ARTS The Michigan Daily - Thursday, March 8, 2001 - 9A TONIGHT'S SUSPECTS Whosoinvtog on a scale of Colby _a T T(Ogakor) : Jeff (Kucha) - Not who Jerri (Ogakor) - Besides . you would expect, but all Amber, no one likes her. :h },' the evidence points to But the rest of Ogakor Jeff losing a tiebreaker. may need her to survive. > 'Big Apple' portrays realistic NYPD THE EVIDENCE 1) Debb's comments: The first Kucha kicked off on Sur- vivor it may have spilled the beans in an interview, saying that she bonded with Kimmi, Maralyn, Mitchell, Mike and Jeff. The first four people she mentioned have been already kicked off. 2) Ogakor needs Jerri: If Jerri is gone, say goodbye to the rest of Ogakor as Kucha will vote them off one-by-one. Keith and Colby may hate her, but they need her. 3) Jeff tiebreaker disadvantage: Jeff has more previous votes than anyone except Keith and is tied with Jerri. Tina W. (Ogakor) Prediction record:(3-2) Surer sempwedicon. Jeff loses a tiebreaker vote versus Colby, because Jeff has more (two) previous votes. Melissa Gollob Daily Arts Writer Start spreading the news that CBS has debuted yet another law enforcement series. "Big Apple" premiered with hopes of success like other cop shows like "NYPD Blue" and "Homicide: Life on the Street." Taking a slightly different angle, the show focuses on two New York Police Department detectives and their interaction with local FBI agents while omitting most of their personal lives. "Big Apple" sets itself in New York City at the beginning of a murder investigation involving a prostitute. The conflict centers around the elder of the two detec- tives Mike Mooney (Ed O'Neill, "Married With Children") causing trouble by convincing his protegd Vincent Trout (Jeffrey Pierce, "L.A. Confidential").to ignore the FBI's request to be patient with their investigation. The FBI fears that the police presence will compro- mise their ongoing stakeout of a strip club the murdered prostitute worked at. Consequently, the FBI decided to take the two detectives under their confidence and work along side them. Meanwhile, FBI agent Jimmy Flynn (Titus Welliver, "Navy Seals") has been meeting with an informant working with the Russian mafia. Flynn asks the informant Terry Maddock (Michael Madsen, "Reservoir Dogs") to give them leads, particularly on the murdered girl. False information is passed around and Mooney realizes that the FBI was only looking for the easiest solution rather than the truth to the identity of the real murderer. At the end of the first episode the murder is not solved but a partner- ship is formed among the NYPD detectives and the FBI working of the Russian mafia case. The actors portray their charac- ters as hard-nosed agents trying to bring criminals to justice. Ed O'Neill takes dramatic acting in stride and manages to show his trademark sarcastic comedy in the dialogue without taking anything away from the show. Titus Welliver and Michael Madsen also create tension and suspense on the screen that contributes to the series believ- ability. The two detectives have a rela- tionship that can be compared to the characters played by Dennis Franz and Rick Schroder on "NYPD Blue." This father-son bond is shown throughout the episode and should be used more to understand the character's and per- sonalities. Not much is known about any of the characters, but more should be revealed in the course of the show. "Big Apple" gives refreshing realism to the genre of police dra- mas because it does not involve the character's personal lives. The show does not wrap up cases each week, so that story lines can be more involved and provide several twists and turns without confusing view- ers. For those hard-core TV drama watchers that are tired of the melo- dramas of "ER," this is the most ttinanp new dama around. II Merge left: Look *ufor treache'y Deadlock. (Insert lame joke pig- gybacking off the "close" presidential race here). That's the story surrounding this Week's episode (number seven) of Sur- vivor II at 8 p.m. on CBS. Thanks to Michael roasting himself on an open fire last week, and going on a one-way trip to "No-Million-Dollars ospital," the two tribes on Survivor II ill merge with five members apiece. But "together" couldn't be farther from the truth. Both Kucha and Ogakor are likely to stick together, and fight to gain the advantage, so that they can vote the other tribe off one-by-one. WHO'S LEFT: From Ogakor there's Amber (the young, quiet girl, who's trying to lie low under the radar, but yet has an alliance with Jerri). S We haven't seen Amber do much besides cry every time Ogakor lost a challenge. With little screen time thus far, don't expect her to win. The last thing Survivor producer Mark Burnett wants is a winner with no storyline (this isn't the Mole). Joining Amber is Colby (the strong Texan who is rumored to have been making some curiously big purchases lately ... hmm), Jerri (who has been deferred to as [fill in expletive word of our choice] by many),. Keith (the world-famous chef from the Detroit area who can't cook boiled rice), and Tina (the quiet, motherly nurse who has backstabbed three of her alliances). Kucha members that have made it this far include Alicia (the female bodybuilder who likes to "wave my finger any time I want"), Jeff (an inter- net project manager who wants to eat" Ogakor alive and spit them out, Rodger (the warmhearted 52-year old teacher from Kentucky, who wouldn't hurt anything except a fly and maybe Jerri), Elisabeth (the princess who doesn't need to win with all the Play- boy offers she's going to get), and Nick (the Harvard college student who also has not received much screen time). TONIGHT'S EPISODE: Besides merg- ing their resources to a new location, the new tribe (which will likely be named "Barramundi" after a local area fish), will don orange as its color. Challenges are now every person for themselves, as only one castaway will be safe at tribal council. PREDICTION TIME: (record 3-2 over- all) - I know everyone was crying without their Survivor column last week (ok only I was). So we took an article off for Spring Break, but the only person to really take a break was Michael (aka: burnt toast). Previously mentioned in Sur- vivor Sleuth three weeks ago, the White Lake native burned his hands and had to be evacuated from the game by doctors. Rumor has it that the moth- er of the pig Michael killed two episodes ago came back for revenge and pushed him into the fire. No word on if PETA was an accomplice. Anything can happen this week, but there is some strong evidence to hint that Jeff from Kucha gets the boot (see "Tonight's Suspects" box). Tonight's bootee is the last person who will like- ly be given freedom to roam around Australia (the final nine contestants either stay on the game-ending jury or are in the final two), the only way for Jeff to "bond" with Debb after he's done, (per her post-boot statements) is if he gets kicked off tonight. If Jeff doesn't get kicked off, expect Jerri (pain in the ass), Colby (too strong, a threat in challenges) or Tina (easy pickings) to go. But the evidence wheel has spun some support that Keith (rumors he wins it all) and Colby (30-pound weight loss) will stick around for at least awhile longer. If Jeff (who could win immunity) doesn't get the boot that likely means an Ogakor will, and then a strong Kucha five will vote them off one-by-one. Enjoy the backstab- bing! - Mark Francescutti can be reached at ufrances@untich.edu. Left: Al Bundy leaves comedy behind in his new role as detective Mike Mooney. Right: Jimmy Flynn and Terry Maddock discuss their latest murder case. WHO'S LEFT? olofwtntngvti Amber (Ogakor) Age 22 Odds to win: 25-1 ® 5 I Tina (Ogakor) :'. Ageo40,P r Oddsuto win: 18-1 p Colby (Ogakor) j Age 25 Odds to win: 1-1' Keith (Ogakor) Ceramic Mug Age 40 H orrium laced du4Rg >: Odds to win: 15-1 bw CPCmO & Gown Seethe Jerrilogakor)aJh JAW!n u Age 3020pO Odds to win: 4-1 20% off Jeff (Kucha) ...Fi..e.f . 4or ~p101W..aI~ A 3Oddsto win: 4-1 /OFaumel* I thnJ1th Alicia (Kuchal Agec32h070 Odds to win: 8-1 Nick Kucha) Odds to win: 5-1 WTPUCSOfJO tN l U N Rodger (Kucha)1 0Q k:> Age 53 aps nus/ov y for