From the Editor-in-Chief: The New Year
From Stacey Robillard: The New Year
From the Webmaster: The New Year and a few plugs

From the Editor-in-Chief:
The New Year

The past year has been quite a ride and it looks like 1998 will be an even wilder one. As always, the naysayers are predicting the end of the rise and glory of XWP, but I am of the belief that this season will shine in its own way as the other seasons have.

XWP has consistently changed and evolved over time. The subject matter has the power to transmute itself, rework itself, and to take us -- the audience -- to places that many of us have never been. It is as if the concept alone is so potent that it can transcend the realities of being a television show produced by mere mortals. The show has always had a mysterious aura of power around it, affecting some more vigorously than others.

XWP is pure gestalt. The more I study the show and the phenomena arising around it, the more I realize the show far exceeds the sum of it parts. This is a magical show and we are in a magical time. Our society and times are in transition, and as all art is doomed to be, XWP is but a reflection of and a reaction to this fact.

As my horrified staff is aware, I plan to observe and share my observations of the Xenaverse until the ride is long over (or I fall over from exhaustion). I am very grateful of so many people's help in my obsessive pursual of all things Xena.

If XWP has created anything, it has created a community. Whoosh! is only possible because of this community, and I will be long in debt to it for this. I will enter 1998 with a confidence reserved for those who have a thriving community to call their own. The power of this show has allowed our on-line community to be built and to be just as "real" as anything else out there. The year 1998 will offer more challenges, but also more triumphs. That is the nature of the beast. I am confident our community will survive, not only intact, but more unified and healthy. So, here's to 1998!

Kym Masera Taborn
Editor-in-Chief, Whoosh!!

December 18, 1997

---

From Stacey Robillard
The New Year

Happy 1998 Everyone! It's not a New Year without some resolutions. Here's a list of mine:

• I will try not to express my abject horror about Joxer so enthusiastically.
• In 1998 I will limit my participation to only one flame war. That way I will be really passionate about the issue before I stick my neck out.
• I will not attempt to second-guess the obviously screwed up system of scheduling the episodes.
• I will not condemn an episode before I have seen it.
• Instead of fearing "The Rift", I will look forward to "The Reconciliation".
• I will take the high road when dealing with homophobes who can't bear the fact that Xena & Gabrielle love each other (whatever form that takes). After all, I'm right and they're hopelessly confused.
• I will be nicer to the writing staff - even when I feel like treating them the way they've been treating Xena and Gabrielle.
• I will do my best to suppress the sarcastic snicker that always comes out when someone refers to the relationship between Xena and Gabrielle as "Sisters".

The 2nd Annual Burbank Convention will be taking place January 17 & 18. Whoosh! Staffers (including Kym, Bret and myself) will be out in full force. We'll all be wearing Whoosh! badges, so make sure to stop us and say "Hi". We love feedback. Let us know - up close and personal - what you think and where you'd like us to go in the future.

Well, we had good reason to believe that TPTB at Universal were going to schedule a little seen first season episode (DREAMWORKER or THE RECKONING) during this current batch of re-runs. But no such luck. As you all know by now, we got that holiday classic A SOLSTICE CAROL. Now I've got nothing against that ep - hey, I'm sure we all have a soft spot for Tobias the donkey - but it is an extreme disappointment that it now looks like we'll probably have to wait until USA Network starts playing the show in September 1998 to see those episodes.

Stacey Robillard
Managing Editor

December 28, 1997

---

From the Webmaster:
The New Year and a few plugs

Hmmm....what can I say about 1998, except that it couldn't possibly top 1997 for big life changes. Wait a minute, I'm getting married in 1998! Oh well... there goes that theory.

I want to thank all of XWP online Internet fandom for the past year-and-a-half of interesting discussions, fun Con and Fest experiences, and many continuing friendships, including one of mythic proportions. Whoosh! has undoubtedly been one of the great catalysts of my life and I wish I could contribute more in the "content" area, but believe me the tech/web design areas are enough to handle in and of themselves.

Still, I always wanted to write the academic analysis of all academic analyses of Xena: Warrior Princess. I mean, X:WP is just begging to be analyzed (Whoosh! is the living proof of that, isn't it?). Imagine how delighted I was to discover, just this month, that someone else has done it for me! I am referring to Kelly Rowett's Warrior Fictions, an online thesis written for the Department of Communication Studies at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. This is an interesting, thoughtful investigation into our community of online fandom, with an emphasis on fan fiction and Web site activities. Rowett's style of writing is playful and skillful and covers the material with great insight and respect. (Plus, I got a cheap thrill out of seeing Whoosh! citations alongside the citations for pop culture studies greats like John Fiske and Henry Jenkins.) I encourage all Whoosh! readers to check it out.

I also encourage you to check out our 1998 "Men of Xena: Warrior Princess" Calendar. This is, in its own way, a small tribute to fandom. Turning the tables on the stereotypical "pin-up" calendar, this project also pays homage to the male characters of our favorite show. It is also a tribute to our community with notable online fandom dates, and to the hard-working staff of Whoosh!, whose birthdays are included. Next year, we want to include as many online fan birthdays as possible, so be sure to send your dates to me if you would like to be listed.

Thanks and Happy New Year!

Betsy Book
Whoosh! Webmaster

December 31, 1997