XENA MEDIA REVIEW #26 (09/05/97) Borg 3 of 3 =========================== CUT HERE =========================== [430] 08-11-96 CALGARY HERALD. Entertainment Sec:. Page B11. 799 words. "Preview with her lethal Frisbee, she's invincible Xena". By William Grimes COMMENTARY: Yet another of a long line of stories that do nothing more than introduce the reader to XWP. Nothing much is new here except, perhaps, for a comment from Ms. Lawless about how she feels like she is following the lead of Diana Rigg, Mrs. Peel from the Sixties hit THE AVENGERS. [DS] REPRINT: Try to imagine a time before history began, in a faraway land shrouded in mist and cloaked in green, where gods and mythic heroes walk the earth and mingle with mortal men. Try a little harder, and picture those mighty figures wearing the leftover costumes from a Hollywood B epic and speaking dialogue that begins in classical Greece and winds up in the San Fernando Valley. Try extra hard, and summon up the vision of a statuesque, leather-clad brunette with major-league cleavage and a lethal steel Frisbee, roaming the countryside righting wrongs. This recipe for superior cheese is the formula behind Xena: Warrior Princess, the most successful new syndicated series now on the air. Spun off from the even more successful and equally improbable Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, Xena, which made its debut in September 1995, is carried by 205 stations, reaching 97 per cent of the viewing audience. Most weeks, it actually vanquishes the awesome Baywatch, making it No. 3 among the so-called action-hour series, as opposed to game shows and talk shows, trailing only Hercules and Star Trek: Deep Space 9. Like Hercules, Xena delivers a campy blend of adventure, martial arts and loony dialogue, along with a wholesome, New Age message that promotes peace, co-operation and understanding among all peoples be they centaurs, Amazons or classical heroes. The air of unreality is helped along by the lush, rugged, very moist setting of New Zealand, where both series are filmed, and where indigenous actors deliver their lines in an American accent. Virtually anything goes. Its OK that Xena, played by Lucy Lawless, wields a chakram, a razor-sharp disk that dates to 16th-century Persia, liberates downtrodden peasants who seem to exist in the Middle Ages and encounters Amazons, centaurs and Greek gods. Its OK for her chatty blond sidekick, Gabrielle (Renee OConnor), to tell Xena, hanging by her chained wrists from the ceiling of a dungeon, "I can understand why you might be feeling a little negative right now." Its also OK for Xena, in a Trojan War episode, to tell a bad guy, "What I can't figure out is why a scum-sucking opportunist like you would want Helen back with Menelaus." Lines like that, delivered with a sneer and a flash of her piercing blue eyes, have made Lawless, 28, a cult figure. Her web site on the Internet attracts heavy traffic, some of it, she suspects, from 55-year-old lawyers who want to be spanked, and most definitely from loyal lesbian fans who just know that Xena and Gabrielle have a special relationship. Some fans have followed Lawless since her first appearance as the ruthless head of a girl gang in one of the television Hercules movies that preceded the series. "I was sort of a Bolshie lieutenant to the Amazons," says Lawless, who dyed her blond hair black for the role and waved goodbye to her job as the host of a travel show. "I brutalized Hercules a bit and then we raped and pillaged a village down the road." In her next appearance, she was, as she describes it, a centaur's moll. When Hercules was developed into a series, Lawless popped up in three episodes as Xena. Initially conceived as a villainess, she left a wide swath of destruction in her path. The intent was to kill her off. But when stations began asking for a companion series to Hercules, her life was spared. Xena underwent a conversion and renounced her evil ways, although not her fighting skills. The later time slot for Xena opened up darker, sexier possibilities. The producers also endowed their heroine with more streamlined fighting potential. Xena can send her chakram spinning with stunning accuracy, sometimes executing a three-carom shot. Her swordplay knows no peer among mortals, although she was once fought to a standstill by Ares, the god of war, who lusts after her. In hand-to-hand combat, she is the equal of a dozen men, and she can, with a twisting motion of her thumb and index finger, block the flow of blood through the carotid artery, giving her victim 60 seconds to co-operate or die. She uses anything that comes to hand, Lawless says. In one episode she snaps a towel. In real life, Lawless says, she is no kung-fu master: "On the set, when I throw that chakram, everybody runs for cover." Xena needs many weapons but few words and only two basic expressions, a contemptuous sneer for the men foolish enough to challenge her and a hard, resolute stare. Lawless says she thinks of herself as following the lead of Emma Peel in the classic 1960s TV series The Avengers. Played by Diana Rigg, Emma combined tongue-in-cheek humor with a killer black-leather look. All this martial arts and free-for-all action is really sort of misleading, Lawless says. "I'm more the 'Sense and Sensibility' type." GRAPHIC: Color Photo: Xena in hand-to-hand combat is equal to a dozen men [431] 08-12-96 ELECTRONIC MEDIA. Page 24. 987 words. "Affordable Effects Make More Action Hours Feasible" By Greg Spring. COMMENTARY: This article explored why a special effect from two years ago cost $50,000, whereas the same affect only costs $5,000 to produce now. XWP was mentioned as a show which was taking advantage of the low cost of special effects. Mr. Spring interviewed the executive producer of Viper (Danny Bilson), the special effects specialist for Sinbad (Neil Williamson), the executive producer of Psi-Factor (James Nadler), and the executive producer of HTLJ & XWP (Rob Tapert). Mr. Spring reported that Mr. Tapert's visual special effects team had located a program capable of rendering creatures with fur. Therefore, expect furry monsters in Hercules future. Tapert was quoted as stating, "Now it's all different...Things that cost us $25,000 before now cost us $1,500." In conclusion, Mr. Spring again quoted Mr. Tapert: "We keep challenging the effects guys to come up with better and better effects...Can you teach a computer to paint? Absolutely, and it will spit out 1,000 paintings a day. But it will lack a certain artistry...All the computers in the world are only as good as the people operating them." [KT] EXCERPT: The galloping advance of special effects technology is largely responsible for a new crop of syndicated shows loaded with wham-bam effects debuting this fall. For instance, two years ago a computer-generated scene morphing the auto in "Viper" from a standard sports car into its invincible alter ego cost $50,000 to produce. Today, that same shot is being produced for about $5,000. If it weren't for the cost savings afforded by computer advances, said Executive Producer Danny Bilson, "Viper" might not have made the jump from CBS (where it premiered in 1994 but was canceled) to its first-run syndication debut this fall. Paramount's "Viper" is not alone. Other syndicated shows that are effects-heavy include Eyemark Entertainment's "Psi Factor: Chronicles of the Paranormal," All American's "Sinbad" and MGM's "Poltergeist: The Legacy." They join MGM's "The Outer Limits" and MCA's "Hercules: The Legendary Journeys" and "Xena: Warrior Princess" in what has become a new wave of action hours flush with computer-generated imagery. Syndication has always been a cost-sensitive business, with production budgets generally running well behind network shows. "Viper," for instance, has a production budget of about $1.3 million an episode-high for a syndicated show, yet pared down some 30 percent from its network run. For "Sinbad," Neil Williamson, founding partner of Canadian effects house Calibre, has nine computer workstations working around the clock. Without recent advances that lowered costs while speeding up the animation process, he said, most syndicated shows relying on special effects would not be on the air today. "The most dramatic example would be morphing effects," he said. "Something four years ago could be $20,000, and now they are $2,000. "You didn't have the time needed to do these things even two years ago. That's what makes these shows possible." Toward more realistic UFOs Advances in technology have also given those on the creative side more leeway in story development, vital in a business where audience expectations are rising nearly as fast as computer technology. After all, producers note, the same people who watch action hours on TV also watch $100 million feature films. "We have to be as realistic portraying UFOs as everybody else," said James Nadler, executive producer of "Psi Factor." Mr. Nadler recently completed computer work on an episode that involved a creeping darkness that seeped out of a house and swallowed up any trace of light it encountered. "Five years ago, a television series wouldn't even attempt to tell that story," he said. "The basic cost (of creating effects) has dropped, but at the same time, audience expectation has risen, so you always end up trying to do more." Fur and feathers flying "Hercules" Executive Producer Rob Tapert has also seen his creative options advance each new season. Most recently, Mr. Tapert said, his visual effects team found a computer program capable of rendering creatures with fur. Thus, Hercules will face furry monsters in the future. When Hercules first encountered skeleton warriors, each bone had to be animated frame by frame. Now a program exists that can animate all the bones together in sequence. The next challenge, Mr. Tapert said, is to find a good software program for rendering feathers. "Now it's all different," he said. "Things that cost us $25,000 before now cost us $1,500." But computer-created effects are not just for morphing and monsters. They are also creeping into even the most mundane of shots, whether it's to add palm trees where there are none or erase air conditioning units from a building. "Say our car crashes through a building and into a river," Mr. Bilson said. "Well, in real life, the building is nowhere near the river. So we put the two together with the computer." The human element And just as important as the computer tools, Mr. Tapert said, are the people who run them. "We keep challenging the effects guys to come up with better and better effects," he said. "Can you teach a computer to paint? Absolutely, and it will spit out 1,000 paintings a day. But it will lack a certain artistry. "All the computers in the world are only as good as the people operating them." GRAPHIC: "Viper" and its team: Joe Nipote (from left), Jeff Kaake, Heather Medway and Dawn Stern.; Advancing technology has allowed "Hercules," starring Kevin Sorbo, to add more special effects each season. [432] 08-12-96 TIES THAT BIND. Episode no. 20. Second release. Guest stars: Tom Atkins (Atreus) and Kevin Smith (Ares). Cast: Stephen Lovatt (Kirilus), Sonia Gray (Rhea), Lutz Halbhubner (Tarkis), Jonathon Whittaker (Andrus), Nancy Broadbent (Areliesa), Heidi Anderson (Slave Girl), John Manning (Ranch Hand #1), Mark Perry (Warrior #1), Tony Williams (Warrior #2), James Marcum (Warrior #3), and Robin Kora (Village Elder). Written by Adam Armus and Nora Kay Foster. Directed by Charles Siebert. COMMENTARY: See XMR260 for synopsis and commentary. [433] 08-14-96 Q101 Chicago. Radio interview. Transcribed by LoisP@gnn.com COMMENTARY: An interview with morning-show hosts, Wendy and Bill. (They are referred to as "W" and "B" in the transcript.) LoisP@gnn.com not only did the transcription, but she also participated in the interview via telephone. Most of the time on air was spent in bantering back and forth with the hosts, who asked some incredibly inane questions. Ms. Lawless once again told the story of how she got the part of Xena. One thing does stand out in this interview. It marks the only time to date that Ms. Lawless has talked about her work in the short lesbian film, "Peach." [DS] TRANSCRIPTION: Wendy: She's in the studio; I don't feel worthy enough actually. Do you? Bill: No! Neither of us should be in here with you. (Lucy laughs) W: We've never had a warrior princess in the studio before. This is our very first and we welcome you, Xena! Lawless: Well, well thank you. W: Should we call you by your real name, or should we keep with the Xena thing? Lawless: H-R-H (chuckles), H-R-H. B: Her Royal Highness? Is that what that is? Lawless: Yes. W: First, we have to start by asking you - Bill brought up a centaur? B: Yea, before you were Xena, you had another character and you were married to a centaur, am I right? Lawless: Well, we weren't married, we were living in sin. (laughter) W: What IS a centaur? Lawless: A centaur is half horse-half man, and a minotaur has a head of a bull and he lives in a maze. (laughter) B: Would that be, if you were to marry, a mixed marriage, because you're not half horse at all?! Lawless: Bi-special or bi-species. W: Is that where they got the saying, "hung like a horse?" (laughter) Lawless: She did have a child; it kind of begs the question (laughter) W & B: That's pretty wild - W: I wanted to bring up something and you don't have to talk about it if you don't want. You know these crazy tabloids that are going around, the Star, the Examiner, the Globe, those crazy things. Lawless: What crazy tabloids? W: You know those tabloids. You can even read that if you want. Evidentially, you were in some kind of movie where you and another woman were engaged in a lip lock kind of thing. Lawless: Oh no, the whole point of the thing is that they never even get there. I was playing a lesbian tow truck driver in a short film W: A lesbian what? Lawless: Tow truck driver W: A lesbian tow truck driver? B: The old Ernest Hemingway story, we've all read it. Lawless: (many voices talking at once) -- yeah, ye old Ernest Hemingway W: Ye Old Man and the G Spot. B: That was a classic. Lawless: I never got to kiss the girl. It's .... W: Did they blow this all out of proportion? Lawless: Of course, they do. They've got to have something to yack about. W: What was the name of that movie? Lawless: It was called "Peach" and it was in the Gay and Lesbian Film Festival in New York a few years ago. I ... W: How long ago was that? Lawless: I went along to it and I took my husband (laughing). It was like a big mistake. I was really somebody until I said, 'this is Garth,' my then-husband, (laughing) and then I was this persona non grata, but it was a good part and a.... W: That's fine. They make it so trashy. You know what I mean. It was an acting job and you did a good job in it. Huh? Were you proud of your performance in it? Lawless: Ahh, well to tell the truth (laughing), it's one of those ones on your way up, you know, and you look back and go, oh God, I didn't know anything then, but you give it your best shot. W: Exactly and now look at her, she's Xena. Now Xena: Warrior Princess is in the studio here today. Lucy Lawless is going to be at Planet Hollywood today donating some memorabilia from the show right? Lawless: Right. W: Is this your first visit to Chicago? Lawless: It is. W: You're from New Zealand, right? Lawless: That's right. W: Now, Xena's filmed in New Zealand? Lawless: Yea, that's where we get those fabulous locations just out of the city. B: Do they do that so they can cut the budget and not pay for a hotel room for you? Lawless: (laughs) Yea, I've often complained! Like, I don't get a car, or allowance, or anything like that. No, it's perfect. To do a show where it's in your home town - I have a kid and it's not too disruptive. W: That's true, cause you're right at home. Xena, this is the highest rated show in syndicated action adventure series in the country, did you ever think that could happen? Lawless: Yea, that and Herc. W: Oh, excuse me, HERCULES. She calls him Herc - they're old friends! (laughter) Lawless: Yea, yea we are old friends. W: Now you started on the Hercules show. Were you the Xena character on Hercules' show when you started out? Lawless: Well, that job just kind of fell into my lap when somebody else pulled out. W: Really? Lawless: They got sick, and the guys at Renaissance who produce the show said, "Let's just get Lucy. We know she's down there andwe think she can do the job." And the studio said, "WHAT? Are you Crazy? We just used her in the centaur episode!" (laughter) They said, "GO AWAY! Here are a list of five other actresses from L.A. that we want you to cast." They all turned it down! W: They DID? Lawless: Yes, because Hercules was an unknown series and who wanted to go to the END of the earth during pilot season? W: Stupid move on their part for turning it down! Lawless: I thank 'em! (Lucy laughs) B: Here's a Herc trivia question for you Lucy - Who was up for the part of Hercules before they got Kevin Sorbo? Lawless: Dole Flandrin. [Can't understand tape. This might be Dolph Lundgren.) B: No, me! (laughter) W: Yea, RIGHT! Lawless: Oh, that's right! When you turned it down, they got Dole Flandrin, then B: Right, THEN to Kevin Sorbo! W: How come I didn't hear about that? B: We kept it low. W: Right, VERY LOW! B: It's been a big secret around here. (laughter) W: Okay, New Zealand, hmm - I'm thinking, I know one thing native to New Zealand. A kiwi, right? Lawless: Right. B: Yea, does that impress you that we know stuff like that? (Lucy laughs) W: She DOESN'T care! (laughter) Lawless: Letterman asked me about a kiwi. I went on his show and he asked me about a kiwi and the internet kids were just, Oh, I mean men and women, I'm sorry, were just incensed that he would ask me a bunch of trivia questions! And they said, DON'T EVER talk trivia again! B: Oh really? I'm sorry. Ohhhh W: Well, speaking of the internet, we have a phone call for you already. Lawless: Already? W: Hey Lois? We have Lucy Lawless in the studio. Lois: Oh MY GOD! Hi LUCY! Lucy: HI LOIIISSS! (chuckle) Lois: I have to say thanks to Q 101 for having me on the radio. Lucy, Xena IS the COOLEST show! You have tons of fans ALL across the country and we spend hours of our time on the internet talking about the show and you ACTUALLY wrote us TWO letters and on behalf of all the Xena: Warrior Princess fans, I thank you for that! Say hi to Renee for me. Lawless: I WILL! Lois: I saw you on WGN this morning and I am going to Planet Hollywood this afternoon. Can you pleeeease sign my Ms. magazine. You were on the cover in July. Lawless: I was on the cover? Was I really? Lois: YEA, you DON'T remember? W: It's the COURAGE that got you on the cover. Lawless: Yea, it's the courage that makes me a real standout. Ummmm W: Ms. Magazine? Lawless: Was it the cover of the WHOLE magazine or just the television section? It doesn't matter; nobody cares, Lois. I would love to sign it for you. If I see you there, I will sign it. Lois: Thanks. What's your favorite part of the show, the action or the chemistry between you and Renee? Lawless: Well, I am first and foremost ummm - acting has always been the most important thing to me. To find myself in an action show is a GREAT surprise! (laughs) So, I have to say that the acting is the big payoff and Renee is just the greatest friend I could ever have on stage! W: And you do all of your own stunts and everything? Lawless: Well, no; I have stuntwomen, I have WONDERFUL stuntwomen, because I'd be dead if I did all of those things! (laughs) B: Does Jackie Chan do your stunts? Did I read that somewhere? (laughs) Lawless: Naw, I do HIS! (laughter) B: OH, right, THAT'S what I heard! (laughter) W: Hey Lois! Thanks for calling. Lawless: Thanks Lois. W: We have Veronica on the line, Veronica? R: Hi W: Xena's in here R: Oh, Hi Lucy LL: Hi Veronica R: Hi. Oh my gawd, I cant believe that Im talking to you All: laugh W: We thought all men would call B: I swear we thought it would be all guys, really R: It's so funny, I was just talking to Lois a half-hour ago LL: Oh really? R: yes. W: Lois who just called? LL: Its a very small world. B: No they're just our only two listeners. R: Were going to meet so we can see you today LL: Oh, that will be lovely R: Oh, this is so great, um, I just want to tell you that you are wonderful and... W: And you like the show and you're a fan, right? R: yes, and I'm one of those hard-core-nutballs who sit around during, and take ten-minute breaks at work and talk on the internet. LL: Well that's great cuz I love making the show W: And people like you keep the show on. I mean the fans are pretty much why it's there. R: Yeah, yeah. I cant wait till Sundays and Saturdays when it comes on and I've got everything taped. LL: Well we've already got the first 6 episodes of the next season and uh, if you like the first one, I think you're really gonna like the next one because we've all improved so much. B: And Xena gets an office job, right in the next season shes like a clerical worker [explanation: they we joking before LL came in that they had booked Gina the interns sectretary sister thus Gina the Warrior Princess] All: Laughter LL: She can't sit down for two seconds W: Veronica thanks for calling R: alright thanks. LL: See you later, Veronica [They discuss the schedule on WGN. Lucy states that she just discovered ice hockey {at PH she said she's a RedWings fan} and thinks its a sexy game and she loves it cuz its like Tetris. Then some guy named Pete calls in and insists on calling Lucy Xena, has only watched the show for TEN MINUTES!! Loves her outfit and asks what would happen if there was a fight between her and oh might Isis (?). Lucy asks who the h*ll is Oh Mighty Isis? Stanley who is very nervous asks why the show was moved from Friday to Sunday to Saturdays. Lucy is very nice to him. They go on about the show for a few minutes. She said that it is nifty and neat to be a dollie. Bill does a yiyiyiyiyiyiyiyiyi! They end by playing the theme music and playing a scene from IS THERE A DOCTOR IN THE HOUSE (#24). [434] 08-14-96 WGN. TV interview. [Haven't located tape or transcript yet] [435] 08-15-96 to 08-16-96 NOTE: Ratings for The Titans (#07), 3rd release, 07/22/96. Ranked as the 2nd action hour with a 4.0 rating. [HTLJ took 1st place for the fifth straight week with a 4.5 and ST:DS9 took 3rd with a 3.9.]. Mr. Brennan conjectured the low ratings were because of the Olympics. [KT] [435a] 08-15-96 THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER. 221 words. "Olympics stifle ratings again" By Steve Brennan COMMENTARY: The Titans (#07), third release. EXCERPT: The ratings fallout from the Atlanta Olympics continued to drive numbers down for the week of July 29-Aug. 4, though not with the ferocity of the first week of the Games, according to Nielsen Media Research.... ...MCA TV's action hour "Hercules: The Legendary Journeys" was the No. 1 action weekly for the fifth straight week with a 4.5, up from a 4.4. Stablemate "Xena: Warrior Princess" posted a 4.0 while Paramount's "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" was third in the genre with a 3.9. [435b] 08-15-96 DAILY VARIETY. Thursday. Page 6. 359 words. "'Oprah' jumps 'Jeopardy' in syndie race" By Jenny Hontz COMMENTARY: The Titans (#07), third release. EXCERPT: For the first time ever, King World's early fringe talkshow "Oprah" edged out King World's access show "Jeopardy!" to finish in second place among all syndicated shows the week ending Aug. 4, which was heavily disrupted by Olympics coverage... ...In weekly action, MCA TV's "Hercules" led the pack for the fifth week in a row, gaining 2% to 4.5. MCA's "Xena" was second at 4, despite losing 2% for the week. Par's "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" hit an all-time low for the second week, coming in third at 3.9. [435c] 08-16-96 THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER. 221 words. "Olympics stifle ratings again" By Steve Brennan COMMENTARY: For some unknown reason, The Hollywood reporter reprinted Mr. Brennan article from 08-15-96 verbatim. (XMR435a.) [436] 08-15-96 DAILY VARIETY. Thursday. Page 9. 225 words. "New World's 'Two' Gets N.Y. Upgrade" By Jenny Hontz. COMMENTARY: In an article about New World's new action hour "Two" being sold to WPIX in New York, Ms. Hontz mentioned that WPIX "also airs MCA TV's action hours 'Hercules' and 'Xena'". [KT] EXCERPT: ...New World's upcoming weekly action hour from writer-producer Stephen J. Cannell, "Two," has been upgraded in New York before its Sept. 14 premiere. New World had previously sold "Two" to WPIX New York, which also airs MCA TV's action hours "Hercules" and "Xena" and only had room to air the new series at midnight or 1 a.m... ============= THE BACK PAGE ============= ERATTA: XMR #24, annotation 408, in the COMMENTARY section under "VIOLENCE AND MORE VIOLENCE", the date should be 07/29/96 not 07/29/97. XENA MEDIA REVIEW STAFF: Living to serve Xena fandom since March 1996! Kym Masera Taborn (KT), editor-in-chief ktaborn@lightspeed.net Diane Silver (DS), editor (even issues) dswriter@idir.net Maria Erb (MBE), editor (odd issues) maria@erb.mv.com Barbara Johnson, circulation xenatwo@aol.com Lydia M. Woods (LM), assist. to the editor-in-chief woodsl@erol.com Thomas Simpson, mascot thomas@xenafan.com BACK ISSUES: Back issues of XMR are available at the XMR Archive on the XMR web page: http://xenafan.com/xmr THIS WEEK IN XENA NEWS: TWXN is the advance sheet for XMR. Since XMR offers indepth analysis of media coverage, the issues are distanced in order to gain perspective and insight into how the media report affected the future or was affected by its peers. TWXN is a commentary-lite review of excerpts to be used in future XMRs as they are processed for the XMR database. TWXN is not available for subscription, however it is posted Monday, Wednesday, and Friday on the XenaVerse, Hercules-Xena, and Chakram Mailing Lists (thank you Lucia!), the MCA NetForum (when they are accepting posts!), the Xenite Message Center (whenever I can find them!), and alt.tv.xena. REPRINT POLICY: Permission to use, copy and distribute Xena Media Review (XMR), or parts thereof, by electronic means for any non-profit purpose is hereby granted, provided that both the below copyright notice and this permission notice appear in all copies of the newsletter itself, and that proper credit is given for any excerpts. Any other format or purpose for distribution requires permission of the author. Reproducing XMR or parts thereof by any means implies full agreement to the below non-profit use clause. SOLICITATIONS FOR FUTURE NEWSLETTERS: Send cites, references, articles, annotations, and/or submissions to ktaborn@lightspeed.net, I will love you for it. XMR is a non-profit fan publication. The editors retain editorial control and reprint privileges over the submitted materials and reserve the right to use the material in whatever way they deem appropriate. Submitted materials will not be returned to the sender. 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, Renaissance Pictures, and any other rightful and legal copyright holder). This newsletter is an academic and educational pursuit to archive, annotate, and study the media response to Xena: Warrior Princess (a 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 via electronic media. Banner graphic by Colleen Stephan. This is an Obsessive But Benign Publication. Copyright 1996, 1997 by Kym Masera Taborn. =========================== CUT HERE =========================== XENA MEDIA REVIEW #26 (09/05/97) Borg 3 of 3 Finis!