DTH Omnibus Page 9
Thursday September 21, 1989
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In case you just tuned in---
General College, UNC's very own
student-produced soap opera, will
return to the Student Television
lineup in just a few weeks, with the
premiere scheduled for Oct. 2.
The show portrays the lives of
various students on the Chapel Hill
campus. Although there's no telling
what new turns the characters' lives
will take this year, here's a look at
some of the General College history
to catch you up to date before the
new action starts.
The largest family 6n the show is
the Davenport clan, which consists
of four sisters and one brother (at
least that's all who have stumbled
into town so far). The three older
sisters, Tessa, Trisha and Tonya, are
serious cocaine wenches, but since
Tessa has shot her supplier (boyfriend
Trevor), they've had to lighten up
on the powder. Tessa has convinced
the semi-amnesiac Anne Burns that
Anne shot Trevor out of self defense,
but Anne has been having migraines
. . . Hmmm, maybe her subconscious
will reveal the truth. But not the
whole truth, because neither Anne
nor any of the Davenport gals know
that Trevor is really alive!
Another storyline follows one of
the most troubled couples on Gen
eral College: Jason and Courtney. First,
they had to overcome pressure con
cerning their interracial relationship
from Jason's racist Tri Psi fraternity
brothers. Fortunately the brothers
were stopped before they permanently
maimed the love birds.
After a beautiful reconciliation,
Courtney and Jason were strolling
innocently in the woods when they
happened upon Trevor's body. This
occurred just as the police arrived.
The police suspected them of mur
der, so the young couple ran out of
town. One of the formerly racist frat
UNC's own 'General College' airs nationally, not to mention on STV
Bryan Burns
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boys suddenly became a liberal-thinking,
concered and decent human and
took them to stay on his
grandmother's farm in Clover, S.C.
They were hiding in the barn when
Grandma found them, but she took
pity and let them stay inside (she's
such a pushover). Now posing as a
married couple and away from the
traumas of college life, Jason and
Courtney are considering adding sex
to their relationship.
The only married couple on the
show is Brendan and Mary Cather
ine, but the two have had a rough
time getting started. After spending
damn close to nine months contem
plating how to deal with her preg
nancy, they decided to "do the right
thing" and kicked off their life to
gether with a lavishly cheesy wed
ding. Major faux pas: Mary Cather
ine collapsed at the altar, just after
the "I-do's," and she lost the baby.
Although they were trying hard
to make their marriage work after all
this trauma, Brendan was fascinated
by seductive Simone, the mature and
(supposedly) sexy neighbor. Simone
has children that were taken from
her at birth, but she now plans to
track them down could be impor
tant this season! Meanwhile, Mary
Catherine grew closer to Professor
Kingsley as they searched for Sarah.
Who's Sarah? OK, she fell in love
with Kingsley a while ago, then she
went psycho, began making death
threats and ended up blind. When
she went away for sight-restoring
surgery, she just didn't ever came back.
Kingsley took off to find her, but his
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plane crashed and he hasn't been
found. Later Mary Catherine found
Sarah tied up in Kihgsley's closet. Of
course Sarah maliciously planted
herself there and convinced Mary
Catherine that she had been kid
napped by Kingsley and kept in the
closet for months. But, hey, she can
see, and Brendan and Mary Cather
ine might still have a chance.
Another couple that's recently
been reunited is Alex and Jack. Af
ter each had an affair (with Tripp, a
Duke snob, and Priscilla, a UNC
bitchslut), they have realized they're
still in love how great! Jack has
given up his chance for a recording
contract, because Alex is worth it
(literally worth it the girl is loaded).
But Alex still may have problems; it
looks like her history of multiple
personalities is about to become
common knowledge.
Of course the only thing that keeps
Alex and Jack going is the gossiping
network of Zoe, who helped drive
them apart, find new loves and fi
nally reconcile. Now, however, Zoe
is getting news of Alex's secret past
and there's just no telling what she'll
accomplish with that info.
Zoe is also putting together a new
relationship between the youngest
Davenport, Tara, and Chaz. Chaz's
older brother Billy has been involved
with his fair share of Davenports, and
he know's what they're really all
about. No doubt this will lead to lots
of family controversy.
So that should get you started on
jarring that memory. There'll be more
history next week and then we'll get
rolling with the new dirt, which I'm
sure there will be plenty of.
General College runs Mon.-Fri.at
1 1 p.m.on STV (CaroUnaCable channel!).
The few, the proud,
the good
Had enough? By now we've seen
more TV premieres than Hitler had
trpops, but bear with me. Despite
all the shows I ragged on last week,
there is a handful that might just
make it. Here are the ones that are
worth a glance.
SUNDAYS:
One of the most acclaimed new
shows of the season is life Goes On
(ABC), a family drama featuring a
23-year-old actor with Downs syn
drome. Chris Burke plays Corky
Thacher, an 18-year-old boy with
Downs who is "mainstreamed into
the freshman class of a public high
school. His younger sister, Becca, is
embarrassed by being in the same
classes with Corky, but the rest of
the family stands behind him. The
show promises plenty of typical
family traumas about teenagers, the
bathroom, etc., but adds a more se
rious and touching side with Corky's
character. In a word, it's heart-warming.-MONDAYS:
If you're not into heartwarming,
there's always Gerald McRaney of
Major Dad (CBS). McRaney got a
lot of praise for his portrayal of Rick
on Simon and Simon and for playing
Suzanne's (Delta Burke) ex-husband
on Designing Women. Marrying
Burke in real life may have helped
him land his own series, where he
plays Marine Major J.D. "Mac"
MacGillis and falls in love with a
liberal reporter who just hap
pens to have three daughters. What
Major Dad may not have in quality,
it makes up for in network strategy:
this show leads off CBS's great
Monday line up, which also includes
the Emmy-winning Murphy Brown
and Designing Women. Give him a
chance; if nothing else, maybe he
can finish off ALF.
Also new to this night of lady
reporters and Southern belles is The
Famous Teddy Z, another CBS of
fering. John Cryer (of Pretty in Pink
and Hiding Out) plays young Teddy
Zakalokis, an employee in the Un
limited Talent Agency mailroom
who becomes a respected Hollywood
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premieres
Billy Stockard
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agent overnight. How's that for
dreams come true? The critics like
this one, but like the Church Lady
says, "You be the judge."
TUESDAYS:
Here's another strategically placed
premiere. With Chicken Soup right
after big (pardon the word) hit Rose'
anne, ABC figures it can't lose.
What's Chicken Soup, you ask? Be
sides being a favorite of cold-sufferers,
it's an new sitcom starring Jackie
Mason and Lynn Redgrave. Think
of it as an inter-religious Moonlight
ing with Mason playing a Jew who
falls for Redgrave, an Irish Catho
lic mother of three. Who knows,
maybe it's the season for odd couples
with three children. With this time
slot, this dish won't get cold.
WEDNESDAYS:
What can I say about Cloris
Leachman and Harvey Korman?
Even picturing them together would
put an audience in stitches, so NBC
won't need much of a plot for The
Nutt House. Leachman and Korman
(minus Tim Conway) have been
brought together by Mel Brooks to
take charge of a run-down New York
hotel.
Leachman even has double roles,
as Ms. Frick, the head housekeeper,
and as Mrs. Nutt, the hotel's owner.
The combination of this premiere
and perennial favorite Night Court
promise an hour of slapstick, off-the-wall
comedy. This one may be
around next year, which is no small
accomplishment.
Other than that, there's not much
to talk about. The weekend fare
doesn't look too exciting, although
a few shows might last a season or
two. Your best bets are the tried-and-true
shows that are offering all
new episodes for at least a couple of
weeks. Other than that, I'll see you
at the movies.
And
Sunday
Brunch.
Sir