Defective adults... Author John Fulton visits Shaman Drum to read from his new book "Retribution." Sign- ing to follow. 8 p.m. michigandaily.com/arts ARTS r TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 25, 2001 5 'Undeclared' pans trite college dreck Cast of'Emeril' overshadows cook By Jennifer Fogel Daily Arts Editor As most of us know, Hollywood would like us to believe that it can capture the college experience and regurgitate it back out glamorized and inspired, awaiting our viewer- ship. Of course, Undeclared FOX Tonight at 8:30 p.m. " rarely does this filmed reality come close to grasping the truth, a la "Felicity" (Does anyone actually fall for their Resident Advi- sor?). We have learned, and quite quickly, that college isn't "Animal House," nor is it "Revenge of the Nerds." Instead, produced an extremely intelligent comedy about the best four years of one's life. The father of this brainchild is Judd Apatow, whose crowning glory was the critically acclaimed, but now defunct "Freaks and Geeks." "Freaks and Geeks" presented high school life in a fresh perspective, presenting teen angst with intelli- gence instead of just for comedic laughs. Apatow now dares to depict the life of a college freshman with the same feelings of rebellion and rejection that garnered him acclaim in the beginning. "Undeclared" stars Jay Baruchel ("Almost Famous") as Steve Karp, a geeky and naive freshman at the University of North Eastern Califor- nia. Looking forward to starting anew and away from his awkward high school identity, Steve is ready, willing and able to kick start his college career-- without a major of course. After the goodbye lecture from dear old dad, Steve jumps into the mass that is affectionately called "move-in" full of overzealous par- ents with video cameras and stu- dents overridden with anxieties. Entering his room, Steve encoun- ters suitemates Ron (Seth Rogan, a "Freaks and Geeks" alum and "Undeclared" writer) and Marshall (Timm Sharp) playing a drinking game probably developed to break up the.monotony of "Hi, my name is so and so, what's your major?"-type conversation. Before Steve can even By Melissa Gollob Daily Arts Writer The King of Creole food, Emeril Lagasse, is back with a different kind of cooking show. Well it's not quite a cooking show at all. Actual- ly it's a comedy based on the Food Network's most prized series, "Emeril Live." Emeril stars in this kooky behind-the-scenes look at how a nationally tele- vised cooking show is run. "Emeril" is Emeril set in New York City and show- Courtesy of FOX The cast of "Undeclared" begin their college experience before the camera. F our college experiences are as var- ied as the genres of movies and tele- vision shows that would like us to believe that it is our "life" that they are depicting. A shining light through the dark has finally appeared on the small screen, and although it cannot be classified as the absolute truth, "Undeclared" captures the college "experience" that most'other shows have been missing. Finally, FOX has parted the waves of teen dreck that have enveloped our senses (thanks in large part to the WB) and unpack, his roommate Lloyd, a suave Brit, informs him about the party they are having that night. Of course, party can mean only one thing ... women. What ensues is one mishap after another on the adventure to finding women for the party. While Lloyd. douses the ladies with his uncanny charm, the other three are basically inept when it comes to the opposite sex. Pretty soon Steve is just asking anyone, including cute frat boys. (In an interesting twist, the frat boy Steve asks to the party is, in fact, Tom Welling, the new Superman on the WB's "Smallville.") While the boys play, the new girls arc situating themselves into their new freedom. Lizzie (Carla Gallo) obsessively adorns her dorm walls with pictures of her boyfriend Eric (Jason Segel, another "Freaks and Geeks" alum), but secretly yearns for a life without restraint. Her roommate Rachel (Monica Keena, "Dawson's Creek"), is given to panic attacks, but eventually learns to deal with her new situa- tion. Not only is the writing effective and intelligent, but also each char- acter seems to be made for the respective actor. This is in part due to the fact that "Undeclared" was cast before Apatow wrote the pilot. Each actor convincingly portrays his counterpart, and actually seems to be having fun. Apatow doesn't allow any of his characters to fall by the wayside, unlike many of the television shows today, and revels in each character's quirks. Don't expect "Undeclared" to follow the conventional, because based on the first episode's surprise ending, this show is anything but usual. Do expect a fun and intelli- gent show, one that truly makes the grade. 9 , NBC Tonight at 8 p.m. cases many actors that help the real Emeril Lagasse learn the ropes of act- ing. His three assistants all play a key role in playing off each other so gance and disregard for most of the cast makes her the adversary for the entire show, especially the three central women. Jerry (Robert Urich, "Spencer: For Hire"), the agent, engages Emeril with conversation the most and showcases his humor- ous side by giving a convincing impersonation of Emeril's Food Network colleague Wolfgang Puck. "Emeril" begins on the set of Emeril the cooking show. An impromptu meeting ensues.with Trish telling the entire cast they need to lose weight fora contest among other Food Network shows. No one does well in the beginning and they all sneak food on the side until they realize the winners will win almost $5000 each. This revela- tion breathes new life into the group and they become exercise machines. The entire cast rides exercise bikes in wet suits to sweat off more weight. Cass remarks they look like sperm being punished for being too slow. During the last weigh-in Jerry and Emeril are late and so the rest must stall to win. In the end, they show up without a hair of time to spare. Even though the show is titled, "Emeril," the focus on the support- ing cast demonstrates the show uses Emeril Lagasse merely for his name to gain viewers. Fortunately for loyal viewers they won't be disap- pointed when they turn on "Emeril." The repartee among the characters is witty and refreshing. Emeril him- self does exhibit potential for acting and his stage presence can be felt even though he has little dialogue. "Emeril" kicks the new sit-com season up a notch and puts his own essence on humor - with a BAM of course! Emeril doesn't work too hard to be funny. Cass (Lisa Ann Walker, "The Parent Trap") is Emeril's stage man- ager and B.D. (Carrie Preston, "My Best Friend's Wedding") helps him set up the kitchen. These two char- acters along with Melva (Sherri Shephard, "Everybody Loves Ray- mond") make up the three most comedic personas in the cast and the central part of the plot. The other remaining cast mem- bers play smaller roles that just seem to initiate the action and help move it along. Trish (Tricia O'Kel- ley, the Heartstrings Greeting card creator at Target) represents the Food Network and is always trying to improve Emeril's show. Her arro- 'Guardian' mixes cute Brit, kids with snappy dialogue as CBS season begins By Melissa Gollob Daily Arts Writer What happens when a spoiled rich lawyer gets arrested for drug possession? He's forced to do 15,000 hours of community service for the child advocacy agency. That doesn't really sound so bad, after all he could be in jail. But for corporate attorney Nick Fallin (Simon Baker, "Felicity") serving the com- munity doesn't work well The with his schedule. Little does Guardian he know his journey will make him "The Guardian." Nick is an associate in his Tonight at 9 p.m. father's firm and seems to " care only about himself. On his first day at the court- house, he meets a social worker and his first client, a boy named Hunter. As the day progresses, petent lawyer and has another job outside his community service. It is important to know he has a day job so Nick will ultimately have to decide the type of work he wants to do in the end. But as he spends more time with Hunter, his heart will soften and one can guess that his days as a corporate lawyer are numbered. The series is ongoing; Hunter's story will con- tinue for multiple episodes and more cases should begin to pile on Nick. "The Guardian" focuses on Nick with others as minimal supporting cast to help him find out information and give him access to what he needs. He uses the social work- er to gain entrance into Hunter's home to search it and uses his secretary Amanda (Erica Leehsen, "The Sopranos") for background checks. The show moves quickly through the action so it's never boring or repetitive. At times it was hard to pinpoint the direction Nick's thoughts were taking, especially in the scenes with Hunter's father. "The Guardian" mixes a cute guy with snappy dialogue and cute kids. The combination appeals to many groups of people. The fact it is a quality show does not hurt either. The internal and exter- nal conflicts that will arise within Nick are surely worth watching for. A successful attorney learn- ing to make a difference in children's lives is a wonderful concept to watch and inspire you to do the same. Courtesy of NBC Emeril Lagasse lends his name to a show that only uses him as a pretty face. There is always the Food Network. Baml .J Nick admits. he has never actually been before a judge - a real comforting thought for Hunter. The boy refuses to speak in their first interview so Nick goes into the court- room without any information. When it turns out the boy witnessed his father stabbing his mother to death, Nick turns and runs out of the court- house. This seems to be the first time he really gets a sense of what child advocacy is all about. Hunter reveals he wants to live with his father, if possible, in the future. Nick visits Hunter's father in prison and realizes he can help reunite father and son. While Nick tries to help Hunter, he also has a deal to close for his law firm. A large corpora- tion'wants to buy a dot-com business. This seems to be thrown into the plot to show Nick is a com- LIVE AND LEARN JAPANESE! The Waseda Oregon Programs take North American and international students to the prestigious Waseda University, Tokyo, Japan for academic programs of Japanese language and comparative US-Japan Societies study: " Waseda Oregon Transnational Program January 15 - June 21, 2002 . Waseda Oregon Summer Japanese Program July 4 - August 16, 2002 Scholarships of up to $1000 are available for the Transnational Program. For more information, contact: Waseda Oregon Office Portland State University Courtesy of CBS "Cloak and Dagger" star Dabney Coleman fathers Brit Simon Baker in the art of "The Guardian." 'Burn' popularizes 'ballroom dance art By Charity Atchison Daily Arts Writer Ballroom isn't just for your grandparents anymore. "Burn The Floor" is proving just that. Speeding r up and expanding the traditional ballroom and Latin dance is what this show is about. The idea for "Burn the Floor" came to producer Harvey Medcalf after attending Elton John's birth- tion and explore a new artistry with their steps. Every number showcas- es unique costumes to fit the mood the choreographers were looking for. The U.S. productions have been a little different for "Burn the Floor" than those performed overseas. The majot difference being venue. Unlike other shows, the U.S. shows play in theaters rather than in large stadium-style venues, giving the show a more theatrical side. "Burn the Floor" is giving dancers another way to supplement their incomes. Most professional ballroom dancers teach, including those who have won major titles. "Burn" is -giving these champi- Attention CHORAL SINGERS You are invited to join the University Musical Society CHORAL UNION Thomas Sheets, conductor 2001-2002 Season Handel: Messiah Ann Arbor SO Ives: Symphony No. 4 San Francisco SO Brahms: German Requiem Ann Arbor SO Beethoven: Missa Solemnis Detroit SO The UMS Choral Union does it all! Under the leadership of Thomas Sheels, the 135-voice Choral Union appears regularly in Ann Arbor with major orchestras and conductors in critically acclaimed performances of choral masterworks. The 72-voice Concert Choir .nrfrm msi o rf cnthe-r agenres.fand our STUDENTS WITH CROH N'S DISEASE OR ULCERATIVE COLITIS Please join Dr. Ellen Zimmermann Assistant Professor of Gastroenterology, U of M For an informal discussion of topics including: eNutrition *New Therapies (800) 823-7938 www.wasedaoregon.org Q "If I am not for myself, who will be for me? And when I am only for myself, what am I? And if not now, when?" Hillel M'itzvah a Fall 2001 A Day of Community Service Sunday, October 7, 3 t Burn the Floor day party. Where after seeing a ball- room show he thought it need- ed a little spice. And spice he's I .I i