12A - The Michigan Daily -Thursday, March 20, 1997 'Sunset Beach' brngs night drama to daytime TV By Julia Shih Daily Arts NWriter In a time of strife and hardship, what the world doesn't need is another soap opera. And what the world definitely doesn't need is a soap opera from Aaron Spelling. Spefing's newest creation, "Sunset Beach," is a soap opera set around the lives of a group of Sunset Beach residents. With every other scene containing the beautiful beaches of California in the background, "Sunset Beach" is basically just "Baywatch: The Soap Opera." Filled with beautiful people, glamorous lives, and themes of infidelity and scandal, this show is not unlike most of the other programs in the daytime tele- vision line-up. The only difference is that it is geared more towards the younger generation. "Sunset Beach" has a young cast, including Ashley Hamilton (George's son) and Randy Spelling (Aaron's son and Tori's brother), both of whom have been, in one way or another, affiliated with "Beverly Hills 90210." The show first aired on UPN on Jan. 6. Since its premiere, a great deal has happened to the lives of the characters. Annie (Sarah Buxton), a law school drop- out, has been secretly spending all of her tuition money to party lavishly. When her father, Del, arrives from Texas announcing that he knows what she has been, up to, all hell breaks loose. When Del is mur- dered after threatening to cut off her money supply, Annie becomes a prime suspect. Atthe same time, it is discovered that Del was having an affair with Olivia Richards (Lesley-Anne Down), the wealthy wife of Gregory Richards (Sam Behrens). It is revealed that Gregory knew of Olivia's affair and was extremely jealous. It is also revealed that their son, Sean (Randy Spelling) saw a person leave Del's room on the night of the mur- der and believes that it may have been his mother. Meanwhile, everyone dates everyone else and bizarre love triangles run amuck. The characters we're supposed to hate appear to be Del, the cold- hearted father vho was murdered, R and Gregory, to whom the evi- $ dence is slowly pointing. Some characters that people may find annoying include Annie's Aunt Bette (Kathleen Noone), whose sexual appetite ends up killing the superstar lawyer hired to get Annie off the hook, and Cole St. John (Ashley Hamilton) who doesn't seem to have a clue. "Sunset Beach" has gotten off to a quick and excit- Clockwise from top left: Some of "Sunset"'s main characters are Olivia Richards (Lesley-Anne Down), Cole St. John (Ashley Hamilton), Sean Richards (Randy Spelling) and Tiffany Thorne (Adrienne Frantz). ,E ing start, with the murder mystery generating most of the momentum. Its various story lines intertwine nice- ly, and it has a cinematic aesthetic from being shot on film. But one problem the show will have to overcome is its lack of quality acting. The EWactors often deliver their lines in V I E Wa flat or indifferent manner, inset Beach while occasionally dawdling in overdramatization. This seems UPN to afflict quite a few of the per- Weekdays,11a.m. formers on the show. But it isn't completely their fault, as many times the lines are so poorly written that they can't help but sound terrible. Credit should go to Lesley-Anne Down whose portrayal of a woman torn by her emotions is excel- lent. Also, Randy Spelling proves that there is at least one member of the Spelling family who has acting skills. Another problem that "Sunset Beach" faces is its tendency to slow down to a sleep-inducing state. For example, Annie's arrest took up most of one episode when it could have easily been wrapped up within a few minutes. Also, the interaction between Gregory and Sean is supposed to convey a daunting feeling of tension. Unfortunately, those scenes are so drawn out that the only feeling viewers will intercept is that of drowsiness. Nevertheless, if "Sunset Beach" can manage to hold people's attention with a regular stream of good story lines and plot twists, it should receive a good-sized fan base - though most of it will be made up of adoles- cents who just can't get enough of'"9021 0." Hunt or be' hunted ns Game offers-intense combat By Mark St. John nent at a distance, where he can bse For the Daily his intelligence to fire complicatedifl Sierra's new game, projectiles. "hunter/Hunted" for Windows 95, Both characters have weapons tat offers a refreshing change from the only they can exclusively use. Jak- usual shoot-'em-up games written can use a pistol, a shotgun and a for the personal computer. Unlike rocket launcher. The rocket launchej most of these is especially games that have a deadly, as it kills three-dimensional the toughest Doom-type inter- The - opponents wi f a e e only a few hits. "Hunter/Hunted" unique However, only uses a multiple- nGarathe Den can level two-dimen- use a club, a sional interface. knife and a whip,. "Hunter/Hunted" Garathe Den's is set in the year opponents are 2015, which alien sr hi and helplss if he can have taken over the re A S ound trap and punish Earth. Instead of them with h c o m p l e t e l y add up to an whip. Both char destroying human acters can use civilization, the enjoyable action ninja stars and aliens have chosen grenades, which, to keep a few game. are throwing humans around for _ w e a p o n s.. entertainment to Grenades are participate in a hunting game. extremely powerful. Humans are matched against a group One of the best features of the of beasts, whose former planet game is its split-screen multi-player Kullrathe was also conquered by the option. Players maneuver a selecte aliens. board, collecting weapons and ba The object of the game is to escape tling each other until one player kills from a variety of different boards, the other a predetermined number of where players times. will encounter However, multi- several enemies REVIEW player CD-ROM and 'obstacles. games have on The player can Hunter/Hunted major flaw: A choose to either . questionable scor- be Garathe Den, a Sierra ing system is used strong and quick **** in which playe beast, or Jake, a do not alway human, who uses his intelligence to receive points for killing their oppo- master weapons. nent when they should. Garathe Den is most effective "Hunter/Hunted"'s unique inter- when he is close to his enemies, face, detailed graphics and realistic where he can use his strength and sound add up to an enjoyable action speed to trap his enemy. Jake per- game that is better than most on the forms best when lie keeps his oppo- market today. ean summer vacation those who dare say he deserved his fate: ence, and lackluster, overall. Cornwell "If those who lived by the sword died first runs into trouble when she tries by the sword there would be no white establishing her main characters. Some men on earth / if those who lived on characters seem too clichdd, such as hatred died on hatred there would be no Virginia West, a female cop who is tough KKK / if those who lived by lies died by on the outside but sensitive on the inside. lies there would be nobody on wall Other characters are hard to picture o, street in executive suites in academic relate to because their descriptions de. offices instructing the young / don't tell normal reasoning. Cornwell is constantly me he got what he deserved / he implying that Andy-Brazil is so good- deserved a chariot and the accolades of looking, that not only do his looks cause a grateful people / he deserved life." him to be heavily pursued by gay men You go girl. and perverts, but his looks also cause - Eugene Bowen other people to think he's gay. It's hard to understand how being good-looking automatically implies that a person is homosexual. Also, Cornwell is quite ambitious ir telling the story from different points views. This is quite an interesting metho . Hornet's Nest of storytelling, but when she starts telling Patricia Cornwell the story from West's cat's point of view, Putnam she is going a bit too far. ** Nevertheless, "Hornet's Nest" is quick- paced and intriguing in parts. When, the city is plagued by a psychotic serial killer With all the expectations and excite- who spray-paints his victims' genitals. ment surrounding the release of Patricia with an orange figure eight, the search for Cornwell's latest novel, "Hornet's the killer is suspenseful and thrilling. Nest, the work is nothing short of a dis- The book is inscribed, "To Cops,' a9' appointment. much of the narrative exhibits respect for Cornwell, an award-winning author the courage and resilience which memi-F who also wrote "Cause of Death" and bers of the police force must possess. "Body of Evidence," is no stranger to Cornwell is extremely adroit at creat- crime thrillers. She has proven in the ing an emotional setting for many past that she is exceptional in this genre, scenes in the book. She allows the read- as she continuously churns out interna- er to relate to the feelings and motiva- tional bestsellers. tions of certain characters. Readers are "Hornet's Nest" presents itself as a drawn in and can feel the inner struggle suspenseful and gripping book detailing that this particular character is experi- the lives of several people living in the encing. busy city of Charlotte, N.C. From fol- But even with sparks of Cornwelt lowing a young and ambitious reporter expected high-quality story-weavipg named Andy Brazil uncovering the abilities, and some very good plot devel- workings of the city's police force, to opments and descriptions, "Hornet's revealing what lies beneath the badges Nest" is still not up to par with Cornwell's of the admirable police chief Judy other works. This novel rambles tpo Hammer and her street-smart deputy much and is too ovedy ambitious, for chief Virginia West, Cornwell attempts readers to be able to fully enjoy the story. to make this novel a deep and thought- Hopefully, Cornwell's next book will provoking thriller. show that the author has not lost her Unfortunately, the result is a story that magic. is rambling to the point of near-incoher- - Julia .Sh Use this guide to plan your first-time Europt First-Time Europe Louis CasaBianca Rough Guides At tbis time of year, as winter drags, who49oesn't harbor fantasies of escape? As summer vacation approaches, taking off for some exotic destination begins to look like an oddly sensible decision. And in this edgy atmosphere, Louis CasA>ianca's "First-Time Europe" has appeaied to lure readers further down the empting path of travel. Here, CasaBianca has updated the first editio nof his book, but hasn't changed the -vealth of information it offers. While it's geared toward inexperienced travel- ers, "students and other people on a bud- get, it provides many practical details that would be helpful to anyone. CasaBianca begins the book sensibly and helpfully by outlining several trip budgets, promising that $2,000 can finance a month of European travel. He then explains ways to save money on travel, like by finding inexpensive plane tickets and staying in hostels. The book also goes over nearly every subsequent aspect of travel. Its advice ranges from the well-known (call to confinii your flight) to the obscure but highly important (the intricacies of the Eurail system). One chapter that seemed particularly helpful detailed exactly what to pack - and, more important, what unnecessary things should be left at home. "First-Time Europe" ends with the section that has been most heavily updat- ed. This comprises lists of airlines' phone numbers, Internet travel sites and useful foreign phrases. It also includes the names of travel agencies that would be further resources for information. On the whole, "First-Time Europe" is a good starting point. It doesn't give much information on individual coun- tries, so the person with a set destination should choose a more place-specific guidebook. However, the book does pro- vide much basic information that would be useful in planning any trip. The book's appeal is summed up in its first piece of advice: "If you have the time, and can find the money somewhere, anywhere,just GO!" Readers of this book will no doubt be inspired to do so. - Elizabeth Lucas Love Poems Nikki Giovanni William Morrow Don't let her small frame and grand- motherly smile fool you. When she puts her mind to paper, her words can spit venom, singe fingertips with their meanings and then reassure her readers with the kiss of heavenly lips. Nikki Giovanni's poetic works are powerful in their own right - which explains why, next to Maya Angelou, she's probably the most widely recognized African American female poet in the nation. With well over a dozen volumes of poetry already released, Giovanni, an English professor at Virginia Tech, has recently published "Love Poems." This book includes poems of love, lust and every emo- tion that8 comes from the two. "1 Wrote a- Good Omelet" gives life to the= type of mental flip- flops through which love can take one's mind. "A Happy Reason" gives reasons (or a lack of reasons) why the love between two people just hap- pened to come about. - From the short and sweet ("Rain," _ 'ILove Is") to the lone and involved ("And Yeah ... This Is a Love Poem;" "When Gamble and Huff Ruled"), the poems of "love Poems" are testaments to Giovanni's ability to direct and con- trol the emotions of her writings while simultaneously remaining vulnera- ble to the spiri- tual power they wield. " L o v e Poems" is (ironically, the s h ort - s ig h ted would mindlessly say) dedicated to the late Tupac Shakur, whom Giovanni describes as "a lover whose love was often deliberately misunderstood." She writes a poem in his honor, "All Eyez on U," in which she mourns his passing and challenges all r African American poet Nikki Giovanni's latest work is simply titled "Love Poems." I I I $7.00 AN HOUR AT MEWITA3 I 1 I V 'LQ 1II '~I~ U 'V 1 [> ~