THE GAMECOCK ♦ Friday, December 5, 2003
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The good, the bad and the ugly in 2003
BEST OF TELEVISION
Networks perfect program lineups
BY CARRIE GIVENS
the Gamecock *
It is not difficult to find something to
watch on television. If you are a “Law &
Order” fan, the show airs on NBC, USA
and TNT. Starting at 7 p.m., a “Law and
Order” buff can catch it continuously un
til midnight. Of course, you might have
to change the channel to find another
episode, but it is almost guaranteed that
you will find one. Fortunately for the
roommates of these crime-drama
junkies, “Law and Order” was not the
only show on during the past year.
The fall 2003 television season in
troduced a variety of new shows:
There was the show with the girl
who talked to God, the show
^k with the divorce lawyer play
ing matchmaker during over
time and the show about
B Tarzan in New York City.
H For many college students,
however, jobs, heavy course
loads and the need to study
limit their television time.
First-year computer sci
ence student Jeremy Vander
Knyff said, “School has taken a
lot of priority... and (I'm) trying to de
velop a social life.”
Earlier this year, VanderKnyff en
joyed watching “ The West Wing,”
“Monk” and “MI-5.” But he stopped
watching “The West Wing” wheh “It
started getting bad.”
VanderKnyff described “MI-5” as a
“fast-paced crime drama” that he has
continued watching because it has “kept
(my) attention — and most television
can’t.”
First-year mathematics student
Jennifer Mason said she watches less
television in college. If she does have
time, she watches “Friends.” A fan since
the first season, Mason enjoys the funny
antics of Chandler and is not worried
about this being the last season. Instead
of being sad, she said, “I’ll just watch re
runs.”.
Drew Cutright, a first-year journalism
student, also enjoys comedies instead of
dramas. A fan of Comedy Central, she
watches “South Park” weekly because it
is the “funniest show on television.”
Cutright added that one of the main
reasons she likes it is because “Nothing
is off limits ... (it) makes fun of every
thing.”
Earlier this year, Cutright watched
an episode of FOX’s “The OC.” She dis
liked it, though, because it was just about
“rich kids with rich problems.”
First-year electrical engineering stu
dent Greg Inabinet is anticipating the
spring premiere of FX’s “The Shield.” He
described the show as one of the “most re
alistic cop shows that is on right now.”
Inabinet explained that the “show
shows how much corruption there really
is in the police department... and it
makes the viewer question what true jus
tice is and how much the law should be
bent to ascertain it.”
He said he has loved the show ever
since tuning into the first episode: “It
sucks you in; it’s awesome.”
Unfortunately for Inabinet, USC’s
Gamecock Cable does not include the FX
channel. Inabinet said he plans on get
ting someone to tape “The Shield" for
him even though “it’s not the same as
watching the show.” -
For all of the returning winners and
new favorites, the fall television lineup
introduced its share of losers too. NBC’s
“Coupling” and “Boomtown,” FOX’S
“Louis” and “Skin” and UPN's “The
Mullets” have all fallen victim to the net
work ax. In addition, NBC’s “Lyon’s
Den,” CBS’s “Brotherhood'of Poland,
NH” and the WB’s “Tarzan” are facing
the possibility of cancellation.
In other network news, former FOX
shows “The Family Guy” and
“Futurama” are getting so much atten
tion on Cartoon Network that FOX is
now reevaluating the shows’ futures.
And even more importantly, the third
season of the ever-popular “American
Idol” will premiere Jan. 20.
Yes, that noise you hear is the sound
of subjected roommates groaning across
campus. At least they know that “Law &
Order” is never more than a channel
away.
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BEST OF MUSIC
Variety in music reaches new highs
BY CAITLIN COKER
the Gamecock
2003 was another year of innovators,
renegades and soon-to-be classics in the
music world. The accessibility of tunes
has skyrocketed, regardless of the ethi
cal issues, as consumers can now choose
to bum CDs from the Internet, copy CDs
■from a buddy, buy music from stores
such as Manifest Disc or download songs
legally through iTunes. The variety of
artists and styles listeners can sort
through continues to expand because of
the constant reinvention and revamping
of established musical concepts.
Students have so many different se
lections to choose from that seemingly
no two music fans share a favorite.
Chris Yandel, a second-year interna
tional business student, pointed to
Radiohead’s release “Hail to the Thief’
as his favorite album of the past year.
“Thom Yorke is a super-genius,” said
Yandel. “The blending of instruments
and vocals is amazing.”
Zach Nichols, a third-year mathemat
ics and biology student, thinks Mars
Volta’s “Deloused in the Comatorium”
and The Rapture’s “Echoes” are tied for
the best album of 2003 because of their
inventiveness.
‘"ftiey both push the boundaries of
where music is going and will be influ
ential in the years to come,” said Nichols.
First-year music education student
Logan Goldstein agrees that “Echoes” is
one of the best albums of the year. “It’s
a merger of traditional art-punk and
Neptune-esque kind of beats *— dance
music and disco music plus indie.
‘Echoes’ might signal a new era of the in
dependent scene,” said Goldstein.
But Goldstein’s ultimate favorite
seemed to be Outkast’s newest album,
“Speakerboxxx/The Love Below,” be
cause of the group’s genius in inventing
new standards in hip-hop music.
“Outkast is the greatest rap duo of all
time,” explained Goldstein. "How far
they push the boundaries is how far rap
music goes. They do not sound like any
thing else that has ever been done—and
that is very hard to do.”
Less popular bands can also pile-drive
listeners and dominate their boom boxes.
Aaron Johnson, a second-year media
arts student, was immediately engrossed
by The Junior Science Club’s latest re
lease, “Gbodbye, My 4-Track.”
“The Junior Science Club’s hit new
album is the most rocking-your-socks
off album to hit the streets since Rush’s
introspective compilation,” said
Johnson, “It combines the happenin’ hip
ster beats of Lawrence Welk and the
can’t-get-out-of-your-head tunes of They
Might Be Giants.”
Muse’s “Absolution” has been anoth
er favorite of this year. Dawson Clarence
Huss, a fourth-year media arts student,
declares it his favorite of 2003.
“Muse is friggin’ awesome as crap,”
said Huss. “They merge incredibly
catchy pop songs and melodies with new
musical sounds and chords.”
Evidencing their musical longevity,
the legendary Fleetwood Mac’s “Say you
Will” is at the top of Josh Watson's “Best
CDs of 2003” list. Watson, a second-year
religious studies and English student,
described the album as “fearless.”
“It takes tunes like those from
‘Rumors’ and turns them upside down."
Watson said. “The members of Fleetwood
Mac are about 55 years old — they prove
that artists don’t peak at 30 or 40.”
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Top-grossing films at the box office
From the animated to the action-packed, numerous films proved to be
blockbusters in 2003.
$339,666,356 “Finding Nemo”
$304,175,582 “Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl"
$281,492,479 “The Matrix Reloaded"
$242,589,580 “Bruce Almighty”
$214,948,780 “X2: X-fvlen United"
$150,350,192 ‘Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines"
$138,396,624 “Bad Boys II”
$133,756,285 “Anger Management"
$132,541,238 “Bringing Down the House”
$132,122,995 “Hulk"
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