12 - The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, October 6, 1999
'Agel' takes
'Buff' series to
ILos Angel;es
By Erin Podolsky
Daily Arts Writer
At the close of last season on "Buffy the Vampire Slayer,"
tortured, soulful vampire Angel (David Boreanaz) walked away
from the carnage and lovelorn tatters of his life in Sunnydale
with Buffy He kept on walking until he hit Los Angeles, the
macabre setting of his self-titled spinoff, created by "Bully"
mastermind Joss Whedon. Blessed with a can't-miss timeslot
'Ballet Folkl6rico' will bring "
Mexico City to Power Center
By Nese Sarkozy
br the Daily
Amalia Hernandez's much anticipated
"Ballet Folkl6rico de Mexico" tiptoes its
way to the Power Center today. Arriving
Ballet
Folklorico
Power Center
Tonight at 7
Angel
The WB
Tuesdays at 9 p.m.
=
following "Bully," "Angel" stands
poised to vault the WB network even
higher in the minds of teens everywhere.
Angel prowls the Los Angeles night
looking for others like himself - and
then he kills them when they get too
close to snacking on humans. This is a
joyless affair for him. The somber half-
man who lit a fire under a slayer's heart
is a mere shell of his former self without
her, and "Angel" lacks the wham-bam-
punchline-ma'am humor of "Buffy."
Taking a decidedly different tone,
"Angel" is, in its small way, a "Bufly"'
for grown-ups who can't handle the sar-
donic Scooby gang and the trials and
straight from the
Palace of Fine
Arts in Mexico
City, the 75 mem-
bers of the
Mexican ballet
troupe will make
their University
Musical Society
debut here.
Amongst other
things these tal-
ented dancers and
musicians will, for
the first time, per-
form with a 14-
"Ballet Folklorico de Mexico" used
dances from the pre-Colonial era before
any other group. Mexican culture has
evolved from an array of ditTerent civi-
lizations, with the Spanish and the
French having the greatest influence in
particular on style.
Amalia Hernandez, along with
designer Dasha, have been able to bring
together ancient along with present cul-
ture and recreate marvelous dances for
the stage, similar to that of the Mayan
Ballet.
The choreography of the Ballet
Folklorico de Mexico is filled with rich
elements of traditional as well as ancient
dances. The costumes flow brightly with
the dancers' movements.
The sets are exquisite and the music
comes with high regards, even from the
critics. Originally schooled in classical
ballet, Amalia Hernandez wanted to
incorporate ballet with the song and
dance of her native countr'i Mexico.
Hernandez notes, "Mexico's culture i.
a concentration of the world's art ... f'
like drops of European and Afi*
blood were added to Indian blood"
"Ballet Folklorico de Mexico" i:
really a family effort, with Amelia
Hernandez as its matriarch. Hei
daughter, Viviana, is the lead dancer
Herndndez's older sister Norma holdt
the position of the company's artistic
director and the grandson, Salvado
schedules the group's performances.
Hernandez's ballet remains unique
in its form, since "Ballet Folkl6,j<
de Mexico" is one of the first co
nies that brought fame to the Mexi~ar
dance, and continues to do so all ove
the world. Experiencing this rathe
unusual form of traditional balle
would not only be worthwhile bu
also be a great way to get a close
look at Latino culture.
David Boreanaz plays the title role on "Angel."
tribulations of high school life. Nobody ever asked for "Bully
2," though, so this change of direction in the new series is not
at all problematic.
Angel's attempt at self-salvation is thwarted by Doyle
(Glenn Quinn), an Irish-tongued demon who arrives in his life
to give him directives from "the powers that be." Doyle can't
explain who that might be, saying only that he gets migraines
and visions that tell him what to do. Angel is skeptical, but
Doyle presses a note into his hand and send him on his way to
work. Gone are the days when Angel goes after the bad guys
(at least primarily, anyway). His new task is to save souls, to
help the humans in the fight against loneliness, sadness and, of
course; evil.
At this early date, it appears that "Angel" will take on the
anthological/serial qualities of its forebear, helping individuals
in each episode while following a long-term plot path. The third
person involved in the ongoing story is fellow "Bully" exile
Cordelia (Charisma Carpenter), who arrives in sunny L.A.
(indeed, an L.A. we never see in "Angel," which is as intent and
focused on the darkness that surrounds our lives and bathes the
vampires with freedom) searching for fame and fortune in the
wake of her parents' bankruptcy. Angel discovers that it isn't just
people that he doesn't know who need his help. He takes Cordy
under his wing - and, some would say, vice versa.
"Angel;" which Whedon promises will feature periodic
cameos from the remaining "Bully" regulars, has possibilities
and focuses on a couple of old characters whom we never truly
got to know that well, never got inside their heads, and a new
soulless soul. Their soul saving agency - Cordelia as all-pur-
pose Girl Friday, Doyle as appointment scheduler, Angel as
therapist - could be successful in its dark location as it widens
the distance between Sunnydale and LA.
Trying to weasel out of a Jimny Cricket sidekick job, Doyle
says, "I'm just the messenger." Angel retorts, "I'm the mes-
sage." The chain of command at "Angel" is clear. Doyle and
Cordelia are set to deliver Angel's soul into the light. Whedon
is set to deliver another hit show.
Macdonald reappears on SNL
member chorus in a style combining his-
torical aspects of Mexican culture.
The Washington Post
Norm Macdonald is getting the last laugh.
The former "Saturday Night Live" regular is returning to
guest-host the show Oct. 23 - not quite two years after being
canned by NBC's top-ranking program executive.
Macdonald anchored "Weekend Update," the show's mock
newscast, for several years - until he was very publicly
cashiered in the middle of the 1998-99 TV season by NBC
West Coast President Don Ohlmeyer.
Macdonald-ites charged that Ohlmeyer fired him because of
the many swipes the comic took in "Update" at Ohlmeyer pal
O.J. Simpson.
Ohlmeyer denied this and noted that other NBC late-night
stars were also making jokes about the football star turned TV
sportscaster turned accused murderer.
Ohlmeyer-ites insisted Macdonald was yanked because net-
work research showed viewers tuning out of "SNL" when
Macdonald's segment began. And Ohlmeyer told Macdonald
he was being yanked off "Update" because he wasn't funny.
Which was a very gutsy statement for a guy who had "Caroline
in the City," "Suddenly Susan" and "Working" on his prime-
time schedule.
The not-funny defense kind of broke down, however,
when Macdonald went out and got another job, starring in
the feature film "Dirty Work," and Ohlmeyer banned ads
promoting the movie on NBC. This time Ohlmeyer said it
was because Macdonald was bad-mouthing the network
on talk shows.
Press accounts at the time said Macdonald was confining his
crack-making to comments about Ohlmeyer, and it was the talk
show hosts who generally filled in with snipes at NBC.
Ohlmeyer retired last spring and, suddenly, Macdonald is
funny again over at NBC.
He was among the invited guests for "SNLs" 25th-ann*-
sary prime-time special that NBC broadcast two Sundays back,
at the outset of the 1999-2000 TV season (so was onetime
guest host Simpson, who was a no-show).
NBC won't confirm that Macdonald has been invited to co-
host the late-night show later this month. But sources say the
network is working out scheduling details with the actor and
Warner Bros., which produces his ABC sitcom, "The Norm
Show."
The hosting gig won't be the last laugh for Macdonald alone;
it'll be a hoot for "SNL" Executive Producer Lorne Mich's*
Michaels had strongly protested Macdonald's firing, tc e
avail. This led to several news reports saying the incideni
proved Michaels was no longer in charge of the landmark show
that he created back in the 1970s.
I
The University Activities Center
Presents
mime
Mini courses are non-credit courses offered
tbrough the the UAC and the Michigan Union.
Classes run weekly in the Union from October
18 through December 7. Registration runs
from October 4 through till 'October 15 at the
Michigan Union Ticket Office. Call 763
TKTS. No mail in registration. Refunds only if
class is canceled.
Some of the courses offered are
Massage
Belly Dance
Ballroom Dancing
Bartending
CPR
sPGY A ut
0 Accounlt eec
diply advertising depirarent
would Like to thank
GOOD TIME CHARLEY'S
for their donation.
Read the
Daily.
Recycle the
Daily.
'World Records 2000
compiles unique feats
1
The Baltimore Sun
It's here: Guinness World Records
2000. Not just a book. An arbiter. The
Last Word. The be-all and end-all. The
Alpha and the Omega. No bar or dorm
should be without one.
This book doesn't just catch the eye. It
blinds the eye. You could bounce sun-
light off its high-gloss silver cover. The
Day-Glo orange inside is straight from a
Peter Max poster. The first photo is of
Austin Powers.
"That is pure merchandising, to be
honest," says Mark C. Young, CEO of
Guinness Media Inc., USA and publish-
er of Guinness World Records 2000.
"You have to be as topical as you can
with the photographs."
To call it an almanac would be too dry.
This gaudy, garish grab-bag is more than
just facts and figures. It is a compendi-
um of our time. Bury it in a time capsule
so people 500 years from now will know
what fascinated us in the waning days of
the 20th century.
Now, there are shortcomings. This
book doesn't name the best actress, the
best basketball player or the prettiest
woman. Those subjective debates have
no end."Guinness World Records 2000"
is made for the quantifiable record.
"I think what makes it unique and its
big attraction is people look at it and
say, 'Maybe I can balance nine golf
balls on my chin,' or whatever" says
Young, who fields thousands of
inquiries from people seeking the
Guinness imprimatur.
Guinness World Records 2000
answers questions of distance, speed, the
number of people in the world's longest
conga line. (Answer: 119,989 people
during a festival in Miami.) Nearly 30
pages of the interesting, the mundane
and the bizarre are here. Some things
make you wonder: How does a person
figure that out?
Cindy Jackson, the "human Barble
doll" is here, looking swell after 27'(ps-
metic surgeries; the smallest surviving
twins, 2-feet, 10-inch real estate speca-
tors with a motivational speaking
pany called "Think Big," are on anth1
page; then there is Cindy Margolis, a
one-time "Baywatch" star who has
pulled a three-peat as the most down:
loaded woman on the Internet.
Of course, a book about the biggest
the longest, the fastest, the tallest, a boo<
groaning under the weight of superla.
tives, comes with its own sense of the
spectacular. According to Guinness, the
millennium edition's 2.4 million co '
is the largest print order in the MWd
placed at one time for a case-bound
book printed in four colors.
Now, what drives people to be a par
of all this? For some, there is a physica
or spiritual barrier to overcome. Foroth-
ers, there is the thrill of the challenge.
"Essentially, if you're going to be .th<
best at anything, even if it is spitting a
cricket, you're going to have to work a
it," says Young. "We had a champio t
that, and I said, 'No one is going to 7mi
to beat that. They might eat them, but na
one is going to beat that."
Sure enough, after a broadcast of the
event, a challenger came forward and se
a new record by spitting a dead cricke
32 feet, 1-inch.
"Those are the ones you think, 'No
no, we can't be doing that.' But that's th
kind of thing we do," says Young.
«
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