8 -The MichiganDaily - Monday, March 19, 2001 ARTS Daily Arts urnament 1 ER F the Sopranos 1 ER Teen classic upsets No. 1 sitcom in TV 7- S1 Sopranos i 16 Little House on the Prairie 16 Dawson's Creek 8 Power Puff Girls 1 I 8 Whose Line is it Anyway 8 Whose Line is it Anyway;" 8 Power Puff Girls 5 Xi 5 x-files 9 Dark Angel 5 Seinfeld tourney. first round 5 Seinfeld 12 Gimore GirlsI 5 X-files 4 Ec I 12 The Last Word I 4 Ed 4 Happy Days 13 Full House 13 Full House 13 That's Life I i 6 Scooty Doo 6 Scooby Doo 6 South Park 6 South Park 11 Newsradic 3 The Practice 14 Twin Peaks 14 Twin Peaks '17 Ion Chef. ........ ....... Z 3 Everybody Loves Raymond 3 Everybody Loves Raymond r 11 Party of Five 14 Third Watch i lrvn Chef 10 Emeril Live .......... .......... .......... ............ ........... ........... 7 The Daily Show 10 Wonder Years I L 10 Wonder Years 2 Sex and the City 2 Law & Order 2 Law & Order 2 Sex in the City[ 15 Three's Company 15 Laverne & Shirley r 1 Survivor I1 By Ryan Blay and Jeff Dickerson Daily Arts Writers The field of the tv tournament has been narrowed down by email from readers to 32 after exciting first round action which featured blow outs and upsets abound. Round two is shaping up to be just as intriguing as the opening round. The biggest surprise in the tour- ney came between the current king of sitcoms "Friends" and the time- less classic "Saved By the Bell." Zach. Kelly, Slater and Screech were up in arms over their low seeding when the brackets were announced last week. The Bayside natives carried their intense emo- tion into the game and easily beat the highest rated sitcom in the land. The play of the game occurred when Zach Morris used his infa- mous "timeout," halting the progress of their rivals. Some shows never die. Maybe someone should have notified the cast of "Frasier," who were thor- oughly destroyed by Bugs, Daffy and the rest of the "Looney Tunes" gang. Wile E. Coyote enjoyed the rare thrill of victory but admits it was hard to be teamed with the Road Runner. Other great matchups included "Iron Chef" winning over fellow Food Network rival "Emeril Live" and "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" tri- [-'A-i umphing over fellow demon fighter "Angel" despite questions as to which demon slayer is more attrac- tive. Cartoons did surprisingly well. The Powerpuff Girls - Bubbles, Blossom, and Buttercup -- used their Chemical X to waste the hard- core prisoner of "Oz." "The Thun- dercats" and the Sword of Thundera came ever so close to toppling "The West Wing," arguably the finest current prime time drama. "Daria" and "Futurama" couldn't follow the foul-mouthed "South Park" kids and "The Simpsons" into the next round, but nevertheless, animation is well-represented going into round two. This week's match-ups look as heated as the past weeks.' "Sein- feld" appears to have the edge in round two against the Tanner clan. Many speculate Jerry and friends will make it to the final four. "The Simpsons," despite its fail- ure at the Emmys, has also dis- played early signs of confidence, leading us to believe only "Saved By the Bell" stands in their way of the final four. Other divisions are up in the air, with "The Sopranos," "West Wing" and "Survivor II" all looking to the championship contest. It's up to you to decide the fate of the remaining television programs in the tournament. 1 Friends 1 Survivor 1I 16 Saved by the Bell 16. Rocky & Bullwinkle 16 Saved By the Bell 8 Popular 9 Roswell 8 Drew Carey Show 9 Politically Incorrect 0 0 S 9 Roswell 5 Once & Again 12 Family Ties 5 Homicide 5 Homicide 12 Family Ties Z 12 1 Love Lucy 4 Buffy the Vampire Slayer L4 Bffy the VampireSlayer 4 Monday Night Raw 13 Silver Spoons1 13 Silver Spoons 13 Angel _ 3 Boston Public 6 Boston Public .1 Batman Beyond 6 Will & Grace 6 Will & Grace I 11 The Pretender 3 NYPD Blue 3 Frasier 14 Looney Toons 33NYPDBlue 3 NYPD Blue 14 Young Indiana Jones Chronicles 14 Looney Toons I 7 Sports Night 7 Cosby Show 7 Sports Night 7 Cosby Show { 10 All in the Family 10 Daria r 2 The Simpsons 2 The West Wing 2 The West Wing 12 The Simpsons LEFT: Powerpuff Girls overpower the prisoners of "OZ." RIGHT: Chairman Kaga ("Iron Chef") enjoys the taste of victory. I 15 Futurama *1 15 Thundercats i_ . I Eon your i nerna iona tong d is n c By Jenny Jeltes Daily Arts Writcr Is this good or bad? Is that wrong or right? It is exactly these types ol questions that result in turmoil and s u f f e r i n g tilhr1ohot the world because thecr will Struggling always be suf- Truths fering where ther e is confu- Perform ance Netw ork sie . ai n g sion. Taking ThroughApnl8 two opposing ph ilosophies, Buddhism and Communism, PlI a y w r i g h t Peter Mellen- camp explores the ways in which these two views clash during the 1950s in Tibet in his premiere of "Struggling Truths." Sang Sang (Thomas Hoagland) is a Buddhist monk who brings the audience into the devastating reality of the Chinese invasion of Tibet. Highly contemporary, Sang Sang makes these issues an important part of our everyday lives. By involving himself in the story of Dorje (David Wolber) and Rinchen (Tara Platt), two siblings who start out as two Tibetan peasants, but soon adopt radically different lifestyles, he brings to light the importance of finding one's- own "truth." He also helps the audience realize that one must dismiss the concept of certainty in order to achieve enlightenment - the state where all desire and suffering is transcended. The way in which this long and bitter struggle in Tibet is portrayed -is refreshingly unique and any audi- ence member can relate to the uni- versal themes that it deals with. Sang Sang is both extremely funny and wise. He speaks to Dorje, who begins training at the monastery, about meditation and the impor- tance of accepting human suffering, yet jokingly comments that his mother could have been reincarnat- ed as the fly that is currently buzzing around. "Struggling Truths" is both solid and the dialogue really hits home, because the issues it addresses can be understood by everyone. It makes one really think about the "here and now." The valuable lessons it emphasizes are incorpo- rated so well into the script that at no point does it appear fabricated or out of context. But as Sang Sang says, we are all on a big circle, some on one side and some on the other. Where does one side end and the next begin? It all depends on where you're sitting. The staging is both creative and smooth, and some actors play multi- ple characters, which adds a nice element of irony to the play's theme. Buddhism and Communism, although extremely different and the cause of much struggle during the 1950s, at moments seem to fit together well in the play. Confused yet? Perhaps this seemingly impos- sible dichotomy is necessary. The Chinese symbol of the Ying Yang represents the view that each side holds a seed of the other, explaining the black and white dots present on each respective side. Will we ever all get along? Maybe we will or maybe we won't. Buddhists strive to fully embrace human suffering and also find it necessary in order to gain under- standing, where others strive to pre- vent suffering and whatever cost. However, choosing to "not do some- thing" can be just as powerful as "doing something." Action or inac- tion, true or untrue, we all face decisions each and every minute of everyday, and these decisions create our own reality of who we really are. Who we "really" are. How can one "really" ever know? According to Buddhist philosophy, everything we do connects us to everyone else one way or another and this vital connection will forever shape us. "Struggling Truths" couldn't have shown this any better. 0 Antonio Ramirez and Tara Platt star in "Struggling Truths." I ma- ^^ . -7 ^^ R- I