THIS WEEK IN XENA NEWS.... TWXN 76 06/16/97 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: 1. Monday is WHOOSH promotion day. In two weeks WHOOSH will run two incredibly fun interviews with Kevin Smith (Ares) and Robert Field (Avicus). Then in August we have interviews with Hudson Leick and Michael Levine, a director of many XWPs. Then.... September is the All-Amazon issue where Danielle Cormack tells all about Ephiny and Jodie Dorday talks about Solari. It's going to be great summer for WHOOSH. Why not come spend it with us! 2. This issue covers Feb 2nd to 7th, 1997. Roma Downey played Hippolyte in HERCULES AND THE AMAZON WOMEN, something which will be hard for her to live down! The Times-Picayune hasn't forgotten, that's for sure, and they also made the connection between Downey's HERCULES stint and the warrior princess in their caption to the article. Also two athletes, now television performers in NZ, got their pictures (proudly) taken with a XWP stunt double. XWP took top honors in the action hours ratings competition. A reference to XWP appeared in The New York Review of Books. And more! Enjoy. 3. Looking ahead to Wednesday we will further explore this XWP as top show some more; find out who is getting invited to ritzy parties given by the Governor of Florida; receive more news from downunder; and read about Fritz Lieber! [ ] 02/02/97 THE TIMES-PICAYUNE. Sunday. Page T7. 701 words. "the Angelic Roma Downey" By Mark Lorando EXCERPT: For all who are anointed God's messengers, there is a moment of truth. A revelation, if you will. A passage from darkness to light. Roma Downey's occurred at the Baby Gap. "I was spending my hard-earned money on my new daughter," Downey recalls, "and a wee girl tugged on her Mum's coattail and said, 'Mommy! There's the angel!' "And I kind of froze and thought: Oh my God!"... ..."The beauty of our show," Downey said, "is that every week we have a completely different situation." As such, it requires an actress capable of playing a different character every week. This poses no problem for Downey, who has an extensive stage background and a variety of screen credits, from the title role in the Kennedy miniseries "A Woman Named Jackie" to a pre-Xena goddess in "Hercules and the Amazon Women." "She's played a hooker, she's played an insane person, she's played a lawyer, she's played a doctor," Williamson said. "This is not a hack actress."... ...GRAPHIC:...Roma Downey BEFORE XENA: There was Roma Downey as an Amazon Woman... [ ] 02-02-97 THE SUNDAY NEWS (Auckland). Page 31. 358 words. "Blokey duo digs deep as series sparks off" By Louisa Cleave COMMENTARY: An article about two Kiwi sports figure who are now acting in a tv show. They got their picture taken with Xena's stunt double. Wow! EXCERPT: QUINTESSENTIAL Kiwi blokes, league stars Marc Ellis and Matthew Ridge, as fashion models? It's true. The Auckland Warriors team-mates found themselves in the deep end - although not out of their depth - when asked to strike a pose for a magazine fashion shoot. Their conversion from muddy playing field to facial treatments is one of many unlikely situations the guys find themselves in on their new television show, Fresh Up In The Deep End... ...UNIQUE STYLE: Marc Ellis and Matthew Ridge with Xena's stunt double.... [ ] 03-02-97 ROCKY MOUNTAIN NEWS. Monday. Page 2D. 894 words. "'Nikita' tones down, tunes up for tube" By Jennifer Bowles (Associated Press) EXCERPT: ...The lean, 26-year-old blond with ice-blue eyes fits the part perfectly. And after eight weeks of intensive training with a martial arts expert, her physical prowess is right up there with Xena: Princess Warrior.... [ ] 02-03-97 PEOPLE. Page 6. 10 words. "Star Tracks" COMMENTARY: This article consists of photographs. EXCERPT: ...Stars of the small screen worked hard in the Big Easy at the annual National Association of Television Program Executives gathering. Those pushing their programs included (clockwise, from top left): Xena: Warrior Princess's Lucy Lawless, Hercules: The Legendary Journeys' Kevin Sorbo; Sunset Beach's Laura Harring; Britain's Prince Edward, who sold a series of documentaries to CBS; and Cybill's schmoozing Cybill Shepherd. [Lucy Lawless and Kevin Sorbo]... [ ] 02-04-97 DAILY VARIETY. Tuesday. Page 6. 217 words. "'Hercules,' 'Xena' tops in top markets" By Jenny Hontz REPRINT: Universal Domestic TV's action hours "Hercules" and Xena" turned in strong performances in the top two markets on the first Saturday of the February sweeps. Both syndie shows placed first in their timeslots, beating all the network primetime fare at 8 and 9 p.m. in New York and Los Angeles on Feb. 1. On WPIX New York, "Hercules" at 8 p.m. rated a 7.6/13, edging out its closest competitor, CBS' "Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman, which turned in a 7.4/13. On KTLA Los Angeles, "Hercules" rated a 9.1/16, beating two episodes of "Cops" on Fox, which averaged an 8.3/15. At 9 p.m., "Xena" rated a 7.7/13 in New York, beating CBS' "Early Edition" (6.6/11). In Los Angeles at 9 p.m., "Xena's" 9.2/16 beat NBC's "The Pretender" (8.3/14). Both "Hercules" and "Xena" also won their afternoon timeslots in Chicago. Saturday, of course, attracts the fewest overall viewers among the broadcast networks, with CBS generally winning the night on the strength of its trio of one-hour dramas --- all faring especially well in the nation's rural areas. Also boosting "Hercules" and "Xena" is its strength among kids and teens, who are home more often than young adults on Saturday evenings. In all the overnight markets, "Hercules" averaged a much lower 4.5/8 this past weekend, and "Xena" averaged a 4.6/8. [ ] 02-05-97 THE TORONTO STAR. Wednesday. Page D1. 361 words. "Xena phobia in biblical proportions" By Rita Zekas (Toronto Star) COMMENTARY: In a collection of recent quotations, XWP is mentioned. EXCERPT: "...and the Bible movies, when they appear, owe more these days to the cadences of Xena: Warrior Princess than to those of King James," writes Geoffrey O'Brien in The New York Review Of Books about Shakespeare in the '90s.... [ ] 02-05-97 PROFIT. 1997 Winter. Page 92. 1337 words. "Mr. Redford, we need you on the set" By Cumulo Nimbus COMMENTARY: In a humor piece about a motion picture production company interested in making a movie about a local company, the writer starts to ponder who will play what characters. EXCERPT: ...The main question, of course, is who will play Wanda? Our office manager is tough, beautiful and brash -- probably the best part for a woman since Xena, Warrior Princess. Of course, Wanda's afraid Hollywood won't see past her more obvious assets to the keen, analytical mind underneath. "I'm not just a pretty face," she pouts, paging through the latest edition of Fortune looking for fashion ads.... [x061] 02-06-97 LEWISTON MORNING TRIBUNE. Page B10. 667 words. "Best Bets" by Chris Riemenschneider COMMENTARY: In a rare Non-XWP Xena reference, a pianist had a party at a restaurant in Lewiston, TX called Xena. EXCERPT: ...Pianist Marshall Styler has an early CD release party at XENA.... [ ] 02-07-97 THE SAN FRANCISCO EXAMINER. Friday. Page A-3. 1067 words. "They don't make 'em like she used to" By Rob Morse (Examiner Columnist) EXCERPT: I THINK I'm getting hung up on a dead 76-year-old woman. Imagine a woman who warrants a front-page obituary in the New York Times headlined: "Pamela Harriman is Dead at 76; Ardent in Politics, and Romance."... ...She was a feminist conquering hero, a Xena with a finger bowl, one of the few kinds of warrior princesses allowed for her times....