THIS WEEK IN XENA NEWS....
TWXN 73
06/09/97


Brought to you by XENA: MEDIA REVIEW (XMR):
http://xenafan.com/xmr
(All back issues of XMR and TWXN are available at the
above site. We herein give praise and thanks to Tom
Simpson for the space he has graciously donated from
his spectacular, TOM'S XENA PAGE, http://xenafan.com)

TWXN is the advance sheet for XMR, an annotated world
press review of reports regarding the internationally
syndicated television show XENA: WARRIOR PRINCESS (1995
- 2000+?) and the castmembers, Lucy Lawless and Renee
O'Connor. TWXN is not available for subscription,
however it is posted Monday, Wednesday, and Friday on
the XenaVerse, Hercules-Xena, and Chakram Mailing Lists
(thank you Lucia!), the MCA NetForum, the Xenite
Message Center, and alt.tv.xena. For a free e-mail
subscription to XMR subscribe by e-mail to
ktaborn@lightspeed.net by stating somewhere in the
subject or text "sub xmr".

Excerpts from the following cites will appear in future
issues of XMR. I promise...


From the editor:
   1. I will endeavor to send TWXN out at least three
times a week until I am caught up. Monday, Wednesday,
Friday sounds good. We will give it a try. 
   2. This Monday we cover four days in January:
01/26/97 to 01/29/97. 
   3. In late January, THE STRAITS TIMES in Singapore
did a major write up of XWP which consisted of three
articles. The first two were in TWXN #72, and we finish
with the last one here in this issue. The final article
discusses XWP and HTLJ and has some words from Robert
Tapert (XWP executive producer) about his intent in
creating the show. It is interesting to note that the
term "Xenaphile" is used to refer to the fans of XWP.
"Xenaphile" seems to be the name of choice among non-
internet fans, while "Xenite" is the on-line verbiage.
This may be signs of a rising independent off-line fan
base. To date, the on-line fans, although lesser in
number, have been highly organized and highly
articulate, which has made them appear to be more
numerous and has given them more visibility than one
would expect for their size. As the Xenaverse fan base
grows, the fan scene will become more complex. Not only
will we have to deal with on-line and off-line fan
organizations and unions, but national and
international ones as well. 
   4. Also, minor references include a comparison of
Xena to two different people: ADWEEK compares Cindy
Crawford in her Superbowl commercial; and Geraldo
Rivera compares a fellow O.J. Simpson reporter.
Interesting note, Rivera calls Xena a "warrior
goddess", thus confusing our warrior princess with
"Thena, Warrior Goddess" a show oft cited in SOMETHING
SO RIGHT. 
  5. Finally, there is a cite to a netzine which is
distinguished for running XWP articles, an exercise
which should be highly praised!
 

[    ] 01-26-97
   THE STRAITS TIMES (Singapore). Sunday Plus. Page 1.
1534 words. "Strong following for Hercules" By Ong Sor
Fern
   REPRINT:
   ME HERCULES, SHE XENA
   He is Hercules, as a SNAG (sensitive New Age guy).
She is the Wonder Woman of the '90s. They cheerfully
mangle Greek myths and fight computer-generated
monsters every Sunday, and in Singapore, they have won
followings of about 333,000 and 200,000 viewers
respectively. ONG SOR FERN finds out what their appeal
is, on Page 2.
   A HERO who is, literally, a Greek god -okay, half a
god if you want to be picky -goes around battling
mythic monsters and vengeful gods.   
   A leather-clad heroine who can beat the living
daylights out of half-a-dozen thugs before breakfast,
dreaded "A-yi-yiyi-yi-yi-yi!" war-cry and all. 
   If you have no idea what this is all about, then you
have not been watching Hercules: The Legendary Journeys
(Sundays, 7.30 pm) and Xena: Warrior Princess (Sundays,
1 pm).
   Purists may scoff at the shows which mangle Greek
myths cheerfully on a weekly basis, but the ratings for
Hercules and Xena are not to be sniffed at. 
   In the United States, Hercules made the headlines
when the muscleman beat a heavyweight in the ratings
war, the top-rated Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Even the
ultimate babes-and-hunks fest, Baywatch, sank in the
wake of the mythic hero's popularity. 
   At home, Hercules brings in the highest ratings for
an acquired show on Channel 5, according to a spokesman
for the Television Corporation of Singapore. It gets
about 333,000 viewers every week and Xena follows hot
on Hercules' leather-booted heels with about 200,000
viewers per week.
   No mean feat for shows with tongue-twisting names
like Salmoneus and Deianeira, and a mind-boggling array
of Greek gods, hitherto familiar only to dusty
academics toiling away in libraries on obscure theses. 
    Mythic appeal
    ALTHOUGH both shows boast good-looking leads with
plenty of bronzed flesh, displayed impressively in a
tattered vest or a designer armour with bustier and
mini-skirt to match, the hunk quotient is relatively
low.
   Maybe shooting the series on location in New Zealand
limits the talent pool. After all, Lucy Lawless, who
plays Xena, actually appeared in Hercules twice as
different characters before dyeing her blonde hair
black to play the warrior princess who kicked her way
into a spin-off series.
   Hercules actually started out as a series of
made-for-television movies. MCA/Universal approached
film-makers Sam Raimi and Robert Tapert in 1993, and
their movies were so successful the studio ordered a
weekly drama spin-off. 
   Given the credentials of director-producer Raimi and
producer Tapert, a cult hit, in retrospect, was
inevitable. The duo's Renaissance Pictures company is
responsible for cult movies like The Evil Dead and Army
Of Darkness. 
   More recently, Raimi's name has been seen headlining
another show, American Gothic, also being shown on
Channel 5 (Sundays, midnight). 
   When Raimi and Tapert came on board, they studied
the competition -all those old strongman movies,
starring everyone from Steve Reeves to Lou Ferrigno to
Arnold Schwarzenegger -and realised they had a
Herculean task ahead. 
   In an interview with the magazine Satellite TV Week,
Tapert said: "The problems with those movies are the
bad, stilted dialogue, togas and people running around
in Greek ruins.
   "So, we came up with our own universe of no togas,
no ruins, and we wanted to get a Hercules who was more
a quarterback than a muscleman." 
   Enter Kevin Sorbo, better known then as the guy in
the Jim Beam whisky commercials.
   Unlike the Greek hero of yore, who went about
slaying monsters left, right and centre, Sorbo's
Hercules prefers to talk his way out, if possible,
before he clobbers the enemy.
   And the clobbering is done Hongkong gongfu-style,
with plenty of kick-boxing and leaping, resulting in
assorted thugs getting flung halfway across the village
square or crashing through the stick-thin walls of the
nearest hut. 
   Then there are the slick, computer-generated
monsters, including a snake woman, a three-headed dog
and the multi-headed serpent Hydra. 
   The dialogue got an update too. The result: a
Hercules who not only looks like, but also talks like,
a California surfer. When confronted with glowering
goons in one episode, Hercules comments drolly: "Look
ugly, dress funny, smell bad ... You must work for
Hera."
   Which brings us to the heart of the show's appeal
-its sense of humour and high camp quotient.
   Its producers make no pretence at profundity and
admit happily that they play fast and loose with Greek
myths, which provide the basis for many stories. 
   Last week's episode is a case in point. The story
revolved around Persephone, the beautiful daughter of
Demeter, the Earth Mother.  Persephone is kidnapped by
Hades, the king of Hell, and Demeter goes into a rage.
   In the original myth, it is the gods who intervene.
Here, the scriptwriters give the task to Hercules. And
the way they write up Persephone will probably have
Homer spinning in his grave. 
   Persephone is a blonde bimbo who picks flowers and
wants to save a piglet from being eaten by Cheiron,
Hell's ferryman. She thinks Hades is "sexy" and digs
the "wild chariot ride" which happened when she was
snatched from the world of the living.  '90s heroine
    THE comedy which plays such a crucial role in
Hercules is less evident in its sister series, Xena:
Warrior Princess. 
   Lucy Lawless stars as a lean, mean fighting machine.
This is one woman you do not want to mess with, as she
racks up a higher body count than Hercules. 
   In fact, she first appeared on Hercules as a warrior
bent on killing the big guy himself. In the course of
the three-episode story, she soon sees the error of her
ways and becomes an ally, and his love interest.
   As the first action heroine on primetime television
since Wonder Woman back in the late '70s, she has won a
bona-fide following of her own. The number of websites
devoted to her is far more than those dedicated to her
hunky counterpart.
   There is even an International Association Of Xena
Studies, a group of Xena-philes on the Internet, who
publish an e-zine Whoosh, devoted to all things Xena.
   As the ultimate proof of the hit status of the two
shows, other studios are hunting up other legends
feverishly to turn into shows.
   In the pipeline are two weekly dramas based on
Tarzan and Sinbad. So get out your Bullfinch's
Mythologies or Edgar Rice Burroughs and study your
legends, because more hits-and-myths are headed your
way.
   GRAPHIC: Here's to higher ratings and more spin-offs
... Kevin Sorbo (left) as Hercules and Lucy Lawless as
Xena. (Page Sunplus2) "Made-for-TV mythology made easy"


[    ] 01-27-97
   ADWEEK. 765 words. "Caddy's Little Princess - DMB&B
drops the ball in this misdirected fairy tale" By
Barbara Lippert
   COMMENTARY: In a rather intense critique of Cindy
Crawford's Superbowl '97 commercial, Lippert wrote,
"And what about Princess Cindy's Wilma-Flintstone-as-
dominatrix getup? There is indeed another trend in
current pop culture, having to do with mythical women
warriors exerting their power. This Amazonian female
badass thing usually involves wearing a leather bustier
and boots (think Xena). But despite the sexist
clothing, these muscle girls are wrestling with evil --
and usually prevailing. Princess Cindy is a more
material girl."


[    ] 01-28-97
   RIVERA LIVE (9:00 PM ET). CNBC. Tuesday. 7790 words.
"Panelists Discuss Daniel Petrocelli's Rebuttal Today
in The O.J. Simpson Civil Trial as the Case Ends and
the Jury Heads Into Deliberations" Anchor: Geraldo
Rivera; Reporter: Katie Couric 
   COMMENTARY: When talking with reporter Janes Wells
about the down time while the jury was out deliberating
on the O.J. Simpson civil trial, Rivera made the
observation that Wells was "more Xena the warrior
goddess" than a needlepointer-type.  
   The irony being, of course, the line in THE BLACK
WOLF (#11) where Xena delivers the infamous line, "I
have many skills" after someone questioned her
needlepoint abilities. 


[    ] 01-29-97
   THE VANCOUVER SUN. Wednesday. Page D14. 365 words.
"Hot Sites"
   EXCERPT:
   ... NO BRAINERS
   http://www.wmcdata.com/zine/
   Describing itself as providing "high-calorie,
low-nutrient eye candy for grownups" this Net magazine,
is designed for those who want to relax into the bottom
end of pop culture while still maintaining that
necessary edge of irony. Pamela Anderson Lee, the
made-in-New-Zealand Xena/Hercules phenomenon and
professional ice skating on TV are some of the topics.
The author of the Xena piece has a superb grip on what
makes the warrior princess so popular....


