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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 19, 2000)
Inesday, January I 1 ), 20(X) AGGIELIFE THE BATTALION Page 3 Year In Television 1999 recycles old material while bringing new ideas to the slate mi i n in i imm BY JULIA RECINDUS The Battalion A lthough viewers are presented with hundreds of channels to choose from, few TV shows of 1999 strayed from tried-and-true formulas. This may have been because innovative show s lavished w ith critical praise, such as Fox's “Action”, did not draw viewers. Hit shows focus on teen woes What millions of viewers did tune in to see last year were the clique of teen dramas. These popular, addictive shows, including “Party of Five” and “Dawson’s Creek," were joined by "Popular" and spin-offs such as “Time of Your Life,” which captivated their viewers by suck ing them into the throes of white, middle-class teenager’s woes. Networks seem to have caught on to the fact that creating programs aimed at teens is smart because not only do teens have money to burn, which makes these shows attractive to advertisers, but these programs seem to have long-lasting shelf lives, as shown by the stay ing power of “Beverly Hills, 90210.” Old ideas, new twist One genre that has made a startling come back is the quiz show. Led by ABC’s “Who Wants to be a Millionaire?," hosted by Regis Philben, a slew of copycat shows have fol lowed including CBS’s “Winning Lines” and Fox’s “Greed.” Boys will be boys The producers of “Candid Camera” probably never imagined what Tom Green, host of “The Tom Green Show,” would do w ith the simple premise of tap ing people’s reactions to outlandish situa tions. Green, along w ith his co-host, Glen, re sorts to juvenile tactics to get a laugh, such as interviewing people with a microphone topped with animal excrement, invading strangers' homes in the wee hours of the morning for a member of his crew to take a shower and having his parents wake up to find an obscene statue on their front lawn. Comedy Central’s “The Man Show” took the idea behind ABC’s “Politically Incorrect” one step further by allowing hosts Jimmy Kimmel and Adam Carolla to not only share their politically incorrect thoughts, but also bring these thought to life as they watch girls jumping on tram polines. Kimmel explained that the duo also found inspiration in daytime feminist pro grams, such as “Oprah.” “It’s almost like the women have come to gether to yammer as a community on televi sion,” Kimmel said in an inten iew with The Battalion. “There’s so many shows that are just women yammering all day. Like “The View” — my wife had it on this morning — and all these "Oprah” and talk shows that are all tar geted to women. And they’re all very insidi ous because they are anti-man; they just pre tend that they're not. We are a show for men, and we make no bones about it.” Shows of a different nature Though Jacques Cousteau’s name is syn onymous with nature shows, “The Crocodile Hunter” is nothing like Cousteau’s sedate pro gram — for “The Crocodile Hunter,” danger is the name of the game. Steve Erwin and his wife, Terry, take view ers into the wilderness as he wrestles croco diles, handles snakes and chases li/ards. With a child-like enthusiasm and a heavy Australian accent, Steve enlightens viewers about the “beauties" he encounters. In the wild kingdom of nature shows, this one brings the audience as close to the action as one can get. Viewers accompany Steve on his zany ad ventures and feel the excitement of being a part of his expeditions as he cheats death at every turn. Much like "Crocodile Hunter" took Jacques Cousteau’s concept to a new level, “The Simpsons" creator Matt Groening has given the premise of the ’60s cartoon “The Jet- sons” a new twist with his view of the future in “Futurama,” providing a witty, darker coun terpart for "The Simpsons.” As for the year ahead. Fox is once again on a mad dash to prevent its newest critical dar ling, "Malcolm in the Middle,” from becom ing the next “Action” by running the show twice a week and creating commercials that quote several prominent newspapers and mag azines harping about the show. But ultimately, it will be up to viewers to decide if any innovations will take place in the medium that deserves a bad reputation. EMILY HARREU/1 in Battalion THE BONFIRE BENEFIT CONCERT Lyle Lovett 79 & Robert Earl Keen 78 Sunday, February 6th 6:00 pm Reed Arena ALL PROCEEDS TO BENEFIT THE BONFIRE RELIEF FUND Tickets on sale Jan. 22 at 10am at Reed Arena, the MSC Box Office, and all Ticketmaster outlets, or by phone at 268-0414 presented by The Association OF FORMER STUDENTS Persons with disabilities requiring special assistance are requested to call 845-1515 to communicate special needs. We request notification three (3) working days prior to the event to enable us to assist individuals to the best of our ability. Bonfire Memorial Issue of The Texas Aggie The Association of Former Students has printed an additional supply of the Bonfire Memorial Issue of The Texas Aggie Magazine for current students. Copies will be available at the Clayton Williams Alumni Center during normal business hours. (one per student, please) The Association OF FORMER STUDENTS oztPy The; Aggie, NetuzonJcf