Newspapers / Daily Tar Heel (Chapel … / Feb. 11, 1993, edition 1 / Page 17
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TELEVISION Oh my goodness! Martin and Gina are on the rocks Martin Martin Lawrence, Tisha Campbell, Garrett Morris Thursday, 8:30 p.m. WLFL Fox 22 Tonight Martin Lawrence and his Phitly brood are engaging in a battle —a battle of the sexes that promises to be as exciting as the latest Holyfield/Bowe skirmish. In a three-part story arc that began last Thursday, Martin and his beloved Gina parted ways. But unlike the clean break between Cheers' Lilith and Frazier, Martin and Gina ended their relationship with a war of words that more closely resembled a knock-down drag-out fight. So, what’s the fate of Mr. “What up!” and his gorgeous gal pal? Well, it’s your call. Literally. In an unprecedented move, the producers of Martin are allowing viewers to decide which heartbroken lover will be the first to crawl back to the other. For 75 cents, you can play Cupid and cast your vote via a special 900 number. All proceeds will be given to charity. But enough about Martin’s story lines TV couple to enjoy more than hot, steamy coffee T ust in time for your Valentine read- I ing pleasure, a novel based on TV. I Well, sort of. A novel based on TV 1 commercials. f Sounds sort of like the stepchild of the book-gone-mini series craze, doesn’t it? Love Over Gold will hit the stands for a mere $5.75. It’s not a behind-the scenes look at America's favorite soaps it’s the compilation of those cheesy Taster's Choice coffee commercials. You know, the ones where the guy’s always going over to borrow a cup of sugar or something from his saucy next-door neighbor and they always end up talk ing about coffee? You know you’ve seen these before. Recall the one where the guy’s going away and he calls his neighbor, like, to ask for some Taster’s Choice for the road or something and she says, “Paris ... how romantic.” And he says, “It could be." Or the one where he thinks she's seeing someone else because she was drinking coffee with a strange man, then she reveals it was only her brother. Maybe it sells coffee, but can it sell books? “It’s a good read,” author Susan Moody told the Associated Press. “It’s all done in extremely good taste. There’s nothing particularly explicit about it.” Thank goodness. Nothing worse than a scandalous coffee book. Apparently, the commercials are ratings •—miss ft ••—watch It and rag on it V## use It as a study break ••••—watch II religiously ••—•-tapalt television ROB BRITTAIN and this week’s slightly distorted ver sion of interactive TV. To be honest, 1 don’t watch Martin because of its plots or its scripts I watch because of its characters. Like it or not, by Thursday night my grey cells automatically shift into neu tral. And the only known remedy for such academic stupor is laughter ... • * V||j| Hold-a you close, keep-a you warm tv news JENNIFER BRETT enjoying a sort of cult following in Brit ain, where the coffee is called Nescafe Golden Blend, instead of Taster’s Choice. In fact, only the Charles and Diana saga is more popular among the grocery store tabloid crowd. When Mr. Nescafe said the “L” word in December, the news splashed onto the front page of The Sun, Britain’s biggest-selling tabloid. (Poor Brits. At least we have the National Enquirer to tell us thedaily updated dimensions of Delta Burke.) Corgi Books, which has printed 150,000 copies already, bills Love Over Gold as “the untold story of TV's great est romance”on the front cover. That’s not all. Nestle and its adver tising agency, McCann-Erickson, who own the steamy cafe characters, are already talking about film rights. When you pick up a copy, in fact, you’ll find an order blank for a video of all the com mercials inside. Just in case you missed a day of TV. The book, obviously, is a little more inclusive than the commercials, which leave a lot to the imagination. Moody, who used the name Susannah Jones for the book (perhaps a little embarrassed at writing a novel from a series of com mercials to use her own?), said she sup plied both characters with murky pasts and broken hearts. Of course. A little excerpt, from page 80: (They meet in London, he’s drunk, she’s out of coffee —of course —and she knocks at his door. “Almost automatically she walked to wards his kitchen, consciousof his gazeon especially Mortinesque laughter. A black, male ’9os reincarnation of Carol Burnett, Martin Lawrence brings me to tears with his wild and wacky portrayal of his next-door neighbor, Sheneneh. But why do 1 love Sheneneh ? Well, maybe it’s because Sheneneh is the world’s biggest underdog. Coupled with a speech impediment and the figure of three or four women heinously intertwined, poor Sheneneh doesn’t have a lot going for her. And after being beaten down by society, she’s developed a facade of toughness. Oftentimes, maintaining this facade brings her face-to-face with conflict. And much like Designing Women's Bernice Clifton, Sheneneh responds with trademark belligerence (i.e. “I’m gonna beat your ass!”). Reminiscent of Sanford & Son brawls between Fred and Ester, Sheneneh of ten tries to hammer Martin’s beloved Gina when they meet in the hallway. Yet Sheneneh also has a lighter side a side that was highlighted in the unfor gettable episode where she won a date with Kid ‘n’ Play’s Christopher Reid. Besides her usual one-liners (“You so crazy!” and “Oh my goodness!”), she performed a hysterical rendition of “For ever Sheneneh,” her favorite song. And compared to Sheneneh’s singingr the sound of fingernails skidding down a chalkboard seems harmonious. Yet Martin Lawrence doesn’t por ker back, her somewhat naked back, glad, without knowing quite why, that she was looking particularly glamorous that evening. He opened a cupboard, took out her favor ite brand of coffee, and said, ‘I hope this isn't too sophisticated for your guests.'” No word yet on the book’s sales or even predictions whether people are going to want to lap up page after page of the coy cafe romance that character izes the commercials. A snippet in be tween TV shows is one thing, but a nieken ratings 1. 60 Minutes,CßS 23.2 rating, 21.6 million homes 2. Home Improvement, ABC 21.4,19.9 million homes 3. 20/20,A8C 8).0,18.6 million homes 4. Hallmark Special: Skylaifc, CBS Sunday Movie 19.9,18.5 million homes 5. Murphy Brown,CßS 19.8,18.4 million homes 6. Roseanne.AßC 192,17.6 million homes 7. (X) Laugh In 25th Anniversary, NBC, 18.7,17.4mi11i0n homes 8. Coach,AßC 18.4,17.1 million homes 9. Cheers,NßC 18.3,17.0 million homes 10. Selnf eld, f>4BC 17.9,16.7mi11i0n homes Listings include the week's ranking, with full season to-date ranking in parentheses, rating for the week, and total homes. An X in parentheses denotes one-tirm only presentation. A rating measures the percentage of the nation's 90,4 pajlion TV homes. . ' f. • \ \' ff % \ l To split or not to split? You be the judge tray just Sheneneh and himself, he also assumes the roles of his mother and little Willy, the snotty nosed child who’s always knocking on Gina’s door and hassling her with his latest get-rich quick scheme. Unlike Family Matters, however, where charismatic nerd Steve Urkel overran the Winslow family and be came the dominant feature of the show, Martin is keeping the lid on alter egos such as Sheneneh and little Willy in hopes of keeping them fresh and enter taining. According to the Nielsens, Martin’s whole book is another. But Taster’s Choice’s British sister reports that Gold Blend sales are up 40 percent since the launch of the com mercial series, although the book’s ef fects are still nebulous. The author ap parently doesn't care she's got hers. “I was asked if I would like a certain sum of money for what they said at the time was six weeks’work,” Moody said. “ said, ‘Who do 1 have to sleep with?’ I j ust write because somebody pays me for doing what 1 like doing best.” Classy chick. Moody’s not writing for mankind but for money, she said. And what better reason is there? Every Thursday Soul Desire 9-12 pm Highballs $1.50 Shots SI.OO ROCK 'N ROLL CAfE ■- - -■ 506 W. Franklin Street Pepper's PIZZA A Sunny Place /I \ for Shady People 1 27- 1 29 V. Franklin St. Downtown ChapclHUl Ne xt to the Varsity Theater \}\) DTH • Omnibus Thursday • February 11, 1993 strategy seems to be working. But if you’re an establishment rebel who dis counts Nielsen rating credibility, just listen to the Friday morning buzz across campus and the surrounding commu nity. Everybody’s talking about Martin ... on the bus, in line at Union Station and while window shopping along Franklin Street. So, why not join the growing ranks of Martin fans, perfect your Sheneneh imitation and tune in this promising young comic’s latest feast of follies? Just a word of warning, like Krispy Kreme doughnuts, Martin is addictive. Ottuti&uA, Care enough to read the very best Page 9
Daily Tar Heel (Chapel Hill, N.C.)
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Feb. 11, 1993, edition 1
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