8D - The Michigan Daily - New Student Edition - Fall 2003 4 Simonsays you suck!. By Adam Rottenberg Daily Arts Writer FOX's monster reality hit, "American Idol," returned for its second season debut in a sur- prisingly entertaining style. The reality show wave has run rampant across television air- waves for the past few years. However, "Ameri- can Idol" changed the basic formula of the talent show contest by having the judges tell it like it is. It took a relatively benign subject matter and infused it with appealing cruelty other shows in the genre lacked. The first few episodes are where "American Idol" really thrives because of the American pop- ulace's complete lack of talent. The idiocy found in these so-called "competitors"' decisions to embarrass themselves on national television leads to great television. Simon Cowell, the nasty British record execu- tive, has zero tolerance for bad music. He callous- ly berates a competitor following an awful rendition of a song, often causing the competitor to break down in tears. This year, Simon is no longer alone in not holding back any punches; Randy Jackson, an American record exec, has+ joined to voice his intolerance. Paula Abdul, a washed up former Laker girl and pop-idol, still isI overly sweet and manages toI American annoy Simon and America with her comments. Idol The true highlight of the FOX premiere was a contestantI named Edgar, dressed and attempting to sing like Enrique Iglesias, who, after destroying the judge's eardrums, keptc lying to everyone and attempting to fight hisi way back into the contest. New this year is the dumping of one of the two annoying hosts - only Ryan Seacrest remains. This truly is an example of additionc by subtraction. In the premiere episodes,c Seacrest focused on the backgrounds and feel-i ings of the contestants. Without his former partner, it comes across as mildly amusing as opposed to downright dreadful.f The episodes focusing on the talent search ini , Alla l'24' makes it's triumphant return on FOX By Christian Smith Daily Arts Writer Courtesy of FOX Untalented man points out lack of talent In others. different cities showed how popular "American Idol" has become. It's interesting to see how the preliminary rounds offer a different look at talent than what the rest of the show will provide. As with last season, the talent pool will get better each week while America votes on who will stay. However, Simon's insults and the humor found within the show decreases as the talent increases. The focal point changes towards the quality of singing and performance and the completely inept singers will no longer be there to be berated by the judges. While the argument can be made about Simon's brashness as cruelty, he always speaks the truth. Without Simon Cowell, all "Ameri- can Idol" would be is a glossed up karaoke contest. With him, it becomes something far more entertaining. So enjoy the idiocy displayed with people who for some odd reason believe they are tal- ented, and Simon's desire to tell them that they most certainly are not. In one of television's most surprising and memorable scenes of last year, federal agent Jack Bauer cradled his pregnant wife's lifeless body in his arms, bringing to an end an intensely eventful day of conspir- acy, terror and tragedy. After the artistic and creative success of the first season, it seemed it would be diffi- cult to retain the suspense and originality of the show without retreading some of the same waters. And because the show's groundbreaking achievement didn't neces- sarily translate into commercial success (the series averaged only 8.6 million weekly viewers), the producers of 2tthe show had difficulty convincing the network to FOX continue with the real- time concept that made the show innovative in the first place. The concern was that the overarching format (24 hours in one day equals 24 episodes of one season) is too restrictive to potential viewers in that self-contained episodes allow the audience to come and go at their leisure. This was evident in last year's complex, season-long plotline, in which Bauer, a gov- ernment agent of the CIA's Counter Terror- ist Unit, was suddenly assigned the task of stopping an assassination attempt on lead- ing Presidential Candidate Senator David Palmer while simultaneously attempting to find his kidnapped wife and daughter. Bauer ultimately derailed the plot and recovered his family, but not before his wife was murdered by his ex-girlfriend/agency turncoat, Nina. Following such an intricate and demand- ing story, FOX's hesitation was understand- able. But somehow, the masterminds behind "24" have managed to come up with an idea that is equally as timely, inventive and exciting as the original. Tonight's second season premiere picks up 16 months later. Senator Palmer is now President Palmer (Dennis Haysbert, "Major League"), and Jack Bauer (Kiefer Suther- land) is a grieving and depressed mess, inactive from CTU and detached from his daughter, Kim (Elisha Cuthbert). While Bauer continues to mourn the murder of his wife, Kim works as a nanny for a swanky upper-class family, whose paterfamilias turns out to be a little more authoritative than she would like. Meanwhile, at precisely 8 a.m. the Presi- dent receives word in the middle of a fish- man with possible terrorist ties. Assuredly, these will become less vague and more connected over the course of the season, culminating in some form of thrillingly intricate plot revelation. Other prominent new characters include a wily new Presidential aide (Timothy Carhart) and an overeager computer pro- grammer at CTU (Sarah Gilbert, "Roseanne"), who will be joining such CTU regulars as Tony Almeida (Carlos Bernard) and George Mason (Xander Berkeley), all of whom will undoubtedly become drawn into the political intrigue before long. Also returning for the second wind, although not in the premiere, will be the President's scheming and manipulative (now ex-) wife, Sherry (Penny Johnson Gerald), as well as Nina's betraying CTU mole, played by a passionate Sarah Clarke. All of the characters are exceptionally crafted and superbly acted, but as there isn't much room for character development with- in the given format, it's Sutherland's tour- de-force performance as the emotionally battered and conflicted Bauer that buttress- es the show's appeal. Along with his wife, he has lost his limits, and has no problem demonstrating this in truly shocking fash- ion in the first hour. The producers don't shy away from the uncomfortable subject matter and question- able motives, exploring the timely topic of terrorism head-on. Although the ambiguous "Second Wave" terrorist organization has ties to an unnamed country, the proposition of such a dastardly event and its appalling consequences are revealed in a way that horrifically parallels our reality, maybe too much so for some viewers. Nonetheless, the show's depth and com- plexity makes it is safe to say that you are not going to find a better program on net- work television than "24," and you don't want to miss a second. Fortunately, FOX'S sister cable network, FX, will be airing episodes after they run on Tuesdays, so there is no excuse not to follow this year. Time bomb. ing trip that terrorists have a rogue nuclear bomb somewhere on U.S. soil, and they are planning to detonate it within the next 24 hours. Thus enters the real-time format, and of course, Jack Bauer. Palmer persuades Bauer, who with his craggy beard and flan- nel shirt looks more like a weathered lum- berjack than a government agent, to return to CTU and head-up the anti-terrorist effort. A handful of vaguely interconnected subplots are also introduced, including a wedding day suspicion coming from a woman (Sarah Wynter) who believes that her sister may be marrying a dangerous Conan O'Brien shines as host of a predictable Emmy Awards By Ryan Blay Daily TV/New Media Editor Last year's Emmy host, Ellen DeGeneres, deserved the acclaim she received after hosting the first post-Sept. 11 awards show. But this year, Conan O'Brien topped her and all previous hosts. Among the targets of Conan's humor at the 54th Annual Emmy Awards: Anna Nicole Smith, the major TV networks, award winners who dedicate their awards to another nominee and O'Brien's own ex-colleague, Andy Richter. Conan's brilliant performance, including a brief opening sketch with the Osbournes, saved the show from shooting itself in the foot. The presenters, including the less than thrilling pairing of "Malcolm in the Middle's" Frankie Muniz and Robert Wuhl of "Arli$$," were dull as usual. A tribute to television inventor Philo T. Farnsworth and a speech by former New York City mayor Rudy Guiliani also bogged down what began as an energetic show. The majority of the awards given were predictable, including several victories for "Everyone Loves Ray- mond," HBO's "Band of Brothers" and Albert Finney for "The Gathering Storm." One of the few surprises was Michael Chiklis' outstanding lead actor award for FX's rookie show, "The Shield." Still, Conan promised changes and he delivered. Threatening to play Jethro Tull music if the accept- ance speeches went too long, diagramming the types of people in the audience (including "Jerry Orbach's posse" and "parasites and sycophants") or having fun with the cameraman, Conan's amuse- ment was infectious. His monologue was as funny as any he has done on his late-night show. Between the standard tributes to the lost TV stars of the past year (including a tribute to Milton Berle), Oprah Winfrey received the inaugural Bob Hope Humanitarian Award and Sting became an Emmy winner. The biggest overall winner of the evening was "The West Wing," with victories for John Spencer, Allison Janney and Stockard Channing, and out- standing drama. Its fellow NBC show, "Friends," took home a pair of awards as well. M tMW O'Brien delivers as Emmy host. "THIS IS RIDICULOUS, OK I'LL GO... I'LL GO. WHAt? I' L GO! SH" . IFpeAMERON CAN MAKE IrT, SO CAN YOU: COME TO THE DAILY MASS MEETING IN THE.FALL The University of Michigan museum of art 4 15,000 works of art that span the globe and the centuries. Provocative special exhibitions, year-round. Performances, concerts, community days. Want to get the Muse News? It's a free monthly email for UM students who care about art. 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