THIS WEEK IN THE XENA NEWS.... TWXN #24 08/31/96 Brought to you by Xena: Media Review (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. XMR #17 UPDATE: I am two synopses and four annotations away from finishing XMR #17, so I thought I'd do a little promotion. XMR #17 will be unique in the annals of XMRdom. Blame Heparin. I asked her rather innocently, "Should I divvy out the material to several XMRs or make a multi-part issue?" Her answer was multi-part. I was passive that day so I took her directive. The issue is now up to three parts. What is making it so large? First, two lead pieces: "XenaFest II: The Myth and the Magic", and "The Curse of Baywatch"; not to mention other news. Second, tons of amended annotations, including, but not limited to: cast, credit, disclaimer, and synopsis of all Xena episodes through to The Prodigal; transcripts of the Femme Fatale and Starlog articles; and LL's first post to on-line Xena fandom. Third, the usual fare of media reports from 04/04/96 to 04/19/96, including, but not limited to: Philadelphia Forum's "Greeks vs. Hollywood"; People's "Xena-phile New Zealander Lucy Lawless Conquers"; David Letterman show; Arkansas Democrat- Gazette's "Late Night to Be Lawless Zone"; Indianapolis Star's "Xena Fan Gets Lowdown on Star Lucy Lawless"; Vancouver Sun's "She is Xena, Hear Her Roar as She Evens the Score" [which inspired the essay "The Curse of Baywatch"]; Virginian-Pilot's "Xena: One of TV'S Guilty Pleasures"; Electronic Media International's "MCA'S 'Hercules,' 'Xena' Pump up New Action Genre"; and and the ratings for Death in Chains, Hooves and Harlots, Black Wolf. That's why it's big. I may even send it out in 4 parts. It depends on how wordy I get with those last synopses and annotations. [ ] 08-28-96 THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER. 775 words. "Warp speed for Tribune's new enterprise" By Steve Brennan COMMENTARY: Tribune Entertainment has committed itself to producing and distributing "Battleground Earth", which was based a script written by the late Gene Roddenberry (obviously written when he was alive). When asked why, Tribune Entertainment president Dick Askin said, "The Tribune station group has been a successful launch base for 'Hercules: The Legendary Journeys' and 'Xena: Warrior Princess'. Now they have signed up for 'Sinbad' (from All American) for the fall. There is an obvious appetite on the part of stations for this genre. It is a genre that Tribune was not in but wanted to be in.'' from MCA TV." Yet another venture taken on because of the success of XWP. [ ] 08-30-96 THE SAN FRANCISCO EXAMINER. Friday. Sports. Page D-1. 960 words. "Loville is armed and dangerous" By Ray Ratto. COMMENTARY: Xena made it to the sports pages again! In an article promoting the amazing physical attributes and abilities of the 49ers Derek Loville, Mr. Ratto stated, "Hey, if 'Xena, Warrior Princess' can become a cult hit, why not this?" [ ] 09-03-96 THE VILLAGE VOICE. Page 6. 454 words. "Making the Xena: Broadswords and Budweisers" By Tom Dolby. COMMENTARY: In an article about the monthly XWP parties at Meow Mix, a lesbian bar in the East Village, New York, Mr. Dolby described his visit to the last fete. The bar was packed and the night began with the showing of three episodes which received commentary from the audience. The evening's main event was the Xena and Gabrielle look alike contest, with action figures as the prizes. The bar will be having a sword contest next month. The promoter of the Xena nights described Xena as "so gorgeous, she's like Grace Slick on steroids." The owner stated, "I hear people telling each other, I'll see you in September... Women who never go to bars are coming to this night."