     _____               ______                               ._
     `\`/>`\            /`/` /`__________,.'>___      _____   )~\
       /<`\ `\        /`/` /``\ \./------> /|\./\     |\./|  / | \
      /< `\`\ `\    /`/` /`   | | |----\ /  | |\ \    | | |././^\ \
 |\__{o}\--`\`\ `\/`/` /`-----| | |-----`------\`\`\--| | |----^ \ \----.
[\\\\\\\{*}==`>      <`=======| | ==============`\`\`\| | |=====\ \ \==-->
 |/~~{o}/-- /`/  /\ \ `\------| | |---------------`\`\\ | |------\ \ \--'
      \<  /`/` /`  `\`\ `\    | | |_____,.'>| | |   `\`\| | /'    \ \ \
       \< /` /`      `\`\ `\  ,/ /^\------> / |/^\|   \ | |/       \/^\\.
      /`/\>/`           `\`\ `\`~~~~~~~~~~~\ / ~~~~~   )^\,\,      '~~~~~
     `~~~~~`             '~~~~~`            `          ~~~~~~

==========================
XENA: THE MEDIA REVIEW #01
==========================
http://www.teleport.com/~gater/IAXS.html
P.O. Box 81181, Bakersfield, CA 93308
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This document has 526 lines.

Xena Media Review (XMR) is a periodic annotated world press
review of reports regarding the internationally syndicated
television program Xena: Warrior Princess (XWP) (1995 -  ) and
the castmembers, Lucy Lawless and Renee O'Connor.  For a free e-
mail subscription send "subscribe XMR" to ktaborn@.lightspeed.
net. Copyright, legal, and editorial notices are found at the end
of this newsletter.

Issue No. 01
Release date: 03-29-96
2nd edition:  06-04-96
3rd edition:  06-22-96
4th edition:  07-10-96
Covering 04/01/91- 04/21/95
Annotations 001-007d
The "Pre-Xena" Years

------------
Introduction
------------
   This edition (the first!) of Xena Media Review covers media
coverage of Lucy Lawless and Renee O'Connor from April 1, 1991 to
April 21, 1995.  It is call the "Pre-Xena Years" because the last
article was published just before the news of Xena: Warrior
Princess (XWP) was released in the major press (March 5, 1995).
   The lion's share of coverage was for Renee O'Connor (this will
happen again in XMR #03) and consisted of reviews of productions
of which she was a cast member. 
   The sole Lucy Lawless annotation was a Variety review for
"Hercules & the Amazon Women" which was more fond of Michael
Hurst (Iolaus) than anyone else in the cast. Ms. Lawless was
uncommented upon; she was only listed as a cast member.
   "Hercules and the Amazon Women was released April 25, 1994,
while "Hercules and the Lost Kingdom" was released May 2, 1994. 
"Amazon Women" had Ms. Lawless in the cast, and "Lost Kingdom"
had Ms. O'Connor.
   Both movies were part of the syndicated Universal Action Pack
(UAP), which began airing in January 1994. It featured 2 hour tv
movies revolving among Tekwar (based upon William Shatner's book
series, 4 movies), Bandit (based upon the movie Smokey and the
Bandit, 4 movies), Midnight Run (based upon movie of same name, 4
movies), Knightrider 2010 (based upon the TV show Knightrider (1
movie), Vanishing Son (based upon movie of same name, 4 movies),
and Xena's forebear, Hercules (original material, 5 movies). As
you can tell, real top-notch stuff. 
   Hercules did not debut until the release of "Amazon Women",
then followed the next week with "Lost Kingdom".  Hercules was
not heard from again until October 17, 1994, when "Amazon Women"
was repeated, yet again followed by "Lost Kingdom".  After that,
three new Hercules movies followed suit with "The Circle of
Fire", "The Underworld", and "Maze of the Minotaur".
   MCA knew it had a potential hot property.  It clearly was
determined by those first two movies: movies in which appeared
Lucy Lawless and Renee O'Connor.  Is this mere coincidence? Can
we detect a pattern?  The timeline dictates that the decision had
to have been made then.  Else how could Renaissance Pictures have
created three new movies which showed from October 31, 1994 to
November 14, 1994, then to be followed a mere two months later
with the first released episode of "Hercules: The Legendary
Journeys" (January 16, 1995)?  Either they were shooting these
episodes out a back of a car the week before release (highly
unlikely no matter how much some would wish this to be true) or
there was a calculated move to produce Hercules as a series
almost immediately after the first two movies were released.
   It's all in the timing.
   Next issue I will discuss the timing of the first announcement
of XWP. It is most interesting that is was mentioned in passing
in the Daily Variety as an afterthought from an MCA source (March
5, 1995) BEFORE the release of "The Warrior Princess" (March 13,
1995), the first appearance of Xena, the Warrior Princess.  It
appears that the producers intended from the very start that Xena
would have her own show.  That "The Warrior Princess" was part of
"the plan" (of world domination? to make an honest buck? to
introduce the first modern action heroine to television? to make
any kind of buck? to hedge their bets? to make the sets of
Hercules go a bit further? to make an obscene amount of bucks? We
shall see....).
   The record suggests that the decision to make Hercules a
weekly show was determined sometime between May 1994 and
September 1994.  (Ah, the conjecture as to the effects of having
Lucy Lawless and Renee O'Connor as co-stars, and then popping up
with their own show a little over a year later should be fodder
for much discussion...just think of the coincidence!)  However,
the same record does not allow adequate time for Xena to be
nothing but conceived from the start as a tv show.  
   Ponder that!
   Now to more mundane matters...
   In my quest for Xena references, I have found a whole slew of
references to "Xena" but not to "our" Xena.  I will be
periodically issuing special issues of XMR which will show non-
Xena Xena references (only a Xenite would understand). 
   In this issue I wanted to do an "Editor Rant" on the May issue
of "Sci-Fi Universe."  Readers of "Resistance is Futile Netzine",
another ezine that I publish, are already familiar with my love/
hate relationship with Chris Gore & Mark Altman.  Well, the boys
have done it again!  However, I have no space for my "rant".  I
hope to relieve myself in the next issue of....Xena: The Media
Review.
   Finally, I should like to thank all the charter subscribers
for their support of this project.  Sure it's anal retentive, but
that's what the internet is for.  I wanted to make a sister
publication for "Resistance is Futile" and was going back and
forth as to what to use as my topic (Mystery Science Theatre,
Star Trek Comics, Star Trek novels, Space Ghost, Brisco County
Junior, Murder One, Murder One?, oh a grand plethora), but when I
came into possession of many Xena news stories, I thought: media
....media review...XENA!  Now you may begin to read the fruits of
my latest obsession.
---Editor

-----------
ANNOTATIONS
-----------

[001] 04-01-91
   THE NEW YORK TIMES. Page C16. 836 Words. "Reviews/television;
Uplifting Hearts, Minds and Ratings". By John J. O'connor
   COMMENTARY: This is it! Renee O'Connor's earliest copy in a
major media outlet! It is a review of "Danielle Steel's Changes"
with just so happened to have a young Renee O'Connor in the cast.
There are no direct references to Ms. O'Connor, merely a cast
listing.
   KEYWORDS: Renee O'Connor, review, Danielle Steele's Changes
   EXCERPTS:
   ... Melanie Adams (Ms. Ladd) lives in New York as a top
television news correspondent and single mother of two teen-age
daughters. [Renee O'Connor played one of the daughters] Peter
Hallam (Mr. Nouri) lives in Los Angeles as a world-famous heart
surgeon and the widowed father of two sons and a daughter.
Covering a story in Los Angeles, Melanie meets and eventually
marries Peter, even though she has to give up her blossoming
career in New York...
   ...Will Melanie be able to adjust to life in a sumptuous house
filled with pictures of Peter's dead wife? Will she be able to
control the nasty housekeeper who constantly thwarts her? Will
she cope with the children, an overpampered gaggle of whiners?
[Once again, Ms. O'Connor's character]. The details are delicious
(anyone for wine? "Bring the '67 Montrachet," Peter says)...
   ...Danielle Steel's 'Changes'
Directed by Charles Jarrott; written by Susan Nanus, based on a
book by Danielle Steel; director of photography, Chuck Arnold;
editor, Michael McClean; music by Lee Holdridge; production
designer, Jan Scott; produced by the Cramer Company in
association with NBC Productions; Hugh Benson, producer. At 9
tonight on NBC.  
Melanie Adams . . . Cheryl Ladd
Peter Hallam . . . Michael Nouri
Valerie Adams . . . Christie Clark
Jessica Adams . . . Renee O'Connor
Mark Hallam . . . Christopher Gartin
Pam Hallam . . . Ami Foster
Matthew Hallam . . . Joseph Gordon-Levitt


[002] 03-23-93
   DAILY VARIETY. Reviews. 481 Words. "CBS Tuesday Movie Sworn to
Vengeance (Tues. (23), 9-11 P.m., CBS)". By Todd Everett
   COMMENTARY: Almost two years later, Renee O'Connor gets
another major media mention. This time in a review of "Sworn to
Vengeance" and in Daily Variety. Again, no direct references to
Ms. O'Connor, just named in the cast listing.
   KEYWORDS: Renee O'Connor, review, Sworn To Vengeance
   EXCERPTS:
   Filmed in Reno by A. Shane Co. in association with RHI
Entertainment...
   ...Cast: Robert Conrad, Billy McNamara, Gary Bayer, Sharon
Farrell, Peter Breck, Tom Atkins, Michael Cavanaugh, Kurt
McKinney, James McEachin, Meg Wittner, Dori Brenner, Ramon
Franco, Clifton Gonzalez Gonzalez, Paul Scherrer, La Velda Fann,
Monica Creel, Katherine Armstrong, Cristan Crocker, Arlene
Taylor, Dennis Bailey, Tom Reilly, Jeb Adams, Michael Denney, Tim
Erwin, Peter H. Hunt, Tiffany Helm, Randy Josselyn, Sue Kolinsky,
Mills Lane, Barry Lynch, Renee O'Connor, Paulette Porter, Charles
Porter.  
   Robert Conrad returns to TV as Jack Stewart, law officer who
doggedly pursues a case given up by his superiors. Purportedly
fact-based script doesn't always make a lot of sense, but serves
as a nice showcase for its star. 
   Three teenagers have been murdered, and local constabulary are
chasing clues in all directions. Only Sgt. Stewart pays any
attention to a woman (Sharon Farrell) who claims to have
witnessed murder in a vision -- through she denies being a
psychic.
   ...The three young victims are played by Paul Scherrer, Monica
Creel and Arlene Taylor [whew! not Renee]....
   ...Pic is somewhat slow-paced, with grisly murder saved for a
flashback at show's end...


[003] 05-04-94
   DAILY VARIETY. Reviews. 576 Words. "Hercules and the Amazon
Women (Wed. (4), 8-10 P.m., Synd.)" By Adam Sandler
   COMMENTARY: Review of Hercules & the Amazon Women.  Lucy
Lawless appeared in this TV movie.  Reviewer found it facile.
Review only mentions Ms. Lawless specifically as a cast member;
but they loved Michael Hurst. 
   KEYWORDS: Lucy Lawless, review, Hercules and the Amazon Women
   EXCERPTS:
   Filmed in New Zealand by Renaissance Pictures. Executive
producers, Sam Raimi, Robert Tapert, Christian Williams.
Producers, Eric Gruendemann, David Eick. Director, Bill L.
Norton; writers, Jule Selbo, Andrew Dettmann, Daniel Truly;
camera, James Bartle...music, Joseph Lo Duca.  
   Cast: Kevin Sorbo, Anthony Quinn, Roma Downey, Michael Hurst,
Lloyd Cott, Lucy Lawless, Christopher Brougham, Time Lee, Kim
Michaels, Maggie Tarver, John Steemson, Helen Steemson, Rose
McIver, Nick Kemplen, Heidi Anderson, Jill Sayre, Murray Keane,
Andrew Thurtell, Mick Rose, David Taylor, Nina Sosanya, Vicky
Burrett, Margaret-Mary Hollins, Kristin Darragh, Tamara Waugh,
Fiona Mogridge, Jacques Dupeyroux, Peter Malloch, Daniel James,
Jeff Boyd...
   ...It's hard to envision what the producers of this latest
take on the mythical Hercules had in mind when they created this
two-hour telefilm, as program fails to score on any level,
especially with the casting of a beef-cakey heartthrob as its
lead. Any viewers left by show's end probably will be scratching
their heads trying to figure out how this uninteresting and
unsatisfying trip back in time made it to the small screen.
   When Hercules (Kevin Sorbo) is called upon to save a local
village from attacking "beasts," he discovers that the
malefactors are women who visit the hamlet for brief conjugal
visits with the men.
   The women -- apparently motivated by their disdain for men and
reeling from a history of subservient treatment -- prefer to live
commune-style with each other, occasionally returning to the
village for purely procreative purposes. Female babies are kept,
males are set adrift in the river to be retrieved by the men.
   Hercules serves as a Dr. Ruth in chamois briefs, telling the
men how they can recapture the flame with these Amazon femmes, so
they can live happily ever after. Rather than the two species
fighting to the death when the once-a-year mood hits, he insists
they could live in harmony.
   Sorbo, a competent but uncharismatic commercials actor, lacks
the skills to make this either a farcical romp or a serious
delve. His contemporary looks and manners -- one almost expects
his conversation to be punctuated with an occasional "Dude!"--
undermine his credibility...
   Telepic's failure is especially acute considering that it
comes from producers Sam Raimi and Robert Tapert, the pair behind
the biting "Darkman" and its sequel; they have lengthy and
substantive credits of creating interesting characters.
   The show is visually stunning, with plenty of raging
waterfalls and lush tropical setting, with the actors mere set
dressing.
   Scriptors...give the actors dialogue more likely to be spoofed
by comedy improv groups than taken seriously. 
   Relationship advice proferred by the suntanned Hercules is
ridiculous and would be more fitting coming from his friend
Iolaus (Michael Hurst), program's sole diamond in the rough.
Hurst's infectious personality and sidekick demeanor aids in
keeping this sinking quasi-melodrama afloat.
   While program is designed to be the first of five two-hour
adventures, subsequent episodes will have to be more interesting
than this to garner auds. 
   Director Bill L. Norton probably brought a lot to the party,
but only the aerial shots and special effects show on screen.


[004] 05-05-94
   ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH. Everyday Magazine. Page 4G. 624
Words. "Dick Richmond Books on Tape Column" By Dick Richmond
   COMMENTARY: Picture of Ms. O'Connor in Hercules TV movie
"Hercules and the Lost Kingdom". No text, just picture. 
   KEYWORDS: Renee O'Connor, review, Hercules and the lost
Kingdom
   EXCERPT:
   ...GRAPHIC: Photo of Kevin Sorbo Hercules (Kevin Sorbo) saves
a princess (Renee O'Connor) and the city of Troy from a monk and
his cult in" Hercules and the Lost Kingdom." 7 p.m.    Channel 11


[005] 05-08-94
   THE TORONTO STAR. Page E2. 672 Words. "To-dye-for Movie Roles
and Klingons Unglued". By Rita Zekas
   COMMENTARY:  A mention of Renee O'Connor in regards to her
role in the movie "Darkman: Durant Returns". A very light section
which mentions that Renee was in the hairdresser's chair for five
hours for her character.  There was a picture of Renee included
in the article.
   In XMR024a-e, the reviews and announcements of the videotape
release are annotated (July 1995).
   KEYWORDS: Renee O'Connor, Darkman: Durant Returns
   EXCERPTS:
   IT'S NOT EASY being a born blonde.
   Or a born-again blond for that matter.
   Just ask Sten Eirik, who plays Whitey the thug in the movie
Darkman: Durant Returns, which filmed here recently.
   Eirik was pretty white as it was, with fair strawberry blond
hair. But he wasn't Whitey enough.  
   So he put his head in the hands of the film's stylist Susan
Exton-Stranks, who dispatched him to a Yorkville salon to bleach
out his hair to within an inch of his scalp.
   It put up a good fight - 3 1/2 hours of bleaching. The result,
the lightest hair this side of Brigitte Nielsen.
   That hairdresser chair certainly got a workout. Renee
O'Connor, who plays Laurie, an ex-stripper in the movie, had an
even more extended time in the hot seat - five hours. She was
given hair extensions; her hair was braided and false hair sewn
in.
   O'Connor had to be tarted up, she was too girl-next-door. 
   "Most strippers have hair extensions," Exton-Stranks
explained, "because the longer their hair, the more money they
make." ...
   GRAPHIC: Photos: GWYNYTH WALSH au naturelle and as evil
Klingon babe in Star Trek
   TRESSED-OUT: Sten Eirik puts the bite on Darkman: Durant
Returns co-star Renee O'Connor's locks.


[006]  12-19-94 to 12-31-94
   NOTE: The next four annotations ran the same or substantially
the same information about the TV movie "Rockford Files: Little
Ezekial" (RF:LE) which was in production at the time.  The movie
was eventually released in May 1995 under the name "Rockford
Files: A Blessing in Disguise" (RF:BID).  RF:BID engendered 17
reviews which currently make up the most significant press
coverage Renee O'Connor has had in her career aside from XWP.
These 17 reviews are anotated in XMR019a-q.
   KEYWORDS: Renee O'Connor, Rockford Files: Little Ezekial,
Rockford Files: A Blessing in Disguise


[006a] 12-19-94
   PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE. Page C8. 543 Words. "Bogart Acts
Again -- with Digital Help". 
   COMMENTARY:  Single reference to Renee O'Connor's role.
   EXCERPT:
   ...MORE ''FILES'': Next up for James Garner -- ''The Rockford
Files: Little Ezekial'' on CBS. (No airdate yet.) Last month's
''Rockford Files: I Still Love L.A.'' was the highest-rated TV
movie this season.
   In ''Ezekial,'' Angel (Stuart Margolin) becomes a wildly
successful televangelist. When his TV ministry launches a boycott
against a new movie, ''Little Ezekial,'' Rockford is hired to
protect its star (Renee O'Connor)....


[006b] 12-20-94
   CHICAGO TRIBUNE. Page 10. 429 Words. "'48 Hours' Move Raises
Rather's Ire". 
   COMMENTARY: Same information as in XMR006a above.
   EXCERPT:
   ...Next up for James Garner-"The Rockford Files: Little
Ezekial" on CBS. (No airdate.) Last month's "Rockford Files: I
Still Love L.A." was the highest-rated TV movie this season. In
"Ezekial," Angel (Stuart Margolin) becomes a wildly successful
televangelist. When his TV ministry launches a boycott against a
new movie, "Little Ezekial," Rockford is hired to protect its
star (Renee O'Connor)....


[006c] 12-22-94
   THE RECORD (the Bergen Record Corp). Page D11. 715 Words.
"News and Notes". From News Service Reports.
   COMMENTARY: Same information as in XMR006a above.
   EXCERPT:
   ...ROCKFORD RETURNS 
   Next up for James Garner is "The Rockford Files: Little
Ezekial" on CBS. (Not yet scheduled.) Last month's "Rockford
Files: I Still Love L.A." was the highest-rated TV movie this
season.
   In "Ezekial," Angel (Stuart Margolin) becomes a wildly
successful televangelist. When his TV ministry launches a boycott
against a new movie, "Little Ezekial," Rockford is hired to
protect its star (Renee O'Connor)....


[006d] 12-31-94
   CHICAGO TRIBUNE. Page 29. 379 Words. "HBO to Give 'Snaps' a
2-week Tryout in January". 
   COMMENTARY: Same information as in XMR006a above.
   EXCERPT:
   ...- Next up for James Garner-"The Rockford Files: Little
Ezekial" on CBS. (No airdate.) Last month's "Rockford Files: I
Still Love L.A." was the highest-rated TV movie this season.
   In "Ezekial," Angel (Stuart Margolin) becomes a wildly
successful televangelist. When his TV ministry launches a boycott
against a new movie, "Little Ezekial," Rockford is hired to
protect its star (Renee O'Connor)....


[006e] 12-15-94  [originally annotated in XMR #04]
   PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER. Page E6. 906 words. "She's Afraid 'My
So-called Life' Will Breathe its Last in January" by Gail Shister
   COMMENTARY: Another brief mention of Renee O'Connor. Exact
reprint of XMR006a and XMR006d.


[007] 04-20-95 to 04-21-95
   NOTE: Annotation #007 consists of two reviews of the TV Movie
"Follow the River": one bad and one good.  Renee O'Connor was in
the cast and played a minor role.  Neither review comments upon
her specifically.
   KEYWORDS: Renee O'Connor, review, Follow the River


[007a] 04-20-95
   CHICAGO TRIBUNE. Page 3. 655 Words. "Wild Ride; 'Follow the
River' Is an Adventure Parents, Kids Can Enjoy Together". By
Jennifer Mangan. 
   COMMENTARY: Positive review of tv movie "Follow the River".
Once again, Ms. O'Connor is mentioned as a cast member but
nothing specifically about her performance.  The  Graphic for the
movie does not include Renee O'Connor.
   EXCERPTS:
   ...With kids' schedules as jampacked as they are nowadays,
families are hard-pressed to spend quality time together.
   Some might dismiss watching television as a way to fill that
time when it comes available, but the "ABC Family Movie" is one
offering that aims to provide parent-friendly, quality
entertainment every Saturday night.   
   One example of ABC's effort to bring families together for a
couple of hours is "Follow the River" (8 p.m. Saturday, WLS-Ch.
7).
   Based on the 1981 best seller by James Alexander Thom, this
adaptation encompasses all the elements of a saga worthy of the
three-star stamp. 
   When you meet the movie's heroine, Mary Ingles (Sheryl Lee),
she is cradling her large belly in anticipation of the birth of
her second child.  Ingles has a feeling that her unborn child is
a girl-and she usually is right about her feelings. But on this
spring day in 1755, the expectant mom is nagged by a sense of
foreboding, a premonition that ultimately develops into real
danger. 
   The adventure unfolds when members of the Shawnee tribe, led
by the powerful warrior Wildcat (Eric Schweig), raid Ingles' home
while her husband, Will (Tim Guinee), is building fences on the
other side of the mountain ridge. 
   The Shawnees capture Mary, her 6-year-old son, Tommy (Tyler
Noyes), her sister-in-law, Bettie (Renee O'Connor), and a
neighbor (Andrew Stahl). It isn't until much later in the film
that you learn the Shawnees take captives to replace members of
their tribe who were killed when white men took their land. 
   Mary is the true heroine in this story-she displays faith and
courage that sometimes make her seem more superhero than human.
   On the long, arduous journey to the Shawnee camp where the
captives either will die or become slaves, Mary gives birth to a
girl.
   Ellen Burstyn plays Gretel, an older woman who was abducted
from her home and brought to the Shawnee camp before Mary. She
and Mary become friends who understand that in order to survive,
they must never show fear...
   ...Wildcat finds Mary's strength appealing and spares her and
the other captives. Wildcat fondly calls her Mother and Mary
respectfully calls him Sir. Although Mary loves her husband, the
viewer can sense the spark between Wildcat and Mary, but it is
quickly extinguished when Mary turns down Wildcat's offer to go
away with him.
   What follows is a test of courage.
   "Follow the River" has a little something for everyone.
Certainly, the movie has historic value and is gushing with
drama, but it also offers lots of adventure, a little romance and
a happy ending...


[007b] 04-21-95
   DAILY VARIETY. Reviews. 214 Words. "The ABC Family Movie
Follow the River (Sat. (22), 9-11 P.m., ABC)". By John McCarthy.
   COMMENTARY: Negative review of tv movie "Follow the River".
Once again, Ms. O'Connor is mentioned as a cast member but
nothing specifically about her performance; however it is implied
that the character that she played was not given her due.  
   EXCERPTS: 
   This profile in courage stars Sheryl Lee as Mary Ingles, a
brave frontier woman captured, along with her son and
sister-in-law, by the Shawnee. An indication of her fortitude:
she gives birth six days into the wilderness and gladly gets
right up and continues trekking.  
   Filmed in Sapphire, N.C., by Signboard Hill Prods. Executive
producer, Richard Welsh; producer, Alvin Cooperman; co-producer,
Brent Shields; director, Martin Davidson...based on the novel by
James Alexander Thom...Steven C. Aaron; music, Ernest Troost. 120
MIN. 
   Cast: Sheryl Lee, Ellen Burstyn, Eric Schweig, Tim Guinee,
Renee O'Connor, Tyler Noyes, Andrew Stahl, Gabriel Macht, Tony
Amendola, Sammy D. Miller, Graeme Malcolm, Juddson Keith Linn,
Jimmie F. Skaggs. The producers of this telepic have delivered
wholesome family entertainment in the form of an adventure story
best described as "Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman" meets "The Last of
the Mohicans." 
   The leader of the raiding party, Wildcat (Eric Schweig), takes
a fancy to her. Meanwhile, husband and brother give chase. Other
white folk, notably a German woman named Gretel (Ellen Burstyn)
and some French traders, are at the Shawnee village.
   When Lee's hearty Irish immigrant refuses Wildcat's marriage
proposal, he takes her son to raise as a warrior and sells her to
the French along with Gretel. The sister-in-law is never heard
from again [the sister-in-law is apparently the role played by
Renee O'Connor...oops].
   Lee is brimming with matronly dignity, yet all the
performances are brought down by terrible accents. She sounds
like an Irish Spring commercial, and Burstyn is downright hammy
with an equally thick accent. Director Martin Davidson rushes
through the weak parts of the yarn, and there are quite a few. 
   Jennifer Miller's script is plodding. The obligatory reuniting
of the family undercuts the preceding adventure: Was the danger
only make believe? 
   Decent photography by Michael E. Gershman applies a patina of
butterscotch to the North Carolina scenery.

[007c] 04-22-95
   THE DES MOINES REGISTER. Today. Page 4. 414 words. "A
sociological look at the James boys" 
   COMMENTARY: Another nominal mention of Ms. O'Connor regarding
"Follow the River", an ABC TV movie of the week.
   EXCERPT:
   ..."Follow the River" (ABC at 8 p.m.) Adapted from James
Alexander Thom's novel, this new drama casts Sheryl Lee ("Twin
Peaks") as an 18th-century woman captured by Shawnee raiders.
Wanting to protect her young son (Tyler Noyes) and keep herself
from being enslaved or slain, she agrees to keep company with
their leader (Eric Schweig), though she eventually escapes and
struggles to return home.
   Several months' pregnant, she's joined in her grueling quest
by a fellow captive (Ellen Burstyn).
   Filmed on location in North Carolina, the tale also features
Renee O'Connor and Andrew Stahl as other prisoners who have to
rely on Lee's courage to ensure their survival.



-------------
THE BACK PAGE
-------------

Issue #2 will contain annotations #08 through #17, dated from
March 5, 1995 to May 10, 1995.  It is scheduled to be released
April 5, 1995.

PREFERRED CITATION:  When citing an annotated review, use the
format: XMR 01:007.  This example means Xena Media Review, issue
#01, annotation #007.

DISCLAIMER: XMR (Xena Media Review) is a free non-profit
informational release.  XMR in no way intends to challenge,
disregard or profit from any of the original copyright holders of
the material excerpted, reprinted, or referred to (including but
not limited to MCA, Universal Studios, Renaissance Pictures, the
New York Times, Daily Variety, the St. Louis Dispatch, the
Toronto Star, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, and the Chicago
Tribune).  
   This newsletter is an academic and educational pursuit to
archive, annotate, and study the media response to Xena: Warrior
Princess (a syndicated television production from MCA/Universal/
Renaissance) and the actresses Lucy Lawless and Renee O'Connor,
especially in the light of popular culture and the influence of
mass media.  XMR exercises its right to quote, excerpt or reprint
as allowed under the law in order to review and discuss the media
reports cited and annotated herein. XMR is distributed free of
charge. Banner graphic by Colleen Stephan. Copyright 1996 by Kym
Masera Taborn.

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