XENA MEDIA REVIEW #24 (08-11-97) Part 1 of 4 ====================== CUT HERE ============== _____ ______ ._ `\`/>`\ /`/` /`__________,.'>___ _____ )~\ /<`\ `\ /`/` /``\ \./------> /|\./\ |\./| / | \ /< `\`\ `\ /`/` /` | | |----\ / | |\ \ | | |././^\ \ |\__{o}\--`\`\ `\/`/` /`-----| | |-----`------\`\`\--| | |----^ \ \----. [\\\\\\\{*}==`> <`=======| | ==============`\`\`\| | |=====\ \ \==--> |/~~{o}/-- /`/ /\ \ `\------| | |---------------`\`\\ | |------\ \ \--' \< /`/` /` `\`\ `\ | | |_____,.'>| | | `\`\| | /' \ \ \ \< /` /` `\`\ `\ ,/ /^\------> / |/^\| \ | |/ \/^\\. /`/\>/` `\`\ `\`~~~~~~~~~~~\ / ~~~~~ )^\,\, '~~~~~ `~~~~~` '~~~~~` ` ~~~~~~ ========================== XENA: THE MEDIA REVIEW #24 ========================== An Obessive But Benign Publication http://xenafan.com/xmr P.O. Box 81181, Bakersfield, CA 93308 Xena Media Review (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. Copyright, legal, and editorial notices are found at the end of this newsletter. Issue No. 24 Release date: August 11, 1997 Covering 07/01/96 - 07/15/96 Annotations 362 to 389 FROM THE EDITOR: Lucy Lawless Said What!? FROM THE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Foaming at the Mouth "The Xena Fan Fic Experience" "That Thing You Do" ANNOTATIONS [362] 07-01-96. VIDEO MAGAZINE. Cultural reference [363] 07-01-96. MS. MAGAZINE. Seminal article [364] 07-01-96. "Queen of the Amazons" child's book [365] 07-01-96. "Princess in Peril" child's book [366] 07-01-96. THE EVENING POST. XWP promotion [367] 07-01-96. THE DOMINION. Brief review [368] 07-01-96. ESCAPE. web editorialoid [369] 07-01-96. MORTAL BELOVED. Second release. [370] 07-02-96. THE VANCOUVER SUN. The Nielsens! [371] 07-02-96. THE BUFFALO NEWS. Channel woes [372] 07-03-96 to 07-25-96. Production charts 07/96 [373] 07-04-96. ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER. Cultural ref [374] 07-04-96. OVER THE HEDGE. comic strip [375] 07-05-96. THE COMMERCIAL APPEAL. Recommending [376] 07-05-96. XENA MEDIA REVIEW. No. 14. [377] 07-07-96. THE SUNDAY STAR-TIMES. Simon Prast [378] 07-07-96. THE NEW YORK TIMES. What he tapes [379] 07-08-96. HARTFORD COURANT. CampGonetotheDogs [380] 07-08-96. ELECTRONIC MEDIA. May 1996 ratings [381] 07-08-96. PROMETHEUS (#08). Third release. [382] 07-09-96. PR NEWSWIRE. ST mention [383] 07-11-96. BOSTON PHOENIX. coverage of a phenom [384] 07-12-96. Promotion of Arthur Smith [385] 07-12-96. ANCHORAGE DAILY NEWS. Cultural ref [386] 07-12-96. XENA MEDIA REVIEW. No. 15. [387] 07-13-96. MCA XENA NETFORUM. Lucy Lawless post [388] 07-13-97 to 07-17-97. Change time NZ for XWP [389] 07-15-96. CHARIOTS OF WAR (#02). 3rd release. THE BACK PAGE Xena Media Review Staff Errata Back Issues This Week in Xena News Reprint Policy Solicitations for Future Newsletters Disclaimer =============== FROM THE EDITOR =============== Lucy Lawless Said What!? A Perspective on the Wonderful World of Interviews -------------------------------------------------- Today we continue our trip in the WayBack Machine to that marvelous time 13 months ago when Xenites were struggling through the re-run doldrums between the first and second seasons (at least, in the United States.) Among this issue's many highlights are the landmark Ms. Magazine article, which provided an early look at the possible cultural significance of XWP. The article also prompted Lucy Lawless in two later interviews to talk about the ever-exciting subject of being interviewed. Actually, I don't think that is an exciting subject for many folks, except for us poor saps who have been interviewed. Yup, that's right. I've been there and done that. Confession time here: I used to be one of those cruel reporter types who did the interviewing, then I turned into a public relations flack and became the Interviewee. At that time, my job was to represent the opinions of my boss. However, two weeks ago I did something I have rarely done -- I talked for myself. The situation was intimidating, a live radio interview, and it was with the legendary BBC for heaven's sake! (To say that my stomach was in knots would be an understatement.) The subject was XWP. Of course, I thought I would be just fine. After all, I was supposed to be a pro at this interviewing thing. Hah! Before the show aired, I talked to the show's producer. We chatted about subtext and XWP in general and ended our conversation with her asking me how I should be introduced. She suggested a list of my Xena-related activities and a comment about where I live. Like a fool, I agreed. It sounded reasonable at the time, but when the show aired, I heard myself introduced as a fan from Kansas who was involved in what sounded like a long list of Xena activities. To my ears, it sounded like I was a yokel from a small town who spent all her waking hours on XWP. No mention of being a mother, working full time for a non-profit foundation or any of the zillions of non-Xena things I do in my life. To quote Lucy Lawless, "I sound(ed) like a iiiiii-diot." (For the record, my town includes two universities and is known for its abundance of artists and writers, including my neighbor, the recently departed William Burroughs.) What was the first question the BBC asked me? "Diane, you're obsessed, aren't you ?" (As in: You're nuts, aren't you?) My response was to sputter and stammer (sounding, of course, more like an iiiii-diot), and to finally choke out that no, I wasn't obsessed. At that moment, I believe I heard the echo of thousands (millions?) of English voices muttering: Who is she kidding? After that moment of brilliance, I got out about three sentences (maybe four) before we ran out of time. Frankly, I'm not terribly worried about my reputation among BBC listeners. I now wish I'd had the presence of mind to answer that first absurd question by replying, "You bet I'm obsessed, and loving every moment of it." I don't even blame the BBC because I didn't give the producer the information she needed to do a different introduction. However, what has come out of this experience is a new appreciation for the trials and tribulations that Ms. Lawless, Renee O'Connor and the rest of the Renaissance Pictures crew go through when they are interviewed. Everything said in the BBC interview was true, but it was mightily skewed because it only gave one tiny sliver of who I am. It left out a heck of a lot of context. Listening to the interview later, I also realized that I hadn't said what I meant to say, and that much of what I said could have been misconstrued. How often does this happen to our favorite stars and producers and writers? How much of what we read about Ms. Lawless and Ms. O'Connor, for example, is completely true yet totally false? How much lies by omission? How much is exactly what they said, but not what they meant? How much is the attitude they once had, but not what they now believe? I'm going to react differently the next time I see something upsetting in an interview with Ms. Lawless. Next time my reaction will be to scratch my head and ask: I wonder what she really meant to say? Diane Silver from beautiful and exotic Lawrence, Kansas August 7, 1997 dswriter@idir.net ======================== FROM THE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF ======================== Foaming at the Mouth -------------------- Yes, TPTB have chosen the first season episode to be repeated before the beginning of the third season. I jokingly predicted it would be THE TITANS, running for its boffo fifth time -- BUT, hey, I was almost right. The Universal/MCA wonks have picked THE PATH NOT TAKEN!!! Yup, PATH now joins TITANS in that exclusive 4th run club. PATH NOT TAKEN is the Marcus episode with no consummation (you have to wait until MORTAL BELOVED and he is dead as a door whatever when they become "friends" again). I really thought they'd re-release THE RECKONING while I was hoping they would do DREAMWORKER, but nooooo, we get PATH NOT TAKEN. So far 12 first season shows -- THAT IS HALF OF THE SEASON, PLATO -- have been aired only twice: [dates in parentheses are the last time they aired] DREAMWORKER (12/11/95), THE RECKONING (01/01/96), DEATH IN CHAINS (03/18/96), THE BLACK WOLF (04/01/96), ATHENS CITY ACADEMY (04/15/96), MORTAL BELOVED (07/01/96), PRODIGAL (06/10/97), ALTARED STATES (08/19/96), TIES THAT BIND (08/12/96), GREATER GOOD (09/02/96), DEATH MASK (08/26/96), and IS THERE A DOCTOR IN THE HOUSE (09/16/96). These episodes are HOT on the Xena black market. The ETERNAL QUESTION is why air an episode for the fourth time when you have such a tremendous backlog of excellent first season episodes that haven't appeared even for the third time? DUH???????? Perhaps I should not take these things soooooo personally but still, it has been a long hot summer. Our last new episode of the first season was 07/29/96, while the last episode of season two was 05/12/97...THAT IS A TWO PLUS MONTH DIFFERENCE. No wonder the fans are going bonkers. And how does Universal/MCA exercise their crowd control in this matter????? By airing THE PATH NOT TAKEN for the 4th time. Can you say clueless?????????????????? Can you say CRUEL AND UNUSUAL?????????????????? Can you say AAARRRRGGGGGHHH? Okay, I will retire back to my cage. Kym "Mad Dog" Taborn Bakersfield, CA August 9, 1997 =========================== THE XENA FAN FIC EXPERIENCE =========================== By Lunacy (lunacy@dc.seflin.org) Bat Morda, Wishes, Word Warrior, Hobbes - if you've been involved online in the Xenaverse for any length of time chances are good these names are as familiar to you as Stephen King, Danielle Steele, Anne Rice or Tom Clancy - such is the impact Xena fan fiction and the bards that write it have had on fans. Fan fiction, as the term implies, generally refers to works of fiction written by viewers of a particular film or television series and featuring the same characters, often the same settings and circumstances but in story lines which are the original creation of the fans. Fans have probably been writing these stories since television and the movies first began. The first fan fiction to become popular was STAR TREK fan fic based on the original series. Since then, fans of science fiction and fantasy series have been among the most prolific writers which is not surprising considering they tend to be among the most avid of fans. In today's electronic age where the Internet has become the perfect medium through which to share fan fic, science fiction/fantasy series remain the most popular sources in large part because this is what computer users like to watch. XWP fan fiction started appearing on the Net shortly after the show's debut in September 1995. In those early days, works were primarily posted on the MCA/Universal Xena NetForum with a few also appearing in the existing XWP mailing lists and the alt.tv.xena USENET group. Despite seeing only one or two new stories a week, fans of the show instantly developed a liking for fan fiction, demanding more and more stories and poems. Soon a growing number of XWP web sites began hosting fan fiction as the number of works and bards grew. In the last year, an ever-growing demand and the increase in popularity of the show has led to an unprecedented explosion in XWP fan fic. Along with that has come a blossoming of new genres, new types of plots and new writers, known as bards in Xenadom. The number of new works is incredible. Some 225 works were linked to Xenos' XENA: WARRIOR PRINCESS FAN FICTION INDEX (http://www.xenafiction.com/) when it premiered in January 1997. Seven months later, Xenos listed links to 881 works written by 327 different bards -- an increase of close to 400% in the number of stories offered. In the beginning, fans could expect to see four to ten new stories per month. Today we regularly see 100 new stories a month. XWP fan fiction is available in many different formats, including short stories, parodies, poems, vignettes, skits and even full-length screenplays and novels hundreds of pages long. The works cover different genres from adventure, mystery and humor to drama and romance. Drama and romance are the most popular with bards and readers alike. Two major audience categories exist - general fiction and alternative or alt. fiction. Alternative (alt.) fiction consists of stories in which the main characters are depicted as more than friends. A romantic relationship is either implied or clearly depicted. Other types of fandom in the past have produced alternative fan fiction, including STAR TREK fandom, which possibly gave birth to the genre in the form of slash fiction. The term slash developed out of the use of slashes to indicate what characters were involved in a romantic relationship (i.e. K/S would indicate a Kirk/Spock alt. or slash story). With XWP fan fiction the inclusion of subtext in the TV series hinting at the possibility of Xena and Gabrielle being more than friends, has prompted a growing number of bards to represent the characters as being romantically involved. The alt. stories run the gamut from very graphic erotic tales to ones in which the romance is barely implied. Few in number when XWP fan fiction first started appearing, alt. stories now regularly make up half or more of the new fan fic posted on the Web every month. XWP stories can also be categorized by plot elements. Hurt/comfort stories make up a large percentage of the available fiction and are among the most popular stories with fans. In hurt/comfort tales one of the main characters, either Xena or Gabrielle, is injured while the other provides comfort. Hurt/comfort situations are popular because they make the characters vulnerable prompting emotional revelations that would be unlikely otherwise. Warlord/slave stories have also become very popular with fans. In the warlord/slave scenario, amnesia, time travel or the gods are usually responsible for causing Xena to revert to her warlord personality - a development which tends to set up very dramatic confrontations with a Gabrielle who suddenly means nothing to her. XWP fan fic, like most other types of fan fiction, includes crossover stories. These are tales which in addition to the characters from XWP also include characters and situations from other TV shows and/or films. Examples include Rachel2's THE DEMON which pits the Warrior Princess against the deadly monster from the film PREDATOR and Brant Forseng's TIMES a XWP/X-Files crossover which has Callisto meeting those intrepid FBI agents Mulder and Scully. A new type of story that is growing in popularity is what is called the "Uber-Xena" story. "Uber" is a German term that literally means "over," but which is used in academia to refer to the fundamental essence of a concept or an idea or a character. An Uber-Xena story is one which takes the essence of the characters in XWP and places these in another time, another place, another reality. The TV series itself provided us with its own Uber-Xena episode in the XENA SCROLLS. A story involving the characters of Mel and Janice *is* an Uber-Xena story because these characters retain essential qualities of the original Xena and Gabrielle while existing in another time (1940's). In an Uber-Xena story, the characters do not have to be mirror images of the originals they are based on. Both physically and spiritually there can be differences but again, the essence of the originals must be there. For example, Mel is very different from Xena as is Janice from Gabrielle but three things define them as Uber representations. First, Mel and Janice look exactly like their ancestors. They also are identified as being descendants of the warrior and bard, and they share the same type of bond. The Xena and Gab representations in an Uber-Xena story generally resemble the originals, although they don't have to look exactly like them. In most Uber-Xena stories they are presented as either descendants of the warrior and bard or reincarnations but again these aren't prerequisites. Suffice it to say that if you're a fan of the TV series, the characters in an Uber-Xena story will be familiar to you even if they aren't exactly Xena and/or Gabrielle. Fans of the TV series are often unaware of the existence of fan fiction when they first go online but are immediately hooked once they discover it. So what is it about fan fiction that makes it so popular? For one thing, fan fiction does not have the restrictions TV has. Bards can include in their stories whatever they want without having to answer to censors or adhere to the continuity of the series itself. Fan fiction is not restricted either to a one-hour time format. Among the most popular XWP stories on the Net are the novels by Melissa Good (A WARRIOR BY ANY OTHER NAME, AT A DISTANCE, HOME IS WHERE THE HEART IS) which are all close to 200 pages in text format, and M. Parnell's as yet unfinished ORIGINS already well past 200 pages in length. Although bards generally try to stay true to the TV series in terms of the history and characterizations, they are also free to alter these at will to suit their stories. A particularly interesting development of XWP fan fiction is that it has actually added to the mythology of XWP. Ask any reader of the fan fic about Xena and Gabrielle and you will likely hear that the bard likes to eat a lot, that she helps Xena with her nightmares and that the Warrior Princess, ever cautious, prefers to sit at the back of taverns in a dark spot. These are things that you see time and time again in the fan fiction, but which have never been part of the characterizations in the TV series. Although the show has made it clear that Gabrielle likes certain types of food -- nutbread for one -- it has never shown her eating "a lot" or made references to this. In the TV series the bard has never been shown helping Xena with her nightmares. The one episode in which Gabrielle wakes Xena from a nightmare is INTIMATE STRANGERS (#31), but as it turned out - that in itself was part of Xena's nightmare. When the warrior actually wakes up, Gabrielle is sleeping like a log. As to Xena's supposed affinity for dark corners at the back of taverns, in just about every episode where Xena --- visits a tavern, CRADLE OF HOPE (#04), CALLISTO (#22), and MORTAL BELOVED (#16) among others, she sits right in the middle of the room or at the bar. The bards of the Xenaverse range in writing experience from amateur writers to professional authors who have had non-XWP works published. For some, writing XWP fan fic is simply a hobby they have fun with. For others it's a very serious creative endeavor. They spend hours on their stories, and they crave feedback. Both the bards and their readers are serious about fan fic. For example, the use of nicknames has been a hot topic in the past. Bards and readers have discussed whether Xena would ever REALLY call her companion "Gabby" or "Gab". Whether the two main characters should ever be depicted as "giggling" was another hot issue. It seems some fans are fine with Xena "chuckling" or "laughing" but have serious reservations about her "giggling." One discussion was over the term "big dumb warrior" first coined by the XWP bard Oversoul in her story FOREIGN INFLUENCES. The term, used affectionately, has proven so popular among bards that it has popped up again and again in other stories but it too is has spurred discussions as to whether Xena should really be referred to as a big dumb warrior. For many online fans, the fiction has become a crucial part of the Xena experience. In fact, there are even people who became fans first of the fiction and then of the TV series itself. The fan fiction adds to the enjoyment of the show by allowing fans to explore situations and themes the TV series does not. In fan fiction anything is possible. If fans hate a character on the TV series, short of complaining to the powers that be, there is nothing they can do. As bards, however, they can write a story in which the character is killed, or they can ignore the character all together. For fans of the subtext in XWP, alternative fan fiction offers a way in which they can fully explore the romantic possibilities of the relationship. Some people say they are surprised that the creators of television series like XWP allow fans to use their copyrighted characters in unauthorized fiction. However, fan fiction poses little threat to Renaissance Pictures or Universal because the fan fic writers never make a profit from the stories and almost always make it clear in disclaimers that the characters are not their own creations. Moreover, as XWP has proven, fan fic can serve to increase and maintain interest in the series and the characters. During those long summer months of reruns when fans are deep in the throes of XWS (Xena Withdrawal Syndrome) nothing serves to dull the pain as well as a nicely written fan fic story about the warrior and the bard. Today the number of Web sites hosting XWP fan fic continues to grow as does the number of stories and the number of bards. Fans have organized their own fan fic contests and are now giving awards to favorite stories. Reviews of new fiction are available as are hard copy magazines devoted to the stories. XWP fan fiction also is beginning to appear in languages other than English. At conventions and Xenafests, discussions of fan fiction are commonplace. Guest speakers and bards host writing workshops. The bards and the Webmasters who host the popular fan fic sites have become celebrities in their own right. Today fans who attend conventions looking forward to meeting names like B.L. Miller, Tim Wellman, L.N. James, Dax and others almost as much as they want to see Lucy Lawless and Renee O'Connor. XWP is a television series that has touched the imagination and the hearts of its viewers as few other shows have in recent years. The characters and the overall story have a depth to them that inspires viewer's creativity. That has resulted in some of the cleverest and most well-written fan fiction available today. Beyond the talent of the people who bring us the television series, XWP fan fiction is a true gift for the fans. Like the show itself, fan fiction just keeps getting better and better! ---------------------------------------------- Lunacy's Fan Fiction Reports are available at: http://xenite.simplenet.com/lunacy/index.html ---------------------------------------------- Special thanks to Xenos for providing the statistics used in this article, to Kym Masera Taborn for a very detailed explanation of the Uber-Xena concept, and to all the bards and fellow readers in the Xenaverse who have shared with me in the past year their thoughts and observations regarding fan fiction. XWP GENERAL & ALTERNATIVE FAN FICTION SITES: Tom's Xena Page - Fan Fiction http://www.xenafan.com Xena: Warrior Princess - The Lost Scrolls (Zander's site) http://www.geocities.com/Area51/5038/index.html Xena: Warrior Princess Information Page http://xenite.simplenet.com/fanfic.html Lynka's Xena Alternative Fiction: http://lynka.simplenet.com/ Callisto's Tales http://www.mnsi.net/~tower/callistopage.htm Wakar's Xena:Warrior Princess Page http://www.sonic.net/LightStreams/Xena.html Baermer's Xena: Warrior Princess FanFic http://www.telepath.com/baermer/ Literatura de Ficcion (XWP fan fiction in Spanish) http://www.la-concha.com/xena/ficcion.htm Absolutely Xenacrazed http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Academy/3290/index.h tml Mad Dog's Fan Fiction (Mel/Janice Fan Fiction) http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Delphi/7045/madfic.html The Arts of the Clan MacGab http://xena.cosom.co.nz/takaro/macgab/gablit.htm Tendre's Tablet (temporarily down) http://www.rio.com/~crazymax/tendre.html Snoop's Fan Fiction http://www.geocities.com/TelevisionCity/Set/1305/fanfic .html The Amazon Press http://melissa.simplenet.com/fanfiction.html Adventures (Mel/Janice Fan Fic) http://www.sonic.net/LightStreams/AAfanfic.html Fanfic of the Xenaverse http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Cavern/4806/fanfic.html XWP GENERAL FAN FICTION SITES: Sci-Fi Central Fan Fiction Archives http://www.scificentral.simplenet.com/fiction/mythology _fiction.html The Right Stuff http://www.gruenewald.com/ Gabbygab's Look at XWP http://gab.simplenet.com/xena/ Wendy's Fan Fiction Page http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Hills/3932/fiction.h tml Xena Warrior Princess http://www.bejay.com/xena.htm Cathbad's Xena Page http://ansa.simplenet.com/cathbad/cathxena.html Rebekah's Cave of Choirs http://www.bejay.com/rebekah/ Xena: Warrior Princess http://www.bejay.com/xena.htm Starwarrior's Xena: Warrior Princess Page http://nj5.injersey.com/~wgf/Xena/xena.html CJ's Xena Fiction http://www.cjcs.com/fan_scribe/ Kiva Sulderus' Fan Fiction http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Corridor/8606/fanfic.ht ml The Men of Xena http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Lot/8351/xenamen.htm l Woz's Stories Page: (No longer updated) http://www.concentric.net/~jwoznack/stories/ XWP ALTERNATIVE FAN FICTION SITES: Miss Gabrielle's Home for Wandering Bards: http://members.aol.com/xenasbard/index.html LJ's Xenerotica: http://members.aol.com/labrysxena/xenerotica.htm Obsession's Home Page: http://members.aol.com/QMelosa/XR2/index.htm Tim's XWP Alternative Fan Fiction Page: http://xwp-altfic.simplenet.com/index.html Oylmpus: http://members.aol.com/tennstats/stories.htm Halcyon http://members.aol.com/athemis/halcyon/halcyon.htm Jester's Bard Pavillion http://members.aol.com/Psy456/Bard.html The Scroll Society - Alternative Fan Fiction http://208.200.38.2:80/swordnstaff/Fan%20Fiction/altern at.htm Xena Fan Fiction by Themiscrya http://www.geocities.com/WestHollywood/Heights/5665/fic tion.html D. Joan Leib's Xena Stuff http://www.channel1.com/users/pisces/writings/xena/ Katrina's Fan Fiction Site http://bearblue.simplenet.com/xenafic.html Calliope's Library http://members.aol.com/REDMSTHING/index.html XWP FAN FICTION INDEXES: Xena: Warrior Princess Fan Fiction Index http://www.xenafiction.com/ Xena: Warrior Princess Fan Fiction Library http://www.dcn.davis.ca.us/~horus/syco/lib.htm XWP CONTEST WEB SITES: First Xenite Bard Contest http://web.mountain.net/~lruble/xena.htm Second Xenite Bard Contest (temporarily down) http://www.xenite.com/bard/winners.htm ====================== CUT HERE ============== XENA MEDIA REVIEW #24 (08-11-97) Part 1 of 4