8 - The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, March 15, 2006 ARTS New show more than skin deep By Anthony Baber Daily Arts Writer Leave me on 'Mars' In 1959, John Howard Griffin, a white man, col- ored his skin black and ventured to the South for his book "Black Like Me." Immediately upon publica- tion, the book revealed the still-blatant segregation and omnipresent strife between races. Even today, some people go out trying to make change, confronting the issue and attempting to bring it to its knees. Others just ignore it, feeling that there is no Black.White. direct impact on them so it's not "W a problem. Wednesdays Then there are those who sit at 10 p.m. around in constant paranoia, FX worried about the looks they receive from different people. So how can you get a better look at the way one race views another? Take a black family and a white family, switch their races, and put them in a house together. Rapper turned actor/director Ice Cube has cre- ated a new show to further explore the issue of racism. "Black. White." is fairly similar to "Trad- ing Spouses" and "Wife Swap," the latter in which a mother is sent to a family completely different from her own in terms of race, religion, sexual ori- entation or politics. "Black. White." takes it a step further by taking the African-American Sparks family and the Caucasian Wurgel family both from California, and housing them together, effectively intertwining their lives. Courtesy of FX Yes, those people are actually white. Weird. The families go through an intense makeup period, changing their skin tone, hair texture and eye color, making them look as convincing as possible. Along with the different appearance, they also change their routines, jobs and lifestyles. Rose Wurgel, who coin- cidently looks better as a black girl than a white girl, takes a spoken-word class and learns the elements of slam poetry. Brian Sparks, father and husband, takes a job at a local bar in a predominantly white area. Clearly, the fire is being stoked. Each family reacts differently. When Bruno sees his wife Carmen in black skin, they both instantly fall in love with each other all over again. She looks deeply in to his eyes and calls him a "beautiful, black creature" with an intense longing unseen since the days of James and Florida Evans. Even among the drama, "Black. White" knows how to break the tension. On the other side, as soon as Brian Sparks sees his newly-white wife Renee he bursts into sudden laughter, as does the entire family when they witness transformation that their son Nick also undergoes. The show's most vividly drawn aspect is the way the families clash. Bruno doesn't feel like racism remains present and contemporary racism is the equivalent of just having a bad day. Bruno also has an alarming predilection for the "n"-word and pro- ceeds to inquire about situations in which it might come into play. Brian, however, has a paranoia sur- rounding racism that's a bit too acute, believing that people simply moving over on the sidewalk is a sign of disrespect. The two contrast greatly and spend a lot of time engaging in (very entertaining) arguments. Though it's interesting to see them interact outside of their color, their average days are pretty mundane. It's the everyday get up, go to school, go to work and spend time with your family shtick. Still, the show is a great idea that could really generate interest, but it's been done before. Maybe people will actually pay attention this time. What is it about spunky blondes who fight injustice that makes for such great television? I'm not sure, but UPN's "Veronica Mars" has it in spades. Tonight's episode marks the series' first new mystery since January. Not since the "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" heyday has a show so won- derfully defied the expectations of its genre to become among the all-time great series. "Veronica Mars" has entered that pantheon after only a season and a half on the air. Let me preface this love letter with a confes- sion - I came late to the "Veronica Mars" bandwagon. No matterR how much good press; the show got, or even at. the urging of some of my best friends (who actu- ally have good taste inAA television), I wouldn't ROTTE give up my weekly fix of "Scrubs" (and this season, "Lost") to check out a vapid UPN teen drama. Not even the endorsement of "Buffy" mastermind Joss Whedon could sway me enough to tune in. I was wrong. "Veronica Mars" is no ordinary WB/UPN teen drama. It may look just like a carbon copy of those types of shows, but it has more in com- mon with the complex storytelling of "Buffy" than "Dawson's Creek." In fact, the series even hits at issues like class, race and sexuality in realistic and compelling fashion. Each week, Veronica, the petite heroine of the piece, helps solve mysteries either for her father (who runs a private detective agency) or for her schoolmates, never missing the opportunity for a pop-culture-laced quip along the way. But that's just the tip of the iceberg. The series features overarching mysteries that constantly return to haunt its title sleuth. If you are sitting on the fence like I was, then I urge you to check it out. What the series really needs is more viewers. And what television needs is more creative and original shows of this ilk. For the "Buffy" fans who have been waiting for the heir apparent from Whedon himself - it's not coming, at least not anytime soon - "Veronica" fills in more than admirably. I would even say that both of its seasons are tighter throughout than any single season of "Buffy." There are virtually no signs of grow- ing pains or truly wretched single episodes; the show hit it out of the )A EN park from the pilot. It even features recurring guest parts for Charisma Carpenter and Alyson Hannigan. Now that may catch those few devout "Buffy" fans who may have missed it, but I bet that doesn't do much to lure in the rest of you. Espe- cially when you look at what other shows "Veronica" is up against. You want to watch "Lost"; I under- stand that. I even do that (at least with TiVo). But believe me when I say "Veronica Mars" is a far more satisfying viewing experience than an hour with our favorite castaways. Both feature complex, dark mysteries and characters with murky pasts. They both even have resident assholes - Sawyer and Logan, respectively - that infuriate and enthrall at the same time. But only M "Veronica" seems to be 'BERG going somewhere. "Lost" dangles plotlines like it's the second coming of "The X-Files," whereas "Veronica Mars" eventually finds resolution. Last season revolved around finding who really murdered Veronica's best friend Lilly Kane. That mystery, as well as almost all of the other plot threads, was tied up by the season's end. "Lost" only opened the gateway to even more plodding stories as its castaways opened the mysterious "hatch." Forithe viewer who wants the mystery, even a sea- son-long one, to be solved eventually, "Veronica Mars" is the way to go. NBC and CBS air procedural dra- mas - veteran "Law & Order" and the newer "Criminal Minds" - that all deal with unraveling a criminal mystery. Why bother with simplistic, single-epi- sode story arcs and two-dimensional detectives when you can have complex, meaningful cases with well rounded characters? Once again, "Veronica Mars" is the clear winner of the timeslot. If you consider "American Idol" - which is really nothing more than a glorified karaoke contest - to be satisfying television, there's probably not much I can do to convince you otherwise. But at the very least, give "Veronica" a shot if your series of choice is a repeat. The show needs any ratings boost it can get before the bigwigs at the new CW network decide its fate. "Veronica Mars" truly is one of the best series on television and may well be the best show you're not watching. - Rottenberg thinks Kristin Bell can out-sass an entire fleet of waitresses. Argue with him at arotten@umich.edu. Blue Note reissues jazz greats on CD series By Lloyd Cargo Daily Music Editor When Blue Note first introduced the Rudy Van Gelder reissue series in 1999, jazz lovers every- Blue Note where rejoiced. Reissue Finally, the man Series who engineered more legendary Various titles sessions than Blue Note anyone else was re-mastering the classic albums he originally helped create in luscious, 24-bit sound. The series is already more than 100 titles deep, with batches of a half dozen released every few weeks. Most of the more famous titles, like Blue Train and Out to Lunch, were done first, but nearly every release is a gem, and at prices as low as $9.99, 'they're a spectacular bargain. This round includes Stanley Tur- rentine's Joyride, Dexter Gordon's Gettin' Around, Hank Mobley's Workout, Lee Morgan's The Gigolo, The Horace Silver Quintet's Horace- Scope and Andrew Hill's Smoke- stack. While none of these titles are their respective artists' best work by any means, each of them have strengths that make them essential in their own right. Perhaps the most noticeable aspect of a Blue Note is the stunning artwork, usually featuring a Francis Wolff photograph. Here, the liner notes are expanded with informa- tive essays and gorgeous pictures, but thankfully, the original artwork and liner notes are still intact. It's a wonderful way of juxtaposing old and new. The sound is also stunning, re- mastered with tender love. The recordings still feature Van Gelder's trademark well balanced sound, with the sort of soft clarity that early CD issues lacked. Some of these titles are being issued on CD for the first time, and Blue Note still has hun- dreds more in the vaults. Of particular interest is Lee Mor- gan's The Gigolo, one of Philadelphia trumpeter Morgan's finer efforts, with its rubber-dart solos and sear- ing tenor from Wayne Shorter. Hank Mobley, another Philadel- phia giant, also burns hard on his Workout. He's accompanied by gui- tarist Grant Green and pianist Wyn- ton Kelly - excellent sidemen to have on any album - really stretch out over a batch of tunes by the steady tenor. The bonus tracks on each album are also of interest. Stanley Turren- tine's Joyride adds a Lou Donaldson tune, "Gravy Train," and a Brother Jack McDuff tune, "A Kettle of Fish," that compliment the songs on the original album. Andrew Hill's Smokestack is aided by two alter- nate takes on songs that appear on the album, "Ode to Von," and "No So," which show how fast Hill was adapting his songs in the studio and offer a glimpse into how precise these musicians really were. All of these albums benefit from the Rudy Van Gelder Series treat- ment, making discs like Dexter Gordon's Gettin' Around and Smoke- stack worthy of a second purchase, if not a first. These reissues are that much nicer, and the music, pictures and liner notes have set the standard for jazz reissues. 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