THIS WEEK IN XENA NEWS....
TWXN 66
02/02/97

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

TWXN is the advance sheet for 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. We are still experiencing serious problems with
the thirdstory.com website where WHOOSH resides. Please
be patient. I would appreciate it if people could pass
this info on if they see a post by someone curious
about why the WHOOSH site is not accessable. Thanks. I
appreciate it.
   2. I apologize for being so far behind in these. The
convention really sucked the life blood out of me. In
TWXN #66 we finally get to the beginning of the
convention articles. Enjoy.


[   c] 01-13-97
   THE TAMPA TRIBUNE. Monday. Page 6. 606 words. "New
'Robin Hood' may rob ratings" By Walt Belcher
   COMMENTARY: In a positive review of THE NEW
ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD, the reviewer wrote, "Ever
since Hercules and Xena became the hottest TV
characters in syndication, wanna-bes have been buckling
up their swashes to slash into the ratings. But
newcomers such as 'The Adventures of Sinbad' and
'Tarzan: The Epic Adventures' have failed in the
fantasy genre. There may be hope for 'The New
Adventures of Robin Hood.'"
   After three short seasons for HTLJ and two for XWP,
these two shows are now the yardstick with which to
measure syndicated success with. 


[    ] 01-13-97
   LOS ANGELES TIMES. Monday. Page F2. 722 words. "in
the Know / a Look at the Week Ahead; Well, it Seemed a
Good Idea at the Time"
   COMMENTARY: In a blurb about the NATPE conference in
New Orleans, it was written, "Oh, and 'LadyLaw,' a
reality series hosted by Marcia Clark about women
working in law enforcement -- sort of a modern-day
version of "Xena: Warrior Princess."


[    ] 01-13-97
   ELECTRONIC MEDIA. Page 76. 3120 words. "How EM'S
1996 12 to Watch Fared" By Gary Davey  
   COMMENTARY: In an article about how the 12 people
ELECTRONIC MEDIA picked for their 'People to Watch in
1996' fared the past year, XWP was mentioned in the
Greg Meidel, Universal Television Group chairman,
section. The article mentioned that during 1996
"Universal also sold back-end rights to 'Xena,' [and]
'Hercules'..."
   This referred to the USA Cable station's purchase of
strip right to XWP starting in 1998.


[    ] 01-13-97
   ELECTRONIC MEDIA. Page 20. 640 words. "Off-nets Rule
the Roost"
   COMMENTARY: XWP costs $53K to HTLJ $63K for a 30-
second commercial.
   EXCERPT:
   Cost of a 30-second commercial among the top 50
barter syndicated TV series
Program                 Type of program Cost...
...Star Trek: Deep Space 9 First run       77,000...
...Hercules                First run       63,000...
...Xena                    First run       53,000...
...f/x . . . The Series    First run       38,000...
...The Outer Limits        First run       37,000...
...Two                     First run       36,000...
...Babylon 5               First run       35,000...
...Viper                   First run       31,000...
...Adventures of Sinbad    First run       31,000...
...Highlander              First run       29,000...
...Baywatch Nights         First run       26,000...
...Baywatch                First run       18,000...


[    ] 01-13-97
   THE ATLANTA JOURNAL AND CONSTITUTION. Monday. Page
06D. 460 words. "'Xena' conquers masses of 'Warrior'
fanatics" By Lyle Harris
   COMMENTARY:
   REPRINT:
   If breast plates become the next big fashion craze,
you can either blame ---or thank ---Lucy Lawless.     
   The 28-year-old New Zealander is better known as
Xena, Warrior Princess, the statuesque star of the hit
syndicated show and the actress whose fans insist is
the role model for swashbuckling feminism.  
   At the first-ever Xena convention, at a downtown
Burbank hotel, about 2,000 fans cheered as Lawless
strode into the ballroom looking more like a disco
queen, in a skintight sky-blue Lycra getup, instead of
her unusual leather and metal tunic.    
   "This show is not about T&A; it's not about flesh,"
said Lawless. "I never even think about that, and
neither does Xena. It's about a woman who fights for
what she believes in. Xena would fight in the nude and
she still wouldn't think about it, because she's not
self-conscious about her body."   
   And neither are her fans, or Xenites, as they prefer
to be called. 
   Sure, it's easy to mock what you don't understand,
says Brent Phillips, 25, of Los Angeles, who wore pizza
tins strapped to his chest and a spittoon on his head.
   "If somebody called me a geek, I'd just kick his
butt, just like Xena would," said Phillips, a software
programmer dressed up like his favorite character, the
buffoonish Joxer.
   But most Xenites say they are attracted by high-brow
aspects of the show (better known for cheesy special
effects such as Xena duking it out with Minotaurs and
Cyclops).
   Mary Montbrand, 41, of Los Angeles, was in full
"Xena," which includes the breast plate, tunic and a
circular boomerang called a chakram. Montbrand attended
with her husband, in a display of Xena family values. 
   "My husband has created his dream by designing my
costume, because this is about as close as he'll ever
get to Xena," said Montbrand, a Hollywood hair
designer. "But I like the show because it always has a
great theme and a message that helps remind you that
there's still love out in the world." 
   The show, now in its second season, has been a
ratings success for Atlanta's WUPA-TV and for WGN.
   Lawless has just finished work on an animated movie
with Kevin Sorbo, the brawny star of "Hercules," the
show where the Xena character first appeared. The
actress said she is gratified by the devotion of her
fans, who stuck with her when she missed several
episodes in October after falling from a horse on "The
Tonight Show With Jay Leno."
   Like a true warrior princess, Lawless said the spill
hasn't prompted her to hang up her breast plate and
broad sword just yet.
   "The accident brought home for me how much people
love the show," Lawless said. "Next to having my
daughter, playing Xena has been the greatest thrill for
me. I've caught a wave and I haven't gotten bored yet."
   GRAPHIC: Color photo: (appeared on D/01 with
reference to D/06 story): Lucy Lawless stars in the
syndicated TV show "Xena, Warrior Princess."/ MCA TV
Photo: Syndication heroine Xena, Warrior Princess as
portrayed by Lucy Lawless. Ran only in the Metro
Edition of The Atlanta Constitution./ MCA- TV Photo:
Olivia Joncich, 3, and her mom, Jill are mesmerized by
their heroine, Xena, Warrior Princess (actress Lucy
Lawless), at a Xena convention Sunday in Burbank,
Calif. Did not run in the Metro Edition of The Atlanta
Constitution./ TERRI THUENTE / Los Angeles Daily New.


