THIS WEEK IN XENA NEWS... TWXN 81 07/02/97 Wednesday 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. Wednesday is XMR Day! XMR is looking for a few good people who would be interested in writing up regular excruciatingly detailed reviews of web-sites, mailing lists, fanzines, etc. for the Xena Media Review. If you think you are made of the right stuff to take on a challenge like that, send a statement of why you would be a good reviewer and a sample of your work to ktaborn@lightspeed.net with the subject "XMR Reviewer". 2. And more WANT ADS!!! I (Kym Taborn) am looking for someone to help with IAXS mail and upkeep of the IAXS FAQS. It would require about 10-15 hours of work per month. You would be responsible for processing new members, keeping the FAQs up-to-date, helping in the reorganization of IAXS and the IAXS website, answering mail, and whatever else I can think of. If you want hands on experience in operating an international fan organization and to learn everything I know on how to do it, then this is the job for you! Send a statement of why you would be an excellent mail bunny to ktaborn@lightspeed.net with the subject "IAXS Assitant". 3. ANNOUNCING, the upcoming formation of the Official Danielle Cormack Fan Club (ODCFC). Bret Rudnick and I (Kym Taborn) have been sanctioned by Ms. Cormack to run her fan club. We hope to have it fully functioning by the end of the summer. Ms. Cormack is perhaps best known in these circles as Ephiny, the Amazon who at first thought Gabrielle was a waste of time, but who now loves and respects her. If you would like to have your name placed on a mailing list for further details and updates, please write to DanCorFans@aol.com and you shall be informed! 4. This issue covers February 13th through 20th. Sorry about it being such slow going. I shall try to pick up speed here in the next few issues. Please bear with me. We are four months behind. Woo-wee. But I am BOUND AND DETERMINED to catch up. Ever wonder what musical performers Lucy Lawless would recommend that you should listen to? Read on! Ever wonder what a promo for the return of XWP on UK television would be like? Read on! Ever wonder who has called XWP hare-brained action-adventure? Read on! Ever wonder if others off the 'net have noticed the Bonanza wife syndrome in Raimi-Tapert productions? Read on! Ever have an urge to see spandex and Xena mentioned in the same sentence? Read on! Ever wonder how often other communities run their Xena promos on radio? Read on! 5. Friday's issue will be INFINITELY better than this one. It will offer us inspiration while we check out what is happening in Scotland and as we note the peculiar rise in macho men in leather in our popular culture. And here are the excerpts: [ ] 02-13-97 THE ATLANTA JOURNAL AND CONSTITUTION. Thursday. Page 06E. 1095 words. "Home Entertainment; The Latest in Music, Videos and Books; New Music; Mini Reviews; Review; "Gridlock'd"; Various artists. Death Row Records. 15 tracks. *** 'Gridlock'd' soundtrack pairs Shakur, Snoop" By Sonia Murray COMMENTARY: Ms. Lawless lists the performers she recommmends to listen to. EXCERPT: ...GRAPHIC: Chart: RECENT & RECOMMENDED... LUCY LAWLESS, Star of TV adventure "Xena: Warrior Princess" 1. Etta James 2. Nina Simone 3. Lyle Lovett 4. Dan Hicks and his Hot Licks... [ ] 02-19-97 THE INDEPENDENT. Wednesday. Page 5. 335 words. "New name, new station ... same old stories" By Thomas Sutcliffe (TV Critic) COMMENTARY: EXCERPT: Channel Five is so proud of its corporate buzz words, "modern mainstream", that it has actually taken out a trademark on them. You can see the protective initials in the glossy preview brochure which accompanied the launch of its schedule, as if the phrase is a sort of secret formula for the creation of a television station and mere repetition of it might transform a mixed bag of foreign soaps, buy-in drama and cheap-and-cheerful home-grown product into "a force for change in popular contemporary culture". What exactly does it have in mind, one wonders - the arrival of Hercules and Xena, an American treat for "fans of hare-brained action-adventure"? Or Exclusive!, a half-hour of celebrity gossip which will run every night at seven as part of the "stripped and stranded" schedule? This sounds like a particularly horrible stag night prank but actually refers to the American practice of not frightening the audience with any sudden movements.... IN SHORT What: Xena: Warrior Princess. Where: TV3. When: 8.30pm, Friday. SHE HAS to have been blessed by the gods to have gone from a guest appearance on a hit series to the star of her own spin-off in such a short time. But that's what Lucy Lawless did in Xena: Warrior Princess, and it was a demi-god who made it all happen. The New Zealand actor signed on for three episodes on the series Hercules: The Legendary Journeys during its first series. Before her stint was over, she was headlining her own show Xena: Warrior Princess. Lawless first appeared on Hercules as a feared, evil marauder who flattened everything in her path. Problem was, audiences loved her. So Xena did a quick aboutface and now battles evil with the best of them. A new series of Xena: Warrior Princess begins this week. The idea all came about, says Lawless, with a phone call from Hercules' co-executive producer, Rob Tapert, who asked her if she would like a show of her own. "I said, Pardon?' and he repeated it," she says. "Then I said Ah Mr Tapert, that sounds very nice. Why don't you get back to me at a later date when it's more concreted." Obviously he did. Xena: Warrior Princess is one of the highest rating one-hour series in the United States. GRAPHIC: MATES - Xena (Lucy Lawless) and sidekick Gabrielle (Renee O'Connor). [ ] 02-19-97 THE INDEPENDENT. Wednesday. Page 5. 335 words. "New name, new station ... same old stories" By Thomas Sutcliffe (TV Critic) COMMENTARY: EXCERPT: Channel Five is so proud of its corporate buzz words, "modern mainstream", that it has actually taken out a trademark on them. You can see the protective initials in the glossy preview brochure which accompanied the launch of its schedule, as if the phrase is a sort of secret formula for the creation of a television station and mere repetition of it might transform a mixed bag of foreign soaps, buy-in drama and cheap-and-cheerful home-grown product into "a force for change in popular contemporary culture". What exactly does it have in mind, one wonders - the arrival of Hercules and Xena, an American treat for "fans of hare-brained action-adventure"? Or Exclusive!, a half-hour of celebrity gossip which will run every night at seven as part of the "stripped and stranded" schedule? This sounds like a particularly horrible stag night prank but actually refers to the American practice of not frightening the audience with any sudden movements.... [ ] 02-19-97 DAILY VARIETY. Wednesday. Page 1. 522 words. "Ch. 5 Ready for Air with H'wood Flair" By Steve Clarke COMMENTARY: EXCERPT: Britain's Channel 5, one of the last terrestrial stations to come onstream in Europe, is putting its faith in Hollywood as it gears up for launch on March 30. Details of its schedule, announced Tuesday, reveal a program lineup designed on U.S. lines with shows stripped across the week and about 40% of the programming acquired from U.S. producers.... ...The new Aaron Spelling soap "Sunset Beach" will be shown every weekday at lunchtime. Other American series include daily screenings of "The Bold and the Beautiful" plus showcases for "Twin Peaks," "Melrose Place" and "Journeys of Hercules" and "Xena: Warrior Princess." There also is a sprinkling of antipodean fare, including a daily dose of Oz kids' soap "Bush Patrol" and Oz drama "Halifax SP."... [ ] 02-20-97 ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH. Thursday. Page 39. 64 words. "Critic's Television Choice" By Gail Pennington COMMENTARY: EXCERPT: ...In the tradition of "Bonanza,'' Hercules' new bride (Sam Jenkins) promptly bites the dust on Hercules: The Legendary Journeys (7 tonight on Channel 11). Luckily, the lovely Xena (Lucy Lawless) turns up to offer support... [ ] 02-20-97 NEWSDAY. Thursday. Page B21. 701 words. "Home Fires / Best Hot Spot Is in Front of the Hearth" By Denise Flaim COMMENTARY: EXCERPT: IT'S BEEN a year. A year ago from this Saturday, to be exact. A year of writing Home Fires, which I suppose makes this particular column an anniversary one. Before this, I wrote another kind of column for Newsday for a total of five years, but I never once noted its anniversary date. Five years on the nightclub beat is a long time, and in between having my shoes sloshed with Sex on the Beach and having guys in toupees insist that my I'm-from-Newsday introduction was an elaborate pick-up line, I learned a lot. I learned that no one goes out before 11 p.m., and no one gives a lucid quote after 1 a.m. I learned that those perfectly made-up, perfectly coiffed cheerleaders from high school go on to become perfectly made-up, perfectly coiffed club bunnies, and that no matter how hard we try, we'll never look like Xena: Warrior Princess in Spandex because we just don't have the genes.... [ ] 02-20-97 THE BUFFALO NEWS. Thursday. Page 5D. 1271 words. 'Another Priceless 'Seinfeld' Episode, plus a Prize From 'Reading Rainbow'" By Alan Pergament COMMENTARY: EXCERPT: ...Is it just me, or does WB49 seem to have unlimited promotional funds? You can't turn on the radio without hearing a promo for "Hercules" or "Xena" on some station. And about that $ 1 million contest by the new station: That's what you'd have to pay me to watch most of their talk shows. But seriously, folks, want to know what the contest is all about? If you're the 49th caller and your telephone number matches one of 200 pre-selected phone numbers on a computer, you win $ 1 million. The WB says your odds of winning are 1 in 3,400. The 49th caller does always get some prize, such as a health club membership, sun roofs, dinette sets and entertainment centers. This ratings period is the second one for Channel 49, which was encouraged by its opening numbers in November. Channel 49 executives note that syndicated shows like "Hercules," "Xena" and the entire 5 to 8 p.m. block improved by as much as 400 percent when comparing the fourth week of the November book to the first. But other sources say that improvement could just be the result of different people having ratings books in their hands....