THIS WEEK IN XENA  NEWS...  
TWXN 93
07/30/97
Wednesday

The advance sheet of XENA MEDIA REVIEW (XMR):
http://xenafan.com/xmr

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


From the editor:

1. XMR #23 is available at http://xenafan.com/xmr and
is waiting for you. Features include Xenites in Spain
and the UK XenaNet. The world press review includes
articles on XWP costumers Ngila Dickson and Liz
McGregor, stunt coordinator Peter Bell, actor Jay
Laga'aiaa (Draco), actor William Davis (cigarette-
smoking man from X-FILES), and Gary Morley (an extra on
GIANT KILLER); review of SINS OF THE PAST; XENA toy
scalping; MCA woes; Xena as a symbol of empowerment;
and news of YOUNG HERCULES.

2. Yeah, I know TWXN is only to the middle of March and
here it is in REAL LIFE already close to the beginning
of August. Yup, 4.5 months. Can you see my
embarrassment? Okay, a lot of the red is from the
viscious sun burn I got at Universal Studios the day
after SoCal XenaFest III. But I am feeling bad about
the lapse. But then again, let's blame XWP for being so
popular. If it did not insist upon so many press
references I'd be out mowing my lawn or something. 

3. In today's TWXN, we cover the real difference
between Xena and Wonder Woman (and you thought it was
just the costume!); why men go crazy for Xena (do we
even need to ask?); evidence of Xena as a cultural icon
(she may not have been an ancient myth, but she sure is
a modern one!); Xena's socio-economic level (how does
she do it?); a Logomancy plug (power-up that browser);
and those who share Lucy Lawless' birthday (now that is
really something to look forward to!).

4. Friday's TWXN will reproduce an article about the
"Greek Revival" which our popular culture is currently
going through. The article hits on "Black Athena",
"Star Wars", and Joseph Campbell. Can you say eclectic?
Perfect weekend reading. 


And now for the dated news:


[    ] 03-16-97
   CHICAGO TRIBUNE. Sunday. Page 6. 224 words. "Smart
Talk. Shortcuts." Compiled by Leigh Behrens
   COMMENTARY: This was taken from a magazine article
which escapes me now. Ms. Friedman succinctly
illustrates a key difference between Xena and Xena's
forbears.
   EXCERPT:
   ..."Wonder Woman's nails were always perfect, and
she really looked like she cared about it. If Xena were
in the middle of a fight, and a guy accidently yanked
off her top, she wouldn't go 'Aah!' and cover her
chest. She'd punch him."
   --Liz Friedman, producer of "Xena: Warrior
Princess," on the
show's appeal...


[    ] 03-16-97
   THE BOSTON HERALD. Sunday. Page 006. 1306 words.
"Following a 'Hunch'; TNT adds some modernist twists to
Victor Hugo's classic tale of love and intolerancetakes
liberties with its new version of Victor Hugo's
'Hunchback of Notre Dame'" By Stephen Schaefer
   COMMENTARY: A quote from A DAY IN THE LIFE finds
itself in a review of TNT's Hunchback of Notre Dame. 
   EXCERPT:
   ...Back on TV, heroes of Greek mythology -- real and
imagined -- rank among the most popular characters on
syndicated shows. Ever week, "Hercules" and "Xena,
Warrior Princess" retell ancient legends, but with a
blithe disregard for their sources. 
   "Why," Xena wonders in a typical episode, "do men
always go crazy for me?"
   "It must be your blue eyes and the leather you
wear," she's advised by her friend. "Men love
leather."...


[    ] 03-17-97
   CHICAGO TRIBUNE. Monday. Page 2. 626 words. "Onset
of Hdtv, WebTV Might Eventually Make Regular TVs
Obsolete" By Frazier Moore (Associated Press)
   COMMENTARY: In a promotion for WebTV, XWP pops up as
an example  of what you can see. This is an indication
that XWP has become a cultural icon. 
   EXCERPT:
   ...Thanks to WebTV, you not only can watch TV, you
can go on-line with your TV set.
   From broadcasting, you can watch "Xena: Warrior
Princess," where unfold the adventures of a strapping
female hero in an unforgiving world.
   From on-line, starting this summer, you can see
"WhirlGirl," where unfold the adventures of a strapping
female hero in an unforgiving world.
   Both series want to be TV, yet seem to claim a more
direct lineage from comic books. Or Greek mythology. In
short, very cutting-edge....


[   c] 03-17-97
   CHICAGO TRIBUNE. Monday. Page 8. 423 words. "TV'S
New Robin Hood Feels at Home" By Doug Nye
(Knight-Ridder Newspapers)
   COMMENTARY: XWP as "new wave" in an article about
TNT's ROBIN HOOD.
   EXCERPT:
   Matthew Porretta says he's "having a blast" these
days.
   And why not? He's making a living doing what he did
as a kid in Connecticut, playing Robin Hood.  
   Porretta is the star of "The New Adventures of Robin
Hood," a one-hour series currently airing each week in
the United States on cable's TNT Mondays at 9 p.m....
   ...Porretta says "Robin Hood" is part of the new
wave of adventure series such as "Hercules," "Xena" and
"Sinbad" that have shown up on television in recent
years....


[    ] 03-18-97
   THE OTTAWA CITIZEN. Tuesday. Page B1. 1735 words. "A
school for all cultures: The most ethnically diverse
school in the region sets example of diversity and
harmony" By Jacquie Miller (the Ottawa Citizen)
   COMMENTARY: A discussion on what people can tell
about Xena's socio-economic level from just looking.
   EXCERPT:
   ...Mrs. Scott asks the class to identify how people
are portrayed in their favourite television shows.
Words such as diversity, equity, and gender bias fly
around the room.
   There is a surreal discussion about what
socio-economic level the television character Xena the
Warrior Princess represents (wealthy, they conclude,
because she has lots of power, weapons and knives, and
is the daughter of a Greek God). But by the end of an
hour, the students have an understanding of how
television perpetuates stereotypes....


[    ] 03-18-97
   DAILY NEWS (New York). Tuesday. Page 70. 508 words.
"Beating 'Ellen' to the 'Coming Out' Party" By David
Bianculli
   COMMENTARY: An article which advises that XWP could
have beat ELLEN to the punch!
   REPRINT:
   SIX WEEKS from tomorrow, ABC and Disney will unveil
their allegedly groundbreaking episode of "Ellen," the
one in which the character played by Ellen DeGeneres is
supposed to make TV history by coming out as a lesbian.
   This is fair warning, then, for all you other TV
shows out there: If you act fast enough, you may still
be able to beat "Ellen" to the punch.
   No joke. I mean, let's face it. The primary reason
"Ellen" is tiptoeing down this particular road is to
attract attention to a show desperately in need of
some.  
   So if having the first leading character to announce
her lesbianism is such a big deal, why can't some other
series sneak in under the wire and steal her
thunder?...
   ...these are the shows that reasonably could beat
"Ellen" to the lesbian finish line:...
   "Xena: Warrior Princess." This isn't much of a
stretch at all, since Xena and her sidekick Gabrielle
are constant companions anyway...
   GRAPHIC: ...Clockwise, from top, "Xena: Warrior
Princess,"...still have the time to undercut "Ellen."


[    ] 03-19-97
   THE VANCOUVER SUN. Wednesday. Page D13. 246 words.
"Hot Sites" By Vancouver Sun
   COMMENTARY: Logomancy gets a plug in Vancouver! Way
to go Logomancy!!!
   EXCERPT:
   ...XENA FANDOM
   http://plaza.interport.net/logomanc/XENA/index.html
   Another X-based phenomenon. True, the X-Files sites
still dominate the Net but Xena Warrior Princess is
catching up quickly. Here's a good place to start to
follow those links for endless Xena lore....
   GRAPHIC: ...Xena...


[    ] 03-19-97
   THE ASSOCIATED PRESS. Wednesday. 718 words.
"Celebrity Spotlight & Birthdays" By The Associated
Press
   COMMENTARY: Guess who's birthday was March 29th.
Guess who else she shares it with. 
   EXCERPT:
   ...Other celebrity birthdays:...
   ...March 29: Actress Eileen Heckart ("Murder One"),
78; comedian Eric Idle, 54; rock singer Bobby Kimball
of Toto, 50; actor Christopher Lambert, 40; rock singer
Perry Farrell of Porno for Pyros and Jane's Addiction,
38; model Elle MacPherson, 33; Singer-musician John
Popper of Blues Traveler, 30; actress Lucy Lawless
("Xena: Warrior Princess"), 29....


Notices:

All back issues of XMR and TWXN are available at
(http://xenafan.com/xmr). 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). If you have never been there, you
are **not** a xenafan!

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". 


