Newspapers / Daily Tar Heel (Chapel … / April 13, 1989, edition 1 / Page 17
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.qTHOmntousT 7pr--s ARTIST 1. Drlvinn-Cryin " 2. Flaming Lips 3 HREHOSE 4, The Clean 5 Sidewinders 6L Neville Brothers 7TheConnel!s Sv De La $oul 9 Green on Red 10- My Bloody Valentine 11. Red Temple Spirits 12 Robyn Ilitchcock-ii-the Egyptians 13. Dirty Dozen Brass Band 14. AVygils 15. Peppino r'agostino 16. The Brood 17. Gaye Bikers on Add 18 The Sandman 19- House of Freaks 20. The Cult I" Network TV in the 1 80s: a review By ViriSTON LLOYD Staff Writer For my last three entries in this space, l will depart from the individual program reviews for two weeks and look at the general state of television today. This week, the once monopolistic net works come under scrutiny. Next week, my top 10 series of the 1980s (actually numbers two through 10) and finally, on April 27, the best show of the decade. During the "80s. the major net-' works have seen their power eroded. Even though their ad revenues have increased, viewer- ship has fallen and ABC, CBS, and NBC no longer hold the monopoly on the business that they enjoyed in the 1970s, instead, they have , seen more than half the nation's households hook up to cable, and more and more people are watch- ing it The April 8 issue of TV Guide held even more bad news for the Big Three. It seems a poll by the Roper Organization indicates that nearly twice as many Americans prefer cable when watching enter- tainment programs. Network news, however, is favored, even though news staffs have been drastlcally cut over the last few years, mis is best for ABC With "World News Tonight," "Nightline," "This Week with David Brinkley," "2020" and the "Sam and Diane Show " as the press has dubbed the forthcoming Donaldson and Sawyer effort, ABC stands ready. But news alone cannot save the networks. As a matter of fact, saving the networks has been accomplished by old, familiar programs and the occasional new hit NBC is in the best postion to groom a new favorite, but ABC is gaining rapidly, in the dawn of the decade, NBC was pathetic. Then came enter tainment president Brandon Tar- t tikoff. He was risky, and he trusted fully on what is generally unpop innoyatprs and those wlp-were ulari4 a comedienne "Roseanne." simply good writers. "Hill Street Roseanne Barr's comedy placed nf) rr- AT.BITM Mystery Road Telepathic Surgery moMomo Compilation Witch Doctor Yellow Moon Fun and Games 3 Feet High and Rising Here Come the Snakes Isnt Anything Dancing to Restore an Eclipsed Moon Queen Elvis Voodoo tlonyocks in the Whithersoever Spark In Spite of it All Stewed to the Gills Western Blood Tamil la Sonic Temple Blues" was rated low, but NBC was used to low ratings, so he kept it on the air because it was a quality product ironically, that s when a network takes its biggest risks when desperate. From this period grew "Family Ties," "Cheers" and "St Elsewhere," but Tartikoff still needed a hit to get these shows their audience. And Cod Created Bill Cosby. Finally with a hit in 1984, NBC had a way to bring an audience to a Thursday night lineup. "The Cosby Show" and "Family Ties" are now the highest-rated series in the history of televteioa Bigger than "I Love Lucy." Higher than "MASK" More successful than "Ed Sullivan That stroke of genius and luck by NBC spelled the beginning of the decline of CBS. The Columbia Broadcasting System's four-year- old, top 10 hit "Magnum, P.l." dropped from the top 20 and was no longer a good lead-in for the former hit "Simon and Simon " CBS didnt realize this right away and ended up losing Thursday for good. It began trying everything it had tried before, but the audience wanted something dif- ferent, found it on NBC. and CBS was taken over both in the ratings and by investor Lawrence Tisch. Meanwhile, ABC, then in the No. 3 position, was purchased by Capital Cities Communications (remember when WRAL-TV 5 and WTVD-11 switched networks). Before It was too late. ABC caught on. Brandon Stoddard bought "Moonlighting" and con- tinued to develop innovative programming. He gambled: on a failed talk show host and on "Crowing Pains." On a failed sitcom actor, "Who's the Boss." On a confused decade, "The wonder Years." On whining yuppies, "thirt ysomething." And most success- N-G Umbria Jazz Festival to mix music with international flavor r?e pi re Staff Writer Put a little culture into your life. Spend a weekend attending jazz events around the Triangle area Its the North Carolina Umbria Jazz Festival The festival started April 5 and lasts until April 16. Crab g"?'ic , JP"! mana9er and a date or a fellow jazz lover and ras3' coordinator, start the evening off at Tipton's if you're really ambitious and a Restaurant in the Durham Hslton. quick eater to boot, you may want The Italian Jazz All-Stars will to head over St. Augustine's Col serenade diners tonight from 6:30 lege in Raleigh after dinner at p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Be sure to make reservations, 383-8033. The Italian Jazz All-Stars are a group of musicians under 40 years of age that came straight from Italy for the Jazz Festival. Members include Maurizio Caldura, tenor sax; Marceilo Tonolo, piano; Marc Abrams, bass,- and Paulo Pellegatti, drums. ahead of "Cosby" for four weeks before slipping to second place last week. ABC gained what CBS still doesnt have a top five show that will keep people tuned to the network for a least a half hour more. "Anything But Love" with Jamie Lee Curtis, is now benefiting. So if ABC or NBC wants to launch a new show, youll find it after "Roseanne" of "Cosby." CBS only recently woke up, but it was too late, in a cross between "The wonder Years" and "thirty something," CBS tried "Almost Crown," a show which would have hit right off two years ago, but now has struggled to find an audience. Ifs gone now, but might be back. "Wiseguy," "Designing women" and "Murphy Brown" are other bright spots on the sched ule, but loyalty to the falling "Dallas," "Falcon Crest" and "The Equalizer" could be holding the network back. And continued 'high-concept off-the-wall efforts like "Hard Time on Planet Earth" are embarrassing for the once proud network. Next season, they are bringing back Rick Springfield (last on TV with "Battlestar Calac tlca") for the high-concept "Nick Knight," about a vampire. Remember, we thought "ALF" was a dumb idea. Now, while ABC is still fighting for first, NBC is becoming conser vative and going for the cheap rating. "Nightingales" is taking the audience from good shows "China Beach" and "Wiseguy," while a "Beetlejuice" rip-off aired Monday. CBS, meanwhile, will find some thing, and all the networks will switch places again. But overall, the networks seem to be trying harder and are giving us better products, while tabloid television is allowed to grow on cable and in syndication. The good gets better and the bad . gets . worse, but the quality te' still on the Big Three. That's Italian, folks! "Ifs hard to get much informa tion on the All-Stars because their press information is in Italian. Basically, they're up-and-coming musicians in Italy," said Lee Hansley, Tipton's to hear the Terence Blanchard Quintet. The concert starts at 8 p.m. in Emery Building. Call 828-4451 for ticket information. Perhaps you cant make the Thursday night shows, but dont despair The Italian Jazz All-Stars take the stage again Friday even ing from 5 pm to 7 p.m. at the Pickett Suite Hotel in RTP. The show will be free. Also performing Friday night is the Terence Blanchard Quintet. They will weeping play at 8 p.m. at The Radish restaurant located in Durham, rickets are $8. For information, call 682-2337. The Umbria Jazz Festival cer tainly offers a full weekend to jazz it up. The fun continues all day and evening on Saturday, April 15. For starters, The N.C School of the Arts Jazz Ensemble, the Italian Jazz All-Stars and Dick Cable's Dixieland Jazz Band will give a free concert starting at 2 pm at Pulten Park in Raleigh. The Italian Jazz All Stars play again Saturday night in Durham at Tipton's restaurant from 6:30 to 9 p.m. A special treat on Saturday is the Marian McPartland Trio. Mar ian McPartland, a jazz pianist, headlines the festival, and her trio's performance promises to be a festival highlight The McPar tland concert, sponsored by WUNC Radio and North Carolina State University Center Stage, will be held in Stewart Theatre on the NCSU campus at 8 p.m., Saturday, Apnns. Tickets to the McPartland con cert are $15 and $10 for students CHJNE5E RESTAURANT ' 790 Airport Road - next to Save-A-Center & FREE EGG ROLLS TUESDAY & THURSDAY FREE CHICKEN WINGS WEDNESDAY with Lunch Specials Cantonese Dim Sum Brunch Sat. & Sun. Only, 12 noon-2:30 pm OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK Weekly Dinner Specials! El CALL967-.6133. for. Reservations and Take-Out and may be purchased at the Stewart Theatre box office. Call 737-3104. The All-Stars will wind up the festival Sunday evening at 7:30 pm with a performance at The ArtsCenter in Carrboro. Tickets are $4 and $5. Call 942-ARTS for more information. Students should take advantage of a high-quality festival like this, which is centered around their schedules. "The festival is in the spring so that students can take advantage of the entertainment while they're still on campus," said Hansley. Hansley handles the program,. which was started six years ago oy Paul Jeffrey. Before founding the festivalJeffrey, head of the Jazz Studies program at Duke, ran a jazz clinic in umbria, Italy the largest clinic in Europe and one of the largest in the world. While in Italy, Jeffrey conceived the idea to start an international exchange between Italian and U.S. jazz musicians. Upon returning to the states, he started a small jazz festival that stayed within Duke University for three years. Now the festival has branched, out into the Triangle area and even hosts performers in Char lotte and Laurinburg as well. "The N.C Umbria Jazz Festival is one of the two intematonal jazz festivals in the U.S. The other one is held in Montreau in Detroit," said Hansley - hence the N.C umbria Jazz Festival's fame as "The South's Only international Jazz Festival." Where does 'Umbria come from? "Umbria is a town in Italy about the size of the Triangle, roughly housing 600,000 people. And most importantly, it is the location for the jazz clinic where Jeffrey taught," said Hansley. The Festival Board of Directors has prepared quite an entourage 0f entertainment for iazz lovers. Take some time out to attend some of the performances. You might just come away dancing! VISA
Daily Tar Heel (Chapel Hill, N.C.)
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April 13, 1989, edition 1
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