THIS WEEK IN XENA  NEWS...  
TWXN 83
07/07/97
Monday

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.



[    ] 02-23-97
   THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE. Sunday. Page B3. 637 words.
"Characters Galore Show Up at Sci-Fi Meet" By John
Keahey (The Salt Lake Tribune)
   EXCERPT:
   Darth Vader was there. So was Xena the warrior
princess, and a Klingon warrior as well. And they were
just science fiction fans in costume.
   But a one-day conference Saturday at the Riverboat
in Taylorsville, billed as Women of Science Fiction and
Films, had something on the menu for everybody. Actress
Olivia Hussey, who played the seminal role of Juliet in
Zeffirelli's late 1960s film version of Romeo and
Juliet, was there, too....


[    ] 02-24-97
   VARIETY. Page A23. 426 words. "Female chopsocky pic
has legs" By John Corcoran
   EXCERPT:
   Martial-arts pics almost never get invited to film
festivals. But on Feb. 11 at Portugal's Fantasporto
Intl.  Film Fest, Maslak/Friedenn Films' "Sworn to
Justice," directed by Paul Maslak, became one of the
rare U.S. independent martial-arts films to be featured
at an overseas festival....
   ..."Sworn's" protagonist is a young professional
woman played by indie action perennial Cynthia
Rothrock.  "We chose a female protagonist,"Friedenn
explains, "for the same reason NBC-TV put women's
Olympic sports into primetime: It attracts both men and
women.  And the woman-in-action concept has made the
syndie series 'Xena' an international sensation."...


[    ] 02-24-97
   VARIETY. Page 1. 1179 words. "Fall drama lineup is a
foreign affair" By Joe Flint
   EXCERPT:
   HOLLYWOOD With license fees for hourlong TV dramas
stuck in the neighborhood of $ 1 million per episode
and production costs increasing substantially every
year, international appeal has become a crucial element
in the pilot development season.
   That trend has now become even more apparent, as the
networks unveil their drama development slates for the
1997-98 season.
   Quirky shows are few and far between, with the
majority of projects under consideration by the webs
featuring known names in front of and behind the camera
--- with plots that are an easy sell abroad.
   The new mood angers many players, who fear the
medium is straying from its traditional emphasis on
good writing....
   ...But economics are taking precedence. "We have to
avoid getting into the trap of creating something that
won't play overseas," says Greg Meidel, chairman of
Universal's Television Group. "As much as I loved
'Northern Exposure,' we can't afford that kind of
hit."...
   ...Besides "Time Cop," Universal also has a
13-episode commitment from Fox for the drama "Roar," an
epic set in 4th-century Ireland that has been described
as " 'Braveheart,' the TV series."
   Payday abroad
   No doubt the studio is thinking about a big overseas
payoff similar to the success its firstrun action hours
"Hercules" and "Xena" have enjoyed....


[   g] 02-24-97
   THE TORONTO STAR. Monday. Page C4. 656 words.
"Shirley, Nikita at opposite ends of spectrum" By Henry
Mietkiewicz (Toronto Star)
   EXCERPT:
   Two new series. Both featuring crime busters. Both
with females stars. Both produced in Canada. And each
at opposite ends of the spectrum in dramatic roles for
women on TV.
   At one extreme, we've got The Adventures Of Shirley
Holmes, built around the brainy young descendent of the
sleuth of Baker St. Armed with microscope and
fingerprint kit, she exposes the guilty every week on
YTV, starting this evening at 6:30 and repeating
Saturday at 6.  
   Then at 10 on Channel 9, CTV launches Nikita, based
on France's 1990 movie thriller La Femme Nikita, remade
by Hollywood as Point Of No Return. Here the heroine is
a former street person who's ensnared by a covert,
government-run anti-terrorist group and turned into an
efficient though reluctant killing machine....
   ...Just don't look to Nikita for Shirley's brand of
shrewd observation. Smoking pistols and
kneecap-crunching karate kicks are as subtle as it gets
in this cockeyed blend of Mission: Impossible, The Girl
From UNCLE and Xena: Warrior Princess....


[    ] 02-24-97
   EUROPEAN MEDIA BUSINESS & FINANCE. No. 4. Vol. 7.
972 words. "E! Entertainment and MGM Ready for UK
Launches Later This Year"
   EXCERPT:
   ...Where Is the Capacity?
   The glut of networks hoping to get on various
digital systems can seem overwhelming.
   In the U.K. alone, last autumn's BBC/Flextech deal
is expected to lead to the creation of up to eight new
channels; GSkyB is launched seven channels Oct. 1,
1996; MTV Europe last month announced plans to bring
its M2 alternative music video channel to the U.K.; in
addition to the many channels currently on U.K.
cable/satellite plus the many more that are fighting
for carriage.
   Plus, many of the Hollywood companies are trying to
develop networks using their content. In addition to
MGM, Disney, Warner Bros., Fox, Paramount and Universal
are looking to bring channels into the market.
   Universal International Television is launching a
branded pay network in Germany (on Kirch's DF-1) and
France (on Canalsatellite) this autumn. The network
mainly will feature action/adventure programming -
which is where Universal is making its name in the
international TV arena. Currently, the action/adventure
series "Xena: Princess Warrior" and "Hercules" are two
of Universal's biggest selling programmes....


[    ] 02-25-97
   THE VILLAGE VOICE: PAZZ AND     JOP. Page 13. 1518
                                   words. "Alanis and Her Sisters" 
   EXCERPT:
   ...I'm not convinced Alanis has any more cultural
value than Xena: Warrior Princess--she's tough, and an
obvious crowd pleaser, but I think she makes
weak-witted art. On the other hand, when Tori Amos and
Ani DiFranco packed the cavernous Northrop Auditorium
last year, I saw strong women making smart,
adventurous, complicated music in front of thousands of
screaming teenage girls. 
   Will Hermes
   Minneapolis, Minnesota...


[    ] 02-27-97
   DAILY VARIETY. Thursday. Page 5. 203 words. "'Xena'
powers to record rating" By Jenny Hontz
   COMMENTARY: This historic article in VARIETY was
about the episode THE QUEST.
   REPRINT:
   Universal Domestic TV's weekly action hour "Xena:
Warrior Princess" is expected to reach an all-time high
of 7.7 in Nielsen's national ratings released today,
which also ties as the highest-rated episode of a
weekly hour this season.
   The only other action hour to hit a 7.7 this season
was Paramount Domestic TV's special "Trouble With
Tribbles" episode of "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine,"
which aired during the November sweep.  
   "Xena's" GAA rating, which counts duplicative
viewing, will be even more impressive when ratings for
the week ending Feb. 16 are released by Nielsen today,
according to Universal sources. The GAA rating will be
an 8.7, the highest GAA for an action hour since the
9.2 season premiere of "Star Trek: DSN" in 1995.
   "Xena's" 7.7 AA average is up 36% from its 5.5
rating one year ago. While "Xena" is a spin-off of
Universal's "Hercules," the show has frequently
surpassed its predecessor of late. The latest week is
no exception, and "Hercules" is also expected tomorrow
to receive numbers that give it a season high of 6.9,
up 17% from its year-ago rating.
   "Xena's" AA rating in women 18-49 will be a 5.5, and
4.9 in men 18-49. It will hit a 6.9 among teens and a
6.4 among kids.

     
[    a] 03-02-97
   OMAHA WORLD HERALD. Sunday. Page 2TV. 616 words.
"Actor Finds 'Robin' A Refreshing Role" by John Keenan
(World-Herald Staff Writer)
   COMMENTARY:
   EXCERPT:
   He's a perennial.
   In the  pre-Power Rangers era, there were the big 
three. When you went outside to play, if you  were a
boy, you usually were either a  cowboy, Tarzan or Robin
Hood.
   Matthew  Paretta, star of TNT's new series about the 
popular swashbuckler, is still playing Robin  Hood, and
he likes it just fine....
   ..."Like Xena and  Hercules, we've got a modern
sensibility, but with a historical anchor," Paretta
said. "It's  definitely in the same genre, but we're
all  trying to figure out our place in it (the  genre),
to put a new spin on it." Paretta  said playing the
role of Robin Hood could be a  surreal experience....


