The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, October 29, 2003, Page 8, Image 8
British IV
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 7
is the wrong word. But there are
just an awful lot less people here.”
The independence that many
British writefs enjoy at home may
account for their edgier humor,
which appeals to U.S. networks
thirsting to inject prime time with
something fresh—while endless
executive tinkering may sap that
same liveliness.
British television has occa
sionally adapted American shows,
including a hit 1990 remake of
“Who'S the Boss?” while U.S. tele
vision has succeeded recently
with reality programs such as
“Dog Eat Dog” and “American
Idol,” which originated in Britain.
A few successful translations
from the 1970s include “Sanford
and Son,” a remake of a U.K. show
about a junk-dealing father-son
pair called “Steptoe and Son,” and
“All in the Family,” adapted from
the British comedy “Til Death Us
Do Part.”
Some of the short-lived failures:
the remake of “Men Behaving
Badly,” which starred Rob
Schneider as a layabout bachelor,
and two renditions of John Cleese’s
revered 1975 British sitcom “Fawlty
Towers”-1983’s “Amanda’s,” star
ring a miscast Bea Arthur as the
comic foil, and 1999’s “Payne,” with
John Larroquette in the lead.
“It’s wrong to assume that ev
erything that works well in the
U.K. is going to work well here,”
said Beryl Vertue, Sue’s mother
and a pioneer in bringing British
shows to America in the 1970s.
“There are some series that do and
should. Some get a bit lost in the
translation, we have found.”
She was responsible for
“Sanford and Son” and “All in the
Family,” and said much of the suc
cess of those showsresulted from
the strong solo vision of producer
Norman Lear.
Things have changed since
then for scripted shows, she said.
“There’s a huge reliance on rat
ings and focus groups and far, far
too little reliance on a gut instinct,
and I think that’s a pity. And ulti
mately, I think it’s a mistake,” said
Beryl, a producer on both the U.S.
and U.K. versions of “Coupling.”
Whatever happens to
“Coupling” in the United States,
British television is still providing
fodder for new American shows.
“The Office,” a mockumentary
about a smarmy, pompous middle
manager and his team of brow
beaten drones, also is being con
verted into an American sitcom.
The show recently began its sec
ond season on BBC America and
a DVD of its first season became
available Oct. 7.
Ricky Gervais, the British star
of “The Office,” who co-wrote and
directed the series, pointed out
that the working styles of British
show business and the more elab
orate Hollywood industry make it
hard to replicate each other’s hits.
The U.S. version of “The Office”
will be high-risk if it turns up on
a network. Gervais predicted one
big change for the lead role — a
sex symbol.
Petty, Jackson
among honorees
at 2003 Radio
Music Awards
BY CHRISTINA ALMEIDA
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
LAS VEGAS •*- Tom Petty and
the Heartbreakers received
the Legend Award on Monday
at the 2003 Radio Music
Awards.
Stevie Nicks
presented the
award to the
group in front of
thousands of
cheering fans at
the Aladdin ho
Petty tel-casino on the
Las Vegas Strip.
“He not only
started out as my greatest musi
cal influence, but today he’s still
my greatest musical influence,”
Nicks said.
The group performed two
songs, “I’m Crying” and
“Runnin’ Down a Dream.” Petty
thanked radio stations for tak
ing a chance on an “unknown
band.”
Beyonce opened the show
with her sultry single, “Baby
Boy,” which the diva belted out
surrounded by a ring of fire.
Other superstars included
Jewel, Avril Lavigne and
Michelle Branch. Nelly, P.
Diddy and Murphy Lee hit the
stage and sang “Shake Ya
Tailfeather.”
The hit won best driving song.
-The two-hour show broad
cast live on NBC also honored
Michael Jackson, who took
home the Humanitarian
Award.
“Thank you for your love,
your support, all that you’ve
done,” Jackson said.
Casey Kasem received the
Radio Icon Award.
Justin Timberlake bagged
the Artist of the
Year/Top 40
Radio Award,
while Tim
McGraw won
the Artist of the
Year Award in
the country cat
egory.
“I thought I Timberlake
was just coming
here to present
an award,” Timberlake said. “I
get to take one home.”
' Brooke Burns of NBC’s “Dog
Eat Dog” and “American Idol”
host Ryan Seacrest hosted the
show.
The nominees in each catego
ry were based on radio’s top
playing songs.
Radio program and music di
rectors nationwide voted on the
winners.
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The Fire Theft
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 7
while it pursues more grandiose
and orchestral textures, the songs
aren’t as watered-down.
Enigk, while tempering his po
etically obscure lyrics, blares his
vocals with sincerity. On “Uncle
Mountain,” he humbly sings, “1
want God/ If God wants me,” and
then lets his voice build into a des
perate scream. “Oceans Apart”
opens with Enigk harmonizing
with himself — and uncannily
sounding like Jon Anderson of
Yes.
Enigk’s voice, however, can
sound either like a human sym
phony or a grating magpie de
pending on who is listening.
Either way, he is at the forefront
of The Fire Theft’s debut. While
the drums and bass are textural
ly colorful, they only paint the
backdrop for the vocals.
Sometimes the guitars even sound
like an afterthought. But for those
who like Enigk, he is on full dis
play here, and he majestically car
ries each song.
“Heaven,” the album’s most
beautiful song, is enough to set lis
teners afloat on the clouds.
Hearing Enigk’s brilliant tenor
voice sing “Falling in love with
you” is enough to make anyone
want to fall in love or have a reli
gious experience.
Even though the drums and
bass mainly serve as the frame
work for these lush compositions,
Goldsmith works in an interest
ing drum fill every now and then.
Mendel, who also plays with the
Foo Fighters, continues his role
as one of rock’s most creative
bassists — he doesn’t just ape
what the guitar player is playing,
and his bass lines always add an
other dimension to the music.
Despite the vocals’ prominence,
three instrumentals are scattered
throughout the album as segues.
They are slightly more experi
mental and feature backward tape
effects as well as a piano bathed
in reverb. One instrumental,
“Rubber Bands,” is probably the
album’s purest guitar-rock song,
but at about four minutes, it goes
on too long.
The Fire Theft is far from a
Sunny Day Real Estate reunion.
Many fans want another leg
endary album such as “Diary,”
and that remains unlikely, given,
these guys’ moodiness — Sunny
Day was an emo band, after all.
The Fire Theft doesn’t try to be
Sunny Day Real Estate, but it does
succeed at creating beautiful, hon
est music that redeems Sunny
Day’s flaky, overproduced final al
bum.
Comments on this story?E-mail
gamecockmixeditor@hotmail.com
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