THIS WEEK IN XENA NEWS....
TWXN 57
12/26/96

Brought to you by Xena: Media Review (XMR):
http://xenafan.com/xmr

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.


[   s] 12-20-96
   THE ORLANDO SENTINEL. Friday. Page 1. 579 words.
"Looking for Xena, Toy Patrol Strikes out" By Mike
Archer
   COMMENTARY: An investigative reporter in search of
Rev. Rose's offensive Xena II action figure (in order
to undress) finds it sold out and also finds that the
"good toys far outweigh the bad".
   EXCERPT:
   Armed with a news clipping of the Rev. Christopher
L. Rose's 10th annual list of warped American toys, I
entered Kay Bee toy store at Lake Square Mall. 
   As part of my duty to serve and inform the public, I
prepared myself to risk damnation and remove Xena's
warrior princess outfit. 
   "She's supposed to be a hero," the Rev. Rose says.
"But why is it you take her clothes off?"
   That's certainly a fair question. But I was too late
to answer it. 
   Xena and all her warped toy buddies were gone. Funny
thing, that old supply and demand.
   So I looked around for other toys the Connecticut
clergyman/toy critic might consider warped. Surely,
with the toy biz in the hands of Xena and the like, I
could huff and puff myself into some moral outrage at
something else in the store.
   I rushed around the store like a maddened
inquisitor.
   To my disappointment, the overwhelming majority of
toys weren't anything close to warped. They were
thought-provoking and fun.
   Nerf footballs, for example, are way better than
they used to be. The skin of the football is ridged so
little fingers can get a grip and little ball players
can learn to toss a bullet pass just like Gator Danny
Wuerffel drills 'em. 
   Talk about a confidence builder.
   With Pocahontas Paint 'n' Weave, you can make dozens
of colorful crafts. The only raw material you need is
something every kid can get - paper towels. 
   Animal Families are small, movable figures of lions,
elephants, polar bears, gorillas and other animals -
all with parents and an offspring. 
   On the box are some quick notes about the
characteristics of the species and a world map with red
dots locating its habitat. Excellent. 
   Why shouldn't kids collect a little knowledge along
with their toy critters? 
   My First Laptop, a toy computer for tots, asks
questions about counting and identifying objects. Then
it tells you, in an encouraging voice, if you get the
answer right. It also comes with a CD that builds a
child-friendly bridge into the world of real computers.
   Remember Golden Books? Now they're electronic.
   You can still get Dumbo, Pinocchio, Snow White,
Beauty and the Beast and other classic stories, but the
new books are more fun.
   Take Power Rangers Food Fight, for instance. This
book has a row of 10 recorded sounds that play when you
press a square along the side of the book. 
   The idea is to follow the story, press the matching
sound-picture buttons and hear the sounds as you go.
   That's the idea, but it's more fun to experiment and
make up little techno-rhythms of your own as you read
along.
   Mom, get this with extra batteries because Dad's
going to wear out the first set.
   I have sad news for Rev. Rose this holiday season.
In Lake County, good toys far outweigh the bad.
   Parents, it's your own fault if you go into the toy
store and buy something that warps your kids. There are
hundreds of terrific alternatives. 
   Toys look better than ever....


[    ] 12-22-96
   THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER. Sunday. Page F14. 960
words. "The TV ratings, and the rated, we'd like to
see" By Kinney Littlefield
   COMMENTARY: In Kelly Littlefield's lighthearted
article about her personal TV rating system, XWP ranked
a mention: "A blood-curdling TV-KILLER to 'Xena:
Warrior Princess.' Star Lucy Lawless proves that
strong, intelligent women and high-action TV shows are
a great combo.  Lawless keeps the ultimate warrior
princess nicely sly as she chops her way through
ancient Greece. She's even beating Kevin Sorbo's
'Hercules' in weekly ratings and 'Herc' is the show
that spawned her."
   She also lamented that in her market, The Pretender
and XWP air the same times.


[    ]  12-24-96
   NEWSDAY. Tuesday. Page B53. 1101 words. "Glued to
the Tube / Sampling the Flea Market / Wanted: Creaky
Reruns, Wacky Local Shows" By Diane Werts 
   COMMENTARY: In a plea for more cheesy, trash TV, the
author called the producers of XWP and HTLJ
"genre-heads who fill 'Hercules' and 'Xena' with
cleverly cheesy thrills every Saturday night". The
graphic was of Kevin Sorbo as Hercules with the caption
"Kevin Sorbo, star of the contemporary trashfest
'Hercules'"
   Diane Werts has also written on XWP --- times for
NEWSDAY:
   [018a] 05-11-95. "Kevin Sorbo Didn't Want to Play
Hercules on TV. Now He's Glad He Reconsidered"  Ms.
Werts mentioned Xena in passing as having been
introduced in HTLJ and the subject of a new television
show.
   [163] 02-13-96. "Glued to the Tube/Like Chocolate, a
Dose Of TV Schlock Hits the Spot". Another Ms. Werts
paean to "schlock TV" which she mentioned a
conversation with another reporter who asked if she had
seen XWP lately.
   [   ] 12-03-96. "Glued to the Tube / Gifts for Couch
Potatoes / It's Easy Shopping Without Leaving Your
Seat". Ms. Werts mentioned how easy it was to buy Xena
merchandise without leaving your couch.
   Ms. Werts is attracted to XWP, but is more
interested in its "cheese" factor and its use of humor.

