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

==========================
XENA: THE MEDIA REVIEW #18 Part 2 of 3
==========================
An All Talk No Action Publication
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This document has 3148 lines (in three parts)

PART 2 of 3

[073.5]  11-06-95
   20/20. New Zealand TV show. 
   COMMENTARY: This extended interview/documentary on
the production of HTLJ and XWP was produced as
promotion of the release of the Hercules 1994 Action
Pack movies on video in New Zealand. The emphasis was
on Kiwi matters and interviews were primarily with
production crew members. 
   In the portion about XWP, Xena was described as "one
h*** of a scary woman." The interviewer also mentioned
that Ms. Lawless had the "biggest break a New Zealand
actor has ever had into American TV."  
   Ms. Lawless quotes were: 
   "I don't think that there has been a better role for
a woman in decades in a series -- in a syndicated
series -- certainly in America.  She's got the devil on
her shoulder.  That's why you watch her because you
don't know which way she'll jump, necessarily."
   "Success is just the reward of keeping up your own
identity and trying to be consistent."
   "I will go wherever the work is.  You want to work
on the best projects with the best possible people."
   The other people interviewed were:
   Eric Grundemann, HTLJ producer, discussed the
several reasons why New Zealand was chosen as the
shooting locale; how shooting in New Zealand had
affected the show; and his personal pride in showing
that an American show produced in New Zealand could be
a critical and financial success.
   Michael Hurst, HTLJ "Iolaus", discussed his
willingness to do stuntwork and his action figure.
   Kevin Sorbo, HTLJ "Hercules", discussed his new
found fame; his action figure; and his respect and
admiration for the crew.
   Johnny Duncan, XWP director of photography,
discussed how he filmed Lucy Lawless and centaurs; how
the shows would be different if they had been filmed in
America instead of New Zealand; and his appreciation of
the New Zealander crews.
   Diane Rowan, HTLJ & XWP casting director, discussed
how the shows had stimulated the employment of actors
in New Zealand; how both shows recycled actors; and how
she used her casting couch to the advantage of the
shows.
   Rob Gillies, HTLJ & XWP Set Designer, discussed the
challenge of making the sets and props for the
episodes; and where he derived his inspiration.
   Nila Dickson, HTLJ & XWP costume designer, discussed
her creative work with Rob Gillies; and how she
designed bras.
   David Bell, HTLJ & XWP Stunt Coordinator, discussed
the types of stunts used; how costumes were designed
with stuntwork in mind; and what a successful stunt
looked like.
   Charlie Haskal, an HTLJ director, discussed the
differences between regular New Zealand dramas and
HTLJ.
   COMMENTARY: This extended interview/documentary on
the production of HTLJ and XWP was produced as
promotion of the release of the Hercules 1994 Action
Pack movies on video in New Zealand. The emphasis was
on Kiwi matters and interviews were primarily with
production crew members. 
   In the portion about XWP, Xena was described as "one
h*** of a scary woman." The interviewer also mentioned
that Ms. Lawless had the "biggest break a New Zealand
actor has ever had into American TV."  
   Ms. Lawless quotes were: 
   "I don't think that there has been a better role for
a woman in decades in a series -- in a syndicated
series -- certainly in America.  She's got the devil on
her shoulder.  That's why you watch her because you
don't know which way she'll jump, necessarily."
   "Success is just the reward of keeping up your own
identity and trying to be consistent."
   "I will go wherever the work is.  You want to work
on the best projects with the best possible people."
   The other people interviewed were:
   Eric Grundemann, HTLJ producer, discussed the
several reasons why New Zealand was chosen as the
shooting locale; how shooting in New Zealand had
affected the show; and his personal pride in showing
that an American show produced in New Zealand could be
a critical and financial success.
   Michael Hurst, HTLJ "Iolaus", discussed his
willingness to do stuntwork and his action figure.
   Kevin Sorbo, HTLJ "Hercules", discussed his new
found fame; his action figure; and his respect and
admiration for the crew.
   Johnny Duncan, XWP director of photography,
discussed how he filmed Lucy Lawless and centaurs; how
the shows would be different if they had been filmed in
America instead of New Zealand; and his appreciation of
the New Zealander crews.
   Diane Rowan, HTLJ & XWP casting director, discussed
how the shows had stimulated the employment of actors
in New Zealand; how both shows recycled actors; and how
she used her casting couch to the advantage of the
shows.
   Rob Gillies, HTLJ & XWP Set Designer, discussed the
challenge of making the sets and props for the
episodes; and where he derived his inspiration.
   Nila Dickson, HTLJ & XWP costume designer, discussed
her creative work with Rob Gillies; and how she
designed bras.
   David Bell, HTLJ & XWP Stunt Coordinator, discussed
the types of stunts used; how costumes were designed
with stuntwork in mind; and what a successful stunt
looked like.
   Charlie Haskal, an HTLJ director, discussed the
differences between regular New Zealand dramas and
HTLJ.
   COMMENTARY: This extended interview/documentary on
the production of HTLJ and XWP was produced as
promotion of the release of the Hercules 1994 Action
Pack movies on video in New Zealand. The emphasis was
on Kiwi matters and interviews were primarily with
production crew members. 
   In the portion about XWP, Xena was described as "one
h*** of a scary woman." The interviewer also mentioned
that Ms. Lawless had the "biggest break a New Zealand
actor has ever had into American TV."  
   Ms. Lawless quotes were: 
   "I don't think that there has been a better role for
a woman in decades in a series -- in a syndicated
series -- certainly in America.  She's got the devil on
her shoulder.  That's why you watch her because you
don't know which way she'll jump, necessarily."
   "Success is just the reward of keeping up your own
identity and trying to be consistent."
   "I will go wherever the work is.  You want to work
on the best projects with the best possible people."
   The other people interviewed were:
   Eric Grundemann, HTLJ producer, discussed the
several reasons why New Zealand was chosen as the
shooting locale; how shooting in New Zealand had
affected the show; and his personal pride in showing
that an American show produced in New Zealand could be
a critical and financial success.
   Michael Hurst, HTLJ "Iolaus", discussed his
willingness to do stuntwork and his action figure.
   Kevin Sorbo, HTLJ "Hercules", discussed his new
found fame; his action figure; and his respect and
admiration for the crew.
   Johnny Duncan, XWP director of photography,
discussed how he filmed Lucy Lawless and centaurs; how
the shows would be different if they had been filmed in
America instead of New Zealand; and his appreciation of
the New Zealander crews.
   Diane Rowan, HTLJ & XWP casting director, discussed
how the shows had stimulated the employment of actors
in New Zealand; how both shows recycled actors; and how
she used her casting couch to the advantage of the
shows.
   Rob Gillies, HTLJ & XWP Set Designer, discussed the
challenge of making the sets and props for the
episodes; and where he derived his inspiration.
   Nila Dickson, HTLJ & XWP costume designer, discussed
her creative work with Rob Gillies; and how she
designed bras.
   David Bell, HTLJ & XWP Stunt Coordinator, discussed
the types of stunts used; how costumes were designed
with stuntwork in mind; and what a successful stunt
looked like.
   Charlie Haskal, an HTLJ director, discussed the
differences between regular New Zealand dramas and
HTLJ.
   Transcription by Julia Medina
   TRANSCRIPTION:
   REPORTER:  New Zealand has a growing reputation
worldwide for quality films and for being a great film
location.  Now there's a new production: a TV series
watched by millions of Americans every week.  It may
not be an intellectual giant, but it's huge in every
other way. Characters larger than life, monsters,
breasts and biceps, and for it's makers, most
important, ratings. It's made in the heart of Auckland,
yet most Kiwis have never heard of it.  But tonight
Hercules goes public revealing it's secrets to an
intimate north.
   REPORTER:  And this is the story about a TV series
made in New Zealand that's turned into a huge hit in
America.  It's the "Lord of the Rings" with muscles; an
ancient Greece with a nineties twist.  It's "Star Trek"
with chariots.  It's out-racing "Baywatch" and it's
shot in Auckland.
   ERIC:  We wanted to do something very different with
the Hercules theme.
   REPORTER:  Eric Grundemann is the producer.  He had
a new slant on an ancient Greece myth.
   MR. GRUNDEMANN:  It's normally done in a
sword-and-sandal manner and which means arid
landscapes.  We wanted to turn that completely on it's
ear and go lush primordial.  This country has an
amazing array of distinctive beautiful locations that
we've been utilizing. That combined with the fact that
it's more financially advantageous at this time to
shoot down here because of the (---) trades and tax
ramifications and also I found there was an amazing
pool of talent not only in cast, but crew.
   REPORTER:  This show is the talk of American
syndicated television.  Aside from a few producers and
directors, it's almost all New Zealand made.  The sets,
the crews, the cast.
   Leading New Zealand actor Michael Hurst plays
Iolaus, Hercules' sidekick.
   REPORTER:  What do you think of the show.
   MICHAEL: HERCULES?  I think it's a drag.  I got to
say -- and I got to say -- and I think it's gets better
and better.  I say before we're getting better at it as
we get more -- you know, sometimes it's cheesy, but the
thing is it's all done with, "Hey, look how cheesy this
is."
   I need to look no further for swords, acrobatics,
fights, you know, American accents, heroes -- I don't,
you know, it's all happening.  I can do most of my
stunts and I can learn the fights real quick and have
the kind of intensity to do it.
   REPORTER:  And you're respected for that?
   MICHAEL:  Um, yeah.
   REPORTER:  That you can bring that?
   MICHAEL:  Yeah.  It's funny and some things -- I
think it might be a Kiwi thing that, we don't think
about that. We did one episode where I had to dive off
a little jettie and wrestle with a sort of foam rubber
eel and it was really exhausting with all the -- on,
and I got a call back from the States saying, "My God,
that's actually you in there." And I think we just
don't even think twice about it.  With   "Hey yeah,
I've got do this.  All right. Oh, yeah, I can jump
that" and doing it.  And it's a different ball game. In
the States they were quite -- and I think they actually
like it.  I think they like it that we just jump in and
do it.
   REPORTER:  Recognize the face?  American Kevin Sorbo
swapped his denims for leather and won the role of 
HERCULES.  He acquired a Kiwi visa and a gym pass and a
fake tan to became the superhero of antiquity.  He knew
the show was taking off but the hype floored him when
he popped over to the States a few months back.
   KEVIN:  I pull up to an intersection on Sunset
Boulevard and a bus pulled up next to me all along the
bus,  "Hercules", "Xena".  And you know it was just the
whole thing, and I was like, "Hey, wow, that's me." 
It's kind of weird.  I don't know how to react to it. 
You know we have dolls coming out in November.
   REPORTER:  But the dolls haven't turned out entirely
as expected.
   KEVIN:  I think the dolls kind of suck, okay.  Next
time put our real bodies on the doll.
   MICHAEL:  They put them on kind of stock bodies is
what they did --
   KEVIN:  They put us on "Masters of the Universe"
bodies.  Seven inch chest and a 25 inch waste.
   REPORTER:  So what's the problem with that?
   MICHAEL:  It's totally unrealistic.  I mean our show
is about reality, let's face it. 
   REPORTER:  Meet "Xena:  Warrior Princess".  The
American studios liked "Hercules" so much, they asked
for a spin-off series back.  In New Zealand, what the
producers came up with is one hell of a scary woman. 
It's double the size of the production here in Auckland
and the lead role of Xena is played by Kiwi actress
Lucy Lawless.  It's the biggest break a New Zealand
actor has ever had into American TV.  From obscurity to
stardom almost overnight.  This is the ultimate
employment equity.  The girls get to don leather and
pick fights too.
   LUCY:  I don't think that there has been a better
role for a woman in decades in a series -- in a
syndicated series -- certainly in America.  She's got
the devil on her shoulder.  That's why you watch her
because you don't know which way she'll jump,
necessarily.
   REPORTER:  Lucy Lawless is fast becoming a big name
in the States, but she seems ambivalent about the fuss.
   LUCY:  Success is just the reward of keeping up your
own identity and trying to be consistent.
   REPORTER:  But it's a role that potentially could
make you big in the states.
   LUCY:  Um-hum, yeah.
   REPORTER:  Thoughts in that direction?
   LUCY:  I will go wherever the work is. You want to
work on the best projects with the best possible
people.
   REPORTER:  And right at this moment in New Zealand,
the best people are working on "Xena" and "Hercules".
   Johnny Duncan is director of photography on "Xena". 
   MR. DUNCAN:  It's the one thing I don't compromise
on is making Lucy and her co-star Renee look fantastic. 
And that would be my, you know, secret to success, and
I keep my job.  The minute I relax that guard, then I
think, you know, I'm history, because the show has got
to have a star and that's Lucy.  And so far, she's got
a great face, it's easy to light.  There's a few simple
rules:  The light has to come from a certain direction
and just give it shape and let it go dark on one side
and it can look fantastic.  And her eyes respond
beautifully to a big light and put it out to one side,
they just come totally alive.
   REPORTER:  It's a far cry from nurses' uniforms for
ex -- Danielle Cormac --  "Hercules" and"Xena" are
giving the New Zealand acting profession more work than
they've had in years.  So far there have been 800
roles, 350 of them with dialog, and that's not counting
the extras.
   DIANE:  Well every week I have to find 40 actors for 
"Xena" and"Hercules", 40 American-speaking actors --
   REPORTER:  Diane Rowen is casting director for both
shows.
   DIANE:  For every episode I think, "We're not going
to make it.  This isn't going to happen this time. 
This is it.  The last episode being made."  And somehow
we pull through and then we sort of take the next
script which usually comes about seven days before we
get to shoot it, so we have roughly six or seven days
to cast each episode.  So every seven days I'm casting
one Hercules and one"Xena".
   REPORTER:  So you're drawing a lot of the fresh 
talent?
   DIANE:  Yeah.  We also reuse.  We're not ashamed of
recycling.  You know, the odd eye patch and fake nose.
   REPORTER:  Interesting facts:  The two shows have to
date worked their way through 2,500 Wonder Bras.  It
gives a whole new meaning to supporting role.
   DIANE:   All the women have to be -- the America
expression is "Babericious" and the blokes have to be
hunks, so I get all the guys to take their shirts off
and my casting couch is wearing out quite a lot now.
   REPORTER:  Then there are some things they never
taught you at drama school, like how to act the part of
a Centaur; half man, half horse.  And you want to have
a casting add read for this job:  "Wanted:  Persons to
twitch horse's tail.  Nervous disposition would help."
   REPORTER:  Using the imagery of monsters and
mythical creatures that appear in each episode, you
need imagination and ingenuity to make it real.
   MR. DUNCAN:  It's a small detail that tends to make
it work.  You can sit back and see a big wide shot of
the film crew working and it sort of looks ridiculous;
it will never sell.  But when you get that microcosmic
view, right inside of what the camera is seeing,
everything is working.  For example on the prosthetic
horses on the Centaurs, it's the tails that really sell
it.  They've got a really wonderful flicking motion. 
And as the camera comes down and as they leave frame,
they come past the tails then that really sells it in
the mind -- sells it in the brain. 
   REPORTER:  If you were wondering, they film the legs
of real horses later on and computer animators do the
rest back in the States.  Technology works some
miracles in post production, but everyone agrees the
magic ingredient is the Kiwi sense of humor.
   MR. DUNCAN: "Xena" and "Hercules" wouldn't be the
same shows if they were shot in America.  There's
theories when they first started "Hercules" that they
started all quite serious and scripts were taken
seriously, and the Kiwis, actors and the crews, are
sitting around going, "You guys are taking this
seriously?  You know, this is cheesy."  And everyone
started spoofing it up and that caught on and then they
started seeing the rushes and going, "Hey, this is
working.  Let's build on this, make more of it.
   ERIC: I think there's a certain humor that has come
about by being down here.  I think the Kiwis have a
wonderful sense of humor and a wonderful way of
laughing in the face of adversity.  And certainly a lot
of that has been transposed into the scripts.
   REPORTER:  And that's giving a the real freshness in
the United States?
   MR. GRUNDEMANN:  I think so.  I think that's a very
big part of why the show does look fresh and does feel
fresh to American television audiences.  It's
different.
   REPORTER:  It's not just different, it's big. 
Hidden away in suburban Auckland is a 70 acre movie
ranch.  This is where you find the primeval settlements
with all the necessities of village life, down to the
last polystyrene  detail.  The Kiwis' production of
"Hercules", and more recently, "Xena", has pumped more
than fifty million dollars into Auckland.  But most
remarkable of all, they've managed to keep it a secret.
   Few people outside the film business realize the
scale of the production.  More than 500 crafts people
work full-time on the productions making the props,
costumes, and sets.  They're encouraged to give their
imagination free reign.  Everyone has an input.  No
idea too outlandish.  The detail is amazing.  Bizarre,
nightmarish, sometimes just plain weird.  Is there a
lunatic fringe working on the production?
   REPORTER:  What did they say they wanted from you
when they hired you for the job?
   ROB:  They wanted a lot of soul.
   REPORTER:  You could say former Split Enz member Rob
Gillies has a dream job.
   ROB:  Yeah, I have great fun on the show.
   REPORTER:  He dreams up and designs the sets and
props on "Hercules" and Xena.
   ROB:  They're constantly falling through trap doors
and plunging into pits with vipers and things like
that, yeah.  The scripts are written like -- everyone
is little bit like "The Temple of Doom", but we have a
week to get it ready.
   REPORTER:  Where do you get your inspiration from?
   ROB:  Everywhere.  Comics, magazines, books, other
TV shows, old TV shows, nature, you know, like natural
skull  shapes and whatever.  Just mix it all up.
   NILA:  I had these discussions with Rob Gillies and
he just decided for example a week ago we were into
like Vikings, and you're constantly looking for new
ideas that will be exciting and fun to do.
   REPORTER:  Nila Dickson is the costume designer.
   REPORTER:  There are some quaint, bizarre stuff here
for a bra.  When they gave you this job, what did they
say? What did they ask you to do?  What was your
breach?
   NILA:  Well, the most open breach.  A totally
creative situation.  I can do anything within the
bounds -- within the tiny bounds.  I can do anything,
you know, demons and monsters and damsels in distress. 
We do them all.
   REPORTER:  So this would be one of the nightmares,
would it?
   DAVID:  Yeah.  This is a mystic warrior.  A very bad
person indeed.
   REPORTER:  What's it made out of?
   DAVID:  A lot of glue, leather, leather with shellac
over the top of it.
   REPORTER:  Leather fasteners there.
   DAVID:  Yeah, a lot of fastenings to make it safe,
because they're quite heavy, and they use them in a lot
of stunt actions.
   REPORTER:  And action is what the two shows are
built on.  This is a second unit filming action scenes
for "Hercules", and in yet another anonymous warehouse
in the suburbs.  The lead actors here are stunt
doubles.  A crew of  up to 30 stunt men and women work
on the two shows, putting together four major fight
scenes a week.
   DAVID:  Nothing is impossible.
   REPORTER:  David Bell is the stunt coordinator.  He
plans the fights and designs the rigs and harnesses. 
His job is a suspension of your disbelief.
   REPORTER:  Do you have everything in this in country
to make these things convincing?
   DAVID:  Well, we have virtually everything.
   REPORTER:  There they go again.  Where did you find
these guys?
   MR. BELL:  These guys?  They've been with me --
   REPORTER: Big these mean guys.
   DAVID:  They look good, don't they?  They look the
part.
   REPORTER:  What does it take to make a good stunt
for something like this?
   MR. BELL:  Basically for a show like this you got to
be a good fall person.  You see people taking a lot of
falls, not just falling over.  It's your feet wide up
in the air, falling flat on your back or doing spiral
falls or doing back flips and landing on your stomach. 
That's what makes a good fight scene.  It's actually
seeing a good hit, the person flying through the air
and, whack, hitting the ground hard.  That's what
people -- when you see that and you see the whole lot
and people hitting the ground people go "Oww".  People
really feel it.
   REPORTER:  This is Charlie Haskal's first chance at 
directing.  He worked on a lot of productions in New
Zealand, but nothing like this.
   CHARLIE:  We don't do a lot of shows in New Zealand
with such a major action component.  The action, the
special effects, a lot of the computer effects, the
monsters and a lot of the animation, which is not --
also we don't do much in New Zealand shows, and it's
great to learn all the camera tricks a lot of the
things that we haven't done before, and I haven't done
before in New Zealand drama.
   REPORTER:  While behind the scenes imaginations can
run riot, the filming schedule is tight.  It was sunny
and warm when they shot the first scenes on board the
boat. Filming can't stop just because the temperatures
drop.
   JOHNNY:  I think Americans are continually impressed
when they come down to this part of the world,
especially directors that may have shot in New York for
most of their lives.  The ingenuity of Kiwi crews --
also something that's really interesting there's no
great lines of demarcation; everyone helps each other
and goes and everyone scrambles about and helps each
other.
   KEVIN:  The crews down here are fantastic.  I mean
this show, I think, is second to none in production
value. It's filmed like a major motion picture.  You
know, they came down here to save money; they didn't
come down here to save production value.  The
production value down here is fantastic.  I know we got
the best people in the country.
   REPORTER:  The decision to make the shows in New
Zealand has paid off and producer Eric Grundemann has
proved the studio executives wrong.
   ERIC:  You know the nay-sayers said, "You shouldn't
come down to New Zealand; it's so far away from the
studio. Do they really know about America television? 
Can you really make this kind of show for the money? 
Can you -- you shouldn't try to do two action shows at
once, especially in such a remote location.  You'll
never pull it off."
   And you know now that it's rating well, and I think
it's become a critical success, as well as a financial
success, I think it's, you know, it's great to sit back
and realize that, you know, what we originally
envisioned actually came true.
   REPORTER:  And if that isn't a fairy tale ending,
what is?
   REPORTER:  New Zealand can get it's first taste of
"Hercules" later this week when the first telemovie is
released on video.
 

[149.5] 01/26/96
   KTLA. Morning Show. 
   COMMENTARY: Interview with Lucy Lawless on local Los
Angeles WB station channel 5.
   Ms. Lawless conducted the interview holding a small
cut-out of Bobby Darrin. The show consisted of mainly
the male hosts trying to get a fight between the female
host and Ms. Lawless. Ms. Lawless even had to remind
them that she was not Xena.
   Ms. Lawless referred to "Warrior...Princess" where
she was allowed to show her comedic skills.
   Transcription by Julia Medina
   TRANSCRIPTION:
   BARBARA:  In show business news this morning, she's
here, and she's packing.  Xena rocks the morning news. 
And Sam Rubin has reunited with his Kiwi pal.  Plus we
have major chin news.
   SAM:  Yes we do. Isn't Xena beautiful?  Lucy is as
lovely as can be.  And she says she is going to take
Barbara in less than -- it won't take long. Did you
hear that the gong?
   LUCY:  Yes, let's go.
   SAM:  Let's go.  Oh, she's ready.  Did you see
Barbara she kind of just jumped cautiously.
   LUCY:  I want to make something absolutely clear
that a Kiwi is not a fruit.  You know that, don't you?
   BARBARA:  Yeah, it grows on a vine.
   LUCY:  No, no, no, no.  A Kiwi is our national bird.
   CARLOS:  The trouble is starting already.
   LUCY:  Barbara, excuse me?  Excuse me?
   BARBARA:  A Kiwi is a fruit and a Kiwi is a bird. 
I'm just saying I'm just saying both.  There's a
difference. There's a Kiwi fruit and there's a Kiwi
bird.
   CARLOS:  Get her, Xena!  Get her, Xena!
   LUCY:  She's dead.
   SAM:  We're going to get to that battle in just a
moment.  WWF here on the morning news.  But first we
start this morning with a focus on an important but
variable part of the body, that depending on some
factors, some of your friends on the morning news find
we often more -- have more -- I'm not making any sense. 
I'm nervous.  I'm nervous because Xena's about to deck
Barbara.
   CARLOS:  I can't understand a word he said.
   BARBARA:  Xena and Pat Boone.  Match her up.
   SAM:  We have major chin news this morning.  Chin
news involving the chins.  Can we show that?  Involving
the chins that may be more distinct.  Put it on the
full screen.  The only picture they had to alter was
mine...
   ...And as you may have seen here yesterday the big
TV convention in Las Vegas people were lining up to
meet the very lovely Lucy Lawless, who is here both to
put Barbara down and talk to us about her show. Good
morning.  Thanks for coming in.
   LUCY:  Thank you for having me.
   SAM:  You were saying -- she keeps saying, "Kiwi."
   BARBARA:  A Kiwi is a bird.  A Kiwi is a bird.
   CARLOS:  Xena's scrawny.
   SAM:  She did say that.
   BARBARA:  Uh-oh, she's putting her hair up in a
ponytail.
   LUCY:  You're toast.
   SAM:  You're toast!
   BARBARA:  A Kiwi's a bird, Xena, did you know that?
   LUCY:  No, no?  Really?
   SAM:  Would somebody like Barbara be considered a
formidable opponent or not really a big deal?
   LUCY:  No, you got to have a strong foot.  I think
Barbara would be --
   SAM:  Pretty good?
   LUCY:  Yeah.
   SAM:  People love the action scenes.  They must be
carefully choreographed, aren't they?
   LUCY:  Yeah, they are.  Every now and again you'll
have a slight mishap and, you know, some poor sucker
will buy it, usually a stunt man, but I love them
because -- because they don't cry and they don't
complain.
   SAM:  Fans of the show talk about one of the great
things about it is how -- what a moral character Xena
is, trying to make up for what happened before.  Is
that --
   LUCY:  Yeah.  She's a bad girl, and she's trying to
retrace her steps and, um, and all the rest.  But
moral?  I don't know.  I don't know.  She's an
instinctive animal, I think.
   SAM:  Let's take a look at Lucy Lawless hard at
work. This is one of the highest rated shows on KTLA. 
Xena: Warrior Princess.
      (Shows the infamous baby scene from CRADLE OF
HOPE)
      (Sam and Lucy arm wrestle.)
   SAM:  She's not so tough.  She wins.
   LUCY:  She wins.
   SAM:  Whoah, she wins.
   LUCY:  I'm not Xena.  I am not Xena.
   SAM:  Is that problematic that people may think
Lucy -- the two are indistinct?
   LUCY:  Yes, they do, they do.
   SAM:  Um-hum.
   LUCY:  But, um, there's an episode coming up where I
also play a ditzy princess, and it's very slapstick,
and I enjoyed that immensely [ed. note WARRIOR...
PRINCESS].  But it even surprised the writers to find
that I'm not strictly Xena, except when I'm tired.
   SAM:  And you were telling me in Las Vegas, of
course, you film the show in New Zealand, and then it
really almost comes as this big surprise to you that
you get to town -- you get to the States, and you
discover what an enormous success this is.
   LUCY:  Yeah.  I still -- I don't believe it --
unless you get firsthand feedback, you know, it's
totally academic whether the shows doing well but we're
thrilled and thank you very much for watching and long
may it continue.
   SAM:  Very good.  It was good to have you here this
morning.  I know you have a gift for Barbara.
   LUCY:  Yes.  You can have a hat.
   BARBARA:  I like this.  This is one of the nicest
hats I've ever seen too.  Not everyone knows the truth
of fuchsia on black when is the last time -- Xena very
good taste.
   LUCY:  And we have here a dollie.  We have a dollie
here.
   SAM:  This is the Xena doll.
   LUCY:  This is the last one off the rack at NAPTE
and it's worth $50 if you don't open it and, you know,
two if you do.
   SAM:  That's good.  Is that very gratifying to you
when you see --
   LUCY:  I love it.  I love it.  They've captured the
hinges in my knees perfectly.  And this is actually a
good one.  And the clothes come off, don't tell anyone,
but the clothes come off.  She's got a little bikini
underneath.
   BARBARA:  Carlos was just asking me, "Ask her if the
clothes come off."
   CARLOS:  Mark finally -- he finally perked up over
there.  Now why do you have Bobby Darrin here?
   LUCY:  Because I saw this in the dressing room, and
I love Bobby Darrin.  And it's my very first award,
thank you.
   SAM:  You can take that.  I'll give it to you.
   BARBARA:  Xena receiving the one and only Bobby
Darrin award, right here on the morning news.
   SAM:  Lucy is on the cover of TV Guide and I bet she
will be on the cover of a bunch of other magazines.
Thank you very much.
   LUCY:  Thank you very much.
   CARLOS:  Go kick Barbara now!  Go get her go!  Get
her.  Oh, look out!


[160] 02-09-96
   ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT. TV Show.
   COMMENTARY: Short feature on Lucy Lawless and Kevin
Sorbo at the NATPE convention in Las Vegas. It
consisted essentially of Mr. Sorbo and Ms. Lawless
frollicking around. 
   Transcription by Julia Medina
   TRANSCRIPTION:
   MARY HART:  They're strong, they're sexy, they're
Hercules and Xena, and they jump to the top of the
ratings heap with their shot-in-New Zealand shows.
   KEVIN:  Viva Las Vegas.
   MARY HART:  And when stars Kevin Sorbo and Lucy
Lawless visited Las Vegas, they learned just how many
fans they have.
   KEVIN:  We are in a bubble down there.  We don't get
the chance to see fan reaction and response to the
show.
   LUCY:  Yeah.
   LUCY:  And now we see it when we walk around places
like this and it's --
   LUCY:  Kind of thrilling.
   MARY HART:  Besides drawing crowds in Vegas, Lucy
and Kevin were also hot at the gambling tables.  Kevin
claims he walked away from the dice game with a wad of
cash and gave Lucy the credit for the for bringing him
luck.
 
   
[169] 02-15-96
   AMERICAN JOURNAL. TV Show. Syndicated.
   COMMENTARY: Short feature on Lucy Lawless in a
slightly toned down sensational tabloid form.  The
feature included the infamous shot of Garth Lawless
(LL's ex-husband) being stalked while he was picking up
their daughter, Daisy (included perhaps to remind us we
were watching tabloid tv). Heavily dependent upon
promos shot at the NATPE convention, the feature mostly
consisted of talking heads discussing why XWP was
popular and some narrative on Ms. Lawless' past.
   Transcribed by Julia Medina
   TRANSCRIPTION:
   NANCY:  She's sexier than Pam Anderson, as tough as
Arnold Schwartzenegger, and she is steaming up TV
screens as Xena:  The Warrior Princess.  Well, Lucy
Lawless came from practically nowhere to become TV's
latest superstar and Jim Paymar found out how she did
it.
   LUCY:  (on tape at NAPTE) I was on a roll.
   JIM:  She's on a roll.  A flip and a kick as the
world's most famous warrior princess, Xena.
   LUCY:  (on tape from NAPTE) I'm having a fabulous
time, yeah.
   JIM:  At 28 years old, Lucy Lawless, the six foot,
dark haired, blue eyed beauty has become an
international star.  Lucy got her break two years ago
when she debuted in three episodes of the television
movies "Hercules:  The Legendary Journeys" as the
nemesis of Hercules played by Kevin Sorbo.
   LUCY:  (on tape at NAPTE) Xena says, "Walk this
way."
   KEVIN: :  (on tape) Xena says, "I gotta walk away."
   LUCY:  (on tape) We got business.
   JIM:  Her sex appeal was so strong says
entertainment reporter, Alan Carter, that she jumped
into her own action series where she too slays
mythological villains.
   MR. CARTER:  This is escapism, it's easy to watch,
it's camp, there's a sense of humor in it.
   JIM:  Lucy's beauty is equally matched by the
gorgeous surroundings of her hometown of Auckland, New
Zealand.  It's this majestic city and the countryside
that serve as a backdrop to Xena's mythical world.
"Xena" is filmed entirely on this lush location known
it's for it's brilliant green hillsides, sheep ranching
and spectacular waterfalls.
   Lucy grew up in the modest town of Mount Albert
where her father was mayor.  Then after studying
languages at the University, she mined gold in
Australia.  But a few appearances on New Zealand TV and
her athletic prowess were the spark she needed to
ignite a career on screen.  Director Peter Sharp [ed.
note: Peter Sharp did not direct any first season XWP
episodes] says Xena is perfectly capable of doing her
own stunts.
   MR. SHARP:  It's certainly not that she's mad and
wants to kill herself, um, it's just that she'll look
at the odds and say, "I can do this."
   JIM:  What she couldn't do is save her marriage. 
Lucy recently divorced her husband Garth Lawless and
together they share in the upbringing of their seven
year old daughter Daisy.  But it's fame that now has
most of Lucy's attention.
   LUCY:  (on tape at NAPTE) I love it.
   JIM:  And now this warrior princess is willing to do
battle with another beast called stardom.
   LUCY:  (on tape at NAPTE) It's very flattering and
it's indicative of how well the show is doing, so yeah
--
   NANCY:  Well, Lucy Lawless wasn't always so
athletic, she used to be so clumsy that her friends
called her "Unco" it stands for "uncoordinated".  She
hired a martial arts instructor to help her with the
with the challenging stunt work on the show.  She
really makes it look convincing.
 

[215.7] 03-29-96
   XENA MEDIA REVIEW. No. 1. 11 pages. 4427 words.
Edited by and annotations by Kym Masera Taborn.
   COMMENTARY: The first world press review of coverage
on XWP, Renee O'Connor, or Lucy Lawless. First issue
was released on March 29, 1996, in commemoration of
Lucy Lawless' birthday. Issue no. 1 covered the dates
04/01/91 to 04/21/95 and the annotations XMR001-OO7. It
comprised of the Pre-Xena years for both Renee O'Connor
and Lucy Lawless. The editorial covered the Action Pack
Movies which HTLJ evolved from and conjecture into when
the decisions were made to make HTLJ and XWP series.
Yes, this may seem a bit egotistical but since it's my
project, I can put in whatever media reports I want!


[221] 04-04-96
   PHILADELPHIA FORUM. Vol. 1. No. 9. Page 7. "Greeks
vs. Hollywood" By Robert Shayon.
   Contributor: M. Gessner
   COMMENTARY:  Struck by the irony of two popular
shows about ancient Greece and the Olympics being
scheduled for Atlanta in the same summer, Mr. Shayon
decided to watch HTLJ and XWP with his nine-year-old
grandson.  He described Lucy Lawless (actually he
confused her with Xena) as "a sexy acrobatic Amazon who
wields a powerful sword from a scabbard on her back,
sometimes backward through her legs into the sensitive
groin of an astonished enemy." 
   Mr. Shayon seemed to have hit that nail on the head
(as to Xena, not Lucy Lawless).  He was not going into
this as a dyed in the wool mythological hardliner.
   Mr. Shayon also did his homework. He mentioned that
whereas Hercules was a real mythological character,
Xena was a pure fabrication; however, he reported on
the Xena Scrolls, "which can be found on MCA
Universal's home page on the Internet, where her secret
(sic) history is voluminously supplied in mail pouches
exchanged by crusty archaeologists digging into the
riddle of her mysterious origin."  
   Apparently, the existence of the scrolls to Xena's
fictional mythology made up for her fundamental
'fictionalness' in Mr. Shayon's opinion.
   Mr. Shayon viewed the XWP episode The Royal Couple
of Thieves (with Bruce Campbell, released 03-07-96,
episode number 17). He described the plot as Xena and a
"prestidigitating King of Thieves [having] recaptured a
purloined treasure chest, which upon being opened,
popped up with a copy of the Ten Commandments, complete
with horrifying, holy flames and lightning bolts
flashing through the air, destroying pagan villains a
la Raiders of the Lost Ark, inadvertently perhaps
implying that Moses of the Burning Bush was a
contemporary of the Guys and Dolls atop Mount Olympus.
Brawls and bouts of swordplay and mayhem abounded
through both episodes, with Hercules lifting men in the
air and knocking their heads together and Xena kicking
butt with female ferocity and feminine glee."  
   These two sentences strongly imply that Mr. Shayon
was impressed by the entertainment value of the show if
not the educational potential.  He also appeared amused
by the show's humor and over-the-top presentation.
   Then Mr. Shayon asked the question, "But what has
all this to do with the glory that was Greece?"
   After eloquently reminding the reader that the
"storytellers of all cultures have long watered down
and even bowdlerized great narratives to make them
accessible to wider audiences," Mr. Shayon then stated:
"To bridge the gap between Pericles and Hollywood is
impossible, but let's see how the two television
series, Hercules and Xena, stimulate our present
generation to thought and action.  The answer is
readily available on the Internet.  Click on to MCA
Universal's home page and you'll find a News Forum for
Herc and Xena's fans.  To what memorable thought and
action have they been stimulated? Most of the messages
I found were about Kevin Sorbo and Lucy Lawless, the
stars of their respective shows--exchanges of comments
on their bodies and their sex appeal.  Fan club gossip. 
Not a whit about the great hero and invented heroine."  
   In defense of Xena fandom, the author of the article
obviously was not aware of the various mailing lists
where, in fact, the heroic nature of Xena was and still
is discussed extensively and did and still does
stimulate at least some viewers to thought and action.  
  In concluding, though, Mr. Shayon wrote: "Oh yes,
let's not forget...the invention of Xena--a
representation of the mighty woman to balance the
warrior male.  In our times and circumstances, this is
an achievement not to be sneezed at.  Two cheers for
MCA Universal."
  So, after pointing out that the creators of XWP play
fast and loose with genre, chronology, and culture, Mr.
Shayon concluded that the value of XWP lied in it's
"representation of the mighty woman to balance the
warrior male."
   Transcribed by Sylvia Varela
   TRANSCRIPTION:
   In the year of the 24th Olympiad in Atlanta,
American television, by a curious coincidence, is
exhibiting two television shows set in ancient
Greece-Hercules, the Legendary Journeys, and Xena,
Warrior Princess.  I viewed them on Channel 57 on a
recent Saturday night with my nine-year-old grandson,
Keith.
   These productions of MCA Universal, the giant
Hollywood entertainment corporation, star Kevin Sorbo,
an amiable hulk with a muscular torso, as Hercules, and
Lucy Lawless, a sexy acrobatic Amazon who wields a
powerful sword from a scabbard on her back, sometimes
backward through her legs into the sensitive groin of
an astonished enemy.  
   It was my first exposure to these pseudo-Attic
heroes-hero, I should say, for while strong-armed
Herakles, half-man and half-god, is universally
familiar in European literature and art, Xena is wholly
a modern fabrication, a creation entirely of MCA
Universal's Hollywood dream machine.  True, she is
buttressed by the equally fictitious, esoteric "Xena
Scrolls," which can be found on MCA Universal's home
page on the Internet, where her secret (sic) history is
voluminously supplied in mail pouches exchanged by
crusty archaeologists digging into the riddle of her
mysterious origins.
   Herc, the night I caught his episode, was a guest at
a royal wedding, where the bride was repetitively
enchanted by a Greek goddess into a passion for someone
other than her groom, and eluded Herc's efforts to
straighten her out.  In the course of these events,
like the mythical Paris, passes judgment on Hera,
Athena and Aphrodite, and throws the golden apple to
the latter (I think), except the apple isn't golden,
it's silver, and keeps changing metal, and he throws it
into the sea, and Aphrodite gets mad at him, etc.
etc...(it was all very confusing and lacked Greek
clarity).
   But the goddesses were all sexy in their diaphanous
semi-nudity and threw their long tresses about like
models in shampoo commercials.  They appeared and
vanished miraculously reappearing with admirable
digital virtuosity perfectly attuned to the powers of
ancient Greek deities or at least to Star Trek's "Beam
me up again, Scotty!"  (There I go, mixing my myths.)
   Xena's episode, immediately following that of
Hercules, told the story of how she and a
prestidigitating King of Thieves recaptured a purloined
treasure chest, which upon being opened, popped up with
a copy of the Ten Commandments, complete with
horrifying, holy flames and lightning bolts flashing
through the air, destroying pagan villagers a la
Raiders of the Lost Ark, inadvertently perhaps implying
that Moses of the Burning Bush was a contemporary of
the Guys and Dolls atop Mount Olympus.  Brawls and
bouts of swordplay and mayhem abounded through both
episodes, with Hercules lifting men in the air and
knocking their heads together and Xena kicking butt
with female ferocity and feminine glee.
   But what has all this to do with the glory of
Greece?
   Storytellers of all cultures have long watered down
and even bowdlerized great narratives to make them
accessible to wider audiences.  One hundred and fifty
years ago, Thomas Bulfinch dedicated his classic, The
Age of Fable, to Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, "The Poet
Alike Of The Many And Of the Few, This Attempt to
Popularize Mythology, and Extend The Enjoyment Of
Elegant Literature, Is Respectfully Inscribed."
   "Our book," Bulfinch went on to write, "tells the
stories of mythology in such a manner as to make them a
source of amusement...We trust our young readers... and
those more advanced will find it a useful companion in
their reading (of English poets who make allusions
occasionally to Greek heroes).  Those in advanced life
may take pleasure in retracing a path of literature
which leads them back to the days of childhood, and
revives at every step the associations of the morning
of life."
   Bully for you, Bulfinch!  "To devote study to a
species of learning which relates wholly to false
marvels and obsolete faiths, is not to be expected of
the general reader in a practical age like this," he
wrote in the 19th Century.  "The time, even of the
young, is claimed by so many sciences of facts and
things, that little can be spared for set treatises on
science of mere fancy." 
   Hollywood specializes in reviving at every step the
morning of life.  But every day, every culture has its
noon, its afternoon and its evening.  Beyond that
amiable bastard Hercules, Greece had its Homer, its
Odyssey and Iliad, its Prometheus, Plato, Aristotle and
Socrates, and a host of other political and literary
giants.  A culture which ignores the essence of other
cultures, past or present, denigrates its own culture.
   No reasonable observer would ask Herc to carry the
burden of Atlas-although he did do his compatriot that
heavy favor in one of his legendary journeys.  We only
look for a mere lick and a taste, even a smell of the
real Greece-something more than adolescent
preoccupation with sexy males, luscious dames and
arrows in the prat.
   One thinks of the talk that Pericles delivered in
Athens as the highest point of Greek history, his
famous Funeral oration, honoring the Athenian soldiers
who had died in the war with Sparta:  "By giving their
lives they have won for themselves glory that shall
never fade, and the greatest of all memorials, not that
in which their bodies are laid to rest, but memory in
the minds of men, to stimulate future generations in
other lands to thought and action."
   To bridge the gap between Pericles and Hollywood is
impossible, but let's see how the two television
series, Hercules and Xena, stimulate our present
generation to thought and action.  The answer is
readily available on the Internet.  Click on to MCA
Universal's home page and you'll find a News Forum for
Herc and Xena's fans.  To what memorable thought and
action have they been stimulated?  Most of the messages
I found were about Kevin Sorbo and Lucy Lawless, the
stars of their respective shows-exchanges of comments
on their bodies and their sex appeal.  Fan club gossip. 
Not a whit about the great hero and invented heroine.  
   Oh yes, let's not forget...the invention of Xena-a
representation of the mighty woman to balance to
warrior male.  In our times and circumstances, this is
an achievement not to be sneezed at.  Two cheers for
MCA Universal.


[222.5] 04-05-96
   XENA MEDIA REVIEW. No. 2. 10 pages. 4133 words.
Edited by and annotations by Kym Masera Taborn.
   COMMENTARY: A world press review of coverage on XWP,
Renee O'Connor, or Lucy Lawless. Covered the dates
03/05/95 to 05/10/95 and the annotations XMR008-017.
Contained first announcements and reports on the
Pre-Production Xena: Warrior Princess. The editorial
covered more conjecture on when it was decided that XWP
would be a series.


[227] 04-09-96
   CBS. The David Letterman Show. 11:35pm. TV Show.
   COMMENTARY: Lucy Lawless interviewed by David
Letterman. Ms. Lawless was nervous and Mr. Letterman
talked over most of her responses while being obsessed
with a section of Ms. Lawless' anatomy.  Mr. Letterman
missed most of Ms. Lawless' jokes. It appeared Mr.
Letterman had not even seen the show or did any
homework. 
   The interview basically consisted of small talk. Ms.
Lawless mentioned that she told people she was an
exotic dancer when she once had to go to the bank in
costume; and she informed Mr. Letterman that you could
not walk to Australia from New Zealand when the tide
was out (best joke).
   Transcription by Julia Medina
   TRANSCRIPTION:
   DAVE:  Welcome to the show.  Welcome to the United
States.  And is that your Xena outfit there?  Is that
your little Xena suit?
   LUCY:  I'm wearing that costume secretly,
discreetly --
   DAVE:  Well, you're just barely wearing it, let me
tell you.
   LUCY:  I wanted to cheer you up.  You know, I saw
the show the other night and I thought you needed some
spring because you've all have -- it's been a hard
winter --
   DAVE:  It's been such a miserably winter here.  Yes,
it's been nasty and everything.  Let's talk about many,
many things. First of all, you're from New Zealand,
you're a Kiwi, is that what we
call New Zealanders?
   LUCY:  Yes.  But a Kiwi is not a fruit.  You know
that don't you?
   DAVE:  Um-hum.  It's a bird, a flightless bird; is
that right?
   LUCY:  It is.  It's an adorable little bird.
   DAVE:  But it has no wings, is that what it is?
   LUCY:  Very small.  They've sort of the atrophied.   
   DAVE:  The wings have -- evolution.  It doesn't need
the wings?
   LUCY:  That's right.
   DAVE:  So what does it do?  Does it hop?  Does the
little bird hop?
   LUCY:  It just crawls around in the night, but --
   DAVE:  Now, do they have kangaroos in New Zealand or
just Australia?
   LUCY:  No.  Completely different country.  Four
hours flight away.  You can't walk there when the
tide's out.
   DAVE:  Uh-huh.  But it seems to me they're in the
same part of the world, roughly speaking, aren't they?
   LUCY:  Yes, but by accident.  I think New Zealand
geographically comes from like up by Hawaii.
   DAVE:  Yeah.  So they would not have the kangaroos
there?
   LUCY:  No marsupials at all.
   DAVE:  That's too damn bad, you ought to take some
back with you if you get the chance. Lucy Lawless,
that's your actual name?  It's a great name for a super
hero.
   LUCY:  That's my real name for a warrior princess.
   DAVE:  Uh-huh.  And you play Xena:  The Warrior
Princess.  Now tell us what Xena is, what she does, and
how things go there.
   LUCY:  Well for the benefit of people that haven't
seen it before, Xena is a badass, kickass girl from
sort of a pre-Mycenaean gal who traverses the timelines
-- oh, you've seen it?
   DAVE:  Traverses the timelines.
   LUCY:  Yeah, she -- only because we have absolutely
no respect for chronology or mythology or anything.
   DAVE:  Do you have super powers?  Can you fly?  Do
you do anything like that?
   LUCY:  No, she's kind of a slight superhuman, but
she can't do magic.  But she can, by benefit of Eastern
accupressure learning, she has learned how to extract
information from chaps by chu-chu-chu their neck, and
she can shut off the flow of blood to your brain.
   DAVE:  Really?
   LUCY:  Yes.
   DAVE:  So she has some medical training is what
you're saying?
   LUCY:  What do you need help with David?
   DAVE:  You film this show in New Zealand; right?
   LUCY:  Yeah.
   DAVE:  But I'm told it's actually not broadcast in
New Zealand --
   LUCY:  Nope.
   DAVE:  So your family and friends, do they even know
that you're Xena?
   LUCY:  Oh, it's -- it's kind of -- I hint but
nobody's very interested.
   DAVE:  Yeah.
   LUCY:  At lunch times, I'll sneak out of work and go
off to -- go to the bank, pay the mortgage or whatever,
and I just flip a T-shirt over any costume and walk out
and people ask me, "What do you do for a living?"  And
I tell them I'm an exotic dancer.
   DAVE:  Now that's pretty cool.
   LUCY:  Yeah.
   DAVE:  What is life in New Zealand -- it must be
charming.  I know physically the country is very, very
beautiful.  Do you think you'll make your home in New
Zealand for the rest of your life or do you want it
move? 
   LUCY:  I will always have a home there.
   DAVE:  Always a home?
   LUCY:  Yeah.  You can't get it out of your bones,
like Australians can't get Australia out of their
bones, and I
love it.
   DAVE:  How many times you been to New York?
   LUCY:  Three times now.
   DAVE:  So -- and it must be very exciting for you to
come to New York and see all of this lousy snow in the
middle of springtime.
   LUCY:  I love New York.  I love snow, because I live
at sea level -- sorry -- but I was really excited when
I looked out the window this morning saw smog --
   DAVE:  Yeah, you're the one.
   LUCY:  Yeah, I brought it.  It's from me.
   DAVE:  Listen, here's your little Lucy Lawless doll
right there.
   LUCY:  Oh, you've got it?
   DAVE:  Yeah.  You got your little outfit there. 
Sure, yeah, it's pretty cool.
   LUCY:  Have you noticed --
   DAVE:  Stick around.  We got surf and turf coming.
   LUCY:  Whoa, that's mobster's moll food isn't it?
   DAVE:  I don't know what that is.  Nice to see you.
Thank you for being here, I appreciate it.
   LUCY:  Thank you.
   DAVE:  Lucy Lawless, ladies and gentlemen, Xena.
 

[233.5] 04-12-96
   XENA MEDIA REVIEW. No. 3. 16 pages. 7128 words.
Edited by and annotations by Kym Masera Taborn.
   COMMENTARY: A world press review of coverage on XWP,
Renee O'Connor, or Lucy Lawless. Covered the dates
05/11/95 - 5/15/95 and the annotations XMR018-019q.
Contained Further pre-filming events in the career of
Renee O'Connor and an amusing article about Hercules:
The Legendary Journeys which ran between the Hercules'
Xena episodes of "The Gauntlet" and "Unchained Heart".
The editorial discussed the article "Babes in Boyland"
which appeared in the May 1996 issue of SCI-FI
UNIVERSE.


[247.5] 04-20-96
   XENA MEDIA REVIEW. No. 4. 12 pages. 4996 words.
Edited by and annotations by Kym Masera Taborn.
   COMMENTARY: A world press review of coverage on XWP,
Renee O'Connor, or Lucy Lawless. Covered the dates
05/26/95 - 07/15/95 and the annotations XMR020 through
025e. Contained the initial month's production, toy
announcements, HTLJ references, and more O'Connor
reviews outside of XWP. The editorial discussed the
first month of XMR's distribution; and included a short
biography and resume of Kym Taborn and an explanation
why she published XMR.


CONTINUED IN PART 3 of 3...