THIS WEEK IN XENA  NEWS...  
TWXN 109
09/20/97
Saturday

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. I have FINALLY secured transportation to the San
Francisco Convention (10/18/97). Now all I need is a
place to stay for me and my chauffeur. We are willing
to take anything: a bit of floor space, a couch, a RV,
a spare bed, I MEAN ANYTHING!!!! If YOU think you can
furnish something like that (including all REASONABLE
facsimiles), contact ME at ktaborn@lightspeed.net with
the subject "SF OR BUST" (hahahaha, why is it
whenenever I see the word bust I think of 7 of 9???
Must just be me). There will be INCENTIVES offered for
YOUR hospitality. 

2. Lucy Lawless brought up that spanking lawyers theme
again on Conan O'Brien (09/18/97). I was wondering, is
she stating an actual observation OF FACT or is she
just politely informing us that SHE'd like to spank a
few lawyers? (I have known some I'd like to slap
around, but, nah, not spank.) SO, I have decided to
liven up this charactistically dry newsletter by
IMPLORING all you lawyers out there...DO YOU WANT TO
GET SPANKED? And...DO YOU WANT "IT" ENOUGH TO PHONE UP
LUCY LAWLESS (or have one of your people "take care of
it") AND ASK FOR "IT" (politely, I assume)? Heck, let's
include law students, paralegals, and anyone connected
with the legal profession in this GREAT COUNTRY of
ours. ALL RESPONSES WILL BE KEPT CONFIDENTIAL, or my
name isn't "Just" Kym. If anyone dares to respond, I
will RELEASE the results in a later issue of TWXN.

3. Today's TWXN is an eclectic bunch so my ADVICE is
just to jump in. I am wordy today because I am still
debriefing myself from my NYC Xena Adventure (tm). At
some point I will have to exorcise myself of the
events, but lucky you, not today! 

And now....the NEWS:


[    ] 05-01-97
   MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL. Friday. Page 4. 279
words. "Word Series"
   COMMENTARY: My husband has relatives in Milwaukee
and for a while it looked like we might be moving
there. I immediately checked out the on-line Milwaukee
Xena fan population and it gave me the distinct
impression that they were a fun group. And is this any
wonder, what with average citizens off the street
professing their LOVE of the warrior princess? Check
out Anne, 12 years old, but old enough to recognize the
best darn television show currently on the air. And she
wants to be a lawyer when she grows up AND OPEN A
SPA!!! (Whew...it was too close to spanking for my
COMFORT).
   EXCERPT:
   ...Student's name: Anne W. Conway
   Grade and age: Grade 7, age 12
   Favorite school subject: Math
   Favorite book: "Nancy Drew" series
   Favorite TV show: "Xena: Warrior Princess"
   Hobbies and interests: I like reading, sports and
"Star Wars."
   Plans for the future (What do you hope to do after
school): I want to be a lawyer and an actress.   I
would also like to open a spa....


[    ] 05-02-97
   ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY. Page 46. 905 words. "and Away
She Goes; As 'Roseanne' Closes the Door on its Final
Season, Ken Tucker Argues Why this Groundbreaking
Sitcom--and its Grande Dame -- Continue to Be Tv's
Greatest Working-class Act" By Ken Tucker
   COMMENTARY: A very fleeting and zero-information
reference to XWP. For those who may not know, last
season, Roseanne was one of many who inserted a XENA
parody into her TV show. This reminds us of how quickly
XENA became part of our popular culture last season. It
was only XWP's 2nd season, and yet programs on network
TV with ratings double that of XWP were making canny
references to the show with the assumption that their
audience would "get" the allusions.
   EXCERPT:
   ...Roseanne has said that even disaffected fans will
appreciate the series' concluding story line, which is
scheduled to air May 20 and which she vows will explain
much of the foolishness that's gone on this season
(gee, even those Xena and Rambo parody episodes?)....


[    ] 05-02-97
   ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE. Friday. Page 1E. 598
words. "Making the grades" by Charles Allbright
   COMMENTARY: This coverage of a local court action
contains a subtle reference to XWP. It is an example of
how deeply entrenched the idea of the warrior princess
is becoming in our culture. She just pops up
everywhere! In this case, the reporter uses a reference
to XENA to add a little editorializing about the
accused's mother.
   It is interesting to note that the actress Lucy
Lawless, who plays Xena, is reportedly 5'10 1/2 inches
tall. Xena, her character, usually is referred to being
6' feet tall. Perhaps Little Lee's mama is over 6'4"?
The simile to Xena is factually incorrect, but the
author was referring to the impression of height that
an imposing character, like Xena, can provide.
   EXCERPT:
   ...The accused stood before the court, and heard the
judge say, "I understand around the dirt track you are
known as Leroy 'The Rocket' Richards -- is that so?"
   "No, sir, your honor. I'm just Leroy Richards. Mama
calls me little Lee." Mama would be Xena: Warrior
Princess. Little Lee is 6 feet 4 inches and 280.
   His honor continues, "Mr. Rocket, Officer Bumphry
here concedes that his radar gun malfunctioned just as
you passed through the intersection. Although he was
seated in his unit, the hat on Officer Bumphry's head
was sucked right out the window. Very well. For this
court you will now estimate your speed on passing
through the intersection." 
   "Yes, sir. It'd be only a guess, but I was doing
something over 15, and about the same amount under 90."
   Little Lee went to jail doing 100. It works only
when a lawyer says it...


[   f] 05-03-97
   THE FRESNO BEE. Saturday. Page A2. 630 words. "Movie
set must be jinxed" by Bee News Services
   COMMENTARY: This blurb is a mesh of two separate
news releases. It includes the annoucement of Ms.
Lawless' plans for a limited Broadway run in "Grease"
(the starting date was given wrong; it was Sept. 2nd
that Ms. Lawless started her Broadway marathon); and
Ms. Lawless' appearance in People Magazine's 50 Most
Beautiful People issue. 
   EXCERPT:
   ...Lucy Lawless, star of TV's "Xena: Warrior
Princess," is more than a sword-swinging phenom in mini
metal skirts who forces mere mortals to bow down in
awe. The actress will join the Broadway cast of
"Grease" from Sept. 1 to Oct. 19. "This is my childhood
dream come true," said the 6-foot New Zealander of her
Broadway debut. Lawless also is crowned one of People
magazine's "50 Most Beautiful People In The World,
1997." Costume designer Ngila Dickson rhapsodizes over
Lawless' figure and features: "magnificent shoulders,
beautiful arms, lovely cleavage and a beautiful face."
Lawless, however, would allow only that "I have nice
feet. Long and skinny, with long toes. I wear my dark
silk lingerie and paint my toenails and I feel like a
kept woman."...


[    ]  05-04-97
   THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER. Sunday. Page C01. 885
words. "Ducks feeling wrath of Vlad The Impaler" By
Mark Whicker, (Orange County Register)
   COMMENTARY: Three days before the unfortunate DuCks
vs. the Red Wings hockey game incident, Xena was
mentioned in an article along with Red Wings player
Vladimir Konstantinov. The mention is a throw away line
trying to make light of Konstantinov's nickname of Vlad
the Impaler.
   EXCERPT:
   Ted Drury is questionable for today's game because
of Vladimir Konstantinov, who is questionable during
every game.
   In Game 1, Drury looked down to gather a pass that
he hadn't expected.  At that instant he became the
tugboat and Konstantinov became the torpedo.
   His skate-by blast on Drury's shoulder left the
Mighty Ducks'forward on the ice for a while.  
   "Ted's got a burner," Ron Wilson said.
   Makes sense.  Konstantinov, the toughest customer on
Detroit's back line, can escalate your temperature and
blood pressure, too.
   "When I played in St. Louis, I thought he was a
borderline dirty player," Brendan Shanahan said.
   And now?
   "Now I know  he's a borderline dirty player. "
Konstantinov is known as Vlad The Impaler, which sounds
like the perfect blind date for Xena The Warrior
Princess....


[    ] 05-04-97
   ABC NEWS. ABC GOOD MORNING AMERICA SUNDAY (10:00 am
ET). 1087 words. "Action Heroines" By Dana Kennedy
   COMMENTARY: I liked this reference because it
touched upon (however slightly) a trend which appears
to be redefining what it means to be a woman in popular
culture media. Mark Gill captures the whole essence of
the frustration and the accompanying relief, when he
asks, "Why has it taken this long? I wish it had
happened sooner, you know. I wish, you know, we'd
desegregated the country a lot sooner. I wish a lot of
things would have happened sooner. They just don't. It
takes time."
   EXCERPT:
   ...DANA KENNEDY: (voice-over) Unlike Hollywood, TV's
always been home to the action babe. "The Avengers"
with the elegant but deadly Diana Rigg was a hit back
in the '60s. "Wonder Woman" was a hit in the '70s, and
"Xena, Warrior Princess" is the number one syndicated
hit of the '90s. And action heroines like Michelle Yo
(ph) have packed a punch in Hong Kong movies for years. 
   MARK GILL: Why has it taken this long? I wish it had
happened sooner, you know. I wish, you know, we'd
desegregated the country a lot sooner. I wish a lot of
things would have happened sooner. They just don't. It
takes time....

     
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
assistance 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". 


