THIS WEEK IN XENA  NEWS...  
TWXN 82
07/04/97
Friday

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

From the editor:

Okay, it was a major holiday and this is coming out
late. I have been somewhat preoccupied the last day or
so. Live with it. 



[    ] 02-20-97
   THE BALTIMORE SUN. Thursday. Page 3E. 432 words.
"Journey of pain for Herc" By Chris Kaltenbach (Sun
Staff)
   COMMENTARY: Xena to the rescue!!! Ain't THAT right!
   EXCERPT:
   All you who figured Hercules' marriage to a
half-woman, half-deer would never last ... looks like
you were right. Check out WNUV tonight...
   "Hercules: The Legendary Journeys" (8 p.m.-9 p.m.,
WNUV, Channel 54) -- Herc's marriage to Serena comes to
a murderous end, and Herc himself seems the prime
suspect. But never fear, it's Xena to the rescue....


[    ] 02-21-97
   LOS ANGELES TIMES. Friday. Page E1. 1651 words.
"Sound Thinking/ the Ear 'Hears,' but the Message
Doesn't Make it to the Brain. The Problem Has Stumped
Researchers until Now--but Two Southland Experts Are
Collecting Data in Hopes of One Day Helping Such People
as O.c. Test Subject Johnny Martinez, 5, to Hear" By
Nancy Wride (Times Staff Writer)
   EXCERPT:
   Johnny Martinez can't hear, but this 5-year-old can
still make Bwwooooo! Bwwooooo! sounds like a trucker
climbing the Grapevine.
   He is learning sign language, with first things
first: mine (a necessity when you have a little
brother), McDonald's (his favorite restaurant) and
candy (self-explanatory).
   On a wintry afternoon, he gleefully shakes his
Etch-A-Sketch and insists others in the family's Laguna
Hills living room draw with him, communicating in
finger-points, nods and grins.
   He signs an X for Xena, the TV warrior princess,
then shows off his newly learned signs for the
alphabet. 
   He is joyfully oblivious to the fact that he is
helping researchers study what may be a potential
breakthrough in ear nerve problems, one that may change
the way hearing disorders are treated....


[    ] 02-21-97
   THE ARIZONA REPUBLIC. Friday. Page D1. 349 words.
"Warp Minds: Convention to Draw Trekkers, X-philes"
   COMMENTARY: Indirect mention of fandom's own Chris
Clogston, the Keeper of the Big Bucks Chakram. I won't
even start to speculate on Chris' chakra!
   EXCERPT:
   The truth is out there. No, not there. Try a little
to your left.
   Or you might want to look for it at the Creation
Sci-Fi Convention on Sunday at Phoenix Civic Plaza.
You'll likely have more success than FBI agents Fox
Mulder and Dana Scully, who have been chasing the truth
for years on the Fox network's The X-Files....
   ...The more down-to-earth may simply wish to bring
their checkbooks to bid on sci-fi-related merchandise.
Some items used in recent shows may come with
astronomical prices. At a recent convention in Los
Angeles for the Xena: Warrior Princess series, someone
paid $8,500 for a chakra, a weapon that doubles as a
flying ring, sort of like a death Frisbee....


[    ] 02-22-97
   THE HERALD (Glasgow). Page 4. 1907 words. "Kirsty,
comics and Xena the Warrior Princess" By Allan Laing
   EXCERPT:
   IT can't be easy being the newest - and the poorest
- kid on the box. "Mmm," agrees the young lady from the
Channel Five press office, albeit reluctantly. "It does
mean that you have to use your budget creatively." She
has a masterful grasp of the understatement.
   With only @110m to spend a year on programmes,
Britain's last commercial terrestrial station is facing
an uphill struggle to capture an audience. Mind you, in
the heady world of television finance, there is no
cost-accounting for taste. Rupert Murdoch's Sky
Channels - with their constant diet of cheap, imported
pap - is gloomy proof the British viewing public would
watch paint dry on the television provided there was a
break for a Dulux advert....
   ...For the most part, drama on C5 will be mainstream
American imports or, as the station's publicity machine
prefers to call them: "the very best programming from
around the world." Much of it will be material
previously screened on Sky . . . shows like Melrose
Place and Beverly Hills 90210. Basically, we are in
Baywatch territory. More your Aaron Spelling than your
Steve Bochco. The titles say it all - Sunset Beach and
Pacific Blue. Californian babes and muscled hunks in
designer swimwear. Then there's the action adventure
shows - Xena: Warrior Princess and Hercules. For the
more discerning viewer, the phrase "haud me back"
somehow springs to mind....


[    ] 02-22-97
   THE RICHMOND TIMES DISPATCH. Saturday. Page F4. 1287
words. "Strong, Leather-clad Macho Men Dominate
Escapist TV Worlds" By Douglas Durden
   EXCERPT:
   They're brave, they carry big weapons, and they have
a lot of hair. They're the macho men of TV, and they're
the exclusive property of syndicated or cable TV.
   ''Hercules: The Legendary Journeys,'' ''Highlander,
The Series'' ''Renegade'' and ''The New Adventures of
Robin Hood.'' The titles reek of testosterone and so do
the characters.
   To the uninitiated, these are shows distinguished by
their bad scenery, bad dialogue and indifferent acting. 
   They would be missing the point, however. What these
shows are really about is escapism.
   While their network brethren on ''NYPD Blue,''
''Homicide: Life on the Street'' or ''The X-Files''
battle the personal demons of alcoholism, illness or
guilt, these mighty men are all action, almost no
angst.
   Not that they don't have their problems....   
   ...Hercules, played by Kevin Sorbo, and Robin Hood,
played by Matthew Porretta, live in a world of magic
usually controlled by vengeful women....
   Another thing they have in common is that all four
series require an explanation at the beginning of each
show. 
   Who is the most manly of all? We provide the
following macho meter based on a scale of one to 10.
   * * *
   ''HERCULES: THE LEGENDARY JOURNEYS'' (5 p.m.
Saturday, WGN; 7 p.m. Saturday, Channel 6). He lived
''when the ancient gods were petty and cruel, and
plagued mankind with suffering.''
   1) Hair apparent. Long, but not excessive compared
to his macho competitors. 6 points.
   2) Accessories. Leather arm bands. 5 points.
   3) It takes a strong man to be gentle. In a recent
episode, ''Herc'' was willing to give up his
superpowers for the woman he loved. Unfortunately, she
had a habit of turning into a hind (ancient speak for
female deer) when touched by a mortal. 9 points.
   4) Clothes make the macho man. Sleeveless open
shirt, the better to display his biceps; pants of
latticed leather. 7 points.
   5) A macho man is known by the company he keeps. The
faithful Iolaus (Michael Hurst) makes up for his lack
of superpowers with super sarcasm.  6 points.
   6) Courage in the face of overwhelming odds. Herc's
chief enemies are those ''petty and cruel'' gods;
special effects often add dragons and centaurs and
hydras, oh my. 8 points.
   7) Distinguishing characteristics. Superpowers,
sense of humor. 8 points.
   8) All in a day's work. To free his friends and
family from the grip of a deadly poison, he took on the
wrath of Hera, his spiteful stepmother. 7 points.
   9) Bonus points.  Viewers might actually learn
something about mythology by watching the show. 7
points. 
   Total: 63 points....
   ...No contest.  Hercules, with his brawn tempered by
good-natured humor, is the macho man for all seasons.
Highlander edges out the Renegade, thanks to a series
with better plot lines and more imagination.
   But all of TV's macho men should be looking over
their shoulders for the next wave of tough guys . . .
who are actually tough gals.
   ''The New Adventures of Robin Hood's'' Marion,
played by Anna Galvin, has already proven herself more
resourceful and reckless than Robin. And Lucy Lawless
as Xena, Hercules' former adversary, proved so popular
that she now has a series of her own.
   What's next? ''Highlander Lassie'' and ''Ms.
Renegade?''

