0 Page 8-The Michigan Daily- Monday, March 9,1992 Canucks don 't just puck around The Great White North's CBC has more than just hosers nowadays, with Louis the French-Canadian Muppet and Midday's Benmergui by A. J. Hogg I n these days of rabid buy- Americanism, I hesitate to suggest something to you that might appear unpatriotic. But I'll do it anyway. I'm going to ask you to venture to cable no-man's-land midway be- tween ESPN, and The Weather Channel - Columbia Cable's chan- nel 21. It is, as the quick-witted viewer will discover, something entirely un- American, full of people who proba- bly don't even know the words to "The Star-Spangled Banner." But it's not as bad as it may appear - they're all Canadians, and channel 21 is Windsor 9, the local Canadian Broadcasting Company (CBC) out- let. I know what you're thinking. What does a little Canadian channel have on such American behemoths as CBS, NBC, and ABC? Isn't Canadian television just PBS with hockey? Not at all. Granted, it's not Beverly Hills 90210 (even though Jason Priestly is Canadian), but is that really that bad of a thing? Of course, there is an awful lot of ice hockey - Hockey Night in Canada, with Don Cherry, is a favorite. And you will manage to find a bunch of British television shows that look a lot like Upstairs Downstairs - shows that you may have thought could only be found on PBS. But if you stick with it for a few hours you'll discover a side of Canada you never knew existed. For example, a new comedy show just debuted a few weeks ago. Mysteriously titled Three Dead Trolls in a Bag gie, it has that bizarre BLISS Continued from page 5 The plot follows the group, which includes a devoted Grateful Dead groupie, Craig, played by Alexis Arquette (the brother of :movie star Rosanna Arquette). Craig provides comic relief for the oth- erwise serious view into the woes of these wealthy teenagers. One memorable scene involves a conversation between the spacy Craig and a conservative older man about politics and problems in Nicaragua. Craig's mind can't han- essence of SCTV and Kids in the Hall. However, it seems to be more daring. The first episode featured a sketch with two men chatting in a sauna, both with towels around their necks in the traditional spa style. The punch line came when one of the men removed his towel and dis- covered, much to his consternation, that he had developed breasts. (On which, incidentally, the props person had done an admirable job. Even a trained eye would have had diffi- culty telling the difference.) When asked how long he'd had them, he replied "I'm not sure, but the wife hasn't said anything yet." Now, I'm not entirely sure on this, but somehow I doubt that rebel Fox would bare even fake breasts in prime time. Of course, if you watch CBC in the afternoons, just like the Amer- ican brand, you'll find the inevitable soap operas. Most of CBC' s, how- ever, are imported from Great Britain and Australia. This makes them a little different from the Port Charles vintage. The Aussie one is, of course, set in the outback, with kangaroos, wal- labies, and koalas. And the in- evitable "G'day" and other Aussie slang fill the airwaves. ("'ello mate, can ah barrah yah jumpah?") The British versions also have a wide ar- ray of accents, from Cockney to the Queen's. But accents aren't the only way to tell the difference between these die the intensity of the discourse, and he quickly switches the subject to the Dead tour by responding, "Man, I voted for Jerry!" Humo- rously, the business man chimes in as they collaborate for tickets to some shows. Although the plot moves slowly at points, the film provides a realistic view into what happens to kids with too much money. The camera shots are jumpy and gauzy when the kids are drugged-up and the audience is welcomed into the drug and sex in- fested lifestyles the kids lead. Even the sex scenes are surpris- and the American brand. The easiest way is to observe the characters. As amazing as it may seem, and no mat- ter how blasphemous- it is in American soap-land, not everyone on the CBC soaps is rich and power- ful doctors/lawyers/politicians! This is a crucial difference from typical U.S. fare. Can you imagine General Hospital or Days of Our Lives with- out the rich and powerful? Can you imagine a soap opera about rela- tively average folks? (Happy Bundys, if you will.) The mind bog- gles. Regardless, where else (between the commercials featuring the Golden Arches with maple leaves) can you work on your Aussie or Cockney without renting Crocodile Dundee or My Fair Lady ? I'm tellin' ya, you'll never be able to leave the telly again. The other major PBS similarity is Sesame Street. But this isn't the one PBS viewers grew up on. If you miss the opening credits (which give it away as Canadian Sesame Street) it may take a moment to realize that it's different. After all, Bert, Ernie, Oscar, Grover, and Big Bird are still residents. But when they start talking about the letter "zed," and mention that they are sponsored by the number deux, one becomes suspicious. Then a polar bear named Basil, and a French-Canadian teddy bear named Louis appear and start acting like regulars. Then they start teaching you French, instead of Spanish in those mini-language segments. (Sur I 'edphant. Dessous 1 'elphant.) Sure, it's still Sesame Street, but this one is tres chic. ingly interesting. One takes place in a darkened club in front of lava lamps with only the sounds of run- ning water and laughing accompany- ing the action. Another scene in- volves some play on a twister board during a thunderstorm. Terminal Bliss is 24-year-old screenwriter Jordan Alan's directo- rial debut. It's a serious outlook into troubles wealthy teenagers face to- day. Like Less Than Zero, there are the good guys and girls, and the bad guys and girls, and lots of drugs and sex. But like 90210, there is the soap opera plot to drive their sorry state. This film is not going to win any awards, but if you feel like appreci- ating your station in life, check out the predicaments of these kids. There's fare for the intellect, too. And not, happily, for an intellect that takes itself too seriously. Take CBC Midday. Naturally, in the first few minutes, they switch to their national news guy, a Walter Cronkite wanna- be, who reads over the late breaking headlines. But then, they switch back to Valerie Pringle and Ralph Benmergui, Midday anchors, who take things into their own hands. Both hosts seem to enjoy being on the air. Not in a manner that sug- gests that they enjoy it because it is a great career move, but simply be- cause they have a chance to talk to all kinds of interesting folks. (i.e. a man who builds bridges out of spaghetti, or a group of people from a small Canadian town named Albertville that decided to have its own winter Olympics.) Pringle and Benmergui have a rapport with each other that Detroit's techno-news crews try, and fail, to pull off. If Ralph manages to make a particularly bad joke or comment, Valerie has no qualms about rolling her chair over to Ralph and playfully hitting him in punishment. These Canadians certainly aren't as obsessed with image as the American Today Show clones are. Can you image Joan Lundon wield- ing your common, everyday plastic Bic pen on the air? The best part of CBC Midday, however, is the weekly entertain- ment review. Every Friday Valerie and Ralph, along with two other regular critics, chat for 15 minutes or so about what they saw in the past week. The coverage ranges from opening movies to new books to commentary on the new lows to which Geraldo has sunk. It appears entirely unrehearsed and the actual personalities of the people come through. (When they totally forget that they're on the air, they even be- gin to end their sentences with, ehT) But perhaps the most fascinating part of Canadian news is that the U.S. takes a back seat on the news lineup. Topics that receive little coverage in the U.S. - like Canada's constitutional struggle - are lead stories, and the U.S. gets tenth billing after all the current Canadian news. It's indeed valuable to realize that the rest of the world isn't as hung up on America as Americans are - even those folks who live next door. Great White North T.V. isn't a great white screen of snow. CBC produces up-to-the-moment, enter- taining programs, and manages to convey them in a way that seems less institutional, and a little more amiably, than here in the States. But why would any American couch potato be surprised that Canada can produce quality T.V.? After all, Peter Jennings, Alex Trebek, and Paul Schaffer are all Canadian. K) 0 Skaters snow 'em at Yost Arena Skate Michigan '92 Yost Ice Arena Friday March 6, 1992 As a hockey writer disguised in Arts clothing, I shunned my coat and tie, opting instead for my black Eurotrash turtleneck with black jeans, and went to Yost Ice Arena last Friday evening. There I saw Jill Trenary, the 1990 National Perfrmane rv Women's Champion, and a young group of the country's finest figure skaters in the exhibition show Skate Michigan '92. Throughout the two-hour show the fans in attendance were treated to pairs skating, in addition to some exceptional individual figure skating. Local favorite Lori Pinter from Ypsilanti opened Act One of the two-act show with a comparatively unimpressive performance. Unable to resist a partisan appeal, though, the crowd enthusiastically cheered Pinter's encore. Clad in a maize and blue sweatshirt, and scored to "The Victors," Pinter' s encore foreshadowed the lighthearted na- ture of the evening's entertain- ment. Ryan Hunka also pleased the crowd with his theatrical interpre- tation of '50s rock-n-roll, kicking up his leg and playing air guitar. The 1992 National Junior Men's Champion skated to a medley of tunes, including "Good Golly Miss Molly." At the frenzied height of the 16 year-old's routine, Hunka pulled a relatively unorthodox move - purposely sliding feet first into the boards. Michigan Skating Club member and former competitive. skater Debbie Wagner commented that Hunka was a little out of control. "He didn't do the harder jumps," Wagner said. "It -looked like he wasn't into the ice." The first of the two skating pairs, Maxim Sebastianov and Galit Chait, followed Hunka's act Michigan Student Assembly campus wide student government Call for Candidates Elections-Monday, March 30 and Tuesday, March 31 Positions open: Presidential/Vce Presidential Slate Seats open for Representatives of the following schools and colleges: with a Bavarian folk dance routine. Rather than pair skating, as the act was billed, their performance more closely resembled pair dancing - pair skating involves an emphasis on jumps and lifts, whereas danc- ing does not. While being a good example of this art form, their skat- ing was flat. The most talented pair of the evening was Todd Reynolds and Karen Courtland. The two moved effortlessly in performances that were not only well-executed but well-staged. Set to music from "Miss Saigon," the duo creatively interspersed individual skating into their routine by liberally enacting the plot within the lovesong. As the headliner, Trenary per- formed at the end of each act. Her first routine was artistically strong,, but her other performance empha- sized her technical virtuosity as she dazzled the crowd by performing a triple sowkow. But technical kudos for the evening went to Aren Nielsen. His triple lutz was by far the hardest stunt seen in the first act. In his second performance Nielsen did not one, not even two, but three back flips, A la Scott Hamilton. -Rod Loewenthal Labatt's Night Pitchers only $5.00 9 pm to close Kitchen open till midnight TERMINAL BLISS is playing Showcase Cinemas. at , ' WHAT'S HAPPENING Art ( 1) Architecture (1) Business (2) Engineering (2) Law (1) LS&A (9) Medicine (1) Natural Resources Nursing (1) Pharmacy (1) Rackham (4) (1) Candidate Packets available in MSA office: 3909 Michigan Union or call 763-3241 for further information. Application Deadline is March 9, 1992 at 5:00 pmt RECREATIONAL SPORTS Intramural Sports Program VOLLEYBALL Entries taken: Tuesday, March 10, 1992 11:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. IMSB VOLLEYBALL OFFICIALS Clinic Begins: Tomorrow, March 10, 1992 7:00 p.m. IMSB CALL 763-3562 FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION Thinking about applying to Graduate School at the University of Michigan School of Education? If YES, come to a meeting Wednesday, March 11, 6 p.m. Room 1322 (Tribute Room) School of Education Building dLonr51 5* Paris $51 5* Madrid $565* Munich $515" Zurich $565* *Fares are roundtrip from Detroit. Low season fares must depat. by March 31. Fares do not include taxes. Restrictions apply. CouncI 1rave 1220 S. University Avenue STE 208 Ann Abor, MI 48104 313-998-0200 21 Over t * r Don't just fall into any job..... hO S -help acclimate new students ~h -meet exciting and diverse people -gain practical experience T T for your career -come back to school early!! mass meetings Sunday March 8, 4-6pm MLB lecture room i Tuesday March 10. 5.7pm MLB lecture room 2 applicants must attend one of these mass meecings quali fications -enro~llment in Winter and Fall Terms 1992 -good academic standing * C Faculty and staff will be available to %_Qg1Y OF /T NI~ sa2 JIL I 'PIf W I .