THIS WEEK IN XENA NEWS....
TWXN 72
06/07/97

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 subscribe on-line at
ktaborn@lightspeed.net

Excerpts from the following cites will appear in future
issues of XMR. Although XMR is an subscription e-mail
based publication, TWXN is not. TWXN is only officially
distributed via mailing lists and the MCA XENA NetForum


From the editor:
   1. Back from the dead...it's Zombie TWXN! The last
TWXN was 02/22/97. I am seriously considering changing
the name to FOUR MONTHS AGO IN XENA NEWS (FMAXN). This
should clue you in that I am going to resume where I
left off way back in cold, cold January. Please bear
with me. I plan to get caught up over the summer. Just
think of it as a desperate attempt to combat Xena
Withdrawal Syndrome.
   2. I have come to terms with the reality that XWP is
so hot as a TV show that I can no longer keep up with
ALL of the media references. I am already mega-months
late on XMR and months plus lagging behind TWXN. So,
what is my response to this? Am I quitting? Am I going
into seclusion? NO! I am merely re-organizing. The
inspiration of the warrior princess is too compelling.
I have created a "staff" for XMR: Kym Taborn (that's
me!, ktaborn@lightspeed.net), editor-in-chief; Diane
Silver (dswriter@idir.net) and Maria Erb
(maria@erb.com), co-editors; and xenatwo
(xenatwo@aol.com), circulation editor. 
   3. I used to do the subscription lists of XMR by
hand. Xenatwo is helping me convert the existing lists
over to a pseudo-list server donated by the ever
gracious Tom Simpson, of Tom's Xena Page
(http://xenafan.com). Stay tuned as we start the
process of converting some 1500 plus addresses....
   

NOTE:
We have a reference to Xena in a review about a staged
version of MEDEA; some Lucy Lawless sitings; a brief
Renee O'Connor appreciation; and two interesting
articles from...Singapore. Enjoy!


[    ] 01-24-97
   ANCHORAGE DAILY NEWS. Friday. Page 15H. 391 words.
"A More Feminist Medea" By Mike Dunham
   EXCERPT:
   The press release for University of Anchorage Alaska
Theater's ''Medea'' suggests that the play is graphic
and kids should be left at home. 
   No kidding! Medea is among literature's nastier
candidates for the first wives club. She betrays her
father, kills her brother, leaves a trail of blood from
the Black Sea to Athens and murders her children to
spite her husband, Jason.   
   Or did she?...
   ...But Medea always has been the ultimate empowered
woman. It's her two-timing husband, not she, who dies
ignominiously, clobbered by a rotten timber from his
own boat. She traipses from one harrowing situation to
another, Xena-like, with nary a scratch. Survival is
her trademark. There's a whole volume of adventures
that take place after she reduces Jason to jelly and
moves on. But no one remembers when opening night was
for that one, and no one ever set it to music...


[    ] 01-26-97
   THE TIMES-PICAYUNE. Sunday. Page E2. 267 words.
"R.S.V.P. Partying Shots" By Betty Guillaud
   COMMENTARY: Guess who went to the Superbowl, or at
least checked out the part scene?
   EXCERPT:
   Super stars, before playing on (and off) the
Superdome floor today, have had a few diversions in the
week that was. Although not exactly chummy, the
Patriots' Drew Bledsoe and his adversary, homegrown
Packers QB Brett Favre, did show up at some of the same
pre-game galas . . .
   GRAPHIC...'Xena'phile: Eric Polito with Lucy Lawless
Jackee, Oh!  Vanna White Ruta Lee and Paul Prudhomme
Arthel Neville, Blake Pablovich...


[    ] 01-26-97
   NEWS TRIBUNE. Sunday. Sports. Page C6. 440 words.
"Countdown to Super Sunday: a Somewhat Different, and
Slightly Twisted, Take on America's Glitziest Game;
It's Not So Super If You Have TCI"
By Bill Reader
   EXCERPT:
   There's some great TV on FOX today. Unfortunately,
it's interrupted by nine mind-altering hours of Super
Bowl coverage. (Yes, nine hours). 
   At 10 a.m., You Know Who kicks off the snooze-a-thon
with his Super Bowl All-Madden team. I can almost hear
him now. "Look at these hogs, they've got mud on their
uniforms. Blood on their elbows. And check out that Ray
Nitschke, the guy's missing three teeth." 
   Well, John, he'd be missing all of 'em if he ever
tangled with "Xena: Warrior Princess."
   You wanna see someone really tough, tune in at 9
a.m., when Xena and her trusty sidekick Gabrielle whup
some bad-guy butt in "Here She Comes ... Miss
Amphipolis." Not sure how this episode stacks up, but
you could find out by checking out one of the 15,823
web sites devoted to the show....
   ...GRAPHIC: Lucy Lawless: 'Big deal, Nitschke, you
beat a couple of AFL teams. Bet you feel like a
biiiiiiiig man.'


[    ] 01-26-97
   THE TIMES-PICAYUNE. Sunday. Page T10. 945 words.
"'Pi' Aren't Square"
   EXCERPT:
   ...'Xena' buddy
   I am a fan of "Xena: Warrior Princess."
   I think it's great that Lucy Lawless is receiving
all of the attention and publicity, but y'all have
forgotten about Renee O'Connor.
   Please print a picture of her.
   -P.P., St. Rose
   O'Connor plays Xena's buddy Gabrielle....
   GRAPHIC...WARRIOR GAL PAL: "Xena" sidekick Renee
O'Connor.


[    ] 01-26-97
   THE STRAITS TIMES (Singapore). Sunday Plus. Page 2.
560 words. "Made-for-TV mythology made easy" By Ong Sor
Fern
   REPRINT:
   HERCULES: THE LEGENDARY JOURNEYS
   What happened: Hercules' Mum is a mortal, Alcmene,
while Dad is Zeus, boss of the Greek gods, hence his
superhuman strength. 
   Zeus' wife Hera, however, is very put out by his
philandering and decides to take it out on mortals,
especially Hercules. 
   She has the hero's beautiful wife and three kids
killed. As a result, he leaves home to wander the world
and save mortals from the hands of fickle gods, like
Hera.  Friends: He is accompanied on his travels by
good friend, Iolaus (Michael Hurst), a
hero-wannabe whose punchlines are deadlier than his
punch.       
   Another recurrent character is Salmoneus, a
smooth-talking toga salesman who is into
"self-actualisation" and who once offered to become
Hercules' agent because "I could get you a contract for
big dinars".  Foes: Hera is the biggest baddie of the
piece, but another who appears regularly is Ares, the
god of war, who is forever trying to start a fight. 
Mythic realm: For more information on Hercules, you can
check out the official website at
http://www.mca.com/tv/hercules /siteindex.html
   For more links, there is the ultimate list at
http://www.eden.rutgers.edu/ virus/ hercules.html
   XENA: WARRIOR PRINCESS
   What happened: Xena is a warrior who wanted to kill
Hercules in her quest for power, but was betrayed by
her own army. As a result, she turns over a new leaf
and decides to make amends for her bloody past.
   Friends: Gabrielle (Renee O'Connor) is Xena's
companion on her travels.  A peasant girl, she joins
Xena in search of a more exciting life. Like Iolaus,
Gabrielle is more a talker than a fighter and she
aspires to become a bard. 
   Foes: Ares -yes, him again -is the recurrent foe.
Xena was once his protege and he is continually trying
to win her back. 
   Mythic realm: For more information, check out the
official website at http://www.mca.com/tv/xena The
e-zine Whoosh, devoted to all things Xena, can be found
at http://www.thirdstory.com/whoosh


[    ] 01-26-97
   THE STRAITS TIMES (Singapore). Sunday Plus. Page 2.
307 words. "It's ancient stuff made hip and funny, say
S'pore fans" By Ong Sor Fern
   REPRINT:
   SAYS Ms Cheryl Ng, a public relations officer in her
20s: "I think it's really funny. Even though it's set
in ancient times, the humour's very '90s.   
   "I think Hercules' personality is a little bit of a
Snag -a sensitive new age guy. It's not about machismo,
which is what you think Hercules is about
traditionally.
   "I have just started watching Xena. She's the Wonder
Woman of the '90s. She even looks like Lynda Carter.
Her character just represents what's happening in the
world now, with women being more independent."
   And Ms Nora Gomez, 28, an accountant, had this to
add: "I watch the shows fanatically. At first, I
laughed. I thought it was so stupid. It's like Robin
Hood: Prince Of Thieves -Kevin Costner and his American
accent. 
   "This one is American accents doing Greek mythology,
and sometimes the Kiwi accents creep in. It's like a
Benetton ad! And Anthony Quinn as Zeus! The high camp
value, all those heaving bosoms, it's like a
reinvention of all those tales you read as a kid. It's
just really over the top.
   "I watch more of Hercules than Xena because it's at
a sane hour.  Xena is actually quite a role model ...
because she's not skinny.  Another thing I like about
Hercules is the lines, they're so wry. And Kevin Sorbo
is also really cute."


