THIS WEEK IN THE XENA NEWS....
TWXN #25
09/01/96

Brought to you by Xena: Media Review (XMR):
http://www.teleport.com/~gater/IAXS.html

XMR is a periodic annotated world press review of
reports regarding the internationally syndicated
television show XENA: Warrior Princess (1995 - ) and
the castmembers, Lucy Lawless and Renee O'Connor.  For
a free e-mail subscription send "subscribe XMR" to
ktaborn@lightspeed.net. Excerpts from the following
cites will appear in future issues of XMR.


From the editor:
   I am still playing catch up which explains why the
lion's share of annotations are from July. I will get
to the last of August's news article sometime this
month. If I am lucky.
   I am done with my rough draft of XMR #17 and I have
got caught up on the subscription requests and letters
to the editor. I am cooking. All I have to do is do a
cursory proof-read and then the newsletter will be out.
WARNING. XMR #17 will be sent out in 4 parts: each part
will be over 1,000 lines long. It will take more than
one sitting to read this baby. If you cannot handle
this, warn me before hand. You can then pick it up at
the website. 
   I anticipate sending XMR #17 either later tonight or
tomorrow.
   Once the curse of XMR #17 has been distinguished, I
will then devote my wandering attentions to Whoosh. So,
if you are an IAXS member, expect to be contacted by me
in the near future.
   Also, the Carmen Carter Reading Group has just
started. It's not too late to join. If you want a
syllabus just send me an e-mail at ktaborn@lightspeed.
net.  September will be "Dreams of the Raven" month. 
RAVEN (TOS #38, Pocketbooks) is a rare Dr. McCoy novel;
so if McCoy yanks your chain, I would strongly
encourage you to join the discussion group.


[   ]  06-04-96
   FEMINIST SCIENCE FICTION, FANTASY & UTOPIA: II. D.
NON-PRINT MULTIMEDIA FORMATS. http://www.uic.edu/
~lauramd/sf/. 
   COMMENTARY: XWP was mentioned on the web again in a
review of television shows of interest to feminists. 
The review took that stance that although XWP was not
their ideal of a feminist hero, she was at least
leading in the proper direction.



[   ] 06-14-96
   MOGUL webpage (mogul@tols.co.nz). Telecom NZ Ltd.
"Xena: Warrior Princess"
   REPRINT: Extended promo for the 06/19/96 New Zealand
premiere of XWP which was exhibited on the Mogul
webpage for Telecom NZ (TVNZ). Surprisingly enough, the
narrative was the most detailed media release to date
about Xena's past and expected future.  The promoter
called Xena "a breath of fresh air when it comes to
super heroes."


[   ]  06-29-96
   NEW ZEALAND HERALD. Saturday. Weekend Magazine. Page
11. --- words. "Extra: Read All about it. The Darkly
Beautiful Woman Twacks His Plastic Shield. But Gary
Morley Smiles - He's Being Paid for It" By Gary Morley.
   COMMENTARY: An article about the experiences of a
couple of extras on the set for the 2nd season Goliath
episode of XWP.
   Lighthearted in nature, the article did reveal what
it was like to be on the set of XWP and the everyday
problems involved in producing such an action-adventure
hour long show. Fifteen extras were used for an army of
150 and it took two weeks to shoot. The writer wrote "I
grab tenaciously at my 15 nanoseconds of fame [which
took three days of his life] as, on camera, Xena
thwacks my plastic shield and huskily tells me to
'smarten up!'" 


[   ]  07-04-96
   OVER THE HEDGE. Syndicated comic strip. Thursday. 
   COMMENTARY: "Over the Hedge" was a comic strip
featuring a hip raccoon and turtle who made coments on
life in Suburbia. In a three panel strip, the turtle
was showing the raccoon his concept for a new
development, "Turtopia", where animals and humans would
live in harmony.    
   In the first panel, the raccoon said, "What makes
you think people will GO for your Turtopian concept?". 
The turtle replied, "Look, they want to be close to
nature, but not TOO close.". 
   In the 2nd panel he continued, "We give them what
THEY want" At which point the raccoon read from the
brochure, "`Tasteful, regularly scheduled foraging with
random displays of adorableness'"  
   In the third panel, the turtle continued, "and WE
get what WE want!" As the raccoon finished the
Brochure: "`Free digital satellite access to the 24
hour `All Xena, All the Time' network."



[   ] 07-13-96
   MCA XENA NETFORUM. Post from Lucy Lawless; posted by
Xenastaff (aka Tyldus) for Lucy Lawless. --- words.
   COMMENTARY: In her second post to internet XWP
fandom, Lucy Lawless thanked her fans for their letters
and gifts and singled out Jetthead for making sending
them to her.
   Reference to a partner ("I do not often go on the
net unless my partner forces me to sit down for 2
seconds, but I am often charmed when I do.") caused
quite a bit of conjectural activity on the 'net, but
for the most part the forces of respecting Ms. Lawless'
privacy won out.
   She mentioned that she gave copies of the letters to
Ms. O'Connor, who read them and gave her love. 
   Ms. Lawless also mentioned that she was in the midst
of filming the first installment of the eagerly awaited
Callisto two parter for the second season. Ms. Lawless
said that the conclusion of the two-parter would
involve "mind transfer".
   She concluded the post by informing the reader that
"In one month, I come to the States for one week's
publicity, then off to Europe for a holiday. Yipee!"
   The post was charming, respectful to the fans, and
irresistably engaging (especially how she drew in the
reader with some insider info; it was more like sharing
some secrets with an old friend than a strategic
business move). Ms. Lawless either has good insinct
herself in fan managament, or she was getting some very
good advice. Either way, the post fanned the passions
of Xena fandom and gave them a respite from the long,
arid season of summer re-runs.


[   ]  07-13-96
   NEW ZEALAND HERALD. Page 22. --- words. "Networks
Exchange Blows over 'Spoiling Tactics' Programming"
   Contributed by Linda Gaunt <lgaunt@ix.netcom.com>
   COMMENTARY: Announcement that TVNZ was dropping ST:
Voyager and moving XWP to from Wednesdays to Fridays,
after HTLJ, starting 07/24/96.


[   ] 08-26-96
   CAVE OF ECHOES. HTLJ episode no. 37. Second release. 
   COMMENTARY: Bottle show which showed clips from
"Hercules and the Lost Kingdom" (with Renee O'Connor,
who appeared in the clip); "As Darkness Falls" (with
Lucy Lawless, who did not appear in the clip); and
"Unchained Heart" (with Lucy Lawless as Xena, who
appeared briefly in the clip).


