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(Ot>, %o>T iSC, X cot oo*r Oat a'5 S» X cjW 3VjVT ATA<oS> «€- \T AioO TA>-vA. / I V* MOT -- WWAT '-Vom WA«£ w *A\f**. «vrr 3T fl-6 AtcH SjorJ'T rVAViO*. iTi A <g.opt> \pCA-, SLIi —E byMIKEMAYDAK tdPAyeACKTiMe/ gyrga w MOMMY' >1 MTHAT STQAN&6) fcMANtSBAacn oeepiNTHB oun&lbbob y’ THB MiCWBST. |g ^ JTx -3 ^ > ■ oue neeo sst. bones McvesWm into position on thb latsst m evuooees anp thbip wmos. | 1 Hah focus l-j ^6*. ^oJUtnito "Grape Romance" ©2*w My love for you J I is boundless. 1 Based on the traditional form of Japanese poetry - count the syllables. wwwhaikuarcuscom DVD.Review . Show gave flip side ofparody “IN LIVING COLOR" Season 1 ★* out of BY DANIEL P. FINNEY ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH The trouble with topical humor is that it’s like a gallon of milk. It’s really good when it’s fresh out of your grocer’s refrigerator, but it goes bad after a while. For a good many of the sketches on “In Living Color,” the former Fox network comedy that arrived Tuesday on DVD, the expiration date has long passed. The show probably was funny in 1990, when it made its debut, with sketches on the lameness of Milli Vanilli and “The Exxon Family.” | The latter, for example, lampoons the life of the captain of the Exxon Valdez, the oil tanker that spilled 53 million gallons of oil on Prince William Sound, Alaska, in 1989. In their time, those gags were probably guffaw-inspiring, or at least chuckle-worthy. But in 2004, they’re more of a sepia-tone year book photo than cause for good comedy. The real value of “In Living Color,” it seems, is as a pop culture history book. Sketches on Oprah Winfrey’s constantly fluctuating t \ weight, Mike Tyson’s bizarre be havior and Michael Jackson’s mul tiple plastic surgeries show us that some narcissistic celebrities, freaks and nutjobs have been with us a very long time—too long, in fact. Still, parodies of Sam Kinison, M.C. Hammer and Andrew “Dice” Clay come across not just as dat ed but as carbon-dated. And the Fly Girls, the hip-hop dancing woman clad in florescent spandex — once considered al most too taboo for TV — look like a brightly-colored community bal let troupe compared with Janet Jackson’s hypersexual gyrations that occasionally culminate in a “wardrobe malfunction.” To be fair, when watching sketch comedy such as “In Living Color” or its elder brethren “Saturday Night Live,” one must remember that for every inspired sketch, such as “SNL’s” “Land Shark” or “Mr. Robinson’s Neighborhood,” there are umpteen hundreds of forgettable and truly unfunny bits that faded into obscurity. To the show’s credit, “In Living Color” boasts its own cadre of elite sketches that compete with the greats produced during the prime years of “SNL” or “The Carol Burnett Show.” Damon Wayans turn as Homey the Clown is timelessly funny, as is Jim Carrey’s portrayal of media mogul and weirdo Ted Turner in “Ted Turner’s Very Colorized Classics,” during which Turner recasts old classic movies with fa mous black actors. Alas, Carrey’s grotesque Fire Marshal Bill did not appear in the first season. And Damon Wayans work with David Alan Grier on “Men On Film,” playing two homosexual movie critics, still inspires hys terics, even if the movies they ref erence are long forgotten. What won’t be forgotten about “In Living Color” is that it brought real color — as in racial diversity — to previously white-dominated sketch comedy. “So much of what was on TV at that time had nothing to do with black people’s lives,” says cast member Tommy Davidson in one of the episode commentaries. “On this show, we talked like we talk.” As hard as it is to imagine, hip hop slang and music were hard to come by in 1990. “In Living Color” brought African-American music, jargon and fashion to prime time and helped jump-start a cultural shift that eventually ended with hip-hop becoming the dominant music genre of today. Crossword ACROSS 1 Savory jelly 6 Turner and Williams 10 Hankering 14 Infamous hotelier Helmsley 15 Potpourri 16 Bangkok guy 17 Calm 18 Half a dash? 20 Golfer Ernie 22 _Wednesday 23 Carmine or crimson 24 Up to date 30 Wet soil. 31 Evans and Earnhardt 32 Legumes with oily seeds 35 Stat for Randy Johnson 36 Elm or oak 37 Foul odor 38 Upper limb • iji >'/i 'ij i.rij *• * c5» ren 40 Mama_! 41 Pierre’s here 42 Plant again 44 _the line (obeyed) 45 Church sister 46 Show surprise 47 Letter-lady White 48 Half a fly 49 Brunch favorites 52 Blackjack 54 And also not 55 Eurasian viper 56 Grind to dust 60 Qom resident 64 Territory 65 Snow ride 66 Raring to go 67 Ship’s pole 68 Checks out 69 Slumguilion and goulash DOWN 1 Sharpton and Gore 2 Matched outfit 3 Food from taro 4 Mooring basin 5 Exercised authority © 2004Tribune Media Services, Inc. 04/12/04 All rights reserved. 6 Male turkey I 7 Samuel’s mentor 8 Manofl and Shore 9 Drunkard 10 Lesley Gore song, “_ My Party” 11 Malachi’s ordinal rank 12 Pet canary’s digs 13 Posterior 19 Large white flowers ?1 Flew high ?4 Vilifies ?5 Gunner’s enclosure 36 Male features 17 Jetted ?8 Driving spot ?9 Caviar 33 Place blame 34 Polishes 37 Brown pigment to “_Lisa" *3 Drop the ball 14 Bit Solutions S M 3 1 sis 3 A 3|l S V Vi Id 3 9 V IMo 3 1 sBv 3 d V i n v d i~B~iTz~|~i y^|a i n d ■TTJBT \ ——^PPI _1_ d_Jtf _J^_S _3_ 3 _S _3__y i|v a 3 Mll|ld|V|3|H|i|d|0|3 ijv'.l S a 3 y ■ h s VpMfs' i 3~j ■ N 9 I sis' n N I mFT Ills I V H Thao I 1 olv N O 3 1 111 i i B 111111B 1M 11 47 In truth 50 Scandinavian 51 Jack of the nursery rhyme 52 PC junk mail 53 Charismatic glow 57 Brewer's tub 58 26th letter 59 Ames and Asner 61 I.D. info 62 Just out 63 Tax agcy. Horoscopes ARIES A strong authority figure can b.e annoying at times. Don't complain. This is part of the training that will bring out your leadership skills. TAURUS Investigate distant possibilities, but don't act on them quite yet. You'll soon find another way to bring in money, and that will multiply your options. GEMINI Don't accept the first offer you get. You'll find a better one. Stick to the rules you’ve set, and others just might comply to your terms. If they don't, wait for someone who will. CANCER You’re up against a formidable opponent, no doubt about that. You're not alone, however. With a partner, you’ll be much stronger. Don't give up. LEO Abundance can be yours. You may have thought you'd win a big bet or inherit a lot of cash. But this time, you get to work for it. VIRGO Don't worry about small differences of opinion. You can work those out. Look at a barrier as a motivating challenge. LIBRA Don't let a disagreement about a domestic matter ruin your day. Help improve your partner's mood, perhaps with some gentle, soothing music. Changing the subject works, too. SCORPIO Learning through trial and error is not your favorite way to do things. You'd rather follow a well thought-out plan. Maybe next time. SAGITTARIUS Proceed with caution for a while. Mistakes could be expensive. You need to be happy, but you also need to be practical. CAPRICORN Once you've handled this latest matter, you should be able to turn your hard work into good fortune. Meanwhile, heed your coach's advice. AQUARIUS You are about to emerge from your pensive phase, re-energized and enthusiastic. Partly you have figured out the problem, and partly you are getting luckier. Whatever works. PISCES A thoughtful analysis of your situation is required. Don't abandon your faith or your dreams, but do be a little bit more objective for right now. CALENDAR Monday “THE TRIPLETS OF BELLEVILLE": 7 and 9 p.m. Nickelodeon Theatre, 937 Main St. Tuesday use CHAMBER WINDS: 7:30 p.m. School of Music. “ROGER AND ME”: 8 p.m. Russell House Theatre. "MODERN TIMES”: 7 and 9 p.m. Nickelodeon Theatre. BRIAN SANSBURY TRIO: Sundance Bar and Grill, 902 B Gervais St. -„