THIS WEEK IN XENA NEWS.... TWXN 66 02/02/97 Brought to you by Xena: Media Review (XMR): http://xenafan.com/xmr TWXN is the advance sheet for XMR. XMR is a periodic annotated world press review of reports regarding the internationally syndicated television show XENA: Warrior Princess (1995 - ) and the castmembers, Lucy Lawless and Renee O'Connor. For a free e-mail subscription send "subscribe XMR" to ktaborn@lightspeed.net. Excerpts from the following cites will appear in future issues of XMR. From the Editor: 1. We are still experiencing serious problems with the thirdstory.com website where WHOOSH resides. Please be patient. I would appreciate it if people could pass this info on if they see a post by someone curious about why the WHOOSH site is not accessable. Thanks. I appreciate it. 2. I apologize for being so far behind in these. The convention really sucked the life blood out of me. In TWXN #66 we finally get to the beginning of the convention articles. Enjoy. [ c] 01-13-97 THE TAMPA TRIBUNE. Monday. Page 6. 606 words. "New 'Robin Hood' may rob ratings" By Walt Belcher COMMENTARY: In a positive review of THE NEW ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD, the reviewer wrote, "Ever since Hercules and Xena became the hottest TV characters in syndication, wanna-bes have been buckling up their swashes to slash into the ratings. But newcomers such as 'The Adventures of Sinbad' and 'Tarzan: The Epic Adventures' have failed in the fantasy genre. There may be hope for 'The New Adventures of Robin Hood.'" After three short seasons for HTLJ and two for XWP, these two shows are now the yardstick with which to measure syndicated success with. [ ] 01-13-97 LOS ANGELES TIMES. Monday. Page F2. 722 words. "in the Know / a Look at the Week Ahead; Well, it Seemed a Good Idea at the Time" COMMENTARY: In a blurb about the NATPE conference in New Orleans, it was written, "Oh, and 'LadyLaw,' a reality series hosted by Marcia Clark about women working in law enforcement -- sort of a modern-day version of "Xena: Warrior Princess." [ ] 01-13-97 ELECTRONIC MEDIA. Page 76. 3120 words. "How EM'S 1996 12 to Watch Fared" By Gary Davey COMMENTARY: In an article about how the 12 people ELECTRONIC MEDIA picked for their 'People to Watch in 1996' fared the past year, XWP was mentioned in the Greg Meidel, Universal Television Group chairman, section. The article mentioned that during 1996 "Universal also sold back-end rights to 'Xena,' [and] 'Hercules'..." This referred to the USA Cable station's purchase of strip right to XWP starting in 1998. [ ] 01-13-97 ELECTRONIC MEDIA. Page 20. 640 words. "Off-nets Rule the Roost" COMMENTARY: XWP costs $53K to HTLJ $63K for a 30- second commercial. EXCERPT: Cost of a 30-second commercial among the top 50 barter syndicated TV series Program Type of program Cost... ...Star Trek: Deep Space 9 First run 77,000... ...Hercules First run 63,000... ...Xena First run 53,000... ...f/x . . . The Series First run 38,000... ...The Outer Limits First run 37,000... ...Two First run 36,000... ...Babylon 5 First run 35,000... ...Viper First run 31,000... ...Adventures of Sinbad First run 31,000... ...Highlander First run 29,000... ...Baywatch Nights First run 26,000... ...Baywatch First run 18,000... [ ] 01-13-97 THE ATLANTA JOURNAL AND CONSTITUTION. Monday. Page 06D. 460 words. "'Xena' conquers masses of 'Warrior' fanatics" By Lyle Harris COMMENTARY: REPRINT: If breast plates become the next big fashion craze, you can either blame ---or thank ---Lucy Lawless. The 28-year-old New Zealander is better known as Xena, Warrior Princess, the statuesque star of the hit syndicated show and the actress whose fans insist is the role model for swashbuckling feminism. At the first-ever Xena convention, at a downtown Burbank hotel, about 2,000 fans cheered as Lawless strode into the ballroom looking more like a disco queen, in a skintight sky-blue Lycra getup, instead of her unusual leather and metal tunic. "This show is not about T&A; it's not about flesh," said Lawless. "I never even think about that, and neither does Xena. It's about a woman who fights for what she believes in. Xena would fight in the nude and she still wouldn't think about it, because she's not self-conscious about her body." And neither are her fans, or Xenites, as they prefer to be called. Sure, it's easy to mock what you don't understand, says Brent Phillips, 25, of Los Angeles, who wore pizza tins strapped to his chest and a spittoon on his head. "If somebody called me a geek, I'd just kick his butt, just like Xena would," said Phillips, a software programmer dressed up like his favorite character, the buffoonish Joxer. But most Xenites say they are attracted by high-brow aspects of the show (better known for cheesy special effects such as Xena duking it out with Minotaurs and Cyclops). Mary Montbrand, 41, of Los Angeles, was in full "Xena," which includes the breast plate, tunic and a circular boomerang called a chakram. Montbrand attended with her husband, in a display of Xena family values. "My husband has created his dream by designing my costume, because this is about as close as he'll ever get to Xena," said Montbrand, a Hollywood hair designer. "But I like the show because it always has a great theme and a message that helps remind you that there's still love out in the world." The show, now in its second season, has been a ratings success for Atlanta's WUPA-TV and for WGN. Lawless has just finished work on an animated movie with Kevin Sorbo, the brawny star of "Hercules," the show where the Xena character first appeared. The actress said she is gratified by the devotion of her fans, who stuck with her when she missed several episodes in October after falling from a horse on "The Tonight Show With Jay Leno." Like a true warrior princess, Lawless said the spill hasn't prompted her to hang up her breast plate and broad sword just yet. "The accident brought home for me how much people love the show," Lawless said. "Next to having my daughter, playing Xena has been the greatest thrill for me. I've caught a wave and I haven't gotten bored yet." GRAPHIC: Color photo: (appeared on D/01 with reference to D/06 story): Lucy Lawless stars in the syndicated TV show "Xena, Warrior Princess."/ MCA TV Photo: Syndication heroine Xena, Warrior Princess as portrayed by Lucy Lawless. Ran only in the Metro Edition of The Atlanta Constitution./ MCA- TV Photo: Olivia Joncich, 3, and her mom, Jill are mesmerized by their heroine, Xena, Warrior Princess (actress Lucy Lawless), at a Xena convention Sunday in Burbank, Calif. Did not run in the Metro Edition of The Atlanta Constitution./ TERRI THUENTE / Los Angeles Daily New.