University of Michigan - Michiganensian Yearbook (Ann Arbor, MI)

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ENTERTAINING AMASSES The cast of the breakout comedy Will and Grace celebrates their awards after the Emmys. Because of its success, the show earned a spot in the coveted NBC Thursday night line-up. photo courtesy of The Associ- ated Press Richard Hatch, winning castaway of the CBS television show Survivor, reacts as he holds his prize, a 1 million dollar check. 51.7 million views across the world tuned in to watch the final episode as fellow castaways voted to deter- mine the winner, photo courtesy of The Associated Press WILL The Emmy award winning sitcom, Will and Grace be- gan its third season enjoying critical acclaim and a centered position of NBC ' s Must See TV Thursday lineup. The show stars Will Truman (Eric McCormack), a successful law- yer, and Grace Adler (Debra Messing), a self-employed in- terior designer. The two shared many common inter- ests such as French films and poker nights with the guys, and they were both looking for love. Will and Grace seemed like a perfect couple but could never find romance together because Will was gay and Grace was straight. Will ' s good friend Jack McFarland (Sean Hayes) and Grace ' s un- usual assistant Karen Walker GRACE (Megan Mullally) earned two Emmys for the sitcom with Outstanding Supporting Ac- tress (Megan Mullally) and Outstanding Supporting Ac- tor (Sean Hayes). Will and Grace also won Outstanding Comedy Series. The show had opened the doors for com- munication about homosexual relationships and the fans were impressed with the way the show handled the respon- sibility of showing a true and funny portrayal of gay and straight life. The approval of the audience showed a change in thoughts and atti- tudes towards the gay com- munity and put the perspec- tive of today ' s viewers in a positive light. by Colleen Day SURVIVING THF, Step 1 : Find sixteen diverse strangers, hundreds of watch- ful cameramen and a million dollars. Step 2: Place them on a remote tropical island amid snakes and rats with a mini- mal amount of supplies. Step 3: Throw in physical and men- tal challenges and shake well. What do you get? CBS ' s real- ity-based summer series Sur- vivor, and, indisputably, the recipe for success. In 13 weeks during the summer of 2000, Survivor exploded as a phe- nomenon across the nation, surprising critics, network ex- ecutives and audiences alike. Survivor demonstrated that being a middle-aged, middle-class white male - a la the contestants of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? - was not necessarily the only way to cash in on your fifteen minutes of fame. Take, for instance, the contestants that CRA2E comprised Survivor ' s final four: Susan, the 38-year-old truck driver and self-pro- claimed hick from Wiscon- sin; Kelly, the 23-year-old river rafter who was no t afraid to step on friends to get to the top; Rudy, the 72-year-old, hard-edged ex-Navy SEAL who freely shared his opinions on everything from homosexual- itytoillegitimatechildren;and Rich, the 39-year-old gay cor- porate trainer who cleverly manipulated all of his team- mates and eventually emerged victorious. During the series ' run, theories abounded on who would capture the prize. View- ers based their guesses on in- terviews of banished cast- aways, images shown during the credit sequences, and in- formation taken from the of- ficial Survivor Web site. by Cortney Deleweke 142 Entertainment

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The New York Yankees celebrate after defeating the New York Mets in Game five of the World Series 4-2 to become the 2000 World Series Champions. Not only did this give the Yankees their third straight World Series championship, but it also showed the people of New York who was the dominant of their cross-town rivals, photo courtesy of the Associated Press THE SUBWAY SERIES There was a rumbling in the Bronx in October as the New York Yankees took on the New York Mets in the first Subway Series since 1956. Beating their cross-town rivals in five games, the Yankees claimed their third consecutive World Series title and their fourth in the past five years. Following the game-end- ing victory, Derek Jeter was named MVP after batting .409. Throngs of pinstriped fans chanted his name as he strolled out onto the grass of Shea Stadium, the rival ' s home turf, with the trophy gleam- ing in the stadium lights. Hav- ing not homered in a World Series game before the sea- son, Jeter ended that streak by doing so for two games in a row. The Yankees opened up the series winning the first three games. When they seemed to be out of the run- ning, the Mets came back in game four with a 4-2 victory. Tradition would have its way though as the Yankees sealed their title in game five. The series did not progress without incident however. The lasting image of this series was Roger Clemens throwing his split bat in the direction of pitcher Mike Piazza, sparking an altercation. An image the Yankees preferred, however, was that of owner George Steinbrenner holding another prize for the team ' s trophy case. by Evan Busch Tiger Woods and Jack Nicholas share a laugh after completing play in the first round of the PGA Champion- ship. This being his last tournament before retire- ment, Nicholas requested to tee-off with Woods, photo courtesy of the Associated Press THE END OF AN ERA Will heorwon ' the? Thatwas the question swirling around Jack Nicklaus and the future of his long-enduring career as a professional golfer. Rumors of the Golden Bear ' s retire- ment flew as he and Tiger Woods played together at the PGA Championship in the late fall of this past year. Many thought that Nicklaus ' re- questing to be paired with Woods was a symbol of his passing the proverbial torch to one of golf ' s hottest stars. On December 21, however, Nicklaus eluded to the fact that he may be playing in the Masters scheduled for April 5- 8,2001. After entering the PGA in 1962, Nicklaus enjoyed an il- lustrious career that included 18 major tournament wins, and was one of only four male golfers in history to win all for major tournaments. In addi- tion, Nicklaus set a record in 1986 for being the oldest player to win the coveted green jacket at the age of 46. Nicklaus was also credited with the design of several chal- lenging and popular golf courses throughout the na- tion, including the Bear in Traverse City, Michigan. by Jayme Love Retrospect 141

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As much a part of Sex and the City as its main characters is New York City itself. The metropolitan powerhouse served not only as a backdrop, but almost as an additional character as scenes of the show included sights from around the city. photo by Yvonne Humenay Actor Michael J. Fox holds his award for outstanding lead actor in a comedy series for his work on Spin City. After years of working in the business. Fox announced his retirement this year, photo courtesy of The Associated Press SEX AND CITY Sundaynightat9p.m. marked a sacred time for many stu- dents at the University, who took a break from their mara- thon studying for one reason only: Sex and the City. All over campus students watch- ed the four sophisticated women drinking cosmopoli- tans in designer clothes dis- cuss the details of their sex lives and how to deal with being a modern twenty-some- thing woman in a way only found on HBO. My friends and I live vicariously through the characters on Sex and the City -they ' re successful, well-dressed and funny. Their lives are a lot more exciting than those of average college students, admitted junior education major Stacey Kartub. The Sex and the City in- toxication expanded outside the U niversity to include pro- fessional critics as well. In 2000 the show was nominated for eight Emmy Awards and won two Golden Globes, one for Best TV Series and one for Best Performance by an Ac- tress in a TV series. The frank and hilarious styleof the show had resulted in many more award nominations in the first three years since its concep- tion in 1998. Starring Sarah Jessica Parker as Carrie Bradshaw, a sex columnistforthe New York Star, the show tracked her weekly musings inspired by her own sexual experiences as well as those of her friends: Charlotte, Samantha and Miranda. She was known for such witty lines as you may be able to fake an orgasm, but you can ' t fake intimacy. Sex and the City marked a new trend in TV towards rec- ognition of the assertion of the modern woman in sexual- ity, by Bethany Kolenic HNlSHINiLQISL TOP The fans of Michael J. Fox missed him after almost three decades of charming the pub- lic with his excellent acting. He was born in Canada in 1961, and moved to Los An- geles when he was eighteen to pursue acting. With his boyish good looks and clean image, he landed a role on America ' s famed sitcom Family Ties. With his role as Alex P. Keaton, a conservative republican obsessed over money in white middle class family, Fox won three Emmy ' s over the sitcom ' s seven-year run. During the show, Fox met his wife Tracey Pollen and later had three children. After Fam- ily Ties, Fox started a new ca- reer in the movie industry, star- ring in the three trilogy hit, Back to the Future. After playing various roles in a string of movies, including The American President and The Frighteners, Fox returned to television in a new hit series, Spin City. His role as deputy mayor of New York earned him an Emmy for the critically acclaimed show. Fox an- nounced during this time that he had Parkinson ' s disease, which he suffered from for a long time. The shocked public watched Fox leave his spot on Spin City to dedicate his life to fighting Parkinson ' s disease. His fans watched him leave with sadness, wishing him luck and happiness with his future career, by Colleen Day Retrospect 143