THIS WEEK IN XENA  NEWS...  
TWXN 104
09/02/97


The advance sheet of XENA MEDIA REVIEW (XMR):
http://xenafan.com/xmr

Excerpts from the following cites will appear in future
issues of XMR.


From the editor:

1. Due to a massive time crunch, XMR and TWXN will be
slightly out of kilter in September, but they will get
out to the masses...one way or another.

2. And that's it! I am too tired to say anything else.
If you are curious what's in this issue, THEN READ IT.
If you are curious what's in the next one, be
patient....tomorrow is another day after all.


Here's the stuff:


[    ] 04-17-97
   THE TORONTO STAR. Thursday. Page J1. 568 words.
"More 'Doom' and gloom: by William Burrill
   COMMENTARY: Cultural reference. Like what else is
there THESE DAYS????
   EXCERPT:
   The other week I was whining that too many of the
new carts are either fighting games, Doom-clones or
two-dimensional platform hoppers. And, as if to prove
my point, three of the most heavily hyped new games to
have crossed my desk in recent days are - surprise! - a
fighting game, a Doom clone and, three guesses . . .
yes, a 2-D platform hop 'n' bopper.
   In the video game industry tradition of
mass-producing sequels of successful games, the three
new contenders lack originality and give us the same
ol' same ol'. I must grudgingly admit that - while
these games are nothing new - they are still very good
games if you like that sort of thing.  
   * Tekken 3: Soul Blade:...
   ...Xena The Warrior Princess would love this game,
and with good reason, because Soul Blade, for all the
hype, is a very good fighting game. The graphics are
fantastic and there are new weapons and techniques to
be picked up as you slice, dice, hack and grate your
way through the different levels....


[    ] 04-17-97
   CALGARY HERALD. Thursday. Page 8. 764 words. "Toast!
Cafe & Grill will be jam-packed" by Brent Morrison,
Herald Writer
   COMMENTARY: Cultural reference. Just imagine that,
will you????
   EXCERPT:
   When you think of toast, a cafe & grill is not the
first thing that pops into mind.
   Yet there is something quite intriguing about a cafe
named Toast. Especially with the billing on the front
door that exclaims: The first Toast! Cafe & Grill in
Canada.
   Xena (my friend not the warrior princess) lives in
the Somerset area and emplored me to go with her to try
out this new establishment....  


[    ] 04-18-97
   THE JERUSALEM POST. Friday. Page 11. 3397 words. "TV
links Shoah survivors" By Penny Starr
   COMMENTARY: XWP is in Israel!!! I don't know about
you, but when I come home after a hard day's work, I
turn down the lights, snuggle into my most comfortable
chair, and chant to myself "Butch Xena and her girly
sidekick Gabrielle". It's great therapy. Try it!
   EXCERPT:
   ...A second show is scheduled for Holocaust Martyrs'
and Heroes' Remembrance Day. 
    But how sad that it has never been done before. The
people with lost identities are at least in their
fifties and have suffered for so long.
    ON A much, much lighter note is Xena, Warrior
Princess (cable Channel 3, Saturdays, 18: 55), which is
definitely one of the strangest shows on TV. 
    Long, long ago there lived a warrior princess with
a metal bra.... No, that can't be right. But hark! I
hear the rattle of a steel bustier! Xena is an
overstuffed half-hour of mything about. It's vaguely
set in ancient Greek times, and in this week's
30-minutes worth, butch Xena and her girly sidekick
Gabrielle rescued Pandora's granddaughter from a
lynching, found a baby in the bulrushes, fought off the
king's men, recaptured Pandora's box and organized an
heir to the throne. And wedged in among all this plot
were a couple of fight scenes - mainly martial arts in
miniskirts.
    These mini-epics (see Hercules et al.) seem to be
all the rage. But even more fun are the down-to-earth
documentaries on Channel 8...


[    ] 04-18-97
   CALGARY HERALD. Friday. Page C1. 463 words.
"Fanfare" By Mike Dempster, Calgary Herald and Bob
Duff, Windsor Star
   COMMENTARY: This is not about "THE" Red Wing
incident, but it is definitely foreshadowing of what we
know is about to come...
   EXCERPT:
   ...Xena, Red Wing fan
   Just call her Xena, Red Wing princess.
   Lucy Lawless, the actor who portrays Xena, Warrior
Princess, in the popular TV show of the same name, is a
huge Detroit Red Wings' fan.
   Her publicist recently contacted the Red Wings'
public relations staff, letting them know of Lawless's
fondness for the Winged Wheel and indicated that any
programs, media guides, or other souvenirs which could
be sent her way would be appreciated.
   The team assembled a package of paraphernalia and
shipped it to Lawless. Shortly thereafter, the team
received a hand-written letter from Lawless, expressing
her heartfelt thanks for the gifts.
   Lawless said she'd be thrilled to attend a Wings'
game and even made a standing offer to come to Joe
Louis Arena and sing the national anthem before a game.
   Maybe she could give the team a few pointers on how
to drive through the opposition and win those
one-on-one battles while she's at it.
   -- Bob Duff, Windsor Star


[    ] 04-20-97
   SUN-SENTINEL (Fort Lauderdale, FL). Sunday. Sports.
Page 2C. 1162 words. "Gods Shine On, Then Burn Writer
at Fabled Augusta" By Randall Mell
   COMMENTARY: Cultural reference. Da da da.
   EXCERPT:
   I don't hit the golf ball particularly long, but I
make up for it by being exceedingly crooked.
   That's the state of my golf game, which made me
wonder what in God's name I was doing on the first tee
at Augusta National the morning after Tiger Woods made
history with his rout at The Masters....
   ...The luck of the draw brought me to golf's Holy
Grail. Or maybe it was a blessing.
   The powers-that-be at Augusta National throw the
media some delicious scraps Monday morning. They hold a
lottery on Saturday. More than 300 media draw numbers,
and a fortunate 40 get tee times.
   They pulled my number, and I'm proud to say I
restrained myself to a half-dozen cartwheels.
   The drawing didn't have quite the same effect on my
colleague, Sun-Sentinel columnist Michael Mayo.
Informed that I was among the chosen few - and he was
not - Mike's mood grew dark. He looked at me as if I
had stolen his prized "Xena: Warrior Princess"
videotape collection.
   "I hate you," he said in a tone more sincere than
anything he had said all week.
   This was Mike's seventh Masters, and his number has
yet to be chosen. This was my first Masters. Over the
next two hours, Mike would limit his communication with
me to hostile, bitter grunts....


[    ] 04-20-97
   THE ORLANDO SENTINEL. Sunday. Page TV3. 462 words.
"Projects Keep Mccallum Busy"
   COMMENTARY: Velasca!!! Yes, there really is a Mindy
Clarke. 
   EXCERPT:
   ...Q: Didn't actress Mindy Clarke from Return of the
Living Dead 3 also play on Days of Our Lives (1 p.m.
weekdays on WESH-Channel 2)?
   A: Yes, she was Faith Taylor, the sheltered daughter
of the late Rev. Saul Taylor. Her real-life dad's still
on the soap: Actor John Clarke plays Mickey Horton. The
actress' only other TV roles were on the 1994 series
Heaven Help Us, and a recent guest shot on Xena:
Warrior Princess. Look for her this year in the
motion picture Spawn....


Notices:

All back issues of XMR and TWXN are available at
(http://xenafan.com/xmr). 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). If you have never been there, you
are **not** a xenafan!

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! I am greatly indebt to you), the MCA
NetForum, the Xenite Message Center, and alt.tv.xena. I
also would like to thank sirvin@law.wfu.edu for
assitance in collecting the newstories. 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". 


