THIS WEEK IN XENA NEWS....
TWXN 76
06/16/97

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.


From the editor:
   1. Monday is WHOOSH promotion day. In two weeks
WHOOSH will run two incredibly fun interviews with
Kevin Smith (Ares) and Robert Field (Avicus). Then in
August we have interviews with Hudson Leick and Michael
Levine, a director of many XWPs. Then.... September is
the All-Amazon issue where Danielle Cormack tells all
about Ephiny and Jodie Dorday talks about Solari. It's
going to be great summer for WHOOSH. Why not come spend
it with us!
   2. This issue covers Feb 2nd to 7th, 1997. Roma
Downey played Hippolyte in HERCULES AND THE AMAZON
WOMEN, something which will be hard for her to live
down! The Times-Picayune hasn't forgotten, that's for
sure, and they also made the connection between
Downey's HERCULES stint and the warrior princess in
their caption to the article. Also two athletes, now
television performers in NZ, got their pictures
(proudly) taken with a XWP stunt double. XWP took top
honors in the action hours ratings competition. A
reference to XWP appeared in The New York Review of
Books. And more! Enjoy.
   3. Looking ahead to Wednesday we will further
explore this XWP as top show some more; find out who is
getting invited to ritzy parties given by the Governor
of Florida; receive more news from downunder; and read
about Fritz Lieber!


[    ] 02/02/97
   THE TIMES-PICAYUNE. Sunday. Page T7. 701 words. "the
Angelic Roma Downey" By Mark Lorando
   EXCERPT:
   For all who are anointed God's messengers, there is
a moment of truth. A revelation, if you will. A passage
from darkness to light. 
   Roma Downey's occurred at the Baby Gap.  
   "I was spending my hard-earned money on my new
daughter," Downey recalls, "and a wee girl tugged on
her Mum's coattail and said, 'Mommy! There's the
angel!'
   "And I kind of froze and thought: Oh my God!"...
   ..."The beauty of our show," Downey said, "is that
every week we have a completely different situation."
   As such, it requires an actress capable of playing a
different character every week. This poses no problem
for Downey, who has an extensive stage background and a
variety of screen credits, from the title role in the
Kennedy miniseries "A Woman Named Jackie" to a pre-Xena
goddess in "Hercules and the Amazon Women." 
   "She's played a hooker, she's played an insane
person, she's played a lawyer, she's played a doctor,"
Williamson said. "This is not a hack actress."...
   ...GRAPHIC:...Roma Downey BEFORE XENA: There was
Roma Downey as an Amazon Woman...


[    ] 02-02-97
   THE SUNDAY NEWS (Auckland). Page 31. 358 words.
"Blokey duo digs deep as series sparks off" By Louisa
Cleave
   COMMENTARY: An article about two Kiwi sports figure
who are now acting in a tv show. They got their picture
taken with Xena's stunt double. Wow!
   EXCERPT:
   QUINTESSENTIAL Kiwi blokes, league stars Marc Ellis
and Matthew Ridge, as fashion models?
   It's true. The Auckland Warriors team-mates found
themselves in the deep end - although not out of their
depth - when asked to strike a pose for a magazine
fashion shoot.  
   Their conversion from muddy playing field to facial
treatments is one of many unlikely situations the guys
find themselves in on their new television show, Fresh
Up In The Deep End...
   ...UNIQUE STYLE: Marc Ellis and Matthew Ridge with
Xena's stunt double....


[    ] 03-02-97
   ROCKY MOUNTAIN NEWS. Monday. Page 2D. 894 words.
"'Nikita' tones down, tunes up for tube" By Jennifer
Bowles (Associated Press)
   EXCERPT:
   ...The lean, 26-year-old blond with ice-blue eyes
fits the part perfectly. And after eight weeks of
intensive training with a martial arts expert, her
physical prowess is right up there with Xena: Princess
Warrior....


[    ] 02-03-97
   PEOPLE. Page 6. 10 words. "Star Tracks" 
   COMMENTARY: This article consists of photographs.
   EXCERPT:
   ...Stars of the small screen worked hard in the Big
Easy at the annual National Association of Television
Program Executives gathering. Those pushing their
programs included (clockwise, from top left): Xena:
Warrior Princess's Lucy Lawless, Hercules: The
Legendary Journeys' Kevin Sorbo; Sunset Beach's Laura
Harring; Britain's Prince Edward, who sold a series of
documentaries to CBS; and Cybill's schmoozing Cybill
Shepherd. [Lucy Lawless and Kevin Sorbo]...


[    ] 02-04-97
   DAILY VARIETY. Tuesday. Page 6. 217 words.
"'Hercules,' 'Xena' tops in top markets" By Jenny Hontz
   REPRINT:
   Universal Domestic TV's action hours "Hercules" and
Xena" turned in strong performances in the top two
markets on the first Saturday of the February sweeps.
   Both syndie shows placed first in their timeslots,
beating all the network primetime fare at 8 and 9 p.m.
in New York and Los Angeles on Feb. 1.   
   On WPIX New York, "Hercules" at 8 p.m. rated a
7.6/13, edging out its closest competitor, CBS' "Dr.
Quinn, Medicine Woman, which turned in a 7.4/13. On
KTLA Los Angeles, "Hercules" rated a 9.1/16, beating
two episodes of "Cops" on Fox, which averaged an
8.3/15.
   At 9 p.m., "Xena" rated a 7.7/13 in New York,
beating CBS' "Early Edition" (6.6/11). In Los Angeles
at 9 p.m., "Xena's" 9.2/16 beat NBC's "The Pretender"
(8.3/14). Both "Hercules" and "Xena" also won their
afternoon timeslots in Chicago.
   Saturday, of course, attracts the fewest overall
viewers among the broadcast networks, with CBS
generally winning the night on the strength of its trio
of one-hour dramas --- all faring especially well in
the nation's rural areas. Also boosting "Hercules" and
"Xena" is its strength among kids and teens, who
are home more often than young adults on Saturday
evenings.  
   In all the overnight markets, "Hercules" averaged a
much lower 4.5/8 this past weekend, and "Xena" averaged
a 4.6/8.


[    ] 02-05-97
   THE TORONTO STAR. Wednesday. Page D1. 361 words.
"Xena phobia in biblical proportions" By Rita Zekas
(Toronto Star)
   COMMENTARY: In a collection of recent quotations,
XWP is mentioned.
   EXCERPT:
   "...and the Bible movies, when they appear, owe more
these days to the cadences of Xena: Warrior Princess
than to those of King James," writes Geoffrey O'Brien
in The New York Review Of Books about Shakespeare in
the '90s....


[    ] 02-05-97 
   PROFIT. 1997 Winter. Page 92. 1337 words. "Mr.
Redford, we need you on the set" By Cumulo Nimbus
   COMMENTARY: In a humor piece about a motion picture
production company interested in making a movie about a
local company, the writer starts to ponder who will
play what characters.
   EXCERPT:
   ...The main question, of course, is who will play
Wanda? Our office manager is tough, beautiful and brash
-- probably the best part for a woman since Xena,
Warrior Princess. Of course, Wanda's afraid Hollywood
won't see past her more obvious assets to the keen,
analytical mind underneath. "I'm not just a pretty
face," she pouts, paging through the latest edition of
Fortune looking for fashion ads....


[x061] 02-06-97
   LEWISTON MORNING TRIBUNE. Page B10. 667 words. "Best
Bets" by Chris Riemenschneider
   COMMENTARY: In a rare Non-XWP Xena reference, a
pianist had a party at a restaurant in Lewiston, TX
called Xena.
   EXCERPT:
   ...Pianist Marshall Styler has an early CD release
party at XENA....


[    ] 02-07-97
   THE SAN FRANCISCO EXAMINER. Friday. Page A-3. 1067
words. "They don't make 'em like she used to" By Rob
Morse (Examiner Columnist)
   EXCERPT:
   I THINK I'm getting hung up on a dead 76-year-old
woman.
   Imagine a woman who warrants a front-page obituary
in the New York Times headlined: "Pamela Harriman is
Dead at 76; Ardent in Politics, and Romance."...
   ...She was a feminist conquering hero, a Xena with a
finger bowl, one of the few kinds of warrior princesses
allowed for her times....



