THIS WEEK IN XENA NEWS... TWXN 83 07/07/97 Monday 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. [ ] 02-23-97 THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE. Sunday. Page B3. 637 words. "Characters Galore Show Up at Sci-Fi Meet" By John Keahey (The Salt Lake Tribune) EXCERPT: Darth Vader was there. So was Xena the warrior princess, and a Klingon warrior as well. And they were just science fiction fans in costume. But a one-day conference Saturday at the Riverboat in Taylorsville, billed as Women of Science Fiction and Films, had something on the menu for everybody. Actress Olivia Hussey, who played the seminal role of Juliet in Zeffirelli's late 1960s film version of Romeo and Juliet, was there, too.... [ ] 02-24-97 VARIETY. Page A23. 426 words. "Female chopsocky pic has legs" By John Corcoran EXCERPT: Martial-arts pics almost never get invited to film festivals. But on Feb. 11 at Portugal's Fantasporto Intl. Film Fest, Maslak/Friedenn Films' "Sworn to Justice," directed by Paul Maslak, became one of the rare U.S. independent martial-arts films to be featured at an overseas festival.... ..."Sworn's" protagonist is a young professional woman played by indie action perennial Cynthia Rothrock. "We chose a female protagonist,"Friedenn explains, "for the same reason NBC-TV put women's Olympic sports into primetime: It attracts both men and women. And the woman-in-action concept has made the syndie series 'Xena' an international sensation."... [ ] 02-24-97 VARIETY. Page 1. 1179 words. "Fall drama lineup is a foreign affair" By Joe Flint EXCERPT: HOLLYWOOD With license fees for hourlong TV dramas stuck in the neighborhood of $ 1 million per episode and production costs increasing substantially every year, international appeal has become a crucial element in the pilot development season. That trend has now become even more apparent, as the networks unveil their drama development slates for the 1997-98 season. Quirky shows are few and far between, with the majority of projects under consideration by the webs featuring known names in front of and behind the camera --- with plots that are an easy sell abroad. The new mood angers many players, who fear the medium is straying from its traditional emphasis on good writing.... ...But economics are taking precedence. "We have to avoid getting into the trap of creating something that won't play overseas," says Greg Meidel, chairman of Universal's Television Group. "As much as I loved 'Northern Exposure,' we can't afford that kind of hit."... ...Besides "Time Cop," Universal also has a 13-episode commitment from Fox for the drama "Roar," an epic set in 4th-century Ireland that has been described as " 'Braveheart,' the TV series." Payday abroad No doubt the studio is thinking about a big overseas payoff similar to the success its firstrun action hours "Hercules" and "Xena" have enjoyed.... [ g] 02-24-97 THE TORONTO STAR. Monday. Page C4. 656 words. "Shirley, Nikita at opposite ends of spectrum" By Henry Mietkiewicz (Toronto Star) EXCERPT: Two new series. Both featuring crime busters. Both with females stars. Both produced in Canada. And each at opposite ends of the spectrum in dramatic roles for women on TV. At one extreme, we've got The Adventures Of Shirley Holmes, built around the brainy young descendent of the sleuth of Baker St. Armed with microscope and fingerprint kit, she exposes the guilty every week on YTV, starting this evening at 6:30 and repeating Saturday at 6. Then at 10 on Channel 9, CTV launches Nikita, based on France's 1990 movie thriller La Femme Nikita, remade by Hollywood as Point Of No Return. Here the heroine is a former street person who's ensnared by a covert, government-run anti-terrorist group and turned into an efficient though reluctant killing machine.... ...Just don't look to Nikita for Shirley's brand of shrewd observation. Smoking pistols and kneecap-crunching karate kicks are as subtle as it gets in this cockeyed blend of Mission: Impossible, The Girl From UNCLE and Xena: Warrior Princess.... [ ] 02-24-97 EUROPEAN MEDIA BUSINESS & FINANCE. No. 4. Vol. 7. 972 words. "E! Entertainment and MGM Ready for UK Launches Later This Year" EXCERPT: ...Where Is the Capacity? The glut of networks hoping to get on various digital systems can seem overwhelming. In the U.K. alone, last autumn's BBC/Flextech deal is expected to lead to the creation of up to eight new channels; GSkyB is launched seven channels Oct. 1, 1996; MTV Europe last month announced plans to bring its M2 alternative music video channel to the U.K.; in addition to the many channels currently on U.K. cable/satellite plus the many more that are fighting for carriage. Plus, many of the Hollywood companies are trying to develop networks using their content. In addition to MGM, Disney, Warner Bros., Fox, Paramount and Universal are looking to bring channels into the market. Universal International Television is launching a branded pay network in Germany (on Kirch's DF-1) and France (on Canalsatellite) this autumn. The network mainly will feature action/adventure programming - which is where Universal is making its name in the international TV arena. Currently, the action/adventure series "Xena: Princess Warrior" and "Hercules" are two of Universal's biggest selling programmes.... [ ] 02-25-97 THE VILLAGE VOICE: PAZZ AND JOP. Page 13. 1518 words. "Alanis and Her Sisters" EXCERPT: ...I'm not convinced Alanis has any more cultural value than Xena: Warrior Princess--she's tough, and an obvious crowd pleaser, but I think she makes weak-witted art. On the other hand, when Tori Amos and Ani DiFranco packed the cavernous Northrop Auditorium last year, I saw strong women making smart, adventurous, complicated music in front of thousands of screaming teenage girls. Will Hermes Minneapolis, Minnesota... [ ] 02-27-97 DAILY VARIETY. Thursday. Page 5. 203 words. "'Xena' powers to record rating" By Jenny Hontz COMMENTARY: This historic article in VARIETY was about the episode THE QUEST. REPRINT: Universal Domestic TV's weekly action hour "Xena: Warrior Princess" is expected to reach an all-time high of 7.7 in Nielsen's national ratings released today, which also ties as the highest-rated episode of a weekly hour this season. The only other action hour to hit a 7.7 this season was Paramount Domestic TV's special "Trouble With Tribbles" episode of "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine," which aired during the November sweep. "Xena's" GAA rating, which counts duplicative viewing, will be even more impressive when ratings for the week ending Feb. 16 are released by Nielsen today, according to Universal sources. The GAA rating will be an 8.7, the highest GAA for an action hour since the 9.2 season premiere of "Star Trek: DSN" in 1995. "Xena's" 7.7 AA average is up 36% from its 5.5 rating one year ago. While "Xena" is a spin-off of Universal's "Hercules," the show has frequently surpassed its predecessor of late. The latest week is no exception, and "Hercules" is also expected tomorrow to receive numbers that give it a season high of 6.9, up 17% from its year-ago rating. "Xena's" AA rating in women 18-49 will be a 5.5, and 4.9 in men 18-49. It will hit a 6.9 among teens and a 6.4 among kids. [ a] 03-02-97 OMAHA WORLD HERALD. Sunday. Page 2TV. 616 words. "Actor Finds 'Robin' A Refreshing Role" by John Keenan (World-Herald Staff Writer) COMMENTARY: EXCERPT: He's a perennial. In the pre-Power Rangers era, there were the big three. When you went outside to play, if you were a boy, you usually were either a cowboy, Tarzan or Robin Hood. Matthew Paretta, star of TNT's new series about the popular swashbuckler, is still playing Robin Hood, and he likes it just fine.... ..."Like Xena and Hercules, we've got a modern sensibility, but with a historical anchor," Paretta said. "It's definitely in the same genre, but we're all trying to figure out our place in it (the genre), to put a new spin on it." Paretta said playing the role of Robin Hood could be a surreal experience....