THIS WEEK IN XENA NEWS....
TWXN 58
12/28/96

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.


FROM THE EDITOR:
   1. XMR #20 is ready to send out! All I have to do is
process the recent batch of subscription requests and
it will be old news! Expect is in your mailbox sometime
tomorrow. HIGHLIGHTS for XMR #20: A mini-review of the
second season so far; a fan report from the
Netherlands; amended annotations covering more of the
NZ press: airing of HTLJ, Cameron Rhodes (Deiphobos in
BEWARE OF GREEKS), more comparisons to Baywatch, a rare 
Eric Gruendemann interview, the foam plastic makers for
the show, and Grant Bridger (Sinteres in ROYAL COUPLE);
and annotations covering: local promos, Q&As, Bruce
Campbell (Autolycus in ROYAL COUPLE), Nielsens for
BEWARE OF GREEKS (2nd release), commentaries on THE
GREATER GOOD and CALLISTO, even more comparisons to
Baywatch, and MORE!!!!!! So, if you have not subscribed
to XMR (Xena Media Review) yet, then how can you
honestly call yourself a RABID XENA FAN????? To
subscribe just send "sub xmr" to ktaborn@lightspeed.net
and drive those Xena Withdrawal Symptoms away.
   2. WHOOSH #4 will be on-line January 1, 1997
(http://www.thirdstory.com/whoosh). HIGHLIGHTS for
WHOOSH #4: Alexander the Great and XWP; Ares in TEN
LITTLE WARLORDS; Part 4 of the Battle of Corinth;
cultural influences in XWP; a token Callisto article;
X&G's relationship in CHARIOTS OF WAR, DREAMWORKER, and
CRADLE OF HOPE; REMEMBER ME and IT'S WONDERFUL LIFE;
the times Xena and Gabrielle have kissed; Xena's
family; the XWP soundtrack cd; and the Gabberish
Lexicon. It will be an action packed issue you will not
want to miss!
   3. I am still looking for cub reporters to help
cover the Xena Convention on January 12th. Send me an
e-mail ASAP if you are interested.
   4. Thousand pardons for making this a long one, but
it was either two small ones or one long one. The long
one won out.


And now...the news:


[x058] 12-25-96
   AUSTIN AMERICAN-STATESMAN. Page E5. 508 words.
"Birth Announcements"
   COMMENTARY: Not a XWP reference, but it is always
good news to hear of a new Xena out there. 
   EXCERPT:
   ST. DAVID'S HOSPITAL...
   ...A daughter, Xena Alexandria Saunders, to Valerie
and Vernon Saunders of Round Rock, Nov. 5....


[    ] 12-26-96
   CHICAGO TRIBUNE. Thursday. Page D13. 437 words.
"'Honey, I Shrunk the Kids' to Be a Series" By Kate
O'Hare
   COMMENTARY: XWP is mentioned in passing as the
competition for the Disney sponsored syndicated weekly
one-hour TV show "Honey, I Shrunk the Kids". John
Landis, the producer, stated, "One of the reasons we'll
be successful, is we are counterprogramming. Almost all
syndication is action or--because that's what
sells--foreign. We are actually doing an hour family
show. It flies in the fact of conventional wisdom." 
Ms. O'Hare wrote: "The series will be a weekly one-hour
show, putting it up against such genre series as 'Xena:
Warrior Princess,' 'Hercules: The Legendary Journeys,'
'Babylon 5' and 'Star Trek: Deep Space Nine' in the
heated competition for time slots."
   What struck me most about this article was the order
in which the competition was listed: XWP was named
first, HTLJ second, Babylon 5 third, and STAR TREK:
DEEP SPACE NINE last. This does not bode well with DEEP
SPACE NINE. That BABYLON 5 was in the list at all tells
me that Ms. O'Hare must be a SF/Fantasy action hour
viewer herself.


[    ] 12-27-96
   THE WASHINGTON POST. Friday. Page N10. 1238 words.
"Oh, What A Night Life" By Eric Brace
   COMMENTARY: In an article highlighting the nightlife
available in the nation's capital, Mr. Brace wrote:
"When people complain that there's nothing to do in
Washington, I now know they're just being lazy. These
are usually the same people who whine that Washington
isn't as much fun as New York City. Oh, duh. But it's a
lot more fun than, say, Richmond or Baltimore or
Philadelphia. So I say, quit whining and go out. Turn
off the TV (well, you can stay in for 'ER' and 'Xena')
and head into the great American night."
   The author mentioned XWP and ER in the same
sentence, and implied their equality in quality. ER is,
of course, the top rated drama hour on US network
television. 


[    ] 12-27-96
   STAR TRIBUNE. Page 1E. 657 words. "On Tap" By Tom
Surowicz
   COMMENTARY: Local promo for 3rd release of BEWARE OF
GREEKS BEARING GIFTS (#12). Mr. Surowicz referred to
Xena warmly as "our heroine".
   EXCERPT:
   ...Television...
   ...No small task for a Sunday night: Helen of Troy
asks our heroine to help end the Trojan War on "Xena:
Warrior Princess" (10 p.m., WFTC-Ch. 29)....


[    ] 12-27-96
   THE ORLANDO SENTINEL. Friday. Page 3. 394 words.
"Xena, Xetu. Xetu, Xena" By Dan Smith
   COMMENTARY: In the preface to his article about his
two New Years' resolutions (one of which concerns
"Xetu" a show in Spanish on Univision), Mr. Smith
wrote: "I've been so busy watching and rewatching the
Xena: Warrior Princess Christmas Special video that I
haven't finished writing my New Years' resolutions."
   This man should be more careful with what he writes.
I have not heard of any commercially released Christmas
special video for XWP. He must be referring to his own
tape of A SOLSTICE CAROL (#33). However, I assume
because of this unfortunate turn of phrase, Xena fandom
now will become consumed by this rumor of a XMR
Christmas Special video.


[    ]  12-27-96
   THE FRESNO BEE. Page E4. 702 words. "It's No Secret,
Folks -- We Know What TV Shows You're Watching" By
Lanny Larson
   COMMENTARY: An article about the Nielsen Media
Research's assessment of California's Central Valley
prime-time viewership in November wrote: "KAIL, Ch. 53,
Fresno's UPN affiliate, may have found its prime-time
niche with sci-fi, fantasy- and action-adventure. UPN's
'Star Trek: Voyager' and 'Sentinel' and the syndicated
'Xena: Warrior Princess' and 'Hercules: The Legendary
Journeys' had nice numbers in November."


[    ]  12-29-96
    THE SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE. Sunday. Page E-1. 939
words. "Putting the best fact on the year that was
1996" By Welton Jones (welton.jones@uniontrib.com)
   COMMENTARY: In a list of the good things for the
past year, Mr. Welton ended it with the observation
"And 'Xena: Warrior Princess' made television worth
watching again."
   Mr. Jones' previous articles about or mentioning XWP
were:
   10-01-96. THE SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE. Page E-1.
"The Current Cosby Creation Leaves Him Cold". Mr.
Jones, in an aside, equated the quality of XWP to that
of NYPD BLUE, a top rated, critically acclaimed network
drama. 
   10-15-96. THE SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE. Page E-3.
"Xena Allure Makes Her Legend in His Own Mind." Mr.
Jones wrote one of the most eloquent and pro-XWP
articles. After comparing the birth of Xena to the
birth of Venus, he made the observation that Xena, as a
character, was "the most likely new candidate since Mr.
Spock and Darth Vader" to become a new folk hero. This
article, perhaps, was one of the best examples of a
trend I having been noting in news coverage of XWP into
its second season. At last, professional TV-watchers
are coming out of the closet to defend and extol XWP.
They are not afraid to admit their bias towards the
show and use an almost proselytizing demeanor in their
writing. He also was one of the first reporters to
compare XWP with HTLJ and to find HTLJ lacking. This
article was easily the non-intellectual counterpart of
the most seminal articles on XWP published to date. The
"seminal" articles being, THE VILLAGE VOICE, (XMR115)
12-26-95, page 47, "Xenaphilia" by Stacey D'Erasmo; MS
MAGAZINE, (XMR322), Vol 7, No. 1, July/August 1996,
page 74, "Xena. She's Big, Tall, Strong--and Popular"
by Donna Minkowitz; and THE WASHINGTON POST, (XMR
pending) 09-21-96, page C01, "Woman of Steel;
Television's Warrior Xena Is a Superheroine With Broad
Appeal" by Elizabeth Kastor. 