THIS WEEK IN XENA  NEWS...  
TWXN 88
07/18/97
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! I am greatly indebt to you), the MCA
NetForum, the Xenite Message Center, and alt.tv.xena. I
also would like to thank sirvin@law.wfu.edu for
assitance in collecting the newstories. 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. Some WHOOSH! news: Three new staff members have been
added, two coders (Beth Gaynor and Jill Dybka) and a
'gossip' columnist (Laura Sue Dean). Beth will be
helping Betsy and Kym (hey -- that's me!!! It's a third
person morning!) with coding the articles, while Jill
will work with Kym in helping with the massive overhaul
of the episode guide Kym is obsessed with (can you
say...Moby Dick?). Laura Sue will be writing the weekly
"News, Gossip, Rumors" feature which should be
premiering sometime today at the WHOOSH web site
(http://www.thirdstory.com/whoosh)

2. The big news of this season was, of course, XWP
beating the pants off of its competiton. Next week in
TWXN we will devote three issues to historic moments
and pivotal news stories about XWP. Monday we will
relive in all its glory the moments where XWP hit the
magical 7.8 rating with A NECESSARY EVIL. That, along
with the previous week's (THE QUEST) 7.7, pushed XWP
over the edge into the new status of WINNER, TOP DOG,
and WUNDERSHOW of the season. Wednesday we will give a
second look over to the ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY article of
03/07/97. Friday we will check out Larry Bonko's
article on the nature of Xena hero worship. 


And now the stories:


[    ] 03-08-97
   THE INDIANAPOLIS STAR. Saturday. Page B07. 268
words. "Shull's Mailbag" By R.K. SHULL
   COMMENTARY: "THEY" wouldn't dare cancel her, because
"THEY" know we'd tear them limb from limb if they even
merely thought about it! Xenafans are the most
dedicated and rabid fans this side of media fandom!
It's an ugly job, but we discharge our duties
faithfully..and humbly, not like some of those
HIGHLANDER fans. We don't talk about how intelligent we
are as a fan base (DNRC would be proud of us!), we
merely demonstrate it!
   EXCERPT:
   Lawless' 'Xena, Warrier Princess' has no fear of
being canceled
   Dear R.K. Shull: Can you tell me how our favorite TV
gal, Lucy Lawless, better known as Xena, Warrior
Princess, is doing?  No danger she'll get canceled, is
there? - T.L.R.
   Dear Reader: In recent weeks, she's been the most
popular among the hourlong, weekly, syndicated shows,
scoring better than Deep Space Nine, Hercules or a raft
of others.  They wouldn't dare cancel her....

     
[   ] 03-09-97
   THE ATLANTA JOURNAL AND CONSTITUTION. Sunday. Page
04H. 927 words. "Personal Technology. Netwatch. The
AJC'S Daily Online Guide. Online providers take
different approaches"
   COMMENTARY: Look! Look! Callisto Web Sites are now
getting promoted in the professional print media!!!
WHAT'S THE WORLD COMING TO? 
   Although this little blurb is small, the impact is
immense. The writer not only knows what the reader was
talking about in his letter, but adds some personal
opinion and even encourages the reader to actively free
Callisto from the lava pit! 
   For spoiler fans, it is COMMON KNOWLEDGE now that
Callisto will be appearing in at least two episodes in
the third season. There is a rumored third episode, but
that has not been confirmed yet from third party
sources. In RJ Stewart's June interview in WHOOSH #09,
it was stated that not only would Callisto be a pivotal
part of the "dark" Gabrielle story arc but that she'd
also find time in her busy lava schedule to appear in a
comedy! More Callisto hi-jinks! It's enough to almost
forgive "THEM" for the rape scare, eh?
   EXCERPT:
   ...YOUR PICK
   Enough already about Xena, the Warrior Princess.
Will Fleming of Tucker has joined the legion who adore
Xena's nemesis Callisto, played by Hudson Leick. Will's
favorite Leick Web site is at
http://www.accessone.com/regards/callisto.html. You'll
likely see more of Callisto on the Web than on the TV
screen this season, unless someone frees her from the
fiery lava pit where Xena has stranded her. Strap on
that Net Watch and rescue the girl, Will....


[   ] 03-10-97
   DAILY NEWS (New York). Monday. Page 70. 480 words.
"New 'Buffy' Shows Real Bite" By David Bianculli
   COMMENTARY: Ah, the comparisons to BUFFY abound. I
wish the BUFFY producers would notice. BUFFY needs to
get more BUFF. More action! The show needs more Xena
type action!! And also plot too, but I will over look
the plot holes as long as it has ACTION. And let's
explore that friendship between the Buffster and
Willow, hmmmm?
   EXCERPT:
   ...In fact, during a season in which both ABC's
"Sabrina the Teenage Witch" and the syndicated "Xena:
Warrior Princess" are big successes, an empowered,
super-powered female protagonist like Buffy fits right
in....
   ...The dialogue, as in "Xena," offers some of the
most unexpected treats. When one teen friend of Buffy's
is transformed into a vampire, he tells another friend
how much his senses have been heightened.
   "I'm connected, man, to everything," he says, like a
stoner describing a drug high. "I can hear the worms in
the earth."
   Deadpan, his still-human friend replies, "That's a
plus?"...


[   ] 03-10-97
  MEDIAWEEK. 945 words. "$ 450-$ 500 Million Take Seen
For Harte-Hanks Properties"
   COMMENTARY: The big news of this season was, of
course, XWP beating the pants off of its competiton.
Next Monday in TWXN we will discuss the amazing ratings
boost that XWP encountered in February 1997. Until then
enjoy this article about the incredible success XWP
experienced during the 1997 February sweeps.
   EXCERPT:
   ...Xena' and Hercules' Heroic For Universal in Feb.
Sweeps
   Universal Television Enterprises reported last week
that Xena: Warrior Princess and Hercules: The Legendary
Journeys earned their best-ever ratings during the
February sweeps. Xena scored the highest weekly rating
of any syndicated action-adventure this season, with an
8.7 average Nielsen rating for the week of Feb. 10-16. 
   Xena's season-to-date 6.3 rating has put the show
ahead of Paramount's Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (6.2)
in the action-adventure race.  
   The second half of Universal's two-hour "Action
Pack" block, Hercules, also reached season-high ratings
in February. Since its debut in January 1995, Hercules
has bulked up its ratings by 30 percent.
   Ned Nalle, executive vp of first-run programming for
Universal, attributed the consistent growth to
"exceedingly excellent" writing, producing and
directing from the series' executive producers, Sam
Raimi and Rob Tappert, as well as the acting of Lucy
Lawless (Xena) and Kevin Sorbo (Hercules). Nalle also
credited client stations, particularly the Tribune
group, for extensive on-air promotions of the block....


[    ] 03-11-97
   CHICAGO TRIBUNE. Tuesday. Page 1. 86 words. "Time
for Tales of Heroines" 
   COMMENTARY: Girls as heroes!!! What a concept!
   EXCERPT:
   Xena isn't the only female who can save the day. In
the book series "Girls to the Rescue," girls from
around the world become heroes. They outsmart bad guys,
ward off wild animals and make peace with enemies. And
here's what makes our day: Bunches of girls ages 8 to
13 helped pick the stories for the books.  Look for
"Girls to the Rescue," Books (number) 1 and (number) 2,
at bookstores; (number) 3 is due out April 1. The $4
paperbacks are edited by Bruce Lansky and published by
Meadow-brook Press.


[    ] 03-11-97
   CHICAGO TRIBUNE. Tuesday. Page 1. 217 words. "Xena
Usually Has a Fight on Her Hands" by Allan Johnson
   COMMENTARY: Hold the presses!!! Xena is not into
frou-frou stuff!
   EXCERPT:
   Try to imagine television's sword-swinging,
leg-kicking, horseback-riding Xena daintily dabbing
some nail polish on a finger.
   That's what we saw on Lucy Lawless, who plays TV's
warrior princess. We met Lucy when she was in town from
her native New Zealand pumping up the show. And we
noticed she had silver nail polish on a finger.  
   She said she had tried the stuff out in a store, but
didn't have any nail polish remover, so it had to stay.
It sounded weird to hear Lucy worrying about her nails,
when her character fights soldiers, monsters or any
other bad types on "Xena: Warrior Princess" (3 p.m.
Central Time Saturdays on WGN).  But Lucy and Xena
aren't exactly clones.
   Xena wouldn't be caught dead doing some of the stuff
Lucy loves. Like, Lucy loves to laugh. And she's into
flowers and being a homemaker. "Xena's not into that
frou-frou stuff," Lucy said.
   Lucy, 29, said she especially loves children. "If
there are kids (around), I always feel at home."
   Lucy has an 8-year-old daughter, Daisy. (Think Xena
would name a kid Daisy?) Daisy has seen her mom taking
on bad guys on TV, but Lucy says "she doesn't talk
about it that much." Still, "I know she's proud of me."
   But Daisy doesn't consider Xena to be her fave hero.
Lucy said: "She is more interested in Hercules!"
   GRAPHIC: 'Xena is just an alter ego of me. She's a
sliver of my personality taken to extreme.'


