Express News
11 May 1999
'Xena' followers making pilgrimage to S.A.
By Ihosvani Rodriguez Express-News Staff Writer
Xena, really darling, is this any way for royalty to act?
Screeching like a frantic banshee, OK. All that swordplay, sure. Chuckin' the chakram,
cool. And that two-fingered "Xena touch" — whoa!
But crushing the head of a man-eating Cyclops — between your thighs?
Hey, it works. You — and your alter ego, Kiwi actress Lucy Lawless — are
certainly the most formidable and famous leather-clad, breast-plated dominatrix ever to
commandeer the world's devotion.
Your exploits — on "Xena: Warrior Princess," which airs nightly on USA
and on Saturdays on KRRT — are tops in the weird world of syndicated TV, where you've
conquered those bikini-clad lifeguards from "Baywatch."
In the five short years since you were spun off the "Hercules" series
(originally evil, you underwent a radical conversion), you've electrified the globe with
your bravery, wisdom and lofty moral standards. (And you are truly global, worshipped in
at least 65 countries. Take Turkey, for example: With a population of more than 50
million, 60 percent of the market tunes in each week.) With plucky Gabrielle at your side,
you travel ancient lands defending the powerless and atoning for the sins of the past.
(Your legend has even spawned college courses. ) In the process, you've been tagged a
feminist role model. What's more, you're a hit with the kiddies. A lesbian icon. And men,
well, men get a kick out of you in more ways than one.
"That's her biggest appeal. That she can appeal to everyone differently,"
says Sharon Delaney, editor of the official Xena fan club newsletter, The Chakram.
"Most of all, it is the quality of the character that people are in love with. It's
what she does. What she stands for. That, and she can kick some butt."
This weekend, the center of the Xenaverse, as true believers refer to your realm, is
the Four Points Sheraton Riverwalk Hotel. Of course, you'll be out battling tyrants and
monsters, but you are sending emissaries Alti (Claire Stansfield) and Cleopatra (Gina
Torres) to spread the Xena gospel. And your apostles will be here in force.
Here's the really weird part: The Xena convention comes just one day after those
futuristic eggheads from the "Star Trek" sect have their own clambake — in
the same hotel!
The mind reels. Imagine the spectacle of Xenite and Treker, each outfitted in period
dress, going to fist city in the hotel's buffet line over the last turkey leg.
The organizer of both conventions — a company called Creative Entertainment —
has witnessed up to 4,000 Xena junkies willing to travel uncounted miles to these
gatherings held sporadically around the country. According to Gary Berman, president of
Creative Entertainment, there are many documented instances in which Xena pilgrimages have
outdrawn Star Trek conventions.
Berman, however, is quick to note: "I don't know if Xena will be around another 30
years like Star Trek. But by the popular momentum the show has now, you can bet we'll be
doing these (Xena) conventions for a long time."
Much like their space-age counterparts, many Xena followers show up in garb. They dish
out trivia answers in forms of questions. They discuss critical issues such as violence on
the show. They foam at the mouth as they watch never-aired scenes and outtakes. In fact,
behind-the-scenes footage and blooper reels are possibly the biggest draws at Xena
conventions.
And Xenites are willing to part with hard-earned lucre to purchase action figures,
coloring books, novels, magazines, games, calendars, Christmas ornaments, videos, CDs,
jewelry and anything else associated with the Xenaverse.
"It has become less expensive to purchase diamonds than to purchase the amount of
Xena stuff I've bought over the years," says Gail Futoran, whose house in Guadalupe
County is filled with comic books, action figures and assorted booty.
How does a popular media character such as Xena achieve cult status? (How's this for
devoted? In one of the hundreds of Xena Internet Web sites,
www.whoosh.org/road/xcvac97/index.html, Petra de Jong of the Netherlands published a
3,370-word diary about a trek to the United States in search of Xena. She found Lawless in
a Broadway production of "Grease" and even visited Katy, birthplace of Renee
O'Connor, who plays Gabrielle. "Believe it or not, I was tired of Xena at this point.
Guess that's what they call 'overkill,'" reads the diary's last entry. )
Briefly, the good-vs.-evil story of Xena goes something like this:
Xena is this villainous, mad-cat army leader who pillages and plunders at will,
remaining steadfast in her determination to earn glory by doing a number on her nemesis,
Hercules. Then, one day, she rescues a baby. Her bloodthirsty troops, horrified by this
show of maternal instinct, abandon her. She hooks up with Herc. Consumed by guilt over her
previous, unprincipled ways, Xena seeks redemption through good deeds. Her life becomes an
endless series of battles and skirmishes with evil warlords, godless gods, monsters, and
assorted freaks and goons with hairy shoulders and backs. Yuck.
And always, always there is this underlying theme: Xena would rather reason than
rumble, but if an enemy of justice throws down, she's there.
In an interview a couple of years ago, Lawless explained the success of the show like
this: "All I can say is that I'm thrilled and honored and I'm holding on
white-knuckles, just trying to ride this tiger. I think the show's popularity among women
stems from the fact that Xena carries the message, 'Yes, I can' in both her actions and
her demeanor. 'Yes, I can,' all alone, with no visible means of male support. That's a
very positive, affirming thing for women. We haven't had this kind of role model in the
popular media for quite some time, and not ever in episodic television. As far as men are
concerned, I think they regard Xena as a woman they'd like to sit down and have a beer
with. She's a huntin'-shootin'-fishin' type woman. They could drink their beer and
wouldn't have to talk much. And kids like heroes. They hope there's a hero out there like
Xena who will protect them."
Tuesday, May 11,1999