What Will Fill Lesbians' Xena Void And Deliver Devoted TV Viewers?

July 5, 2001

diversityinc.com

By BRETT BRUNE

Thanks to Kym Taborn of the Xena Media Review (XMR) for the transcript

But Knighton - who has dished with the best of them at many Xena-Hercules conventions, organized Seattle Xenites Against Censorship and chose to focus on bisexual women in her first novel, "Before Our Journey's Through," which Xlibris published this week - isn't fawning over the girl-girl-subtext-filled tapes just yet.

Instead, she is busy watching television series she believes could fill the void felt by LGBT Xenites - a goodly number of whom are L, or at least B - as well as heterosexual women who have had few physically strong heroines to watch on TV.

DiversityInc.com passed Knighton's list of female-lead, action-adventure shows to Matt Roush, senior critic at TV Guide. The shows both Knighton and Roush nominated as possible sources of comfort, perhaps even saviors, for LGBT Xenites are listed below. They are accompanied by Knighton's observations of les-bi (lesbian and bisexual) talk on several Xena-mad mailing lists and message boards, plus Roush's comments and outlines from the companies airing the shows.

Advertisers who had peddled their products and services on "Xena" may well latch on to these shows. They also may draw inspiration from them, as Fuji Heavy Industries' Subaru did by outfitting cars in some print and billboard ads with XENA LVR license plates.

Advertisers who didn't recognize Xena (Lucy Lawless) and her sidekick Gabrielle (Renee O'Connor) for the heroines they were to LGBT viewers, but who now covet consumers who know the meaning of devotion, might do well to carefully review these shows, especially in the current tumultuous, upfront ad-buying season. At its peak in the 1996-97 season, "Xena" was viewed by an average of 12 million persons each week, in about 8.4 million households, said Jim Benson, a spokesman for Studios USA Domestic Television, the Studios USA unit that handles series syndication.

The nominees are (Xena's "ay-yi-yi-yi" battle cry, please):

"Witchblade," on AOL Time-Warner's TNT. Tuesday night. Show's description: Based on the popular Top Cow comic, a female New York City police detective is forced to come to terms with her new-found abilities when she is possessed by a mystical gauntlet that gives her superpowers to fight evil.

Knighton: It's cool, because the woman is strong and intense - she doesn't back down or make excuses - and because she's really sexy, and because the show has very sly bisexual jokes.

Roush: It has a foxy lead character, played by Yancy Butler. But I would be surprised -- not unpleasantly, of course -- if they developed and gave her a same-sex romance, or even made her bisexual. Still, like all the shows under discussion, she is a powerful woman who is striking in appearance and who can dish it out as well as take it.

"Buffy the Vampire Slayer" on United Paramount Network (UPN) in the fall. Started in 1996 on The WB Television Network. Show's description: To each generation there is a chosen one. A girl, destined to defend humanity from the demons, the vampires and the forces of darkness. She is The Slayer.

Knighton: They love Buffy because she takes care of problems in a quick manner, and they're involved with the Willow-Tara romance: It is presented as positive. Willow and Tara are very much in love and supportive of each other, and they are treated as just another couple. If there is a scene in a bar and everyone is dancing, they are dancing and no one bats an eye.

Roush: Only in the last year has the relationship between Willow (Alyson Hannigan) and Tara (Amber Benson), two witches on the show, been developed. It's not subtextual: "Buffy" has been as bold a show as I've ever seen in presenting a young, college-age lesbian relationship. They're not kids dabbling; This is a serious, committed relationship. (People really did follow and cheer on the Xena-Gabrielle relationship. They also combined their powers a lot to fight evil.) It's not just titillation; "Buffy" has an emotional underpinning unique to the fantasy genre.

"Dark Angel" on the News Corporation's Fox. Friday night in the fall. Fox: A sci-fi adventure series set in the near future after an electromagnetic pulse detonated by terrorists has crippled the U.S. economy. Max is a genetically engineered human prototype with attitude to spare. As a child, Max escaped from her military creators and made a life for herself on the edgy streets of 21st-century Seattle. She became a reluctant hero when she teamed up with idealistic, underground cyberjournalist Logan Cale, lending her unique abilities to his crusade against corruption and oppressive establishment.

Knighton: Max is definitely a strong woman -- with a dark past (sexy laugh). Uh-huh. Xenites are also totally in love with Original Cindy - who happens to be a Xena fan.

Roush: Max (Jessica Alba) certainly is a woman of power, and she has a lesbian best friend, Original Cindy (Valarie Rae Miller), who hangs out in the bohemian world. But Max has a guy in her life.

Knighton said the universe has "Xena" to thank for contemporary action adventures starring strong women.

"When my mother was young, she had Bette Davis and Joan Crawford. When I was a kid, I got to watch Annie Oakley. And then there was this dessert of solid women role models" on television. "Xena is the mother of many of these new shows. If she wasn't such a roaring success, we wouldn't have 'Dark Angel,' for example."

Sandi Jepsen, who in 1997 started the Herc-Zena mailing list (now an e-group at yahoo.com), said she was drawn more to "Dark Angel" than the other shows Knighton and Roush mentioned.

"It's the same thing that drew me to the Xena character: She's not perfect; she's got a dark side, so to speak," she said. "She works to overcome her own flaws, to improve herself. And she does make mistakes" like Xena did.

Jepsen, 37, who works as a database manager in Denver, said Xena was "not only a strong female lead, but also did not apologize for being strong. There was never that 'strong for a woman' qualifier. It was just, 'She's the best.' "

The close of "Xena's" run was well timed, she said, because the show was "still going strong" even though it seemed directionless.

"I think we're going to see many more shows with strong female characters," whether or not they are aimed at lesbians, Jepsen said. "Men, women, children, you name it: Everyone was drawn to 'Xena.' "

Like many other Xenites, Knighton saw the title character, who charged into battle in thigh-high leather boots and a bronze breastplate, as empowering, sometimes in a clever and practical way.

Having watched Xena's every move, Knighton feels more self-sufficient than ever. "If I'm attacked coming home from the grocery store, I now have a bagful of weapons to throw," she said. "And If people like me - I'm 53 years old - can think of this, other people can think of this."

Television companies and advertisers will draw large audiences "if they make women characters more competent," Knighton said.

On the "X-Files," she said, "People loved Scully because more than half the time she had to rescue Mulder.

"Women are not victims, and we're sick to death of being portrayed as victims," Knighton said, "instead of the other way around."

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