Show i Page 20 — The Herald Journal Logan Utah Thursday March 25 1999 ONE BIG HAPPY IT5 AIL ABOUT APPLES AND ORANGES AND ITS GOT NOTHING 10 DO WITH REALITY SHARING YOUR CANDY AND HAVING MONEY IN YOUR POCKETS AND TRAINS LEAVING CHICAGO LOS ANGELES (AP) — It’i the year 3000 where “talking head" is a literal term the national slogan is the repressive “You gotta do what you gotta do" and suicide booths are a street comer staple You’re not laughing now but you will be: This is the world of “Futurama" a wickedly funny animated series from Matt Groening creator of "The Simpsons" It debuts 7:30 pm MST Sunday on Fox and moves to a regular Tuesday 7:30 pm slot on April 6 There it becomes part of an lineup that includes "King of the Hill" and "The PJs" underscoring the rise of cartoons in network prime time Like “The Simpsons" the new series by David X Cohen of longtime “Simpsons” service) pokes fun at the foibles of people and society But it also feasts lovingly on the cliches of science fiction Let others drool in anticipation of the forthcoming "Star Wars" prequel Force schmorce we'll happily settle for the adventures of Fry and his buddies: Leela the one-eye- d inlergalactic babe and Bender a robot with an attitude and a drinking problem A decade after “The Simpsons" began we finally have another vehicle for the Groening blend of visual and verbal wit and juvenile slapstick that guarantees entertainment for the entire 20th century (and beyond) family “Futurama" opens in present-da-y New York City where we meet Fry a slacker with a crummy job and an unfaithful girlfriend “I hate my life I hate my life I hate my life” he mutters He quickly gets to shed it after stumbling into the Applied Cryogenics office (company motto: “No power failures since 1997”) A thousand years whiz by in a clever sequence and our hero emerges as a fish out of water Yes New Yorkers are still rude Bosses haven’t gotten any better than Mr Bums But a millennium does make a difference Pneumatic tubes are the high-tec- h subway system For just 23 cents you can check out at any one of the convenient "Stop and Drop” locations “America’s favorite suicide booth since 2008" Spacecraft are home-k- it stuff But the world still has Richard Nixon to kick around: The heads of movers shakers and celebrities of the past are preserved in museums to share their wisdom (Look for a quick glimpse of Greening's mug perched next to Barbra Streisand's) This clever device allows “Futurama” to use CATHY I WANT OflHEb cumc&TMT MKL A HIP DONIT UNCONSTRUCTEO MISHfflASH CWER1N&V0UR BOM SMTEMEK CONflOtNT TOWN ME OUST CASUAL UNCOORDINATED CLOTHES A MAM AuMWORE New series ‘Futurama’ takes on the 30th century SMTCfflENT ! BEETLE BAILEY pizza-delive- HAGAR THE HORRIBLE NNYPoN'Tm&eT fl&HT fkyJ HONt 7 mu emu& OUK OVJN N our ON eropowHAT ' NANT WH0N m VNT-'AN- P PO(Z ANYTNlN&tt NOT t I Slifi idJIA ry “The Simpsons” trick of scattering celebrities throughout its stories The guest voices on the first episode are Leonard Nimoy and Dick Clark At first Fry is delighted with the change in scenery But he soon rebels at the rigidity of this brave new world: Tests have shown his greatest potential is as a delivery boy so he must be implanted with a chip that is a permanent job sentence That sets up the conflict that will cany Fry Leela and Bender into adventures on Earth and distant planets and it promises to be a wild ride The talented voices behind the cartoon figures are tete-a-te- te PEANUTS & AP Photo Leela left and Fry zoom across a futuristic New York City while their robot buddy Bender lower right throws dtoe and Or Zoidberg and the Professor upper left watch from the office of Planet Express of Fox's ‘Futurama The series debuts at 7:30 pm March 27 Billy West (Fry and other characters) Katey Sagal (Leela) and John DiMaggio (Bender and others) West has done extensive animation voice work including both TV’s Ren and Stimpy and Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd in the film "Space Jam" With ChilSagal (Peg Bundy on “Married artist as dren") proves a natural as a voice-ove- r does DiMaggio a comic whose acting credits include a recurring role on “Chicago Hope" as resident Scan Underhill Groening a longtime sci-- fi buff calls the future a natural subject for animation one ignored since 1962-63- 's “The Jctsons" That series failed to take satiric advantage of the turf the pedigree of “Futurama" and its timing ensures against that “With 'Star Wars' and 'Star Trek’ and all the other science fiction that’s out there it's fun to be able to comment on it in a witty way" Groening said in an interview Which is not to suggest a viewer must be steeped n in the wisdom of or Mr Spock to enjoy “Futurama" many of the sci-- fi references are familiar enough to he obvious Besides one of the joys of Greening's work is that viewers can search out the sly comedic references or just enjoy the ones that smack you in the face “My goal is to reward people for paying attention If you just watch the way most people watch TV the show will go by and it will be fine" said Groening “But if you want there's more to it" Speaking of sly Greening notes that he has been criticized for providing questionable role models in “The Simpsons" Underachieving Bart Homer and other characters have come under attack since the show's dehut This time most of the unseemly behavior seems to he the province of Bender the robot — who Groening reasons can't really be deemed a role model Sounds like wishful thinking Obi-Wa- beer-swilli- 30th-centur- y ‘EDtv’ is tender and witty MOTHER GOOSE AND GRIMM By Frazier Moore AP Television Writer Logic would suggest that “EDtv" is mainly about someone named Ed And something called TV Indeed both have major roles in this bracing new comedy from director Ron Howard that probes the nature of fame Ed lovably played by Matthew video-stor- e clerk who McConaughey is a 30-is- h consents to let a cable channel televise him live around the clock "All Ed all the time" is the slogan for ratings-starve- d True TV whose three-perso- n video crew shadows Ed broadcasting his life to an insatiable nation FOX TROT REAL LIFE ADVENTURES Movie review Swiftly this redneck schmo who had lived obscurely with his family in San Francisco has CLOSE TO HOME become a celebrity hailed from coast to coast “I don't go to the bathroom until Ed goes to the bathroom” declares one hooked viewer “because I don’t want to miss anything” On paper “EDtv” appears quite similar to “The Truman Show” which starred Jim Carrey as the hero of his own ongoing telecast But the differences are legion: Truman lived in a studio mocked up as his hometown Everyone around him was employed as his supporting players And he knew none of this “The Truman Show” was a chillingly observed allegory while “EDtv" is a lighthearted fable And it's something else: an unapologetic romance Which brings us to the film’s most delightful Win at bridge lead it seems as though South By Phillip Alder One ingredient: Ed's girlfriend Shari a UPS driver who just wants a relationship and — God help her! — privacy In this world of would-b- e stars Shari is the lodestar the modest but resolute conscience Shari neither wants to be on TV nor does she belong there After all Ed’s audience clamors for him to ditch her in favor of Jill (Elizabeth Hurley) a sexy actress angling to share Ed's prominence A splendidly appealing character Shari is played by Jenna Elfman and she is nothing short of a revelation The rest of the cast is strong too especially Woody Harrelson as Ed's loutish loopy brother Ray Unfortunately fame has its downside Now when Ray cheats on Shari (who as the film begins is dating him) she witnesses his philandering on live TV A bit later she fights hack announcing to the “EDtv'’ viewership that Ray is a zero in the bedroom This time a horrified Ray is watching the show Soon Shari and Ed have fallen in love Sally Kirkland is fine as the brothers' flighty mother and Martin Landau is spot-o- n as their stepfather an endearing kook confined to a wheelchair At their best (as in “A League of Their Own") screenwriters Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel share a deft human touch for comedy Thanks to them “EDtv" is not only nourished by an affectionately humorous tale but also armed with laugh-out-lodialogue of my favorite cartoons is Sherman's Lagoon It ranks up there with Peanuts and Mar-madu- ke Sherman is a shark who as you will have deduced lives in a lagoon He and his wife Megan have voracious appetites for all creatures especially must lose two major-su- it tricks However the bidding helped to push declarer in the right direction Yet perhaps he would have found the winning line anyway if East had settled for a overcall After winning with dummy's spade ace declarer cashed the missing trumps Cl 999 by NEA Inc North A v one-spa- I AQ174I K 5 A 10 2 club ace then played three This deal made me think of rounds of diamonds ruffing the last in the dummy Next he exitthem East took the opportunity to enter the bidding which is so ed with dummy's remaining humans often right when holding spades but he ended up being fed to the sharks by South How did the play go in six clubs? showed at East's two least 3 in the unbid suits It no-tru- 3-- might have worked well but Why shouldn't guys have scented candles too? South refused to be silenced with his good suit Then North bid what he expected his partner to make At first glance after the spade Rather than simply reading an employee's performance review to him Mr Ou Idler liked delivering N vie a rousing game of charedes South a J spade East experienced a sensation not unlike rows of sharp teeth puncturing his leg Having no trump with which to exit he could either lead a heart away from the king or — as he did — return a spade on which declarer discarded a heart while ruffing in the dummy Then South cashed the heart ace returned to hand with a heart ruff and drew the 2 J s All K Q J T 4 Vulnerable! Neither Dealer South Swlh West 1 Pus Pau I North East IV 2 NT All paa 0 Opening lead: a I i 10 |