The Michigan Daily - Monday, November 12, 1990 - Page 7 The Jeopardy! Book by Alex Trebeck & Peter Barsocchini softcover/Harper Perennial If it is not 9 p.m. on Thursday or 10 p.m. on Saturday, it is hard to find cerebral entertainment on televi- sion. The news even insults the old noggin every now and then. There- fore, we owe thanks to Merv Griffin. As much of a historical footnote as he has become, he will always have a place in people's hearts as being the man who created Jeopardy! After going through years of ridicule for knowing that "the natural crystalline allotropic form of carbon" is a diamond, this game show proves that such trivial knowledge can be put to good use: winning a lot of money. If you have made watching Jeopardy!, or playing it on Nintendo, an everyday routine akin to brushing your teeth and eating, WEEKEND Continued from page 5 written by producers Mike Tower and Tom Cohen, director Jon Glaser and head writer David Kosky, with some student-submitted material also included. But what made the show really glimmer was the tremendous talent of the nine actors. Even in the few scenes where the writing faltered, the enthusiasm and energy of the acting compensated. Throwing all worries aside, the show opened with the amusing musical number "Who Cares?" as the company joked that they didn't. One of the wittiest sketches titled k "Love Letters" mocked a "unique" re- lationship - the letter U is sick of ' always following after the letter Q, and "quickly" decides to leave Q and go out with M. On her way out Q confesses to U, "If it wasn't for 'you' I'd just be an O with a kick- stand!" But the date just didn't work out between M and U, and then M said to U, "Screw you!" so U went back to Q. Wouldn't it be great if you could stand "on base" and escape from all your troubles? The amusing sketch "U Can't Touch This" showed two muggers unable to attack a man because he was safely standing "on base." Another amusing sketch "Movies That Failed" presented clips of films before they were changed into well-known movies. King Kong was originally King Tim and not scary in the slightest way. The movie Dr. Jekell and Mr. Hyde was then you may enjoy reading The Jeopardy! Book by Alex Trebeck, the show's current host, and Peter Barasocchini. Included within is not only Tre- beck's personal commentary, but also remarks by the show's producer, past contestants as well as the history of the show brought to you by Merv Griffin. There is even an interview with Art Flemming, the now-mythical figure who was the original host of the show in the '60s and '70s. If for some reason you deprived yourself of your daily dose of the show, the book contains many sample boards in the format of the show which revolve around certain themes. Unfortunately, "Clavin's dream board" is not included, but you can quiz yourself and your friends on Shakespeare's plays and the brain teasers of the "in other words" category; there is even an entire round devoted to Beatles trivia. If you want to know if you are really smart enough to be a contes- tant, the pre-show exams printed here show that in order to be on the show, it is necessary to know that Glenda Jackson's most famous role on Masterpiece Theatre was her portrayal of Elizabeth. While watching the show, it is hard to know what Alex Trebeck is really like. In fact, in the section of contestant anecdotes, two former winners independently said that is what people ask them most. Reading the popular host's passages, I often found myself asking "Who is Alex Trebeck?" Is he merely a game show host, a psychoanalyst ("Not wanting to fail prevents [the contestants] from succeeding,") or a comedian ("To be a contestant on Jeopardy! you are not required to dress up like a tuna melt, leap in the air, or reveal the sexual quirks of your mate.")? Fortunately, this book is much more than Mr. Trebeck laboring over his involvement with the show. Un- like Pat Sajak's misguided talk-show host career, Trebeck's credibility as a host is not, so to speak, in jeopardy. There is an ad in the back of the book for a 1-900 "Phone Jeopardy!" line hosted by you-know-who, but the existence of such an necessary service was inevitable for someone almost as popular as the Ninja Tur- tles. Alex Trebeck will be signing copies of his book at the Community Newscenter located on the corner of South U. and South Forest at 4 p.m. today. -Andrew J. Cahn Good looking Gary Newby and friends seem to have formed the Railway Children expressly to flaunt their appearance and follow in the tradition of Boring-Yet -Slick British Pop Band. originally just Dr. Jeckell and showed Dr. J. drinking a concoction and waiting... and waiting... and waiting.... Another humorous sketch was "The Norman Invasion" show- ing Vikings who woke up at 11:30 in the morning and realized they had overslept and missed their scheduled time of attack at dawn. The show could have been improved if the actors played a vari- ety of types. Michael Sturtz mostly played the role of a little kid and Wendy Shanker always seemed to play the role of the mother/teacher. It would have been more impressive to have seen more diverse role play- ing, especially with such a talented cast. Although most of the sketches were hilarious, a couple could have been better developed. As ususal, some of the endings could have been stronger. The sketch "The Graduate" about Hamlet going off to collage had some funny parts, but the allu- sions used were not familiar enough to elicit uproarous laughter. Due to the acting and writing prowess, the show produced a lot of laughs. The Sound Of Big Show was very enter- taining evoking all sorts of strange sounds throughout the theater. -Julie Komorn I know it's only rock 'n' roll but I like it When I asked members of the Men's Glee Club why people should attend their fall concert, they said they had something for everyone. And they did. Their performance on Saturday night before a full house at Hill Auditorium was like an evening of television. The singers offered ev- erything from football to church to a movie, and they even threw in a commercial break. The renowned male chorus veri- fied their reputation of textual diver- sity and musical precision with cool confidence. They entertained with their charming renditions of tunes from The Little Mermaid., com- plete with tropical costumes, bub- bles and dancing. They also per- formed with romantic lyricism works such as "Loveliest of Trees, the Cherry Now" by Richard Nance. Pieces like this also displayed the subtle and controlled support neces- sary for beautiful pianissimo singing. The tradition of the 131-year old group was especially apparent in their performance of the Michigan songs at the end of the concert. "The Bum Army" was greeted with nos- talgic praise, despite its implication of female inferiority. ("We love the Ypsi girls, they have got their frat pins on!") However, the Glee Club was certainly accurate in its reveren- tial treatment of the University's history and the audience responded with cheers and applause. Over the years, the Glee Club has developed a knack for holding audi- ence's interest with a skillfully or- dered mixture of music from different periods and moods. Director Jerry Blackstone's introductions to the pieces also gave the audience a com- plete understanding of the texts and their musical settings. This provided for smoothly apt transitions. For in- stance, the sinister expression exhib- ited by "Epitaph on John Jayberd of Diss," gave way to a sweetly per- formed interpretation of "Ave Maria" by Franz Biebl. Period transitions accompanied stylistic ones. The segue between a Renaissance-style adaptation of "Cruel, You Pull Away Too Soon" introduced by Eric Vesbit's theatrical recital of the text and the folk song "Shenandoah" made for a collage of musical styles. After a witty advertisement for Men's Glee Club songbooks, tapes, records and CD's (!) by a barbershop quartet, the members' inherent wack- iness showed its full colors. The Friars, featuring some new faces, provided for a rambunctious intro- duction to the Michigan songs, which were greeted with spirited cheers by the many alumni in the theater. The comraderie of the men in the Glee Club showed in their dedication to a musically precise performance and an entertaining show. As al- ways, the Men's Glee Club was suc- cessful in entertaining while show- ing the true spirit represented by the Maize and Blue. -Elizabeth Lenhard RECORDS Continued from page 5 "Kick." The middle portion of Ant's career is displayed in the next 13 songs. The best song here is "Stand and Deliver," the timeless song about rebellion. Other memorable songs include "Desperate But Not Serious," "Friend or Foe" and the great "Antmusic." The biggest sur- prise on the album is the song, "Beat My Guest," a guitar-laden song that makes you feel good in- side. The final five cuts represent his pop movement, with "Goody Two Shoes" and the Phil Collins-pro- duced "Strip" being the most listen- able of these tunes. I had high hopes for this collec- tion. Although a few of the tracks had me singing and laughing along, I was depressed after listening to it, feeling that I had either lost a hero or grown old. Many members of the original MTV generation may be overcome with a fit of nostalgia and will rush out to purchase this album. When they do, they will be flooded with memories of bow good MTV used to be (in the old days), with tearful vi- sions of a once-mighty Adam Ant and with a striking realization that his charm and good looks were all that reserved him a room at the top. - John Sellers The Railway Children Native Place Virgin In the grand tradition of moody English guitar pop bands doing watered-down Echo and the Bun- nymen rip-offs designed to be bland enough to sell to a mass audience (e.g., The Lightning Seeds, Then Jerico and The Mighty Lemondrops), follow The Railway Children. Armed with an over-produced slick sound and ultra hunkish gui- tarist/singer/songwriter in Gary Newby, these kids aim to please. And fail miserably. Native Place is so slick it might just ooze right off your turntable. The album is a textbook case of how not to produce a record. The songs have that aural wallpaper quality which is best suited for Muzak instrumentals, but is totally unsuited for "rock" music. Just the right amount of jangly guitars, flat drums and melodic keyboards combine to form the Top 40 yet "alternative" sound made famous by so many (where are they now? file) bands. In short, the record lacks any sort of teeth whatsoever. Not that this production style is unsuitable -for everyone, or that everyone should have a Sub Pop grunge sound. But the missing (and necessary) element is good songwrit- ing. Whereas earlier songs by the band, such as "In the Meantime," worked well in this format, this bunch falls flat. I've listened to Na- tive Place at least a dozen times now and I'd be hard pressed to hum any of the songs for you. The Rail- way Children ultimately drown in the excess of their studio polish. -Mike Molitor Save theLP! . Daily Arts A TOM IC one of the most brilliant songwriters Continued from page 5 in music, "Atomic Dog" was the descent of dance music, Black most ambitious, intriguing and sexuality remains the most beautiful attempt to understand or enigmatic and pervasive element in harness such forces. Humanity will all American culture. Coming from never reach so high again. Agree? ,Disagree? What's your opinion? The Daily wants to hear from you. Send or bring lettersto the Student Publications Building at 420 Maynard Street. Or, you con bring in letters on Macintosh disk or send them via MTS b iMchigan Doily." 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