Whoosh! Issue 78 - June 2003
Letters to the Editor


To write to the editor regarding your comments, observations, and questions about Whoosh!, send an e-mail to letters@whoosh.org. All letters received by the editor are subject to publication and may be edited. Due to the volume received, some letters may not be answered individually or receipt acknowledged and may be published at the editor's discretion. Letters received may be reserved for a later issue.



Topics Covered: Whoosh has gone too far; How to contact Robert Tapert; More Xena movie rumors; Why was Amarice so vain in the Amazon Calendar interviews; Looking for Xena music in all the wrong places; Xena and Buffy; Looking for ena checks; Open Letter to Lucy Lawless; Those darn episodes titles; Webmaster goes wild!



Letters To The Editor



Let Us Call It What It Was: Exploitation!

From: Jonathan Law
Sent: Thursday, June 05, 2003 9:26 AM
Subject: Melinda"s Tirade

I am extremely angry and disappointed you published Ms Tanner's rant.

I am seriously considering not having anything more to do with Whoosh which is very sad because I have had so much enjoyment and pleasure from Whoosh in the past.

I don't mind constructive criticism, but there is no way I can condone or accept virtriolic personal attacks on Lucy and Rob. I believe they both gave their all to bring us Xena and they at least deserve some thanks and admiration for wonderful show they gave us.

At least Rob have the good grace to actknowledge and apologise to Xena's fans for the mistakes he had made which is more that I can say of Ms Tanner. Perhaps Ms Tanner might like to take notice of Katherine Fugate's statement in answer to a fan's question about writing for a future Xena movie.

"rob is the biggest ally a xena movie has and he is a loyal man to those he's worked with. if a xena movie ever get made - it will only happen because of rob and his belief in one"
As for the wild accusation that Lucy is bitter about being so called typecast, I find it almost laughable. So what if Lucy has retired. She is too busy being a husband to Rob, raising three wonderful children, devoting some of her precious time to charities and enjoying life to be resentful and bitter.

I am very sorry it has come to this but I would have never thought that Whoosh would lower its extremely high standards so much, you would publish a tirade like this.





How Does One Contact Robert Tapert?

From: Josué Gentil
Sent: Monday, May 19, 2003 7:14 PM
Subject: robert tapert

I'm from Brazil and a friend of mine wants to contact Mr. Robert Tapert, Xena's producer. Can you inform me any way to contact him? Adress, phone, email or stuff?






From: Pam
Sent: Sunday, February 23, 2003 6:19 PM

The site is awesome beyond words, containing anything and everything Xena. A fan's delight!

I was wondering if you know where I might write to Rob Tapert? I can't find an address, e-mail or snail mail. And since Whoosh is "in the know"...





Robert Tapert can currently be reached at

Robert Tapert
Renaissance Pictures/Ghost House
315 S Beverly Drive, Suite 216
Beverly Hills, CA 90212







Movie Rumors!

From: Jonathan Law To: Sent: Friday, February 14, 2003 4:22 AM Subject: Xena Movie Speculation and Rumours.

Can I please ask you for your opinion and comments on all the feverish speculation about the future Xena Movie?

I want to ask in particular for your comments on Katherine Fugate's statement made at the Pasadena Convention that she has been approached to write the script for the movie and has or is meeting with Universal Studio's Executives.

Adding fuel the the fire, Rob Tapert jokingly??? stated that Jennifer Aniston has been cast as Xena and Creation Entertainment, on behalf of TPTB, asking fans what they would like to see in a future film.

Perhaps you could devote a future Whoosh! edition to a Xena Movie. Maybe ask Whoosh! readers and authors who, when, why and what they would like to see in a Xena film.

I am certain you would get some interesting and fascinating ideas and feedback.



At this point all indications are that the parties are more into the "wishful thinking" phase that comes before the "pitch" phase, that comes before finding a flag pole to run it up to see if anyone salutes stage, that is before the finding someone who is interested, that is before getting seed money, that is before getting a treatment, that is before selling the idea, that is before getting a viable script stage, that is before pre-development stage, that is before casting stage, that is before...well, you get the picture.

At this point all concerned parties have other things on their plate, and if a Xena movie does come along, it will not probably be rushed into production.

When the film reaches pre-production, we will consider it for an issue theme. Until then, we might do a speculative article or two on the development.







2003 Totally Amazon Whoosh Calendar Interviews

From: MJuingong
Sent: Saturday, February 15, 2003 10:43 PM
Subject: Amarice

Nice selections for Amazon calendar, and generally good interviews.

But let me challenge a bit: There's nothing in the way Amarice is portrayed on the show to back up the vanity shown in your interview of her.



Interviewer Shelley Sullivan responds:
[I suspect] someone doubt[s] I went to the Land of the Dead. The nerve of some people!

Amarice's interview, particularly with her excitement over a "top 10" placing, wasn't intended to intimate vanity on her part.

In part, Amarice said: "I had no identity, so I created one. The thing I always wanted to be-- an Amazon. You know, I just wanted to feel like part of something." Later, when Gabrielle indicates that she considers Amarice to be one of her sisters, Amarice says that she's going to stay with the northern tribe and maybe learn a few things. So, for me, Amarice would be very excited to learn that she is indeed a part of something...a part of the overall sisterhood of amazons to an extent that she'd make a "top 10" list when other, amazons did not. I wrote it as youthful enthusiasm for recognition of fully belonging, not vanity.







Looking for Xena Music

From: Coolestchick8000
Sent: Monday, February 17, 2003 1:23 PM
Subject: Re: WHOOSH Calendar 2003

I really, REALLY fell in love with the music in adventures in the sin trade, forget Lyre Lyre and The Bitter Suite, the sin trade stuff rocked my MIND!!! Um... know a way for me to get it? I've been trying to find it, but so far the only two items I have seen on kazaa have been Xena vs Alti, and the music when they amazons are fighting the Berzerker...lol.. Berzerker... anyhow, any advice? Thanks in advance... and thanks for helping to keep Whoosh alive... what an excellent, excellent show.



Can someone out there in the Xenaverse help this desperate person?






Xena and Buffy

From: Katherine Heasley
Sent: Tuesday, February 18, 2003 12:26 AM
Subject: "Xena and Buffy"

Thank you for printing an article comparing Xena and Buffy both as shows and as characters. I've been waiting for such an article to appear, in fact. Unfortunately, I disagree with almost every point the author makes.

My first objection is really a matter of aesthetics. Though I loved both "The Bitter Suite" and "Once More, With Feeling," overall, I'd judge OMWF as the better musical. The actors all elected to do their own singing, in spite of their varying levels of experience and expertise. Nonetheless, not a moment rang untrue in it. All of them threw themselves into their performances, and the result was nothing less than genius. To me, it was ultimately even more emotionally satisfying than TBS, as it served as a catalyst for change rather than a resolution.

My second objection is to what I feel was a rather shallow analysis of Buffy's state of mind upon returning from the dead. Xena took less time to recover, yes. However, as we saw, her afterlife was basically the same as her life--full of fights and choices and the battle between good and evil. Buffy's afterlife was very different. She was at peace. She'd made the ultimate sacrifice for love, giving her life for her innocent sister, and she was rewarded for that with rest, peace, and a sense that her struggles were finally over. As she described it, "I was warm, and I was loved, and I was finished. Complete." Then she was brutally ripped from that peace, forced back into a world she no longer felt she was a part of, and forced to take back up a mantle she thought she'd finally laid down for good.

Buffy also did not "whine" about it. In fact, she brought up her Heaven experience very few times: once to Spike, in "After Life"; once in OMWF, and only then because she was forced to by the spell they were all under; and once in "Tabula Rasa". In fact, instead of speaking about her experience and her resultant feelings, she sank into a deep, self-destructive depression and was only slowly able to climb back out of it. Her recovery was both emotionally honest and deeply satisfying, especially for those of us who have battled depression ourselves. It's not an easy process, or a quick one. It's hard. It's not easy to watch. And for some fans, who expected her to be able to bounce back in a few episodes, it was too much. Personally, I found it both courageous and moving.

Finally, and I realize what a controversial topic this is, Tara was not killed off because she was gay or because TPTB-Buffy couldn't maintain a gay relationship. First of all, look at the track record for straight couples on BtVS. Not terrific, is it? Tara was, rather, sacrificed for plot reasons, to drive Willow to darkness. Not pretty, perhaps, but it's a classic theme--a murdered woman and her vengeful lover. That's storytelling, not a "cheap trick". The consequences of Tara's death and Willow's subsequent actions are still playing out, and Willow now has a new lesbian love interest in the proto-Slayer Kennedy.

Buffy and her show do indeed echo Xena at times, but Buffy has grown far beyond her origins. She's become a watershed character in her own right and shouldn't be dismissed as a mere imitation.

Katherine Heasley, aka HonorH





Looking for Xena Checks

From: Pat
Sent: Friday, February 28, 2003 3:10 AM
Subject: Xena Checks

I'm looking for the address, e-mail or 800 number of the Anthony Grandino Company in Florida. They print Xena checks.

Thanks for any help

(aka Athenian Owl)





Can someone out there in the Xenaverse help this desperate person?






Open Letter to Lucy Lawless

From: Lori Crandall
Sent: Friday, February 28, 2003 3:57 PM
Subject: A letter I wrote to Metro Magazine

This is letter I wrote to Metro magazine in response to the recent article in their magazine.

Date: Thu, 27 Feb 2003 19:09:04 -0800

This is an open letter to Lucy Lawless in response to her interview in the 
March 2003 issue of Metro.

Dear Lucy,

Having just read your article and having been one of your American "fans" 
who has supported you since Aug of 1997, I'm very saddened and hurt to read 
your comments on your feelings for the fans of Xena.

I'm not sure if you ever fully understood what a great thing you did 
playing the role of Xena and what a great influence for women it was in 
empowering us, and helping us see that there was a life beyond what for 
many of us had been a life of abuse and struggle.  For me, to see that you 
were willing to do the endless hours that it took to produce Xena helped me 
see that I wasn't the only one working endless hours just to put food on my 
table.  I felt empowered by you and truely felt like life was just a bit 
easier to swallow when I watched most Xena episodes.  I with other Xena 
fans actally had to sleep in our cars when we went to see you at the 2001 
Xena Convention in LA because frankly I couldn't afford another 
accomodation.  It was so important to me to catch a glimpse of you, (and it 
was only a glimpse by the way)the person who really helped to pull me out 
of a very hard time in my life.  I was amazed at all thousands of people 
that were there feeling the same way I did and digging deep into their 
pockets to buy Xena merchandise which in part I'm sure went into your 
pocket.

So, now as I sit here I am very saddened by what you have called the 
"underbelly of the internet" previously, and how the fans affected you so 
badly that you felt like you wanted to kill off the character of Xena.  I 
don't know if you are aware or even if care, but Xena, the character had 
become sort of a beacon of hope for people who didn't have any anymore.  
Because Xena was made for an American audience origionally I feel like I 
have a voice in this because I am American and I watched you, and the show 
impacted me for a time.  I was concerned at the growing violence in the 
show and personally the grotesqsue finale was very horrid to watch, and 
then to hear your comments on how you thought it was "screamingly funny" 
that they killed Xena off really makes me think that something has happened 
to you in your personal life somewhere that has changed your view on how 
you used to percieve your role as Xena.  You used to champion the cause of 
eliminating abuse, and now you seemed to think it was funny.

I realize there were certain indiviuals that were "fans" as well who must 
made you feel very uncomfortable by their comments, but they certainly were 
not the voice for everyone.  I think the fact that you live in the kind of 
lifestyle that you do should speak volumes to you.  I don't know what has 
changed in you over the past couple of years, but I want you to know that 
there certainly was a time that you did affect many hearts including mine 
for good and gave me courage to leave a bad situation that I may not of had 
the strength otherwise.  Other than that, I'm very saddened by how you feel 
about Xena now.  What a shame.  What a loss.  You really had something 
going there.  I hope that whatever has happened to make change, will sort 
itself out in you.

Sincerely,

"American Fan"






Xena Episode Titles

From: Lobster
Sent: Friday, March 21, 2003 3:52 PM
Subject: xena episode titles

I'm new to the Xenaverse and noticed that some episodes' titles are a wordplay of classic titles, like "For Whom the Bell Tolls" or "For A Fistful Of Dollars". Is there a comprehensive list of all the original titles that were inspirations for the Xena episodes ? Do you know a promising link to follow ?

Lobster (a distant relative of Joxer)



Yes! In fact...this week. Check out Laura Egido's "Titles Of Xena: Warrior Princess"






Webmaster Goes Wild!

From: Norma
Sent: Wednesday, May 14, 2003 1:24 PM
Subject: Re: Lucy Lawless

OK, I gotta share this with someone. Lucy Lawless was on an English talk show last night (So Graham Norton) and they showed her MY Xena Wannabe site! Then they took the directions from my How To Make A Xena Costume site and actually made a Xena costume! They dressed a guy in it and spoofed Xena's opening credits. I didn't see it, don't know Lucy's reactions, (the show is sending me a tape next week), but I'm just jazzed that they did it and that LUCY HAS SEEN MY WANNABE SITE!!

Visit my XENA WANNABE site at: http://members.aol.com/NormaWP/index.html and my Xena Fans In Costume 2000 site at: http://members.aol.com/Normaconpix/index.html and my Xena Fans In Costume 2001 site at: http://hometown.aol.com/wppix1/index.html and my "How to make a Xena costume" site at: http://www.abchood.com/normawp@aol.com








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