XENA MEDIA REVIEW #25 (08-18-97) Part 2 of 4 =================== CUT HERE =============== [391] 07-17-96 BOSTON PHOENIX. "Sister Sledgehammer - Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Xena" By Anne Scott Cardwell . COMMENTARY: Boston's version of The Village Voice is usually right on the money when dealing with things on the edge (or at least they were when I lived in Boston and actually read the thing) but this time, YIKES!! It's like they never had that pro-gay, somewhat hip, artsy sensibility that made them the guide to consult for seeing movies or scouting out a new band. Stuff like this "...There is the matter of that horrible sidekick Gabrielle, who peaks at 8 out of 10 on the Wesley Crusher scale of annoying..." could come from the keyboard of any clueless publication in Beantown. And "for Xena, there will be no embarrassing sentimentality...." has me really wondering if there is even a small fiber of factoid left in this statement. You don't know how much I really hope......it never happens. [MBE] Contributed by: Xenaadict @ aol.com EXCERPTS: ...Xena is a righteous bitch. She's beautiful, fierce, independent and undefeated -- she kicks barbaric butt. Even hunky half-god Hercules can do no better than stalemate the mortal warrior princess while the rest of us lie there among our Baked Lays cheering for the good gal.... ...Xena actually rises to levels of, for lack of a better term, feminism. The main reason is the performance of Lucy Lawless, who plays the warrior princess with a straight-up strength not devoid of sexuality. The other is that the character created by Raimi and Tapert rules her own world (lives her own life) without compromise.... ...Give Raimi and Tapert lots of points for casting the big woman. Sure, she's no chunk queen, and she'll never be a poster child for cellulite, and those big breasts didn't hurt her chances at all, but she ain't petite. Xena eats waifs for breakfast (she's not worried about her warrior waistline)... ...Xena's trip into the heart of darkness gives credibility to her fight against injustice that makes Hercules's self-righteousness appear, well, self-righteous. She shellacs a legion of savages and sneers a symbolic high-five with the forces of good; for Xena, there will be no embarrassing sentimentality.... ...Her strength and cunning afford her the independence that all women should have: the freedom from fear, the freedom from physical dependence, Xena doesn't need cabs or pepper mace.... ...There is the matter of that horrible sidekick Gabrielle, who peaks at 8 out of 10 on the Wesley Crusher scale of annoying... [392] 07-19-96 to 07-23-97 NOTE: July 19, 1996, in New York's Cinema Village, the series "Girlfriends: Lesbian Short Films From Around the World" opened. Included in this series was Christine Parker's "Peach", which included Lucy Lawless in it's supporting cast as the "mysterious tow-truck driver". The New York Times and Village Voice ran articles about this series. [KT] [392a] 07-19-96 THE NEW YORK TIMES. Friday. Page C8 . 591 words. "Film Review; A Lesbian Perspective" By Stephen Holden COMMENTARY: Mr. Holden deemed Peach one of the two strongest movies of the eight shorts in the "Girlfriends" series. [KT] EXCERPT: ...Sometimes a cigar is not just a cigar, and a Venetian fritter is not just a Venetian fritter. In "Just Desserts" and "Peach," two of the strongest movies in "Girlfriends," a program of eight short lesbian films, food is a tantalizing metaphor (and in "Just Desserts" an uproariously explicit one) for awakening sexuality.... ...Christine Parker's 16-minute film, "Peach," which comes from New Zealand, is a tiny but telling vignette about a young working-class Maori woman (Tania Simon) whose gift of a perfectly ripe peach from a friendly grocer coincides with her first stirrings of lesbian sexuality. Into her tough dead-end world appears a beautiful, smiling tow-truck driver (Lucy Lawless) who suggests an angelic alternative to her surly boyfriend. ...GIRLFRIENDS Lesbian Short Films From Around the World Short films directed by Barbara Heller , Jane Schneider, Ela Troyano , Cheryl Dunye , Christina Andreef , Barbara Rose Michels , Monica Pellizzari and Christine Parker. Anthology released by First Run Features. At the Cinema Village, 22 East 12th Street, Greenwich Village. Total running time: 100 minutes. These films are not rated. [392b] 07-23-96 THE VILLAGE VOICE. Page 66. 387 words. "Girlfriends: Lesbian Short Films from Around the World" By Elisabeth Vincentelli COMMENTARY: In a review about a Lesbian short film festival at a local New York cinema, Ms. Vincentelli attempted to determine what made a film a lesbian short film. In developing her thesis, Ms. Vincentelli made the observation that a lesbian nomiker is not solely based upon content. She stated, "I would also argue that Lucy Lawless is far more lesbionic in Xena, Warrior Princess than in Christine Parker's 'Peach,' though in that film she plays a mysterious tow-truck driver who seduces a young mom. (She does look pretty swell in 20th-century clothing, though, so now I'm praying for a team-up with Gina Gershon.)" I have never come across the term 'lesbionic' before, however that may not necessarily mean it is not in wide use by some (I know it will enter my vocabulary!). However, for my purposes, it appears to be a first coinage. It was a very clever pun especially in a Xena context, since it conjured up both the bionic woman ethos and the alleged lesbian subcontext(s) which flow from the presentation of a strong woman who is not afraid to travel around with only another woman as her companion. I will not go into this further, in part because it is a topic which is so rooted in the very fabric of our society that I could never do it justice as an annotation; and also in part because I anticipate this topic will be discussed thoroughly in several articles which will be published in Whoosh (The Journal of the International Association for Xena Studies). The sentence "seduces a young mom" is true but in a symbolic sense. In the film the peach represented a character's approach to life: Sal admired the peach from afar, and when it was given to her as a gift, she then put it on a pedestal and admired it further, and kept people, including herself, from eating it. In came the "mysterious tow-truck driver" who advised Sal (in a somewhat intense and unique way) to eat the peach. Sal ate the peach. Thus, the Lucy Lawless character did "seduce" Sal to experience more from her life, but not in the sense of a completed physical seduction (even though, then, it was a complete seduction in that Sal did eat that darn peach). Peach was an art film, so many more things were happening in it than just an interrupted kiss between two women. [I do not want the reader to think Peach was a one message, exploitative, or polemic film. It was not. It had many levels and dealt with many aspects of life. I regret I am not doing the 16 minute short justice in this annotation. However, this is not an essay on Peach.] Also, in the film it was strongly implied that had not the baby cried, a non-ambiguous non-metaphorical seduction could have happened. Later in the article, in a circumstantial reference to Xena, Ms. Vincentelli expressed her disappointment that in a lesbian film short festival she did not see more action roles for women. She wrote, "I personally would have loved seeing women fight aliens, make giant aquariums explode, or at the very least wave enormous swords and kick Hercules's b*tt. Expensive? Look at what Monty Python could do with a broom handle and papier - mache !" [KT] REPRINT: Girlfriends: Lesbian Short Films From Around the World At Cinema Village Opens July 19 What makes a short film a lesbian short film? It can't be based solely on content, since there's zero lesbian text (or even subtext) in Christina Andreef's "Excursion to the Bridge of Friendship," a 12-minute-long marvel that's easily the best thing in this wildly uneven anthology. I would also argue that Lucy Lawless is far more lesbionic in Xena, Warrior Princess than in Christine Parker's "Peach," though in that film she plays a mysterious tow-truck driver who seduces a young mom. (She does look pretty swell in 20th-century clothing, though, so now I'm praying for a team-up with Gina Gershon.) No, the real link between most of these films is that, as in many staples of lesbian lit (think Virginia Woolf or Jeanette Winterson), nearly all of them include fantasy sequences: girl pictures dad as a huge puppet (in Barbara Heller's "Little Women in Transit"); Lower East Side performance artist conjures up black-and-white Mexican melodrama (in Ela Troyano's "Carmelita Tropicana: Your Kunst Is Your Waffen"); girl imagines entire relationship as she waits by a supermarket's checkout counter (in Barbara Rose Michel's "Watching Her Sleep"), to name a few. But except for the one thought up by "Carmelita Tropicana," all of these flights of fancy are desperately mundane. You keep wishing the directors would let their imaginations loose and start thinking big, or at least delirious. I personally would have loved seeing women fight aliens, make giant aquariums explode, or at the very least wave enormous swords and kick Hercules's b*tt. Expensive? Look at what Monty Python could do with a broom handle and papier-mache! In the meantime, I'll count the days until Christina Andreef finally makes her feature debut. [393] 07-19-96 to 07-22-96 NOTE: Ratings for THE PATH NOT TAKEN (#05), 3rd release (06/24/96). XWP took 3rd place in action hours (1st for HTLJ, and 2nd for ST:DS9), with a 4.9 share (up 11% from last week). [KT] [393a] 07-19-96 DAILY VARIETY. Friday. Page 8W. 382 words. "Syndicated programs suffer holiday blues" By Jenny Hontz COMMENTARY: Ratings for THE PATH NOT TAKEN (#05), 3rd release (06/24/96). EXCERPT: As thousands lined up during the July Fourth holiday weekend to see "Independence Day," it appears few viewers stayed home to watch syndicated TV. Nielsen ratings for most syndie shows during the holiday week ending July 7 dropped like hot dogs into the fire. Every show with significant access clearances hit new season lows. Even Macy's July Fourth fireworks special fell 21% year-to-year.... ...MCA TV's action weeklies were also spared. "Hercules" increased 10% to 5.3, up 2% from last year. It also took the top spot away from Par's "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine," 5.1. "Xena" was up 11% for the week to 4.9... [393b] 07-22-96 THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER. 374 words. "Syndie ratings grounded during July Fourth week" By Steve Brennan COMMENTARY: Ratings for THE PATH NOT TAKEN (#05), 3rd release (06/24/96). Rating: 4.9 (up from last weeks 4.4 for ROYAL COUPLE OF THIEVES #17). EXCERPT: Syndicated programs got zapped by Independence Day. There was no alien mother ship involved only massive migration outdoors by viewers during what is traditionally one of the lowest TV viewing weeks of the year. Most of the leading shows that compete in access slots were down for the week of July 1-7, many posting their lowest numbers of the season.... ...The weekly hour shows did better as MCA TV's "Hercules: The Legendary Journeys" was the top-rated action-adventure hour with a 5.3 rating, up from the previous week's 4.8. "Xena," its stable companion, was up from a 4.4 to a 4.9 while Paramount's "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" was at a 5.1, down from a 6.2. [393c] 07-22-96 VARIETY. Page 26. 196 words. "Nielsen Syndication Ratings" COMMENTARY: The Path Not Taken, 06/24/96; third release [original release 10/02/95, 4.8 rating; 2nd release 12/25/95, ratings unknown]; HTLJ was ranked 1st action hour, overall 7th with 5.3; ST:DS9 ranked 2nd, overall 9th with 5.1; and XWP ranked 3rd, overall tied 10th with Entertainment Tonight with 4.9. No other action hours ranked in the top twenty. REPRINT: For week ended July 7, 1996 Stations/ Rank Program % coverage AA% GAA% 1 Wheel of Fortune 226/99 9.2 -- 2 Jeopardy! 217/98 7.9 -- 3 WCW Wrestling 175/92 7.2 12.8 4 Home Improvement 228/98 6.5 6.9 5 Oprah Winfrey Show 223/97 6.2 6.3 6 Seinfeld 221/97 5.8 -- 7 Journeys of Hercules 232/97 5.3 5.4 7 Wheel of Fortune-Wknd183/84 5.3 -- 9 Star Trek:DSN 235/98 5.1 5.2 10 Entertainment Tonight178/95 4.9 4.9 10 Xena 204/96 4.9 5.0 12 Inside Edition 162/91 4.4 4.5 12 World Wrestling Fed. 153/90 4.4 5.1 14 Simpsons 193/96 4.3 4.4 15 Montel Williams 167/92 4.0 4.0 16 Home Improvement Wknd220/95 3.9 -- 16 Fresh PrinceofBel-Air221/97 3.9 -- 18 Live w/Regis&KL 156/86 3.8 4.0 18 Jenny Jones Show 199/94 3.8 4.0 20 Married W/Children 176/90 3.6 4.0 20 Ricki Lake 202/94 3.6 3.7 20 Roseanne 172/92 3.6 3.8 AA average refers to nonduplicated viewing for multiple airings of the same show. GAA average encompasses duplicated viewing. GAA average does not apply when there is only one run of a show. [394] 07-20-96 XENA MEDIA REVIEW. No. 16. Edited by and annotations by Kym Masera Taborn. COMMENTARY: A world press review of coverage on XWP, Renee O'Connor, or Lucy Lawless. Covered 03/16/96 - 04/02/96. Lawless interview; dialect coach for XWP interview; Bruce Campbell; XWP as "cheap American Junk"; shift of realism to fantasy in TV programming; near strike by production crews; what to eat while watching Xena; Prodigal ratings; XWP replaces sports show; collecting toys; Justice; Negrita Jayde; Sunny Knox; February sweep results; Curve & Globe articles; and more! [KT] [395] 07-21-96 THE INDIANAPOLIS STAR. Sunday. TV section. 716 words COMMENTARY: I have no idea what this is, other than just a program listing. [KT] EXCERPT: ...WEDNESDAY OVERNIGHT... ...Xena: Warrior Princess 918729 (CC)Paid Program [396] 07-22-96 ELECTRONIC MEDIA. Page 12. 934 words. "New Media; fans Pay Homage on the Web" By Patricia Riedman. COMMENTARY: Passing mention of XWP in an article devoted to the phenomenon of cult TV fan websites. XWP is placed at ninth out of ten for most amount of web pages devoted to it found on Yahoo. The ranking is as follows: Star Trek; Dr. Who; X-Files; Mystery Science Theater 3000; Monty Python's Flying Circus; Seinfeld; The Simpsons; Forever Knight; Xena: Warrior Princess; and My So-Called Life. [KT] REPRINT: Cult TV shows spawn Web sites at a mind-numbing rate. And while it's impossible to get a precise count on the number of fan sites out there, informal surveys through Yahoo! and TVnet.com search engines showed "Star Trek" just ahead of "Dr. Who" with well over 200 sites each-featuring details of obscure trivia to the absurd "The Capt. James T. Kirk Sing-a-long Page" (http://www.ama.caltech.edu/users.mrm/kirk.html/). "The X-Files" is a close third, followed by other high scorers: "Mystery Science Theater 3000," "Monty Python's Flying Circus," "Seinfeld," "The Simpsons," "Forever Knight," "Xena: Warrior Princess" and "My So-Called Life." And while the networks are realizing the potential of the Web, many of their sites still have a ways to go to outnumber and outshine some of the irreverent content coming from fan pages. For instance, the official "Seinfeld" page by NBC (http://www.nbc.com/entertainment/shows/seinfeld/) is heavy on the promotional side and reads like a press release, with posed cast photos and text that hypes the show's awards and ratings. Check into the "The unofficial Cosmo Kramer Web Page" (http://law.wuacc.edu/sanders/kramer.html) and download WAV sound files of everything from jokes to Kramer crooning "I'm so keeno on beefo-reeno." "Elliot Tobin's Seinfeld" page at http://www.earthlink.net/;seinfeld/ spins the show's content into catchy word games: fill-in-the blank jokes, Rules of Life according to Seinfeld and a quote machine. Show producers might even be feeling threatened by the popularity of fans' sites. "Spellingland," a site that reportedly received about 4,000 hits a week, was recently forced off the Web. Tom Zoerner, who had maintained an extensive archive of "Beverly Hills, 90210" and "Melrose Place" material, says he received a letter from Spelling Entertainment Group claiming that his use of their logos and trademarks was illegal. Mr. Zoerner closed the site and distributed his content to other underground Spelling show Web pages. Some of the network-sponsored sites are gaining a following. "The Dominion," the official Sci-Fi Channel site, uses the network's programs as a springboard for developing original content and recently incorporated sites started by fans for "The Night Stalker" and "Six Million Dollar Man." Fox (http://www.foxworld.com) wants its show sites to be "campy and fun," says Cindy Hauser, Fox's senior vice president who oversees online entertainment. In a recent online poll, fans could vote on whether to change the hair color of "Melrose Place's" Amanda. NBC, which plans Internet components for all of its shows, is increasing original content with emphasis on soap operas, comedies and late-night talk shows, says Shawn Hardin, creative director of NBC Interactive Media. But the fan-created sites still have a certain charm-and can be impressive lobbying forces. When Comedy Central announced it was dropping "Mystery Science Theater 3000," the show's creators, Best Brains, leaked the news that it was in negotiations with The Sci-Fi Channel. Barry Schulman, vice president of programming for the Sci-Fi Channel, says e-mail and "snail mail" letters in support of the show "came by the thousands and were incredibly literate and passionate." "If you could transfer this to an analogous rating, it would be spectacular," he says. Fans can also vent their opinions about plot developments in one of the countless online bulletin boards. Do scriptwriters really ever see these suggestions? Jeff Jungblut , who maintains a "General Hospital" site (http://www.portcharles.com), thinks so. He claims that the recent death of a major character, who was killed by a car bomb, was foreshadowed when someone mentioned it in a chat room in February. "Either that was a wildly lucky guess or someone from GH planted it," Mr. Jungblut says. Fan involvement will take another leap when NBC employs Intercast technology this fall on "Homicide." The audience can watch the show in real-time on their computers while accessing the show's Web site. GRAPHIC: This fan-created site on the Web gets you William Shatner crooning.; "The X-Files," starring Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny, has spawned numerous fan Web sites, including "The Bureau of Federal Investigation X-Files Division" (right). [397] 07-22-96 PUBLISHERS WEEKLY. Vol. 243. No. 30. Page 206. 6605 words. "Sneak previews: Spring 1997 children's books. Bibliography" By Alison Stone. COMMENTARY: In a listening of children's books scheduled for Spring 1997 release, Ru Emerson's "Xena: Warrior Princess, with The Huntress and the Sphinx" is mentioned under the Berkley/ Boulevard publishers listing. [KT] EXCERPT: ...BERKLEY/BOULEVARD Several series forge ahead, including Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, with The Eye of the Ram by Timothy Boggs; Star Wars: Young Jedi Knights, with Shards of Alderaan by Kevin J. Anderson and Rebecca Moesta; Star Wars: Junior Jedi Knights, with Anakin's Quest by Rebecca Moesta; Elvira, with Camp Vamp, by Elvira with John Paragon; and Xena: Warrior Princess, with The Huntress and the Sphinx by Ru Emerson.... [398] 07-22-96 PUBLISHERS WEEKLY. Vol. 243. No. 30. Page 158. 50238 words. "Children's books for fall. Includes profiles of selected books; Cover Story Bibliography" By Sally Lodge and Shannon Maughan. COMMENTARY: In a listening of children's books scheduled for Fall 1996 release, Ru Emerson's "The Empty Throne" is mentioned under the Berkley/ Boulevard publishers listing and priced at $5.99 and geared for ages 13 and up. [KT] EXCERPT: ...BERKLEY/BOULEVARD Paperback Series: Beethoven's Puppies adds Family Vacation by Robert Tine ($ 4.50, 7-15). Jedi Under Siege by Kevin Anderson and Rebecca Moesta is new to Star Wars Young Jedi Knights ($ 5.99, 7-up). Elvira: Transylvania 90210 by Elvira with John Paragon launches the new Elvira series ($ 4.99, 13-up). Hercules: The Legendary Journeys debuts with By the Sword and Serpent's Shadow by Timothy Boggs ($ 5.99 each, 13-up). And Xena: Warrior Princess starts up with The Empty Throne by Ru Emerson ($ 5.99, 13-up).... ...RANDOM HOUSE... ...Paperback Series... ...Xena, Warrior Princess Picturebacks adds Queen of the Amazons and Princess in Peril, adapted by Kerry Milliron ($ 3.25 each, 4-6)... [399] 07-22-96 DRUG TOPICS. Vol. 140. No. 14. Page 30. 543 words. "What's a professional duty? Pharmacists' nonprofessional tasks" By Jim Plagakis COMMENTARY: In an exposee about the abuse of pharmacists, the author referred to a woman who was considered quite brave in insisting upon taking two nine-minute breaks a day. The author wrote: "She has set her feet with courage. I want to call her Xena the Warrior Princess, but I think she is settling for scraps." [KT] EXCERPT: I caught a pharmacist mopping the floor one day. Cross my heart! She's a pharmacy manager, and she was singing the song, "I don't know why I do the things I do ... after all the changes pharmacy has put me through." Professional duty? She mops floors even when she doesn't want to. Pharmacists do menial jobs just because they have to be done. But give me a break. Is this professional? "Do you think that mopping the floor is what a professional does?" I asked her. "Hell no!" she said. "I have no help, so I gotta do it." Her next words came from deep inside. "Jim, mopping is as far away from professional as stocking shelves in an AM-PM Minimart." Then came a resigned smile. "It's pharmacy, and it's been this way for as long as I've worked in big drugstores."... Professional? Check out Random House on that: Engaged in an occupation requiring extensive education in a branch of science or the liberal arts. Pharmacy fits tightly into that slot, but I don't remember any class called Mopping the Floor 101. Extensive education? You can bet your firstborn on that! Professional hoity-toity? Not a chance. Most of us do jobs over which an attorney would have a convulsion just at the thought. But it's pharmacy, and I still love it. We've got a Jekyll and Hyde gig going here, gang, and I don't think that mopping the floor is professional. But, for some of us, it is just part of the job, a chunk of coal that many of us try to ignore with glazed-over eyes. Do you get the feeling that I'm setting you up? Yup, I am! I want to grease your attention chute for what's coming next. Included in the "Letters" section of Drug Topics recently were a number of discussions about long days, lack of breaks, no lunch periods. Professional? A woman wrote that she took two nine- (at least, I think it was nine) minute breaks a day, no matter what. I want to commend her. She has set her feet with courage. want to call her Xena the Warrior Princess, but I think she is settling for scraps. When nine minutes to sit down in a 12-hour day is a luxury, it makes me wonder what the hell is wrong with us! We are the profit center of most drugstores, and we sure as hell don't have to flush our dignity and put up with being any drugstore company's cattle! I know a few guys who have recently quit their jobs because they were sick and tired of long days, no breaks, no lunch, and no help. They gave up vacations, vested interests, seniority. They refused to be micromanaged by nonpharmacists and are working with sweet music now being pharmacists. There is a monstrous amount of turnover these days. Pharmacists are banging between jobs like pinballs. The young ones are the professionals who are going to transform pharmacy. Watch and see! Us older guys are institutionalized and live in some place called Shawshank. Oh! This is the yearly Pharmacy Belongs to Pharmacists column! I whine only once a year ... Promise! I still want to know if you think we'll ever get our profession back? I do. The time has never been better for pharmacists. There are those here among us who think that pharmacy is ours. Not magic this time ...just guts! [400] 07-22-97 THE TITANS. Episode no. 7. Third release. Guest stars: Mark Raffety, Amanda Tollemacha, Edward Campbell, Andy Anderson, and Paolo Rotondo. Written by R.J. Stewart. Directed by Eric Brevig. COMMENTARY: See XMR068.5 for synopsis. [401] 07-23-96 to 08-11-96 NOTE: The USA Network purchased the off-syndication rights to HTLJ and XWP for approximately $300,000 per episode. The USA Network anticipated stripping the 85 HTLJ and 72 XWP shows as a companion block in September 1998. The deal DOES NOT include the Hercules Action Pack movies which precipitated the HTLJ hourly series. Since then, this deal has turned into one of the most lucrative deals USA has probably every done. It basically purchased a program that is now earning ratings in the 6's and 7's at the price one would buy for a program earning 4's and 5's. [KT] [401a] 07-23-96 DAILY VARIETY. Tuesday. Page 1. 389 words. "USA lifts 'Hercules,' 'Xena' rights" By Ray Richmond COMMENTARY: Hercules was described as blending "myth, mirth and manliness in an adventurous stew"; and Xena as a "fierce, provocatively clad, bodaciously buff martial artist". The article also stated that both shows along with STAR TREK: DEEP SPACE NINE rank "as the highest-rated hours in national syndication. They are regularly among the syndie top 10." The article closed with the observation that "Hercules and Xena are still expected to be in firstrun syndication when they debut on USA." [KT] REPRINT: The USA Network snagged the exclusive off-syndication rights to yet another pair of action hours, the cheesy but popular "Hercules: The Legendary Journeys" and its spinoff "Xena: Warrior Princess," in a deal between MCA entities that sources believe carries a pricetag of about $ 300,000 per episode. Acquisition gives USA sole rights to the 85 "Hercules" episodes and 72 "Xena" installments that will be available when USA begins stripping the shows Monday-Friday as a companion block beginning in September 1998. In the past year, USA has acquired the off-syndie rerun rights to a stable of adventure hours, including " Baywatch ," "Renegade," "Highlander," "Acapulco Heat" and "Sirens." In June, USA also won the nonexclusive rights to 105 episodes of the CBS drama "Walker, Texas Ranger" beginning in fall 1997. The "Walker" deal caused a stir because USA paid nearly $ 750,000 per episode, second in price only to the estimated $ 1.2 million fetched from Turner for the cable strip and weekend broadcast rights to NBC's top-rated "ER." News Corp's FX paid $ 600,000 for the off-net rights to "The X-Files." USA's deal for "Hercules" and "Xena" does not include the four two-hour "Hercules" films that aired as part of Universal's "Action Pack" in 1994, which led to a weekly series beginning in January 1995. "Xena" spun out of "Hercules" in September 1995. Execs for USA (co-owned by Viacom and MCA) and MCA were especially tight-lipped about the price, which sources attributed to fear that disclosure would open the players to ridicule, given their joint ownership ties. TX: But one USA source dismissed the idea of any sweetheart deal, maintaining, "These are separate divisions who have their own bottom lines to meet, and besides, any suspiciously low figures could open up a lot of people to legal hassles." "Hercules" (which stars Kevin Sorbo and blends myth, mirth and manliness in an adventurous stew) and "Xena" (starring Lucy Lawless as a fierce, provocatively clad, bodaciously buff martial artist) rank with "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" as the highest-rated hours in national syndication. They are regularly among the syndie top 10. "Hercules" and "Xena" are still expected to be in firstrun syndication when they debut on USA. They are produced by Renaissance Pictures for MCA TV, which distributes. =================== CUT HERE =============== XENA MEDIA REVIEW #25 (08-18-97) Part 2 of 4