E=q 22A - The Michigan Daily - Thursday, September 7,.2000 ARTS ime to face reali :etworks grasping or ideas 'e Associated Press A confluence of television trends and issues - the presidential campaign, the Summer Olympics, corporate takeovers, reality TV fallout and a looming writers strike - could make the 200-2001 season one of the most volatile and unpredictable in history. Even scheduling the start of the season has been subject to more than the usual debate. With NBC carrying the 2000 Olympic Games (Sept. 13 through Oct. 1) and, with it, the potential for huge ratings rewards, its network competitors convinced Nielsen Media Research to delay the start of the fall season until Oct. 2. This way, they won't have to serve their new series up into the maw ofthe Sumier Games. The result? A staggered introduction of new shows, which is sure to confuse and frustrate an already fragmented audience with splintered viewing habits. And it doesn't end there. One network, ABC, as of this writing hasn't even set its debut dates because Republican pres- idential candidate George W Bush has not com- mitted to an October debate schedule set by the Commission on Presidential Debates, which would be carried live by the networks. Program- ming and counter-programming plans also are affected by baseball. New sitcoms and dramas try to make their mark in October, right in the middle of the baseball playoffs and the crescendo of the political campaign. So when series are oth- erwise supposed to be hitting their stride, many barely will have made their debuts. That could turn out to be a lost opportunity of the first order. According a recent front-page story in the industry trade paper Daily Variety, the considerable buzz created by CBS's record- setting "Survivor" and ABC's "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" have put viewers in a height- ened state of awareness b about new network fare -- about twice as high for CBS and ABC, but with almost every net- work benefiting. After the ratings for the Aug. 23 "Survivor" finale came in, CBS President Leslie Moonves declared, "Network TV is back." But what kind of tele- vision - on the net- works, cable, PBS and syndication - are view- crs in for? And who or what will have the great- Photo courtesyo fCS est impact? edly doomed creative pro- "Survivor" mania might be history for now (the next million-dollar challenge in Australia begins in January, following the Super Bowl), but the ripple effect on the industry has been sub- stantial. Despite a full slate of sitcoms and dramas with big names - including Bette Midler, bad boys Charlie Sheen and Robert Downey Jr. joining the casts of established shows such as "Spin City" and "Ally McBeal" and big pro- jects such as the revival of "The Fugitive" series - reporters at the annual industry pre- view meetings stuck almost exclusively to real- ity, wondering whether so-called real TV would take over television. "We have said over and over again," said Moonves, "we are broadcasters, and we are corn- mitted to that, But at the same time we want to experiment. We want to try new things. At.the end of the day, our goal is to live up to our slo- gan, which is,'It's all here."' Lloyd Braun, ABC Entertainment "television Group co-chairman, went further, saying, "We don't believe everybody in America is clamor- ing to see reality televisionw These two shows, Survivor' and (Regis Philbin's) Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?', have something unique and special about them, and people embrace them" (ABC, does, however, have reality shows in the works.) By comparison, Scott Sassa, president of NBC West Coast, found himself fighting off rumors of his own professional demise because his netw'ork had failed to jump on the reality TV gravy train. Many writers were prepared to praise him for what they thought might be high-road self- restraint, but Sassa offered a mea culpa. "It's a whole, new, world out there," he said. "One of the things that's happened in our busi- ness is that the boundaries have changed and reality programming is definitely here (and) this is not just a fad, it's a trend. People are very inter- ested in reality programming. It's going to be around for a while. "Quite frankly," he concluded, "we weren't as aggressive as we should have been in this area." In the end, events might overwhelm creative desires. With talk of a strike by the Writers Guild of America in the near future, one network insider says, "If that happens, it'll be wall-to-wall reality shows." Network television still has sonic long-stand- ing issues to deal with, too. While Paramount Television's syndicated "Dr. Laura," with controversial host Laura Sch- lessinger, is attracting some of the most intense heat because of her condemnation of homosexu- ality, there will be plenty of controversy to go around. This time last year, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People President Kweisi Mfume lambasted the four major net- works, calling their prime-time schedule a "whitewash" that failed miserably to represint people of color. Looking at ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox's new series for 2000-2001, there's evidence that an effort has been made to address those concerns. "Change is happening, but it's not enough," said Mfume in a statement. "Television is showing more people of color on-screen, but most important is off-screen, where very little has changed. While there is more diversity in the upcoming fall TV season, we still really have a long, long way to go. We are not going to be like the circus on this issue: Here today, gone tomorrow. We are resolute about our goal to bring real and meaningful change in the way the television industry conducts busi- ness." Meanwhile, at UPN, which has had far more blacks in its series than its competitors, with shows such as "Moesha" (on which Mfume will appear in an episode on voting this season), the very viability of the network continues to be an open question. (It's the result of a bid by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. to buy TV station group Chris-Craft, Big pimpin': Regis is making G's for ABC. upon which UPN depends for exposure in major markets such as New York and Los Angeles.) This season, expect to hear from Latinos. A recent report, "Still Missing: Latinos in and Out of Hollywood," by the Tomas Rivera Poli- cy Institute and sponsored by the Screen Actors Guild, argued that, "Oid stereotypes and lack of understanding of Hispanic social, eco- nomic and cultural diversity are key reason- why Latinos remain one of the most under-rep- resented groups in television, movies and otha" entertainment." And then there is Sen. Joseph I. Lieber- man of Connecticut, the Democratic vice presidential candidate and high-profile crit ic of' Hollywood. Although Lieberman soft-pedaled the industry-bashing when he accepted the nomination in Los Angeles a couple of weeks ago, there's little doubt he will renew his attacks as the fall season kicks in and* Election Day draws near. And if that's not enough reality to keep the networks defending themselves, there's always cable to worry about. 'Survivor" winner Richard Hatch has almost singlehande gramming. MICHIGANDAILY.COMIARTS MAKE IT YO' HOMEPAGE, HOMEBOY. Robbins: Ridiculous, pervers U '1 "k it's Friday Live music, qreatfood, fun people, and incredible art. /t'sFriday-it's what you've been waiting for all week! September 8 *Club Friday music:Jean Holden (first lady of song) (6:30-9:30 P.M.) * FREE tour: Impressionists See the light (6:45 P.M.) * Slide Lecture: On Both Sides (7 P.M * Piano Concert: LambisVassiliadis (8 P.M.) 419-255-4000- Made possible by QFifth Third Bank' Tom Robbins has been called "the most dangerous writer in the world today." His plots are ridiculous, his prose is obscenely colorful, and his ideas are revolutionary. This is his seventh novel. His past stories have tracked the jour- neys of a hitchhiker with abnormal- ly large thumbs ("Even Cowgirls Get the Blues"), a modern shaman who finds all the answers to life's big questions by studying frogs ("Half Asleep in Frog Pajamas") and a gang of cross-country travel- ers consisting of a spoon, a soup can, a stick and a shell. Yet Rob- bins weaves these respective novels in such a way that the reader under- stands his grander purlpose, even believes in these nonsensical char- acters. In "Fierce Invalids Home From Hot Climates," Robbins takes on the matter of religion through the eves of vet another interestm char- acter. Switters fits the formula of the odd hero as a CIA agent so obsessed with innocence that he falls in love with li s16 vear-old stepsister and, later, a nun ten years his senior. lie is. in many other ways, a walking contradiction. He is an anarchist who works for- the government and an atheist preoccu- pied by the Virgin Mary. Fierce Invalids Home from Hot Climates Grade: A BantamBooKs Reviewedby Daily Books EditorGina Hamadey T h e novel fol- 1 o w s Switters first to the jun- gles of P e r u , where he 1 s istructed by his ql u i c k - w i t t e d g r a ii d - moth e r, Maestra, to free her elder- birth. It is Open every Friday, 6-10P.M. 2445 Monroe Street Toledo, OH 43620 ly parrot, a Peruvian by Dnaidrs U® Now Open On North Campus Pierpont Commons, Lower Level 8am-11pm, MONDAY-THURSDAY 8am-lOpm, FRIDAY loam-lOpm SATURDAY, SUNDAY Featuring All The McDonald's® Food You Know And Love Plus Now Open! Come visit us!!! americanatextbooks.com "Where you don't stand in line for BIG DISCOUNTS!!!" e, a gem here, in'"South too-goddamn-vivid America," that Switters undergoes a spell from a tribal leader with a pyramid-shaped head and universal knowledge that leaves Switters con- fined to a wheelchair.Switters, after blowing things with his young step- sister Suzy, contemplates life sit- ting in his wheelchair, with his feet "two inches above ground,' in S- t, acting like a bum in a lo park. fhe makes friends with a band of brooding, beatnik outcasts called the Art Girls and scares passers-by. His next CIA assignment is in Turkey, which eventually leads him to a convent in Syria, where he stays to learn about the lost prophe- cy of the Virgin of Fatini and the found virginity of a dynamic French nun named Domino. Mi cles of many kinds happen he, including the discovery of the model of Matisse's famous paint- ings of the Blue Nude. But to simplify any Robbins plot to its bare bones is a veritable crime. The nuances, analogies and manner in which Robbins tells the tale make the ridiculous story cred- ible to the reader. Though the plot in Fierce Invalids tends to go astray at times, it is still creative, flowg and completely captivating. A a like P.T. Anderson's "Magnolia" and in true Robbins style, it all comes together in the end. Swit- ters's quick tongue and witty insights make his character a strength of the book. He glides,.on his wheelchair and with his tongue, from one situation to the next. And he commentates all the while. l says to the lovely nun Domino: "u just that I come from a country where there are prudes on the left, prigs on the right, and hypocrites down the middle, so sometimes I feel obligated to push in the'other direction just to keep things hon- Any Tom Robbins book is worth reading for its style alone, and Fierce Invalids is no different. His tone is light and sarcastic, his lan- guage is readable and his signat analogies are top-notch. For exam- ple: "It was a smile that could raise roadkill from the dead or turn a lead mine into a Mexican restau- rant." In the book, however, Switters tends to rant more than the reader would care to know (although it is impressive how much obscure information the character kno' such as the word for "vaina" in languages). These diatribes can be distracting, especially given the complicated plot that the reader has to follow. And the copious religious philosophizing is not nearly as well $real fast Lurch E1. Snack - It takes less than four years for the world to add another U.S. in population.' * Last year, astonishingly, the U.S. grew at a faster rate than China'-largely because of immigration, the majority of which is legal.2 " Ninety percent of the growth rate in U.S. population in this century will be driven by the current record-breaking wave of mass immigration.