From: owner-chakram-refugees-digest@smoe.org (chakram-refugees-digest) To: chakram-refugees-digest@smoe.org Subject: chakram-refugees-digest V3 #56 Reply-To: chakram-refugees@smoe.org Sender: owner-chakram-refugees-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-chakram-refugees-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk chakram-refugees-digest Tuesday, February 25 2003 Volume 03 : Number 056 Today's Subjects: ----------------- Re: [chakram-refugees] Lucy interview [IfeRae@aol.com] Re: [chakram-refugees] Lucy in Metro magazine [cr ] Re: [chakram-refugees] Re: Lucy Interview [cr ] Re: [chakram-refugees] Lucy interview [cr ] Re: [chakram-refugees] Lucy interview [cr ] [chakram-refugees] << The Ring>> [cande@sunlink.net] Re: [chakram-refugees] Lucy interview ["Creation (Sharon Delaney)" ] Re: [chakram-refugees] Lucy interview [IfeRae@aol.com] [chakram-refugees] Melinda and the definitely missed Musetta [KTL imo, this is a time for people to listen respectfully and without judgment > to this woman's felt experience about what happened to her "at work." i, > for > one, am glad she's saying something about how she feels. she got slammed > and > she's been bloody gracious and apologetic about it for the most part. and > got slammed for that too, iirc. > I'm with you. Lucy's tendency to talk "off the cuff" from an "in the moment" perspective can be disconcerting as well as "fresh." People don't always put the latest comment into context with everything else. Plus, she herself makes connections between things that aren't always clear. Still, I'm so glad she's continued to be what is "real" for her at a particular time. She's given us an amazing view into her evolution over the years, including what seemed to be genuine anger at bigotry or people who used to overlook Renee. She can't win with people ready to pick at the slightest thing, so hopefully she'll continue be open for those more willing to give her the benefit of the doubt. - -- Ife ========================================================= This has been a message to the chakram-refugees list. To unsubscribe, send a message to majordomo@smoe.org with "unsubscribe chakram-refugees" in the message body. Contact meth@smoe.org with any questions or problems. ========================================================= ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 25 Feb 2003 06:25:59 +0000 From: cr Subject: Re: [chakram-refugees] Lucy in Metro magazine On Monday 24 February 2003 11:33, MaryD wrote: > > The Ballad of Lucy Lawless - Metro 1997 > > I've got the transcript of the first Metro article on the site. It was in > 1997 http://ausxip.com/metro97.txt > > Mary Thanks. I've just read it. Very interesting. cr ========================================================= This has been a message to the chakram-refugees list. To unsubscribe, send a message to majordomo@smoe.org with "unsubscribe chakram-refugees" in the message body. Contact meth@smoe.org with any questions or problems. ========================================================= ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 25 Feb 2003 06:34:51 +0000 From: cr Subject: Re: [chakram-refugees] Re: Lucy Interview On Monday 24 February 2003 15:04, cande@sunlink.net wrote: > I doubt she "needs the money that badly." I think she did it for the fans > and that she doesn't have a bad opinion of all fans. She mentioned the few > who attacked her husband unfairly. She of course in hindsight should have > said nothing at all about the fans. She should have smiled sweetly said > everything was wonderful and gone on. It is obvious that she is now going > to be attacked as hating the fans when she was speaking only about the few > who hurt her. Lucy has the fault of honesty and hasn't learned to be wary > of the press who seize the negative and run with it. > > CherylA To be fair to Metro, I didn't get the impression they were sensationalising Lucy's comments. Part of their presentation style is to put some quote from the interviewee in big letters at the top of each page, and none of the quotes they used were from that bit of the interview. Agreed, many other magazines would have been much less restrained. cr ========================================================= This has been a message to the chakram-refugees list. To unsubscribe, send a message to majordomo@smoe.org with "unsubscribe chakram-refugees" in the message body. Contact meth@smoe.org with any questions or problems. ========================================================= ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 25 Feb 2003 07:03:11 +0000 From: cr Subject: Re: [chakram-refugees] Lucy interview On Monday 24 February 2003 22:52, IfeRae@aol.com wrote: > In a message dated 2/24/03 4:06:04 AM Central Standard Time, > cr@orcon.net.nz writes: > > << She responds to the questions that > are asked and the direction of the topic at the time. And I'm sure she'd > think it's very silly of us all to be analysing what she says so intently. > ;) >> > > Excellent point. I doubt she'll ever understand hanging on her every word. > What was most interesting to me was her statement that she felt like a (I > don't have the thing in front of me) "meat" puppet(?) -- a body that was > doing what it was supposed to do, in conjunction with a lot of other folks. That, and 'warm prop' were the two terms she used. I think they're probably disparaging terms the crew sometimes use for actors. I expect it keeps them in their place ;) cr ========================================================= This has been a message to the chakram-refugees list. To unsubscribe, send a message to majordomo@smoe.org with "unsubscribe chakram-refugees" in the message body. Contact meth@smoe.org with any questions or problems. ========================================================= ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 25 Feb 2003 09:08:58 +0000 From: cr Subject: Re: [chakram-refugees] Lucy interview On Monday 24 February 2003 22:52, IfeRae@aol.com wrote: (snip) > Beautifully put, Cheryl. I think that goes for almost all of us. > (snip) > Lucy seems to be a gracious, intelligent, genuine person. I totally > understand wanting to let her know in every way we can how much we > appreciate her. But those of us who respect her could do her a disservice > if we don't give her the space to express her regrets and anger, without > making too much of it. > > -- Ife I agree with you there. My agreement with Cheryl was in the idea of asking Sharon to let Lucy know we appreciate her. Because often bad news travels faster than good news, and I do sometimes wonder if the positive appreciation we (often) show reaches Lucy, or if it gets swamped by the bad. After all, the most prominent Xena site on the 'net is Whoosh, and looking at the content of the articles there one would hardly conclude that the fandom was mostly appreciative of TPTB's efforts. The same went for the Nutforum, now defunct, and frequently for Xenaverse, now de facto defunct. cr ========================================================= This has been a message to the chakram-refugees list. To unsubscribe, send a message to majordomo@smoe.org with "unsubscribe chakram-refugees" in the message body. Contact meth@smoe.org with any questions or problems. ========================================================= ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 25 Feb 2003 10:42:38 -0500 (EST) From: cande@sunlink.net Subject: [chakram-refugees] << The Ring>> The Ring The second episode in the Ring arc is a fast paced adventure. Xena, Gabrielle, Beowulf, and Brunhilda take on the monster. Gabrielle gets oodles of admirers and Xena get beaten pulp numerous times. The story opens with Gabrielle in hot pursuit of Xena. Followed by Brunhilda and Beowulf Gabrielle doggedly searches for Xena who has been carried off by Grindle. Gabriellebs companions are certain Xena has met a grisly end but as Gabrielle says b Xenabs tough to killb. Although Beowulf and Brunhilda are convinced Gabrielle is deluded about Xena, they follow her wishes and go off and search for Xena. Gabrielle continues on her own and soon finds Xena b bloodied and wounded but alive. Xena is hiding from Grindle and is quick to point the monster out to the astonished Gabrielle. Gabrielle however is more concern about caring for her wounded partner. Xena of course admonished Gabrielle bnot to fussb but the bard takes no heed and fusses to her heartbs content. Beowulf and Brunhilda finally catch up to the pair. In one of my favorite moment both breathlessly ask Gabrielle if she is all right ignoring the bloodied Xena Gabby is tending to. I love Xenabs expression at this b I think shebs a little put out that Gabby has picked up two new suitors. Gabby however is oblivious b all her attention is focused on Xena. Brunhilda and Beowulf however recover nicely b Beowulf, giving his friend some water, advises Xena to bclean-up you look awfulb. Brunhilda just gushes over her hero. Xena is not impressed with Brunhildabs admiration of the old Xena b she likes the new Xena better the one who appreciates peace and love more than glory. I also like the line that Xena has when Brunhilda starts gushing bbIf I knew a fan was coming I would have combed my hairb.) Xena now bandaged up by Gabrielle is ready to go fight Grindle. Knowing that Gabrielle will never leave her, she tries to send Beowulf and Brunhilda away. Both state they will not leave Gabrielle. I like the different readings the actors give to these declarations. Beowulf wonbt met Gabbybs eyes and is a bit shy about his feelings. Brunhilda is defiant in her declaration, making eye contact with Gabby. Gabrielle neither seems particularly surprised by her companions devotions nor does she seemed unduly impressed _ shebs probably thinking goody more people to help Xena. Xena seems just a bit flummoxed by Gabriellebs new admirers but Grindlebs a big monster with a magic ring so all help is welcomed. The monster is tracked the mine where it has been imprisoned for 35 years. Now is the time for Xena to reveal who the monster really is. In the forge the young Xena has just made the ring out of the Rhinegold. As she admires it an arrow shoots the ring out of her hand. Grindhilda appears snatching the ring from Xena. Xena is surprised b apparently her good deed of leaving Grindhilda a live has backfired. Grindhilda is determined to defeat Xena but Xena taunts her with the fact that she has already bthrashedb her once (I love the word thrashed). Grindhilda has an ace up her sleeve, she is willing to put the ring on in order to get the burst of god-like power necessary to defeat Xena and save the honor of the valkarie. Xena says she canbt do that b she hasnbt forsaken love but Grindhilda is past caring about herself. She puts the ring on and is infused with power. She wipes the floor with Xena but just as she about to kill her, Grindhilda transform into the hideous monster. Xena recovers and slices the monsters finger off and gets the ring back. She taunts Grindhilda with the fact that she has lost what she valued most her humanity and beauty (I donbt know if Grindhilda was that vain but she certainly did pride herself on her compassion and honor). Xena then shamefully confesses that she imprisoned Grindhilda as a torture. Now Grindhilda has the ring and certainly after a 35-year imprisonment she has the hatred to use it to wreck havoc to the countryside. Xena now has a plan to stop the destruction. Inside the mine she positions Gabrielle and the rest in an overhang. She will lure the monster under it and they will push the rocks on top of it. Itbs a good plan b it always worked with Callisto. So Xena goes off and lures the monster to the trap b Grindle however is smarter than Callisto and figures out a rockslide awaits it and runs away. Yelling for everyone to stay put Xena chases after it. Gabrielle, of course chases after Xena and a frustrated Beowulf and Brunhilda chase after Gabby. When Gabrielle catches up with Xena says she told her to stay behind. Then Gabrielle answers with the obvious bI never listen.b The bard is nothing but honest. The discussion is ended when Grindle attacks the gang. A terrific fight ensures. During it a mine brace is broken, Xena and Grindle are trapped together in a cave-in. On the other side of rock fall Gabrielle and the crew are desperately digging to Xena. Xena and the monster are fighting and Xena is losing. At the rock fall Gabrielle finally breaks through and without hesitation jumps through the hole, finds Xenabs chakram and takes out after her friend. Once again Beowulf and Brunhilda chase after Gabrielle. Xena now being crushed by the monster is saved when Gabrielle hurls herself on Grindlebs back and begins to hack at away at the monster (thank God Gabby has gotten over violence aversion). The monster flips Gabby, the chakram flies out of hand, Xena catches it and kills Grindle. I guess the ring is no match for god-slayers. All seems well Grindlebs dead, and Xenabs has the ring. Then Xena counts monster fingers b uh ho this guy has too many fingers. This is not Grindhilda. This is another monster and that means Grindhilda is still alive. Xena and crew make a hasty retreat from the cave to ponder this un-welcomed development. Meanwhile Xena hears a monster wail in the distance and knows it is unhappy about Grindlebs death. In the forest a chatty raven is following Xena and her companions. Brunhilda is surprised that Xena is actually going to give the ring to the Rhinemaidens. Gabrielle of course says that Xena is now fighting for good but Brunhilda seems unsure what to think. Xena overhearing her friendbs conversation, sends Brunhilda off to scout. With Brunhilda gone, Xena tells Gabrielle she doesnbt trust her friend. Gabrielle is surprised. Brunhilda is just searching for the right path. Xena says nope b shebs just not who she says she is. Is Xena jealous or has her spiddy senses just kicked in? In the forest, Odin who was summoned by his raven confronts Brunhilda. Odin is not happy. Brunhilda, a valkarie, was suppose to get the ring from Xena. Instead she has fallen love with Gabrielle and apparently is afraid to loose her favor by betraying Xena. Brunhilda tries to defend herself but knows she has been outed by bthe stool pidginb ravens. Odin will now take things into his own hands. He orders his valkarie to kidnap Gabrielle and trade her for the ring. This is a really interesting scene in the way it handles the revelation about Brunhilda love for Gabrielle. Odin seems neither surprised or even concerned that Brunhilda loves another woman. He is merely upset that it interferes in his plans. There is a complete acceptance of the fact that Brunhilda loves another woman and it is treated as simply a plot development and not as remarkable occurrence. It is remarkable point of view in mainstream TV b lesbianism or homosexuality viewed as merely another aspect of a characterbs personality without it being viewed as exotic or extraordinary. Back to our story. The valkaries under Odinbs orders confront Xena and her companions. They try to take Gabrielle by force but suddenly Brunhilda flies in on her horse and scoops Gabrielle up flies off with her. Xena and the valkaries are astonished Odin now confronts Xena. Xena tries to tell Odin that he has nothing to worry about b she doesnbt want the ring. She is going to return it to the Rhinemaidens for safekeeping. Odin who has spent 35 years brooding about Xena is now quite different from the compassionate god she knew. He has forsaken love because of her and he wants the ring. It will give him power over gods and god slayers. He says he will kill Gabrielle is she doesnbt give him the ring. Xena knows that is a bluff. Odin doesnbt have Gabrielle b Brunhilda is acting on her own. Odin now reveals that the monster Xena killed was Grinhildabs son. Years ago Grindhilda was pregnant when Xena imprisoned her. Xena now has killed her son and she will want vengeance. He warns Xena that her and the monster would make formable foes. Xena will not give up the ring. Odin leaves. Beowulf has followed Brunhilda and returns to get Xena and they go off in search of their friend. Brunhilda has a very angry bard on her hands. Gabrielle is angry that they have left Xena to fight off the valkaries. Brunhilda demands to know if Xena is all that Gabrielle thinks of. I love Gabriellebs expression she is asked this b itbs incredulous. Xena is her soul mate , her best friend, her family, her destiny b duh - yes she is the only thing that matters to her. Brunhilda is one frustrated girl b she will show Gabrielle who deserves her love. She is going to challenge Xena to a duel. Gabrielle is appalled Brunhilda is going to shed blood (and get herself killed) to prove her love. Odin meanwhile is busy too. A very, very large monstrous Grindhilda is mourning her little boy. Odin appears and rather sarcastically says Grindhilda is looking well b perhaps he isnbt being sarcastic, for a large walking tree she does look remarkably fit. He tells Grindhilda that Xena killed her son. Grindhilda is incensed and becomes Odinbs ally. Xena and Beowulf are slogging through a bog in search of Gabrielle. Suddenly Odin and the valkarie appear and challenge Xena and Beowulf. They fight. Xena tosses her chakram at Odin and a terrified Odin starts dodging the only thing that can kill him. Xena is fighting well but suddenly she is backed into the arms of Grindhilda. She escapes but things arenbt going well. Beowulf is seriously wounded. She is backed against a tree and confronted by valkaries, a god and a very large monster. Things look bad but Xena has an ace in the hold. She will put on the ring. Odin says she canbt b she has not forsaken love it will destroy her. Xena is out of options b Beowulf may be dying, Gabrielle is missing and she canbt fight gods and monsters alone. She puts on the ring and she gets a burst of godlike power. She easily kills a number of valkarie, with a mighty blow she staggers Grindhilda, and she then flips over Odin and escapes. Interestingly enough she doesnbt kill Odin or Grindhilda. Xena even in the most dire circumstances still knows she is responsible for Odin and Grindhildabs hatred and madness. She will do her best not kill those she feels responsible for. Gabrielle is still trying to get to Xena and talk Brunhilda out of fighting her. They are interrupted by a group of valkarie. They fight them off but now Brunhilda is frantic. Odin will kill Xena before she gets her chance to prove her love for Gabrielle. Gabrielle is furious b how does killing any one prove a persons love. Brunhilda disgusts her. Brunhilda is finally brought to her senses. The chasten Brunhilda now comes across Xena who has escaped Odin. She tries to explain to the warrior that Odin will continue to come after Gabrielle as long as Xena has the ring. Then suddenly Brunhilda sees the ring on Xenabs finger. In a panic she tells to take the ring off or it will destroy her essence. It is too late. Xena has lost herself. She doesnbt remember who she is or who Gabrielle is. A sadden Brunhilda persuades Xena to give up the ring. Xena is now left alone. She has dropped her sword and now she unhooks her chakram.. She looks at with the eyes of a child. She is delighted with the shiny toy until it cuts her. She fearfully drops the deadly weapon and wanders off. Brunhilda returns to Gabrielle. She gives the dreadful ring to Gabrielle and breaks the news that Xena has put on the ring and has lost her memory. Gabrielle is dumbfounded but she a big problem. Odin is now determined to kill Gabrielle in revenge. Brunhilda will protect her the only way she can b using the power that Odin once offered Xena she turns herself into a pillar of fire b a fire that can only be breached by Gabriellebs true soul mate. The fire surrounds Gabrielle b her clothes are transformed into a beautiful gown with a design that similar to Xenabs armor b and she falls asleep upon a convenient rock. Gabrielle has become Sleeping Beauty. Beowulf has now recovered enough to go looking for Xena. He stumbles upon her chakram and sword. He recovers them but things look very bad for his friend. Indeed thinks are very bad for Xena. In another part of the forest a distraught and confused Xena is lost. She wails out to the heavens, asking the world bwho am I?b. Good episode. Terrific action piece with a good dramatic foundation. The subplot of Beowulf and Brunhilda being enamored with Gabrielle is handled will b it is slightly comic but not silly and then takes a dramatic and poignant turn when Brunhilda sacrifices herself for Gabrielle. Gabrielle is truly a wonderful partner for Xena b loyal, brave and just a bit ruthless in her devotion. Xena takes the startlingly development of everyone being in love with her partner with and nice air of consternation. Xena however is also steadfast in her efforts to right the wrongs of the past and protect her friends. She puts the ring on knowing it will destroy her so that her friends and the ring will be safe. In the end like Brunhilda she willingly sacrifices herself for the greater good. One guest ion remains. Who is Grindlebs daddy? If Grindhilda is mommy then is Odin daddy? They were lovers so that is the logical conclusion. Odin however seems oblivious to this, which confirms my belief that Odin isnbt the brightest god up north. Next week go to a wedding and Xena rides a cow! CherylA ========================================================= This has been a message to the chakram-refugees list. To unsubscribe, send a message to majordomo@smoe.org with "unsubscribe chakram-refugees" in the message body. Contact meth@smoe.org with any questions or problems. ========================================================= ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 25 Feb 2003 09:58:51 -0800 From: "Creation (Sharon Delaney)" Subject: Re: [chakram-refugees] Lucy interview >On Monday 24 February 2003 22:52, IfeRae@aol.com wrote: > >(snip) > >> Lucy seems to be a gracious, intelligent, genuine person. I totally >> understand wanting to let her know in every way we can how much we >> appreciate her. But those of us who respect her could do her a disservice >> if we don't give her the space to express her regrets and anger, without >> making too much of it. >> >> -- Ife > >I agree with you there. My agreement with Cheryl was in the idea of asking >Sharon to let Lucy know we appreciate her. Because often bad news travels >faster than good news, and I do sometimes wonder if the positive appreciation >we (often) show reaches Lucy, or if it gets swamped by the bad. > >cr I've been receiving notes and passing them along. Keep 'em coming :) Sharon ========================================================= This has been a message to the chakram-refugees list. To unsubscribe, send a message to majordomo@smoe.org with "unsubscribe chakram-refugees" in the message body. Contact meth@smoe.org with any questions or problems. ========================================================= ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 25 Feb 2003 09:49:01 -0900 (AKST) From: KTL Subject: [chakram-refugees] [Flawless] Metro Interview Fascinating interview. Very in-depth and wide-ranging. I like how it takes a look at the whole woman, not just the celebrity. Lucy is far too often totally defined by having played a fictional television character for a short part of her life. And I love how Lucy is always so honest in her comments about herself and her feelings. I am very sorry though to see that Lucy let a very small percentage of damaged, twisted fans get to her. However, I find it lovely that she's not worried about herself at all-it's the vicious hysterical condemnation of her loved one that caused her grief. Luckily, Lucy is intelligent enough to realize that this was a very small number of "fans". (When you consider that literally millions of people watched Xena every week, this is a very small percentage indeed.) She obviously has no problem in separating this extremely small number of damaged fans from the vast mass of her following. She is careful to use such expressions as "A few..." and "Some people..." when talking about the ones who were so vicious online. Happily, she doesn't hold these few people against the rest of us. If she did, she would have stopped doing cons years ago. Also, as usual, she took the time to praise her fans to the interviewer. He mentions how we raised $200,000 during a Starship Foundation fund-raising campaign. I've seen her do this so often, spending some of her time in the spotlight talking about us, rather than only about herself. Now let's look at the handful of people who pissed her off. They are people who spend much of their time brooding over something they hate. (Unlike the vast bulk of fans who obsess and spend their time jonesing over something they love.) These are people who hate live human beings because of the decisions they made regarding a television show. Their own lives are apparently so empty and unfulfilled that knocking somebody else's television show has becomes the focal point of much of their leisure time. They just hand Rob so much power over their lives and their feelings. It drives them absolutely nuts that, unlike Rob and Lucy, they had/have no control over how the television show they are so obsessed over played out. And they just cannot stand this. But instead of taking their frustration and using it as a goad to work on realizing their own dreams, they would rather just spend their time and energy trying to tear down the work of others instead. It obviously brings them a vicious satisfaction. But this cannot possibly bring them joy. They get thrown off list after list or leave them in high dudgeon because the rest of the people on the fan list LIKE the show and the people who brought it to us and they just can't stand that. They're like kids who aren't having a good time at the party and so deliberately piss in the pool. Jealousy seethes in their hearts and hatred, bitterness and bile accompanies them all the days of their cyber lives. They are the architects of their own misery. And just who are these people whom they hate so much? Lucy decided as a child that she wanted to be an actress when she grew up. Today she is the most famous international actress in New Zealand. Articles about her have appeared in hundreds of magazines and newspapers and has she has done dozens of interviews on radio and television. In her personal life, she wanted children. And she has achieved her dream of having three. She's an extremely generous and giving human being. She is active in charity work, active in women's health care, active in supporting the arts. Her talent, hard work and charisma drove her show to the top of the syndi ratings and in the process made her famous world-wide. She is praised by her colleagues. The people who worked with her day after day love and respect her. In interview after interview, professional journalists talk about how "real" she is as opposed to being just another celebrity Rob's childhood dream was to become a movie-maker. His first commercial film became an immediate cult hit and was recently re-released for its 20th anniversary on DVD with a great deal of fanfare. He created such an incredible character in Xena that she became the immediately recognizable icon for strong women in the 1990's that is still referenced everywhere today. Due to Rob's companies' excellent track record in the film industry, he and his work partner have founded a new company, Ghost House Pictures and have contracts for future work. Rob's creative and managerial skills have provided work for hundred's of people for many years. And has made him and his life partner wealthy and famous. XWP was such an incredible and successful phenomenon that when it ended the Museum of Radio and Television hosted a gala reception and showing to honor the accomplishment of the Executive Producer, the Head Writer, the Star and the Co-Star. Together Tapert and Lawless are loving partners and loving parents who are also loved by their own parents, families and friends. They both nourished their dreams and achieved them through initiative, hard work, discipline and innate talent. Lucy and Rob could be the poster children for "Following Your Dream". Just great role models. They are doers, they are achievers, they are gifted artists. They are quite simply the architects of their own happiness. Luckily, those vicious fans are merely a tiny minority compared to those of us who still love the show and continue to be grateful to the two people who brought it to us, to Rob, who created the character and made up her story, and to Lucy who brought her to life. It's said that "Living well is the best revenge." Well, I'd say by anyone's measure, the happiness, joy and respected professionalism that imbue Rob and Lucy's lives is sweet "revenge" indeed. What is particularly gratifying is to see just how many fans are coming to the defense of Lucy and Rob on most of the lists I'm on. Way kewl. KT ========================================================= This has been a message to the chakram-refugees list. To unsubscribe, send a message to majordomo@smoe.org with "unsubscribe chakram-refugees" in the message body. Contact meth@smoe.org with any questions or problems. ========================================================= ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 25 Feb 2003 16:51:48 EST From: IfeRae@aol.com Subject: Re: [chakram-refugees] Lucy interview In a message dated 2/25/03 12:06:17 PM Central Standard Time, outback@creationent.com writes: << >On Monday 24 February 2003 22:52, IfeRae@aol.com wrote: > >(snip) > >> Lucy seems to be a gracious, intelligent, genuine person. I totally >> understand wanting to let her know in every way we can how much we >> appreciate her. But those of us who respect her could do her a disservice >> if we don't give her the space to express her regrets and anger, without >> making too much of it. >> >> -- Ife > >I agree with you there. My agreement with Cheryl was in the idea of asking >Sharon to let Lucy know we appreciate her. Because often bad news travels >faster than good news, and I do sometimes wonder if the positive appreciation >we (often) show reaches Lucy, or if it gets swamped by the bad. > >cr I've been receiving notes and passing them along. Keep 'em coming :) Sharon >> I'm very glad to hear this, Sharon. That said, I'm just as happy that we're talking among ourselves about this. This discussion has given a good idea how/why comments get perceived so differently -- not just Lucy's, but ours. We could think we were saying something positive, when in fact it could appear to buy into the very negativity we're decrying. I hope you pass along that we're not uncritically gushing about Lucy. She and XWP also happen to be a common springboard for discussing language, different cultural perceptions, what makes a performance "live" for us, the power the internet gives individuals to do good as well as harm, the role and responsibility of fans, in addition to philosophical issues more related to eps. I'm proud to be part of a fandom that takes its "job" seriously in terms of giving back and being open to analyzing ourselves. I'd like to think we're the majority, but I have no way of knowing what proportion we are of fandom. However, discussions like these are examples of what we mean when we say we represent the thoughtful, reasonable, empathetic fans who saw similar qualities in the people who gave us XWP. Many of us are loyal to the show because Xenastaff did their jobs and played their roles so well. Many of us continue to admire Xenastaff themselves because they are flawed human beings who, as KT so eloquently wrote of Lucy and Rob, still dare to dream and make their dreams reality. - -- Ife ========================================================= This has been a message to the chakram-refugees list. To unsubscribe, send a message to majordomo@smoe.org with "unsubscribe chakram-refugees" in the message body. Contact meth@smoe.org with any questions or problems. ========================================================= ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 25 Feb 2003 13:45:25 -0900 (AKST) From: KTL Subject: [chakram-refugees] Melinda and the definitely missed Musetta I can't stand to sit around for too long, so I took off to take a little walk around the hall between "acts". One thing I noticed right away--there are quite a few more fans here than last year. (Lucy's back!) Last year the only sold-out area was the Gold. Preferred had a number of empty rows and the General Admission was mainly empty. This year, they had divided the hall with curtains so that the general seating area was smaller and the exhibit area had more room. I thought this was a lot nicer for the stars-that they didn't have to face a mostly empty room. Again this year, Gold was totally sold out. Preferred was much more filled than last year. And in GA, more seats were filled than were empty. This of course varied. There were more people present today because it was Saturday. And also of course, because it was Lucy/Renee day. I mentioned last year that it was very obvious that 9-11 had had a real impact on people traveling. I talked about how the streets of Pasadena were so empty it almost seemed like a ghost town. The hotel was mostly empty also, as were most restaurants. Well, that's over now. In fact, the hotel had a number of conventions/events going on at the same time as we were there. Those people did not party in the lobby at night the way we did though. As I walked towards the back of the room, I heard my name being called and found three of my good "classic" con buds sitting like good little grrls in the cheap seats. We originally met at the second Burbank con and truly one of the joys of going to these cons is meeting up with these guys every year. These are our local buds who always bring the wheels to go buy the liquor for our parties. We love them. The first thing they asked me was if I had been here for the Xenaversity movie. They were very happy to know I had been because they just knew it would appeal to me. Then they asked me how I liked Musetta. Apparently, Musetta had been the first thing on the agenda that morning. So while I had been having a late, lazy breakfast with another good local bud, thinking I was only missing some videos, I had managed to miss Musetta's first con appearance. DAMN, that woman is trying to drive me CRAZY!~ They said they really enjoyed her appearance. She's from South Africa apparently and she was also a very funny guest. Unfortunately, between me sputtering about "Why the hell didn't they announce this last night at the Cabaret!", catching up on old times and tossing insults back and forth to each other (we just get SO sophomoric at those cons...grin), I forgot to ask them for any details of her appearance. I sure hope someone will write about her appearance and fill us in-I HATE missing out on things So then my buds point to a woman sitting about five rows ahead of them and say, "KT, there's a star sitting over there and we can't figure out who it is." I look over and gee, oddly enough, can't recognize her from the back of her head either. (Needless to say, it WASN'T Lucy.) So I'm squinting and thinking, "If I throw something at her, maybe she'll turn around". Still trying to figure out who it might be, I ask, "You mean a real star or a Xena star?" I took great pains to explain through the resulting gales of laughter that what I meant was did they think it was someone from the show or not, NOT that Xena stars aren't real stars. Or SORT of real stars...heh. I mean, why would a non-Xena star be sitting in the cheap seats at a con? "I'll go look" I say. I go past her and turn back around and she does look like somewhat familiar, almost could be Adrienne. But what the hell would Adrienne be doing sitting in the cheap seats at a Xena con? We never got an ID on here and she left shortly after. My buds claimed I had scared her away. And the phrase, "You mean a real star or a Xena star?" was endlessly repeated all weekend. Disdaining the hoi-polloi, I went back to my seat to watch Melinda. Melinda came out wearing clothes. Period. Go look on Mary D's site if you want to see them. Melinda said that her mother is a ballet dancer and her father is an actor. One thing I forgot to mention is that the advantage of being way out in the Siberia of seats was that we were therefore right next to the backstage "batting box" area. This year, unlike most years, all they had was a scrim which was very easy to see through, especially when the house lights were dark and that area was lit up. In the past, they've always had heavy curtains covering this area. So we watched Paris doing full-body stretches before coming out and Tim holding his daughter and kissing his wife ? (one likes to give them the benefit of the doubt) after his stint on stage. We could see who came and who went back there. After Melinda went on stage, a man came out from behind the scrim holding who we eventually found out was Melinda's little daughter (maybe two-two and a half years old or so. VERY cute little blond.) Melinda kept looking over at her daughter and smiling. She tried to get the little tot to come up on stage with her but that was a wash. She was so funny though--she kept stomping off to run behind the scrim and the guy would get up and race after her. She was going back there and stealing cookies off a plate. And then she would come running back out. Kids...grin. A fan asked Melinda what was the most embarrassing thing she'd ever done. And she kind of stared at the fan and then declared "Nothing embarrasses me. Nothing. Because I'm just 'Trashy show folk' as my Mom says." Now my notes are kind of cryptic on this, but I believe that she then did talk about being on stage in a production and having to roll around on a bed for a love scene and either she or the guy inadvertently let out a fart. (Unlike Danielle, she didn't blame any bean salad.) And WHY is it that everyone talks about farting lately? It used to be just Claire and she always talked about Karl farting, not herself. What is this? Is being gaseous all the rage in Hollywood now? You know the stars all talk about their meeting Lucy and how kind she and Renee are to all the set newbies. And they usually rhapsodize about how down to earth Lucy is, that there isn't any "star crap" going on. And they often add, and if Lucy ain't pulling star crap, who can? All of them also talk about their stunned and frightened reactions to the first time they fight with Lucy. Claire has said numerous times how she and Lucy were strung up in the trees for Adventures in the Sin Trade. And how all of her interactions with Lucy up to that point had been so friendly, so welcoming. And suddenly this wild, vicious, BIG, crazed harridan is flying towards her, screeching this horrific sound at the top of her lungs and lunging at her with her claw-like hands. Melinda had the same kind of reaction-but to Hudson. She said they were working on that bridge there in Necessary Evil. The director yells, "ACTION!" and Hudson suddenly lets out this horrific scream and goes hurtling towards Melinda, wild-eyed and crazed. Again, a very scary moment for the newbie. This is such a great comment to me on how XWP saw the female characters and how they used them. These new guest stars were just cruising along in typical "girl" attitude and suddenly have the fact that they are vicious, scary and powerful warriors thrown right into their faces. And then they adjust, put on their 'tudes and go at it. And LOVE it. (Once they get over being scared by the big bad Lucy, Renee and Hudson.) Melinda also mentioned that they decided on set that Valesca also needed a trademark yell. So she said she just ripped out a scream. And that she and Hudson just had a great time screaming, fighting and whaling away at each other that day. Before she left, Melinda said again that nothing bothers her. Because, "I'm recognizing my child in me", she said. And then she looked over at her baby and smiled. KT ========================================================= This has been a message to the chakram-refugees list. To unsubscribe, send a message to majordomo@smoe.org with "unsubscribe chakram-refugees" in the message body. Contact meth@smoe.org with any questions or problems. ========================================================= ------------------------------ End of chakram-refugees-digest V3 #56 *************************************