The Michigan Daily - Tuesday, September 8, 1998 - 25A
'X-Files' actor m stifies
au iences at Malnstreet
By Gabe Smith
Daily Arts Writer
"We think that Fox Mulder's found
the truth and gone way past it.
Actually we hope he never finds it,
otherwise we would be out of a job;'
remarked Dean Haglund in reference
to his character of Ringo Langly on
the hit television series "The X-Files.'
Langly is part of a trio of paranoid
conspiracy theorists called the Lone
9unmen, a group of offbeat irregulars
to whom Agent Fox Mulder often
turns for help when he needs an out-
side source.
But for
Haglund, one of
his first loves is
Dean comedy -
Haglund improv comedy,
Main Street to be specific.
Comedy Ann Arborites
September 6, 1998 gott a little fla-
vor of
Haglund's tal-
ents as he came
to Mainstreet
C o m e d y
Showcase for
four shows this
past Friday and Saturday. Haglund's
show is a little different as the audience
influences the show. Haglund, with the
q udience participating, created an
pisode from the "X-Files" from
scratch.
Haglund talked about the origins of
his love for improv comedy, his expe-
riences with the "X-Files", and his
musings on a multitude of subjects.
"The character of Langly was orig-
inally supposed to be a one-time
event" said Haglund, "Boy, F., did I
ow" Haglund was one or 30 people
ditioning for the three roles of the
Lone Gunmen. For then-producer
Glen Morgan, the initial appearance
may not have fulfilled his vision, but
the characters struck a chord with
Internet fans, who had someone with
whom to relate.
Haglund got his start in Vancouver
in 1987 when he joined the Vancouver
Sports League, an improvisational
comedy troupe.
"I spent three years doing a show
called Star Trick based on the old Star
Trek show. It was scripted and I played
the role of Spork. Since it was a musi-
cal, we also had to be ready with our
song cues," said Haglund, "Later, Star
Trick evolved into Star Trick: The
Next Improvisation, where I played
the character of Woof."
Soon after, Haglund got one of his
biggest thrills when performed stand-
up with Robin Williams while
Williams was up in Vancouver filming
"Jumanji."
"That was such a cool time. I mean,
he was Mork, (of "Mork and Mindy")
man. The neat thing about Robin
though was that he always set you up so
that you too were able to perform well."
The biggest change for Haglund
was moving South from Vancouver to
Los Angeles with the rest of the "X-
Files" show.
"It wasn't the scenery, but more the
technical aspect that became the
biggest change. With the show in
Vancouver, the crew grew as the show
grew. With a new crew in Los
Angeles, there are a lot of growing
pains. For example, there is one show
that we are filming right now, that
basically is 'Titanic' in eight days. The
crew has gotten pretty flabbergasted.
The crew was not prepared."
Not surprisingly, one of Haglund's
favorite episodes to work on this sea-
son was "Unusual Suspects" with for-
mer standup comedian Richard Belzer
who is now on "Homicide" as
Detective Munch.
"That episode was such a thrill. I
remember telling him about when I
rented some obscure 1975 movie he
did with Paul Rodriguez, I can't
remember the title right now but, boy,
his jaw dropped."
It is this hit television show that has
become an integral part of Haglund's
life and standup routine. The show is
divided up into three parts of a typical
X-Files show. The first part is the teas-
er where Haglund discovers some sort
of creature/machine that attacks him.
The second part is a press conference
where Haglund is a scientist who is
part of a government conspiracy,
while the third is the finale where
Haglund battles and kills the monster.
Whether on stage, on television, or
in public, one thing you can expect
from Haglund is a lot of energy.
Haglund will be giving up his comedy
gig for about a year to film "The X-
Files." Fans of the Lone Gunmen can
continue to enjoy Haglund on-camera
as there will be another "X-Files"
episode devoted to the Lone Gunmen
trio. Haglund can also be found in the
new animated series "Robocop"
where he will play the genius inventor
who makes Robocop's weapons. For
now, Dean will continue to act and
work on his Dungeons and Dragons
skills. When asked if he ever owned a
Sword of Wounding, in reference to
the show, he laughed and responded,
"No, no, no, my D & D skills are
pathetic. I hadn't played since the
eighth grade. I think I was an elf who
could give someone a cold." But
sword or not, Dean Haglund will keep
moving forward, going back to his
roots of standup whenever time per-
mits. But for two nights, he came back
to one of the first cities in which he
performed. It was well worth it.
It's a dogeatdog world for Costello, who's new sitcom won't last this fall season.
'Costello'
By Michael Galloway
Daily TV/New Media Editor
FOX must be hoping that a blue-
collar hour of sorts will be enough to
slay "Buffy" and steer people away
from NBC "Must See TV" on
Tuesday nights.
The new show "Costello" is one of
the greatest attempts to appeal to the
working class viewer since
"Roseanne" and
will be follow-
ing the
acclaimed satire
Costello of white trash
living, "King of
the Hill." But
FOX while "Hill" and
Tuesday at 8:30 p.m. " C o s t e l l o"
might be some-
what similar in
theme, there's
no comparison
in quality.
The show
s t a r s
actress/comedi-
enne Sue Costello who plays Sue
Murphy, a character based on her
own life and times growing up in
Southern Boston, or as it's called in
the show, "Southie."
Sue works at the local bar, The
Bull Dog, along with her best friend,
serves up
Trish (Kerry O'Malley), to whom
she divulges everything. Or Sue did
until recently when she broke up
with her high school boyfriend, P.J.
(Matthew Mahoney), because he
doesn't show much interest in her
going to the University of
Massachusetts and taking some
classes.
Now, she has to move in with her
disappointed Irish-Catholic family,
who doesn't understand why Sue
broke up with PJ.
On top of this, Sue's arch rival,
Mary McDonough (Josie DiVenczo),
has started dating P.J., and Mary and
the whole town keep telling her
she'll never do better.
The show deserves one note of
praise for its believability. Political
correctness has little meaning in this
Irish Catholic neighborhood.
Marriage is expected and pined
for, even when love isn't exactly
involved. A lot of fights break out
over nothing between people who
have known each other for years, and
usually, resolving them is not accom-
plished calmly.
The characters also seem like they
could be real. Sue's mother, Lottie
(Jenny O'Hara), can't express herself
emotionally although she deeply
cares for her family. Her brother,
adsaster
Jimmy (Chuck Walczak), doesn't
want to work a full-time job, and her
father, somehow named Spud, is a
loud and rough carpenter who seems
to wrap his life around sports.
All of this should make for quality
television, but "Costello," even by
TV standards, is predictable and
offers some of the most unabashed
.examples of overacting outside of
daytime soap operas.
Costello is one of the worst perpe-
trators in this regard. All she does is
grin, as if telling the audience that
they're supposed to be laughing.
Moreover, she doesn't have good
delivery on the jokes half the time,
which is a bit surprising since she's a
standup comedian.
After reviewing these numerous
faults, one question comes to mind:
Why name the show after the no-
name actress playing the main role
and not give the same name to the
main character based on that
actress's life?
But those tuning in to find out who
was blown up on "King of the Hill"
should quickly tune out afterwards,
and the question will become irrele-
vant when "Costello" is replaced at
mid-season with what will hopefully
be a better show. It shouldn't be hard
to find one.
Seinfield tp ore'list o
ighst eS-pi entertainers
he Associated Press
NEW YORK - Even Jerry Seinfeld would have to
,dmit that $225 million is a whole lot of yada yada yada.
The comedian, whose show "Seinfeld" completed a
ighly successful nine-year TV run in May, tops this
ear's Forbes magazine's list of the 40 highest-paid enter-
ainers.
Larry David, the co-creator of the sitcom with Seinfeld,
:aured No. 2 on the list with $200 million - this
l te his departure from the show two years ago.
Both benefited from the $1.7 billion sale of the show.
to syndication, Forbes said in its Sept. 21 issue.
The money from the sale enabled them to unseat direc-
or Steven Spielberg. The boss of Dreamworks SKO stu-
io earned $175 million this year on the strength of his r
ritically acclaimed World War II drama "Saving Private
Cyan."
Oprah Winfrey, who topped the list in 1996, took fourth
lace with $125 million as her diversification into books ,
nd movies solidified her spot as one of entertainment's
>p moneymakers.
*e Oscar-winning movie "Titanic," which has generated
2 billion in revenue worldwide, also helped rewrite the list.
Director James Cameron finished fifth, bringing in
115 million, while pop diva Celine Dion grabbed the
2th slot with $55.5 million, helped in part by her rendi-
on of the "Titanic" theme song, "My Heart Will Go On."
ead actor Leonardo DiCaprio eked out a mere $37 mil-
on, good enough for 34th.
But film and song don't have the clout of television,
nd Forbes notes that half of the entertainers ranked in the
0 were either stars or creators of TV shows. Jerry and Julia celebrate his position as richest
This includes Tim Allen, star and creator of ABC's
Home Improvement," who ranks sixth with $77 million. them $57 million and ninth place.
uthor Michael Crichton, who helped create the hit NBC Master P, the rapper (real name: Percy Mil
tow "ER," finished in seventh place with $65 million. layed his position as chief executive of No L
Rounding out the Top 10 are: into $56.5 million and 10th place.
Harrison Ford, whose most recent acting role in "Seven The list, compiled based on interviews
ays, Six Nights;' helped him move up to eighth place at lawyers and other Hollywood insiders, co
58 million. derived from entertainment alone, and doe
The Rolling Stones, whose comeback tour brought any outside investments.
a a
star.
ler) who par-
imit Records
with agents,
unts income
esn't include
r U
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