the stanford daily - intermission, jan. 28, 2011

8/7/2019 The Stanford Daily - Intermission, Jan. 28, 2011

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FRIDAY

stanford’s weekly guide to campus culture V O L U M E 2 3 8 . I S S U E 1 3

a publication of the stanford daily

01.28.11

DEAD

SPACE2

Review, page 2



The airlock bursts open. Asall matter, sound andhumanity is dragged from

the observation platform and intothe gaping blackness, you feel yourartificial oxygen supply kick in and your armored boots begin to liftfrom the floor. There’s a certainpoetry to your struggle — as youtumble toward the vacuum, claw-ing out for anything to hold onto,the silent and ubiquitous expulsionseems somehow right. Gazing theother way now, at the golden sur-face of Saturn and the speckling of stars behind it, everything slowsdown as you imagine just lettinggo — just letting your torment, your visions and your burden allend.

A corpse floats past you, this one still human.Overtaken again with asense of duty, youraise yourplasma cutterand take aim

on the con-trols of an emer-gency air seal. The shotconnects, and you crash tothe floor.Air comes sweep-ing back into the room, and youcan hear your own heartbeat, muf-fled and whimpering beneath asteel shell. Still alive.

Such is the world of “DeadSpace 2,” the monstrous follow-up

to Visceral Games’ sci-fi thrillerthat came out of nowhere back in2008 and has haunted players’

dreams ever since. The sequeldoesn’t do anything revolutionary,but it doesn’t need to: By changingup the setting, fleshing out the castand packing in plenty of jaw-drop-ping moments,“Dead Space 2”raises the bar for horror games andsets 2011 off with a bang.

It’s been a few years since ourfirst adventure with space engineerIsaac Clarke, and the iconic man inarmor isn’t doing much bettersince his traumatizing experienceaboard the USG Ishimura (anadventure that isn’t required toenjoy “Dead Space 2”but that I’drecommend anyway). He’s rackedwith guilt over encouraging hisgirlfriend Nicole to work on a

deep-space mining vessel thatrecovered a mysterious,

monolithic object. This“Marker” controls people’s

thoughts andunleashes a

scourge of infectious

“necromorphs”that re-animate

corpses. It’s also giving Isaacvivid hallucinations and a

wicked headache, and he’s outfor answers. Oh, and to shootmonsters.

At first, the story of “DeadSpace 2” didn’t keep me on tenter-hooks — you’re out to destroy theMarker, bad people want to stop

you and there are nasty aliens. Itwas enough to keep me going, butI was invested in the action more

than the plot. Eventually, though,the game focuses more on Isaac’sinternal struggles and visions,which become downright com-pelling.

Like any horror game, “Dead

Space 2” has its share of cheapthrills. Enemies burst out of ventsand pipes, floors give way and badguys sneak up and get you frombehind. But while it does jump-scares as well as anyone, the game’sreal draw is the ambience. As youexplore Saturn’s derelict space sta-tion, “The Sprawl,” you’ll beawestruck by how flickering servicelights and long shadows can keep

you on edge, wondering just whathappened before you passedthrough. Objects dance and twirlin a zero-G ballet, and you mightsee a hand or leg float by withblood freely oozing out.

And like the original, the

sound design is really king here:Deep, hollow clangs resonate asshadowy figures slither into servicepipes; frantic screams and power-ful gun blasts are muffled and cutshort in the vacuum of space; an

unseen presence whispers “Isaac . .. “ behind dissonant harmonies.The sense of isolation and hope-lessness is palpable if not oppres-sive, and the game is great for it.

In a break from the deliberate,explorative pace of the originalgame, “Dead Space 2” has one bootplanted in the slow-burn realm of intellectual horror and another inthe in-your-face world of action

movies. Like our dear friend Isaac,that might sound a little schizo-phrenic at first. But for the mostpart, this works to the game’sadvantage: It’s hard to lose interestwhen you’re not sure if a quiet,solemn trek through a corridor

could take a sudden turn as anenormous, tentacled mutantpierces through the floor, grabs you around the leg and drags youout into the vacuum of space. Youmight feel bogged down once in a

while by repetitive (though merci-fully short) puzzles and the occa-sional trek through a not-so-scary air vent, but on the whole, thegame does a great job of taking theaction up a notch without losingits identity as an atmospheric hor-ror show.

Like the pace of his adventure,Isaac’s abilities have been rampedup a bit. He moves a bit faster and

hits a bit harder, and I felt a littlemore empowered when I was run-ning low on ammo. His stasis andkinesis abilities are more useful aswell, letting you freeze enemies in

intermission22

Satire stutters and fails in TV’s winter premieres

Get your indie fix with The Decemberistsand Amos Lee

Intermission reviews“No Strings Attached” and “True Grit”

Grab an exotic bite at Anatolian Kitchen

TELEVISION MUSIC

FOODMOVIES

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technology

cover Anastasia Yee/ The Stanford Daily

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place or create local zero-G fields aroundobjects and hurl them across the environ-ment. You can even rip the scythe-like limbsstraight off enemies, then fire them backand impale them on the wall. Badass, to say the least.

But the meat of combat is still centeredon dismembering foes with big, fancy guns.

“Dead Space 2” thankfully ups the ante inthe weapons department, but that comeswith its share of minor problems. Mostweapons from the original game are backwith welcome improvements — the plasmacutter can set enemies on fire if you upgradeit, and the pulse rifle can fire grenades.

There are a few new toys like an electrifiedspear gun and proximity mines that mix upthe combat, but most players will find a fewfavorites early on and save their resourcesfor ammo and upgrades. And, despite theexpanded arsenal, the game suffers from afew balancing issues. If I had chosen to, Icould have hacked my way through most of

the game using only the chainsaw-like “rip-per,” which tears most enemies to pieces asthey charge towards you.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention thegame’s multiplayer component, but frankly,it’s barely worth bringing up. The matchesare repetitive, the maps aren’t very interest-

ing and it feels odd to take control of aspindly alien, if you’re on team necromorph.It’s common for big publishers likeElectronic Arts to shoehorn multiplayer intogames these days, but it really doesn’t fit inthe “Dead Space” mythos.

“Dead Space 2” isn’t always an easy game to play. At times it overloads the sens-

es, and at others it’s exhausting on an emo-tional level. But that’s exactly what makes itgreat — you never know what’s coming,and, like a masochistic addiction, the pleas-

ure always exceeds the pain. If you canstomach it,“Dead Space 2” is simply not tobe missed.

—nate ADAMS

contac t na te :

nbadams@stanford .edu

“Dead Space 2” is available for Xbox 360, PS3and PC.

Science fiction heavyweight JonCourtenay Grimwood intro-duces a new series with “The

Fallen Blade,” the first installment

of an urban fantasy set in 15th-cen-tury Venice. It has werewolves, andit has vampires,but if it sounds like“Twilight”in a time machine, thinkagain.“ The Fallen Blade ” is burst-ing with political intrigue, epicnaval battles, arranged marriagesand assassins — and it doesn’t pullits punches. That last, if nothingelse, is the mark of an author withworlds of experience at his disposal.

The cast consists of the charac-ters one might expect — Lady Giuletta di Millioni, the runaway princess, and Atilo Il Mauros, thehead of the Assassini, come to mind— but also characters who areintrinsically intriguing, such as theMongolian-born mother of thehalf-wit Duke of Venice, theDuchess Alexa and the not-quite-human, semi-feral Tycho,who is

discovered by a customs officer in asecret compartment of a Mamlukship.The development of the char-acters is uneven (Giuletta, for one,seems incurably bratty, to the exclu-sion of other character traits), buteven the less appealing charactersdemand the reader’s attention, astheir stories are intricately woventogether in a high-stakes Byzantineplot where one misstep might result

in murder or war.The story opens with a con-

spiracy: Duke Alonzo,Venice’sregent, hatches a plan to marry

Giuletta to the king of Cyprus —with a di Millioni child already inher womb. She is to discreetly dis-pose of her husband and ruleCyprus in the name of her infantson, taking direction from Venice. If all goes according to plan, Venicewill gain control of valuable traderoutes in the Mediterranean andbeyond — but Giuletta refuses tocooperate. She runs away from

home and into the arms of PrinceLeopold, the German ambassador,who has suspicious connections tothe krieghund (werewolves) thathave been terrorizing the city.

Their story dovetails seamlessly with that of Tycho and Atilo; Atilo’sfamed and feared Assassini, in thebeginning of the novel, is left in tat-ters after an encounter with thekrieghund , during which he sacri-

fices the lives of the majority of hismen to save the errant princess.Atilo needs an heir to his leadershipof the Assassini, as all of the suit-able candidates perished that fatefulnight, and Tycho, with his preter-natural strength and speed, seemsthe perfect choice — Tycho, whohas already encountered bothGiuletta (in a church) and Atilo’sbetrothed, the heiress Desdaio (in a

prison cell), and has left an indeli-ble impression on both.

The sheer number of storieshappening at once, and the way

Grimwood effortlessly jugglesthem, is eminently impressive.Never once does the reader doubtthat he will resolve the disparatethreads by the end of the book,though he could have stood totighten the narrative by cuttingsome of the less-important view-point characters. Grimwood alsouses his setting to great effect; itsometimes seems as though Venice

itself is a character of its own. Thecity’s presence in every element of the story can, at times, seem over-powering, especially in theinstances where setting and circum-stance supersede characterization.Fortunately, as with many Byzantine novels,“The FallenBlade”is a plot-driven book.

Grimwood’s latest work is arefreshing take on vampires and

werewolves,where the supernaturaltakes a backseat to the story itself.“The Fallen Blade” is proof thatsuch well-worn tropes are stillviable — it merely requires a wholelot of talent.

—sarah GUAN

contac t sa rah : sguan@stan-

ford .edu

3friday january 28 2011

literature Supernatural thrills in old Venice

Courtesy Orbit Books

CONTINUED FROM “DEAD SPACE,” PAGE 2



The Coen brothers’ mostrecent film, a Western set inthe late 1800s and adapted

from Charles Portis’novel “ TrueGrit ,” ventures into the territory of the light-hearted, whimsicaladventure story, complete with a

14-year-old female protagonist anda humorous, crotchety drunkard.The resolute young girl,

Mattie Ross, playedby Hailee Steinfeld,provides the driv-ing force for thestory. Her singlegoal in the film isto avenge the death

of her father, andshe’s the catalyst forthe pursuit of hismurderer, TomChaney. From her

very first appearance, we can tellshe’d be a perfect lawyer — she’s afast talker, with every single wordserving a purpose. She’s also anofficious rascal, a quality that atone point earns her a spanking.

Nonetheless, she commandsrespect from the men in the film,who range from quasi-noble offi-

cials to amoral tooth-deficientcriminals.

She drags into her band of justice seekers U.S. Marshal“Rooster”Cogburn, played by Jeff Bridges, and Texas RangerLaBoeuf, played by Matt Damon.

Cogburn certainly has a presence,and although muffled and at timesincomprehensible, he injectshumor into each scene throughbitter remarks and an honestrecognition that he really is too oldfor this kind of stuff. LaBoeuf,whose enormous mustache match-es his inflated ego, is a sensitivecreature, and he argues with (orwhines at) Cogburn to assert his

status. Still, the three traversetogether through the IndianTerritory to find Chaney, anddevelop an odd and almost heart-warming bond.

The journey itself does notreally prove all too suspenseful or

unique. The gang stumbles intosome roadblocks, such as crazy cabin men, gunshot wounds and atone point, what appears to be abear riding a horse, but other thanthat, their journey is just a streamof wintry images and expansive

landscapes. The primary focus of this film seems to be Cogburn’switty repartees and Ross’s moraltemerity, and maybe LaBoeuf’sridiculous facial hair. The filmdoes not actually give a sense forWestern life, but merely has imagesor phrases of that time plasteredonto a work of wry and playfulnarration, easily recognizable asthe familiar and adored Coen

brothers’ aesthetic.

—armine PILIKIAN

contac t a rmine :

a rminep@stanford .edu

“No Strings Attached ,”Natalie Portman’sfollow-up to critical success “Black Swan,” isHollywood’s most recent effort to make theromantic comedy original and interesting

again.Although the film, the latest fromdirector Ivan Reitman, stumbles with someclichés and a few cases of terrible dialogue, itsclever one-liners and unique, hilarious sup-porting cast make it a strong effort and cer-tainly a welcome break from the January movie doldrums.

The film revolves around EmmaKurtzman (Natalie Portman), a relationship-phobic doctor, and Adam Franklin (AshtonKutcher), a carefree production assistant whodreams of becoming a screenwriter. Afterbrief flashbacks to their run-ins at summercamp and college frat parties, the movie jumps to their mid-20s, when they meetagain and attempt to form a casual, commit-ment-free relationship. Despite the movie’stitle, it is clear from the beginning of the filmthat there is more to the pair’s relationshipthan sex, and that the “no strings attached”relationship could never actually last withthem. Instead, the movie charts how theirconnection eventually turns into a real rela-tionship, albeit with several bumps along theway.

As far as romantic comedies go,“NoStrings Attached” is a breath of fresh air aftera year of clichéd duds like “Killers” and“Valentine’s Day.” True, the movie does con-tain the classic, tired “run to tell that specialsomeone you love them before it’s too late!”scene, and, despite its title, is a movie aboutan actual romantic relationship, not a strictly sexual one. Its set-up certainly does not break

any boundaries. Still, the movie breaks free of typical romantic comedy barriers with ascript that’s actually funny, open discussion of topics that used to be taboo territory inmovies (Adam making Emma a “periodplaylist” that contains songs like “BleedingLove” by Leona Lewis and “Sunday Bloody Sunday” by U2 comes to mind) and strongacting, mainly by the supporting cast.

Although star Natalie Portman’s role as aromantic lead is startlingly different from herrecent dramatic turn in thriller “Black Swan,”she proves she can hold her own in a roman-tic comedy as well. She lends wit and human-ity to a character that in other similar filmswould be played straight as a career-focused,ice-cold stereotype. Ashton Kutcher followsher lead well as a hapless, down-on-his-luckromantic. Although the role is certainly not astretch for Kutcher,his acting is still funny,charming and a perfect fit for the film.

The supporting cast steals the show withthe movie’s funniest lines and most awkwardmoments. Kevin Kline shines as Adam’sfather Alvin Franklin, a wealthy, spoiled actorwho struggles to fit in with the younger gen-eration.Lake Bell is hilarious as Lucy,a glori-ously awkward co-worker of Adam’s whofinds increasingly strange ways to communi-

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True Grit

PG-13Drama

the vital stats

Courtesy Paramount

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music the vital stats

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Mission Bell

AMOS LEEFolk

Courtesy Blue Note

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The King isDead

THEDECEMBERISTS

Indie

Courtesy Rough Trade Records

Amos Lee is one of those artists thatseems like he has been around for-ever; he is 33, after all, which is

equivalent to about 70 in the music indus-try. Oddly enough, in all this time, it seemslike his music has worsened. With hisfourth studio album, “ Mission Bell ,” Lee

aims to create the perfect relaxation music,only to wind up with a painfully dry andcompletely lackluster record.

The sad part is, “Mission Bell” had thepotential to be so, so good. A singer-song-writer straight from Philadelphia, AmosLee made a name for himself after collegewith his soothing sounds and daydreamlyrics. He is known for his fantastic vocalsthat adjust perfectly to the mood of eachsong, from mellow to pleading.Furthermore, his actual musical composi-tion is much more complex than that of many more popular singer-songwriters.

Lee is undoubtedly an artist who syn-thesizes his unique sound from a diverserange of musical genres. Several inspira-tions are evident; for instance, Lee has citedJohn Prine as a musical model, evident in“Cup of Sorrow,” the moody, country 10thtrack on the album, and Stevie Wonder’sinfluence shows up most in “Jesus,” a soul-ful piece with vocal exercise typical of theR&B icon.

So, then, this album should be excep-tional. But it isn’t. “Mission Bell” is a take-a-glance-and-look-away album, an unin-spired, unmemorable musical work. It istypical of every singer-songwriter in thebusiness.

Why? Part of the issue is that thereisn’t a whole lot of variation in musicalstyle. Yes, Lee has a unique sound, but thatsound stays static throughout the entirealbum. Every song is a guitar-driven balladwith a desperate plea to a woman and agenerally depressing message. The tracks —

particularly those near the end of thealbum, such as “Cup of Sorrow” and“Behind Me Now” — bleed together untilthey morph into a mass of chords. No onesong truly has a distinct edge.

The main problem, though, is thelyrics. Lee is fond of using minimal phrases

to express a simple idea. This would befine, if at least one of the lines was unex-pected or memorable. Instead, he uses uno-riginal metaphors; the fourth song,“Flower,” is one of the happier pieces of “Mission Bell,” but the lyrics (“ My heart is a flower/ That blooms every hour/ I believe inthe power of love ”) have been done before.Similarly, “Stay With Me” is the same balladfawning over a girl that floods the genre.

The worst song on the album is itspenultimate one,“Clear Blue Eyes.” A col-laboration with Lucinda Williams thatsounds like it should probably be a lovesong, the track is yet another lamentationof everything that goes wrong in the world.Besides being yet another dreary song,“Clear Blue Eyes”features too much exces-sive crooning and not nearly enough sub-stance to its name.

Lee obviously wrote this album to behonest, not profound, and his message iscertainly appropriate for a 30-somethingman experiencing heartbreak and the reali-ties of life. However, what “Mission Bell”brings in honesty it lacks in appeal. There isbetter mellow music out there, and it won’tmake everyone fall asleep, either.

—andrea HINTON

contac t andrea : anhin ton@stan-

ford .edu

There will be no more quirky indierock operas from The Decemberists— at least that’s the message implied

on “The King Is Dead ,” the sixth and lateststudio release from the band. If you werelooking for another dramatic, genre-bendingconcept album like “The Hazards of Love,”

look elsewhere. The theatrical quasi mash-ups have fallen away to reveal a much moresparse, country-leaning instrumentationcourtesy of the enlisted help of R.E.M. greatsPeter Buck (guitarist) and Tucker Martine(producer).

“The King Is Dead” is the Portland-based band redefining its whole musicalidentity: gone are the quirky storylines andobscure lyrics, replaced by twangy slide gui-tar and wailing harmonicas. A combinationof rootsy Americana and unsophisticatedfolk, the music still bears enough of a pecu-liar hint through Colin Meloy’s unmistak-able tone to deserve its own sub-genre of indie music: “quaint pop.” Mostly acoustic,the album proves there is no need for fancy concept albums if your name is TheDecemberists.

The R.E.M. influence Meloy has refer-enced as inspiration for the album makesitself patent in the first couple of songs onthe album, which feature R.E.M guitaristBuck. “Don’t Carry It All” is as upbeat as thealbum gets, guitar-based and lumbering,with soulful harmonica verses competingwith Meloy’s strong vocals for the spotlight.Second in line, “Calamity Song”proves themost difficult track to listen to, not becauseof a lack in musicianship or songwriting, butbecause of the striking similarity the open-ing guitar riff has with that of an R.E.M.classic, “Talk About the Passion.”

Indistinguishable in rhythm and pluck-ing style, the guitar riffs and subsequentverses in both songs sound so eerily similarthat it’s impossible to listen to “Calamity”without running “Passion” through yourhead on top of it. Although it’s an enjoyabletrack, swift and reminiscent of early R.E.M.

releases, it does not sound particular to TheDecemberists. In a closing line, Meloy evenslurs his vocals in typical Michael Stipe fash-ion. The track is one example of several onthe album which show that, in trying toreinvent themselves by emulating the greats,the band has nearly lost its own identity.

Two of the gems on the album are “RiseTo Me,” an acoustic, emotional Americanarendition, and “Rox In the Box.” The formeris a beautiful ballad which would sound justin tune with any other song on a country radio station — the slide guitar and har-monicas make more than a transitory appearance. The second, a whirlwind tour-de-force with the fiddle as the central figure,features a quick dance step with the fiddleleading the rhythm. It ages the sound of thetrack, making it sound quaint — a quality suggestive of the band’s earlier releases.

While the album alternates betweenslow acoustic folk or country numbers andmore upbeat Americana renditions, themost interesting mix of genres shows up inthe last track on the album, “Dear Avery.”What starts as a down-tempo, alt-country rendition morphs into the riskiest track onthe album through its slide guitar solo. In anoffbeat take typical of The Decemberists, theguitar solo is played with unconventionalchords and is stretched to sound more likeswirling pedal effects, all the while layeringwith soft choruses and gentle drums.

As the final finger picking dies away, Ican’t help but wonder why, if TheDecemberists have worked so hard towardbuilding a reputation for themselves as con-cept musicians, they decided to release a no-concept folksy alt-country album in 2011.Only time, and the next release, will tell if the new inclination will hold.

—maria DEL CARMEN BARRIOS

contac t mar ia :

mar iacbg@stanford .edu



The geographical migration of falafel isremarkable. The fried balls of mashed chickpeas, believed to have

originated in Egypt, have become an integralpart of cuisine ranging from Moroccan toSaudi Arabian. The best viands find a way tospread, and clearly Middle Eastern-Mediterranean cuisine has taken root inPalo Alto — from casual spots likeMediterranean Wraps on California Avenueto nicer ones like Lavanda on University,

they seem to be littered everywhere. Morerecently it has replaced the once-popularOaxacan Kitchen and sprung up in the formof Anatolian Kitchen. However, while therestaurant does in general produce goodfood, it’s not clear that Palo Alto neededanother Mediterranean spot.

Anatolian Kitchen provides an invitingatmosphere that is not quite as formal as thedim lighting might suggest. The restaurant isprobably best suited for a low-key but nicer

dinner with some friends or an informaldinner date.The Mediterranean cuisine compli-

ments the inviting atmosphere with arespectable offering of vegetarian optionsthat would allow most herbivores to be fairly

happy. The baba ganoush in particular isexcellent; the roasted flavor of the eggplantcomes through just the right amount in aspread that is a wonderful balance of creaminess and taste. The cacik is also fla-vorful and has a nice crunch provided by thechopped cucumbers and a great kick provid-ed by the garlic.

The quality of the vegetarian optionsdampens slightly at the “Falafel Plate” appe-tizer. The falafel themselves are cooked very

well, with an appetizing outside that servesas the perfectly hardened shell to a moistinterior of chickpeas. The spicing of the

falafel, though, is a bit pale, and they areonly saved by the accompanying sauces andhummus. Likewise, the stuffed eggplant flagsa bit in overall quality. The eggplant is ten-der but the dish ends up coming off a bitmushy; a less than stellar mouth feel ham-pers what could otherwise be a respectabledish in terms of flavor.

While not a total miss, the dolma is per-haps the nadir of the vegetarian dishes inthat it is completely forgettable. And though

the “Mediterranean Salad” could also usestronger flavoring, it is at least a lighteroption than the dolma for those looking fora brief escape from the heavier meat selec-tion.

Not all of Anatolian Kitchen’s meatdishes are heavy. The “Chicken ShishKebab,” for example, actually provides a fla-vorful yet lean skewer of chicken alongside abed of underwhelming sautéed vegetablesand rice. It is, however, within the red meat

dishes that Anatolian Kitchen is able toshine. With the mousaka, the onion-and-tomato sauce provides a fantastic sweetnessthat, when paired with the earthy flavors of the zucchini and potato, brings out thesavory notes in the ground lamb, beef and

eggplant beautifully. The mousaka is cer-tainly a highlight of the menu, as is“Alexander’s Favorite (Iskender).” This dishis particularly rich but shows that AnatolianKitchen can really deliver delicious lamb.The bread cubes act to soak up the flavor of the surrounding sauces and, despite badexperiences with soggy croutons elsewhere,really enhance the texture of the dish.

Anatolian Kitchen’s niche between for-mal and casual Mediterranean is not exactly

a sweet spot. The food is generally good, butthe restaurant is too informal to exhibit realculinary expertise, yet too formal to becomeone of the usuals. As Mediterranean andMiddle Eastern cuisines continue their trav-els, Anatolian Kitchen is stuck somewhere inthe “middle of the road.”

—joshua GLUCOFT

contac t joshua :

g lucof t@stanford .edu

intermission6

Celeste Noche/ The Stanford Daily

food

Anatolian Kitchen

2323 Birch StPalo Alto

650.853.9700“Middle of the Road” V

E R D I C T :

Try the lamb shish kebab (tender cubes of marinated lamb, servedwith rice and the house salad), above, at the Anatolian Kitchen, amodern Mediterranean eatery off California Avenue. EmployeeAbe Saab, right, rolls out fresh pita bread. Although AnatolianKitchen makes the bread fresh twice a day, owner Dino Tekdemirsaid, “Some cutomers confuse the dough’s yellow-green colorswith mold. This discoloration, however, is the natural color of thetraditional Turkish recipe after baking.”

Anatolian Kitchen does modern Mediterranean



There are many great Americanremakes of British TV:“American Idol,”“The Office,”

“What Not to Wear,”“The Weakest

Link.” There are also many great TVshows about life in Hollywood:“Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip,”“Entourage,”“Curb YourEnthusiasm”(sort of). The 2011winter television premieres, however,have not been good to either genre,between MTV’s salacious and sloppy “Skins” and Showtime’s casualattempt at comedy with “Episodes.”The two, in their striking divergencesand surprising similarities, present agreat question about American audi-ences and their sensibilities when itcomes to humor, sex, celebrity andaction in their television shows.

“Episodes”is not itself a remakebut is a show about the remakeprocess. In the pilot, we meet mar-ried television writers Beverly andSean Lincoln and watch them,metaphorically in the opening cred-its and literally in the body of theepisode,relocate to L.A. when aHollywood network executiveoptions their award-winning Britishcomedy series,“Lyman’s Boys,”forremake.This dry description of the

premise is indicative of the plot con-tent of the episode and the protago-nists themselves, both of which areboring and plain.Much as I was

enticed by the idea of satirizingHollywood from the writer’s point of view, the show exhibits dry, anemicsatire instead of biting humor.DavidCrane, the co-creator of “Friends,” isco-creator once again,but he loseswhat was good about “Friends”andseems to gain a complex about thesuccess that came from that good-ness.

In other words, the show osten-sibly wants to make fun of Hollywood opulence, arbitrarinessand anti-intellectualism but, in doingso,allows those destructive entities topervade the make-up of the showitself.The result is a sluggishly paced25 minutes that rely on the samepunch-line pattern and audienceexpectation. With the latter,the dia-logue can be successful when self-aware: in the second episode, MattLeBlanc confronts the Lincolnsabout the similarity of their show tothe play,“The History Boys,” whoselead actor, Richard Griffiths, is alsothe lead actor of “Lyman’s Boys.”When the show pursues the details of

meta-humor to that degree, it findssuccess; otherwise, the jokes feelrecycled.

I admit that I myself am not

partial to British comedies such as“Coupling,”but I’m all the more sur-prised that the creator of the mostpopular and most determinedly American comedy series of all timecan’t bridge the gap betweenAmerican and British humor.Thatmay be the show’s biggest problem:its decision to separate the Britishand the American a la theRevolutionary War (this time pittingthe Hollywood beautiful against theoverly cerebral British), when wewant to see a more nuanced story about the interaction of the two cul-tures.

This, too,seems to be the prob-lem of MTV’s highly anticipatedreboot of “Skins.”A devotee of theBritish version since last fall, I lovethe original series because I canappreciate the thematic issues it rais-es but still recognize that this wouldnever happen in my own life. Thenightclubs, the drugs, the religiousand ethnic clashes, the class strife: allof these are germane to the humancondition, but not to the everyday existence of the majority of American teens watching MTV.

The adaptation of the immense-ly powerful and artistically stunningBritish original functions on thenotion that American viewersdemand both what is familiar andwhat is outrageous.In wateringdown the overall tone of the showbut still milking, in terms of market-ing at least, the scandal of nudity andwithdrawn investors, the content of the episodes is rendered frivolous.For “Skins,” the show’s roots in aprofound commentary on Britishculture that transcends the target agegroup paint the newest iteration as

exploitative.American television,when it

comes to shows that deviate from thesafe, universally palatable sitcoms,falls into two categories:programs,most often on cable, that use a frame

cate her love for him. Mindy Kaling (best known as Kelly fromTV’s “The Office”) is hilarious asShira, one of Emma’s fellow doc-tor friends and roommates.

The movie’s script is, for themost part, fantastic, featuring bit-ing one-liners and some priceless

moments. Adam’s work at a TVstudio (which is filming, inciden-tally, a “High School Musical”-type series, providing hilarity initself) and his interactions withhis fellow coworkers providesome of the funniest scenes in thefilm, only bested by Adam’s fatherAlvin, who begins dating Adam’sex-girlfriend, Vanessa (OpheliaLovibond). The ensuing interac-tions between the old actor andhis young girlfriend are comedicgold, culminating with Alvingoing to the hospital after getting

high on cough syrup.However, the movie suffers

from a few terrible, sappy lines,mostly on the part of Adam.Fortunately, the funnier lines inthe rest of the movie are morethan enough to make up for thefew bad ones.

“No Strings Attached,”though not perfect, is a refreshingbreak from typical romanticcomedies and the bleak January movie season. Although it is cer-tainly not the groundbreakingexamination of modern relation-ships it might have hoped to be,its hilarious script and supportingcast make it well worth a watch.

—hal le EDWARDS

contac t ha l le :

ha l le@stanford .edu


televisionMeh-Ta: When TV is a little too realREMOTEEMOTE

“Episodes,” Courtesy Showtime

CONTINUED FROM “STRINGS,” PAGE 4

WHAT TO WATCHNEXT WEEK

Friday at 8 p.m. : Spend yourFriday night with the CW hot-ties of old for back-to-backpremieres of “Smallville” and“Supernatural” (The CW).Sunday at 9 p.m. : Enjoy therhombus of “Big Love” while

you still can — this is its lastseason (HBO).Sunday at 10 p.m. : If youhaven’t started watching“Kourtney and Kim Take New

York,” you should (E!).Thursday at 8 p.m. : “The

Vampire Diaries” came backthis week, but the follow-upepisode will be just as impor-tant (The CW).

of a time period (“BoardwalkEmpire”), a profession (“BreakingBad”) or a narrative device(“Damages”) to distinguish them-

selves from reality, and in so doing,make their messages universal; andprograms,most often on networkTV, that use punctuated episodes of scandal,drama or intrigue to attractviewers but keep them at a distancefrom the material itself.

The accidental nature of theLincolns’success on “Episodes” rep-resents the way good television ismade, in my opinion. Immersion inthe art yields a story with a brain andheart that can sustain the life form of a TV show for many seasons.Whenthe premise or plot of a show is con-stantly reacting to what audienceswant, it fails to anticipate what they need.

—liz STARK

contac t l i z :

es ta rk12@stanford .edu



Roxy’s always been a fan of the underdog. Not only dothey usually work harder to

prove themselves, but Roxy’s a utili-tarian and feels that her attention isworth more when given to thosewho don’t get much from others.

That means that in the midst of the recently passed holiday season

and the three-day weekends of win-ter quarter, Roxy would like to focuson a holiday that is oft overlooked,and undeservingly so: GroundhogDay.

A time when a debatably cuteanimal emerges from the groundand exhibits remarkable prescienceabout the weather: What could bebetter? It’s an air of mystery, of sus-pense,of the delicate balancebetween winter and spring. Roxy wants you to Punx her tawny Phil.

Puns aside, Groundhog Day’sprediction has practical applicationsto everyday life at Stanford. Whilethe weather has been decidedly un-January-like in past weeks (The hotprowler’s effects linger much longerthan they should,it seems.),February is fickle and could take aturn either for the better or theworse — but the little rodentunderground can point the way.

For indecisive students: If thegroundhog sees his shadow nextWednesday, that means winterweather for the rest of the quarter,which means using cold weather asan excuse to get closer.Yes, Roxy knows there’s heating in dormrooms, but let’s all be sustainableand use body heat instead — andthen Roxy would like you to do alittle burrowing.

If, however,Phil sees cloudy

skies, then winter’s at an end, andspring quarter will last five gloriousmonths. If Wilbur Field last week-end was any indication, Roxy knowshow she’ll be spending her time:minimally clothed, and in the com-pany of minimally clothed pretty people.Hopefully on grass.

The decisive nature of

Groundhog Day can also dictate thefuture of relationships.Spring quar-ter is approaching, and, especially if you’re about to graduate, Roxy knows this is not the time to tiptoearound relationship decisions.Rather, forge ahead, since time islimited. Unsure if your winter flingis still worth sticking around with(or rolling around with)? Place a beton Phil’s choice and proceedaccordingly. Keep what you have if he sees his shadow; if not, seducethe future.

—roxy SASS

intermission8

01.28.11

well then, e-mail [email protected]

FRIDAY

BONE TO PICK?

MANAGING EDITORMarisa Landicho

DESK EDITORLauren WilsonCOPY EDITORStephanie Weber

COVERAnastasia Yee

adviceRoxy Sass’favorite holiday:

Groundhog Day

the stanford daily - intermission, jan. 28, 2011

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