THIS WEEK IN XENA NEWS.... TWXN 70 02/15/97 Brought to you by Xena: Media Review (XMR): http://xenafan.com/xmr TWXN is the advance sheet for XMR. XMR is a periodic annotated world press review of reports regarding the internationally syndicated television show XENA: Warrior Princess (1995 - ) and the castmembers, Lucy Lawless and Renee O'Connor. For a free e-mail subscription send "subscribe XMR" to ktaborn@lightspeed.net. Excerpts from the following cites will appear in future issues of XMR. Notes from the editor: 1. I am including e-mail addresses of the reporter's when I notice them. Thus if you are so inclined, you can write the reporter a fan e-mail or a flame e-mail. Let's start exercising responsible fan-like behavior. [ ] 01-17-97 THE PRESS-ENTERPRISE (RIVERSIDE, CA.). Friday. Page A01. 1179 words. "'A Little Boy' Takes His Own Life; Family Members Can't Believe That 10-year-old Sammy Rodriguez Meant to Die When He Hanged Himself in His Closet. Suicides this Young Are Rare, Experts Say." By Valeria Godine COMMENTARY: This is the most depressing article I have ever come across that mentions the show XWP. A ten-year-old boy committed suicide in Riverside, California on 01/15/97. The article reported that "His favorite television shows were 'Hercules' and 'Xena'". [ ] 01-17-97 THE ORLANDO SENTINEL. Friday. Page X3. 602 words. "Dnas Guide to TV Viewing" Dna Smith COMMENTARY: In an article about the new TV rating system, Mr. Smith suggests his own "alternate TV ratings system for us young, single, heterosexual men who, after all, are the most prized demographic in television." XWP is mentioned in his description for "TV-BF Babe Factor." He writes that "Shows like Baywatch, Xena: Warrior Princess, any of those Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue specials, any Women Behind Bars movies on Cinemax, or all programming on the Spanish Channel (except for soccer) would fall under this category, as would certain episodes of Friends where Jennifer Aniston seems to be walking in a perpetual breeze." Don't worry, I am not going to go off into my Baywatch vs. XWP tirade. YOu will have to wait for XMR #36 for that! Lucky you. [ f] 01-17-97 THE INDIANAPOLIS STAR. Friday. Page G05. 724 words. "Selleck's role perfect in 'Last Stand'" By Steve Hall shall@starnews.com COMMENTARY: More comparison's between THE NEW ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD and XWP. "In this Hercules and Xena-influenced action hour, Robin (Matthew Porretta), in black T-shirt and leather pants, and the long blond-haired Little John (Richard Ashton) look like refugees from an '80s metal band. The former Maid Marion is now "a warrior princess" (Anna Galvin) in a red miniskirt and bustier. " [ ] 01-17-97 ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY. Page 68. 408 words. "The Week" By Ken Tucker; Gary Eng Walk; Bob Strauss COMMENTARY: This is a review of the CD Rom collection THE HEROIC LEGENDS OF HERCULES AND XENA. The article did not mention the "hidden" bloopers to be found on the CD-Rom by enterprising fans. EXCERPT: REFERENCE THE HEROIC LEGENDS OF HERCULES AND XENA (Software Sculptors, CD-ROM for PC, $ 34.95) Syndicated television's two favorite muscle masses--Hercules: The Legendary Journeys and Xena: Warrior Princess--get the interactive treatment, with an extensive episode guide (rather tiny print), scenes from choice programs, hypey profiles ("Kevin Sorbo has quickly risen to stardom with his winning portrayal of the heroic half-man, half-god Hercules..."), and an area called "Hard Bodies," where screen pinups depict the slinkier quasi-mythological characters who have appeared on the series. These include She-Demon, Epiphany, Myrra ("a beautiful and bright young woman who loves a centaur"), and the hunky Autolycus, described as "incredibly wily and dash [sic]." Fun, but generally lacking in the camp self-awareness that makes these shows such hoots. B --Ken Tucker... ...GRAPHIC: MUSCLE-BOUND FOR GLORY: Heroic Legends builds up Lucy Lawless' Xena and Sorbo's Hercules [Lucy Lawless in TV show Xena: Warrior Princess; Kevin Sorbo in TV show Hercules: The Legendary Journeys] [ ] 01-17-97 DAILY VARIETY. Page 63. 326 words. "Disney Steps up Sell-through Vid Plans" By Adam Sandler COMMENTARY: In an article about Disney's new plans to release a video per month, Universal's plans were mentioned: "Universal will bow the latest installments in its 'Land Before Time' adventure franchise, as well as animated versions of its popular 'Hercules' and 'Xena' syndicated TV shows." Universal is also planning to release an enhanced version of DUNE (maybe they will get it right this time!) [ ] 01-19-97 MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL. Sunday. Page 1. 1564 words. "Ye Gods! With Mythical Gods and Heroes Making a Herculean Film Comeback, Plenty of Divine Roles Ought to Open up for Hollywood's Living Legends" By Chris Foran COMMENTARY: In a whimsical review of how he would cast current movie stars as mythological characters in the recent mythmania in popular entertainment, Mr. Foran wrote, "The strongman of Greek mythology, already the 'star' of a hit syndicated television series ('Hercules: The Legendary Journeys') and a successful spinoff ('Xena: Warrior Princess'), hits the big screen in a big way this year with 'Hercules,' the latest off Disney's animation assembly line."