'Jesse serves mild fim By Erin Podolsky Daily Arts Writer In a television season filled with actors intent on redefining small screen personae, ="Jesse" stands out as it presents former "Married ... With Children" mall- rat Christina Applegate as a work- ing single mom trying to balance her son, her dad, her brothers and er love life into a nominally nor- mal existence. NBC is giving "Jesse" the added cushion of a post- Seinfeldian "Must See TV" timeslot on Thursdays after "Friends." That position should give "Jesse" some much needed support - it has the potential for greatness, but it isn't quite there Oet. Most of the problems stem from Jesse's irritating family members. Father John Sr. (George Dzundza) is a restaurant owner/manager who, along with Jesse, must contend with wearing lederhosen at the bar. The first episode JeSSe implies that John Sr. is a bit of a NBC, Thursdays bigot (he at 8:30 p.m. expresses surprise that William Shatner is Jewish - "I didn't real- ize they let those peo- t le up there!"), but it's OK because it's funny. Isn't it? On second thought, using John Sr. as a laugh-getter through mildlyr prejudicial comments is a sure way to offend viewers. The "Jesse" writers would be wise to drop that aspect of his otherwise amusingly acerbic personality. Jesse's brothers, John "Junior" Jr. (David DeLuise) and Darren *ohn Lehr), hang around her house an awful lot for grown men. Just one look at them explains why, though: Junior is a mute by choice, citing philosophical rea- sons and communicating entirely through facial expressions (which, when directed at Jesse, tend to come off more as lecher- ous stares unbecoming of a girl's &other); and Darren has entre- reneurial aspirations that inclqde selling ceramic gnomes to HoTe Depot at a gigantic profit of $1 per gnome - he buys 8,000 of the little buggers only to discover they are "unfinished" gnomes that require painting. Neither brother appears to have an actual job (unlike Jesse, who waitresses at her father's bar, while Junior and Darren just hang out there) eyond mooching off of their sis- r. No sitcom would be complete without a romantic storyline, so the writers have given Jesse the problem of an extremely hand- some, extremely nice, extremely irresistible new neighbor, ;Diego (Bruno Campos), who is from Chile (cue the ethnic jokes from John Sr.). Diego works wel in the *lot episode, but howl it is planned to stretch the tenuous romance between him anj1 Jesse throughout an entire season is unclear. At least he appears to be gainfully employed - and even if he isn't, he could have a brilliant future with the Chippendales. Which brings us to the star of the show, Applegate's Jesse. For some completely unknown rea- son, the otherwise bright and Wtty Jesse is slaving away in a hideous green barmaid outfit, a job totally incongruous with both her personality and possessions - she has a lovely house all bought on her own that seems to exceed her yearly income. Jesse seems far too smart to be serving brewskis and taking mild-man- nered harassment from cus- Omers, to the point where she actually employs her 10-year-old son ("Little John," blandly played by Eric Lloyd) as a man-deter- rent. A woman this smart could surely have a successful career elsewhere; why she continues to work for dear old dad is a mystery The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, September 23, 1998 - 11 Stellar Streep is 'True Thing The Hartford Courant NEW YORK - Is Meryl Streep the mother of us all? Looking at her Hollywood career - can it be more than 20 years and nearly 30 films already? - Streep shows that an actress doesn't have to play just hookers, girlfriends or hang- ers-on to make it in the movies. Many of Streep's stellar performances come from her real women/real mother roles: as the low-esteem mom in "Kramer vs. Kramer," the cool-but-caring mom in "A Cry in the Dark," the warrior mom in "The River Wild," the lonely mom in "The Bridges of Madison County," and the sacrificial mom in "Sophie's Choice." Now in "One True Thing," Streep inhabits what might be seen as one of her most exotic roles: a seemingly ordinary, middle-class wife and mother who loves her family and her hearts-and-crafts life. She plays Kate Gulden in the film, based on Anna Quindlen's semi-autobiographical novel. Renee Zellweger ("Jerry Maguire") plays her young daughter, an ambitious journalist in New York who returns to her suburban home to tend to her homebody mother, who has cancer. "(Hollywood) doesn't make movies about women like her," Streep says during an interview in her hotel suite in New York, where the two-time Oscar winner was promoting the film. Dressed in Talbot's classy-casual, Streep reminds you of a soccer mom out on the town for an afternoon spree, more Myrna Loy than Greer Garson, two movie stars from anoth- er, more mother-friendly, Hollywood era. "They make movies now about women who are neurotic, or in some kind of extremity, or who are disagreeable, or dif- ferent, or scary, or as, you know, sex objects and girlfriends. But they don't make movies about what many women do, which is make homes, which is a big achievement." But don't look too closely for insights into her own per- sonal life. Streep, who was born Mary Louise Streep (Meryl was her mother's nickname), grew up in Summit, N.J., not far from where the film is set, with two younger brothers. She says she didn't draw from her own relationship with her mother for the role. "I don't have any problems with my mother," she says, nip- ping any line of questioning in the bud. No family angst here 'Newsradio' keeps the laughs alive By Michael Galloway TV/New Media Editor Maybe, just maybe, "Newsradio" is simply cursed to remain in TV anonymi- ty. There hasn't been any other way to explain how for four years this show about the wacky hi-jinx inside a newsra- dio station has never achieved the view- er ratings it deserves, especially when you consider that piss-poor shows such as "Suddenly Susan" and "Veronica's Closet" have somehow been successes. So maybe "Newsradio" needs to get Brooke Shields or move its setting from a newsradio station to where they to do lingerie photo shoots. Nothing beats models if want your show to be a sure- fire winner. Note: "Just Shoot Me" is Two-time Oscar winner Meryl Streep has become one of the finest actress of this generation. to spill into the papers. "I adore my mother and always have." But she certainly understands mothers like Kate. "They were postwar women," she says. "Even if they worked during the war, when everyone came home, they stopped working. Their expectation was not to have a career. But many went forward and broke through a lot of barriers to have a career. But it was not the same expectation as it is for their daughters, and certainly for my daughters. I think my daughters should be educated so they can do something in the world and for the world. I think this film is about how (the daughter) is educated by this experience (with her moth- er) and that a certain level of selflessness. is a valuable thing." Streep has been a rare voice that is critical of her own industry, whether she is talking about pay inequities, violence in movies or the manner it portrays women. She most recent- ly spoke out regarding the American Film Institute's list of the 100 all-time best American films. See STREEP, Page 12 excluded from thi News- radio NBC Tonight at 9:30 Paul Simms, both s sarcastic chastise- ment because it's actually good. "Newsradio" never sunk down to this level, but maybe, since "Just Shoot Me" and "Newsradio" are good, it isn't a mere coincidence that Bernie Brillstein was an executive produc- er for both. Brillstein teamed up with of whom also were And the show's regular writers should be ciedited as well for coming up with some of the most original comic situa- tions to be on televisions since "I Love Lucy" (which actually originated most of the stories). For instance. one time "Newsradio" teamed up with VH-I to bring "Pop-Up Newsradio:' airing an older episodes with fact balloons popping up every three seconds and relaying interesting tidbits like how actor Stephen Root was hired the day before the show started shooting, and how actress Maura Tierney (Lisa on the show) was hired 15 minutes before shooting. With the tragic loss of Phil Hartman, who played news anchor Bill McNeal, the first episode of the new season will start with a special episode devoted to him where the show's characters remi- nisce about Bill. The second episode will introduce his replacement (although he can never be replaced), SNL alum Jon Lovitz, who actually was a guest star on the episode that was made into a "Pop- Up" version. Expect tears and poignant moments tonight, especially froi Matthew (Andy Dick) who had a sycophantic relation- ship with Bill that rivals that of Burns and Smithers on "The Simpsons." TV Guide rated "Newsradio" No. 13 (maybe it is a curse) of the top 25 shows returning this season, beating out "Friends," "Buffy," "The Simpsons," "NYPD Blue" and "Drew Carey." That, along with old episodes now in syndication, may be enough to finally put "Newsradio" on everybody's to watch list. executive producers of "The Larry Sanders Show," and created the great comic characters of "Newsradio"'s owner Jimmy James (Stephen Root) and Beth the secretary (Vicki Lewis).