Stewart, good-looking gods are in short supply these days. This month's features are both written by XMR ace correspondent Beth Gaynor. After catching Lucy Lawless on the Tonight Show a few weeks back, I couldn't help but think about why reporters love her so much (no wonder she's always all over everything at the checkout line at the grocery store). She looked so comfortable and relaxed (was she picking her teeth at one point?) and was chockfull of witty replies like she always is. Contrast that with so many of the vacant guests that seem to frequent RuPaul's show and Lucy (and now Renee) is that much more refreshing. Beth caught GREASE in NYC recently and obliged us all with a review of the show. Maria B. Erb New Hampshire, USA October 12, 1997 http://www.mv.com/ipusers/erb/xena ==================================================== XENA: WARRIOR PRINCESS, MEET LUCY: MEDIA DARLING ===================================================== by Beth Gaynor bgaynor@compuserve.com http://arcane.eng.ohio-state.edu/bgaynor/xenarate.htm Seems like you can't pass a newsstand these days without seeing Lucy Lawless on a cover. Entertainment Tonight, the talk shows, American Journal, and a half-dozen other programs love to run stories about Lucy and Xena. Why all the fuss? There are lots of shows out there, and quite a few with a viewership higher than XENA's. So what's special enough about Lucy Lawless to keep her planted firmly in the spotlight? The easy answer is that she sells. Let's face it, when you get down to brass tacks, a babe in leather (and one that women actually aren't offended by!) sells magazines and keeps viewers tuned in. The show has generated truckloads of popularity and even more talk and discussion, so running a story about Xena is a nice, safe bet for editors. They can count on keeping interest. But there's more to Lucy's popularity with the media than just that. There are two things that journalists live for in a story subject: good material, and pleasant material. There's an important distinction there. Good material is the stuff that will sell, like the basics we were just talking about, the stuff that holds the viewers'/readers' interest and brings in the money. Just as important as having good material, though, is having pleasant material. As much as journalists like to espouse ideals of objectivity, they're human just like anyone else. Given the choice between inviting someone into their studios who will be a pain to work with and someone who will be a lot of fun, the second person will win the story every time. Guess what? Lucy Lawless pegs the meter on both the good and pleasant counts. First of all, Lawless is exceedingly good interview material. And it's not just because her show is breaking syndication land speed records or just because she's an excuse to show a good-looking chick in a breastplate (although those are probably #1 and #2 on the list). She's a great interview subject. She's frank and honest, and tends to give answers that aren't something that could have been read off a publicist's cheat sheets. She's drop-dead gorgeous with an exotic New Zealand accent that makes photographers giggle with glee. And there's never a lack of interesting questions to ask. As the lead of a highly unusual show, the first female heroine to kick b*tt on the screen in a decade or more (by the most generous of counts), and a star from another country, reporters have a smorgasboard of questions they can ask. True, we die-hard fans get pretty sick of seeing some of those golden oldies being used over and over again, but for the other 98% of the country, they'd love to see demonstrated for the 3,000th time how she does that war cry or fakes a punch or likes living on the other side of the world. And when she does get asked the off-the-wall questions, she'll roll with the punches, and isn't above knocking the reporter for a loop with off-the-wall answers. If you talked to that TV Guide reporter who asked her what modern advance Xena would love to have, I'm sure that "tampons" was the last answer in the world he was expecting to hear, but when she said it, he must have heard cash registers chime like church bells. Uncoventional answers are fun for both the reporter and the reader. And journalists love to have fun at their job - imagine that. Lucy Lawless is generally lots of fun to interview. There's nothing worse than having to pull answers from an interviewee like wresting coins from a miser. Lucy needs the barest fragment of an excuse to launch into a colorful story or amusing commentary. Watch her the next time she's on a talk show - almost any question will lead to fun anecdotes and interesting sidebars from Lucy. Read about it when she jokes about dominatrix outfits on her action figures or banker fans who like to be spanked. Interviewers love that; it makes their job easy and their results explosive. Lucy is also a good sport. She's proven - one time to her severe detriment - that she's game for just about anything. She'll do skits, she'll fake auditions for morning talk shows, she'll get carried onto stages, she'll sing, she'll do accents, she'll go on amusement park rides, she'll give journalists rides in her limo and take calls at home so they can get a chance to talk to her. That's the kind of accessibility and interactivity that allows stories to do more than just talk to a static head about tired, overused subjects, and they make Lucy a prize to net for a story. Add to the points in Lawless's favor that, from everything I've ever seen, she's also just plain nice as can be to the people around her, including the reporters who show up to do their job, ask her some goofy questions and see if she'll do some silly things for the camera. Total it all up, and it's no wonder ET can't let a couple of weeks go by without mentioning Lucy, or that the magazines will use just about any excuse they can get to put her on a cover. The plan may be working a little bit *too* well; maybe next interview, Lucy should consider giving some monosyllabic answers to questions just to give herself a breather for a change. The poor lady could probably use the break. ================== LET'S GET GREASE-Y ================== by Beth Gaynor bgaynor@compuserve.com http://arcane.eng.ohio-state.edu/bgaynor/xenarate.htm I had expected to miss GREASE. It had been about a year since I had been in New York City, with no return visit in sight. Watching the news stories about the musical was tough, but I was handling it stoically. I would surely survive without seeing Lucy Lawless in live theater. Then a bonus check from work dropped into my lap. I glanced at my calendar and saw a 36-hour weekend that was, amazingly, relatively free. And wow, that weekend was also the New York XENA con. I swear that little bonus check stood up in my hand and did a rousing chorus of "New York, New York" for me. I was destined to be a Broadway rat for a day and a half. (I also caught CHICAGO while I was out there - a fabulous musical, I highly recommend it!) Off to GREASE I hied my nutball self, making the pilgrimmage to the Eugene O'Neill theater. It's a bizarre experience - the moment I rounded the corner onto the O'Neill's block, I'd entered the Lawless Zone. I was given fair warning by the massive billboard with Lucy as Rizzo smack in the middle of Times Square. The theater was plastered with Lucy's name, her pictures, posters -- all kinds of reminders of who was playing there. As if that weren't enough, there were the barricades in permanent residence around the stage door, and the flock of people that seemed to ALWAYS be around. Lucy and Xena were in everyone's conversation. While I sat by a lamppost and took in the scene, I watched Robert Trebor (Salmoneus) emerge from backstage with tickets for one of the weekend's shows. Apparently, for one rerun-laden, shooting-hiatus month and a half, the XENA world revolved around a little theater on 49th Street. First, let me discuss the show itself - if you're not into theater critiques, you can just skip the next couple of paragraphs to get straight to Lucy. GREASE is a different style of musical than I've seen on Broadway. The emphasis is not so much on the huge dramatic presentations, or on musical or dance numbers that showcase superhuman efforts, but on... well, fun. The audience is warmed up before the show, encouraged to clap to the musical numbers, and occasionally characters show up in the crowd and interact directly with people. It's a fun idea and neat as something different to see, but I can see why they rely on stars to pull in the crowds (Lawless was just the latest in a long line of guest stars, from Rosie O'Donnell to Brooke Shields to Dominique Dawes). Given a choice between a teeny-bopper doo-wop show and PHANTOM OF THE OPERA, for the same cost, WITHOUT Lucy Lawless in the equation, which one would you spend your limited resources on? I think the novelty of its stars has helped the show along a lot. For those who have only seen the movie, the musical centers less on Sandy and Danny and spreads out over all the cast, including Frenchy and Doody, Jan and Roger (a fantastic couple of characters), and, of course, Rizzo and Kenickie. There's less focus, less story to keep the songs linked together, so the plot kind of... well, meanders. On the good side, though, there are some neat lighting and prop effects used during the numbers. Back-lighting silhouettes people and scenes. Greased Lightning, the car, has headlights that shine out into the audience. (You've heard the THX tag line, The Audience is Listening? In GREASE, the audience is blind.) My favorite effect was the hula hoops: the cast dances with hula hoops in the Act I finale number "We Go Together." After using the hula hoops the normal way, they pick up the hoops and spin them in their hands, the stage lights are cut, and the hoops glow in the dark, creating spinning hoops of color on the stage. The audience loved it. The cast was a fun and very talented group. I especially liked Jan, the eager friend who was willing to finish ANYONE'S lunch with a happy giggle, and Miss Lynch, the dictatorial teacher who winds up on the wrong side of the spiked punchbowl. Two absolute show-stealers appeared: Cha-Cha, the woman who came to the dance as Kenickie's date and ended up winning the dance contest with Danny, was played as a hyperactive wacko with an epileptic dance style, lots of kicks and shimmies, and a kind of Hispanic war cry of her very own ("Cha! Hia! YA!") that had everyone rolling in the aisles. This woman was impossible to ignore - I was trying my darndest to watch Rizzo at the dance, but I couldn't quit laughing at Cha-Cha. The second show-stopper was the Teen Angel, who appeared in a wonderfully ridiculous three-foot-high plastic headpiece and belted out Beauty School Dropout in a James Brown/Rick James-ish powerhouse that brought the roof down. He wasn't done when the number was, either. He checked out his look with the audience and launched into an encore just to keep us going. Now THERE was an actor who knew how to use his ten minutes of stage time. So, let's talk about the real reason most of us were at the Eugene O'Neill or envying those who were. I spent 90% of my time at the show with my eyes glued to Lucy Lawless. I saw the woman who's usually playing a Warrior Princess sing, dance, chug-a-lug, belch, crack gum, make out behind the football bleachers, hula-hoop, and just generally razz it up like a 50s teenager. It was a bizarre and incredibly funny thing to watch. A couple of my personal favorite moments: during the aforementioned hula hoop dance number, Rizzo (or Lucy?) apparently wasn't too good with that hoop. She got a look of furious concentration as all the others immediately launched into hula-ing. The night I was there, she managed to keep the hoop rolling for a decent amount of time, much to her own - and the crowd's - delight, but it dropped before the end, resulting in a furious stomp and pout from Rizzo. I don't know whether that was an intended part of the show or just scripted in to cover hula-hooping mishaps, but either way, Lawless hammed it up to a T, and it was a scene-stealer. I was chuckling, too, during the football game. Rizzo and Kenickie spent the entire scene making out, including lots of serious rear-end fondling. I wondered if the guy who played Kenickie understood how many people would maim small children and puppies to be in his shoes? Of course, one of the most talked-about moments was the appearance of the Xena war cry. Cha-Cha crossed the stage to Kenickie and Rizzo, "Hai!"ing and "Cha!"ing all the way with lots of kicks and prances. I'd read the online reviews; I knew what was coming and was already laughing, although no small part of that was Cha-Cha's antics. Sure enough, when Cha-Cha finally reached the bewildered Kenickie and the unimpressed Rizzo, Rizzo replied to the final "Chya!" with her own "AiLILILILI!" The crowd, right on cue, went nuts. So, objectively (or my best attempt at it), how did Lawless do? Her dancing passed muster, although there wasn't anything stellar there. I noticed it especially during the big school dance; maybe it's just because they had her in a sheath dress that looked tough as the devil to try to move in, but her dance moves didn't quite reach the levels the others' did. Her singing was very nice - she belted out her own version of "Greased Lightning" and had fun with "Look at Me, I'm Sandra Dee." Her voice was strong and on target. But it was Lucy's acting that really shone. When she sang "There Are Worse Things I Could Do," I could see her tears from 25 rows back, and she grabbed the sympathy of a rowdy crowd with ease. That's the level of acting talent that has turned a camp adventure show into something with a bit more depth to it. I was lucky to have the chance to see it in a live theatre. My hat's off to the GREASE producers who came up with the brainstorm of taking advantage of a chance Rosie O'Donnell remark and turning it into a publicity tour that seemed to be make everyone happy - the show producers, Lucy Lawless, and the XENA fans. More power to them! =================== AMENDED ANNOTATIONS =================== [000.3] 01-20-85 to 04-27-86 NOTE: Non-XWP references. Furniture designer Jon Cockrell's Xena table series was all the rage in 1985 and 1986. [000.3a] 01-20-85 Chicago Tribune. SECTION: HOME; Pg. 1; ZONE: C. 1259 words. "DECORATIVE ARTS; GALLERIES HAIL A RENAISSANCE IN CRAFTSMANSHIP FURNITURE, AS SEEN THROUGH ARTISTS' EYES." BY By Elaine Markoutsas. COMMENTARY: The Xena table shown in graphic. EXCERPT: GRAPHIC: ... Lloyd Schwan's "Urban Furniture Plan" adapted from a blueprint. All three designers are Chicagoans. PHOTO: Jon Cockrell's Xena table, of plate glass, solid aluminum and black rubber. [000.3b] 04-27-86 Chicago Tribune. SECTION: HOME; Pg. 1; ZONE: C. 1925 words. "ONE OF A KIND CITY DESIGNERS MAKE FURNITURE A WORK OF ART" By Dylan Landis. COMMENTARY: The Xena table described and priced at only $4,500, 1986 dollars. EXCERPT: ... farms out the construction to the best craftsmen and metalworkers he can find, and names the designs as if they were elements he had just discovered: Xyla, Xulu, Xena. Xena, a table, consists of three layers of glass, held apart by bolts and rubber cushions and resting on aluminum ... ...PHOTO: Jon Cockrell and Xena, a gleaming, $4,500 table with pointed aluminum legs and a layered glass top... [000.4] 02-07-88 THE NEW YORK TIMES. SECTION: Section 11WC; Page 28, Column 6; 1117 words. By LYNNE AMES. COMMENTARY: Non-XWP reference. A pooch is named White Crest Xena. EXCERPT: ... Bauer's entries at the two-day Westminster show, considered to be the sport's most prestigious event, are champion White Crest Xena and White Crest Jimbony's Cricket, white miniature poodles bred and owned by Alice Hartman of Yonkers. Mr. Bauer ... [000.5] 11-21-88 PUGET SOUND BUSINESS JOURNAL. Vol 9; No 28; Sec 1; pg 3. 836 words. "REI Catalogs Lure Japanese Outdoor Enthusiasts" By Debra Prinzing. COMMENTARY: Non-XWP reference. A flashlight with that magic name! EXCERPT: ... like Patagonia," Faris said. REI's prices appeal to Japanese customers, too. One of REI's Hong Kong-made flashlights, the "Xena Lite," is a bargain at $39.95. The same item sells for 16,000 yen, or about $ 130, through a ... [000.6] 01-01-89 GIFTS & DECORATIVE ACCESSORIES. Vol. 90; Pg. 13; 103479 words "Manufacturers, importers, jobbers, distributors; giftwares industry; Annual Buyers Directory; buyers guide" COMMENTARY: Non-XWP reference. Xena Designs....a Detroit business....makes one wonder, no? EXCERPTS: ... Xena Designs (M-I-D), PO Box 10162 Detroit MI 48210 [000.7] 04/08/89 THE COURIER-JOURNAL (Kentucky). NEWS; Pg. 11A; 1624 words "KENTUCKY DEATHS" COMMENTARY: Non-XWP reference. The death of a Xena, born in 1905. EXCERPT: ... BOWLING GREEN -- Xena Vance Watson, 84, died here Thursday. Funeral, 10 a.m. Monday, J. C. Kirby & Son Funeral Home.... [001.5] 04-23-92 NEWSDAY (Nassau and Suffolk). Pg. 89. 742 words "SALES AND SERVICES" By Dan Feinstein COMMENTARY: Non-XWP reference. A beauty company on Long island, NY. EXCERPTS: ... Xena's Beauty Co., 158 W. 13th St., (212) 633-8550, 11 a.m.-4 p.m.... [001.6] 08-15-92 BILLBOARD. ALBUM REVIEWS; Pg. 57. 1037 words. "POP" By PAUL VERNA, CHRIS MORRIS, AND EDWARD MORRIS. COMMENTARY: Non-XWP reference. More Xena businesses! Now it is Xena Media. EXCERPT: ... like title track, "Universe," and "Chewy-Chewy" could work in clubs and on adventurous modern rock outlets. Contact Xena Media: 617-648-2120... =============== CUT HERE ==================== XENA MEDIA REVIEW #29 (11/03/97) Borg 1 of 5