What On Earth?-Column #2, July 2002

This month, as you know, is the month where, on the 4th, we celebrate our Independence from England, one of our allies in the war on terrorism. But many of us will be thinking about some the ups and downs we dealt with in June.

Let's start with the Pledge Of Allegiance. The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in California decided that schools should NOT recite the pledge because of the words "under God," which were added in 1954 by Congress. The ruling came after a California atheist (does NOT believe in God), was frustrated with listening to his daughter and her 2nd grade class and teacher recite the pledge just because of those two words. Now, let me tell you this: If you do not like the pledge because of those 2 words, or you don't like the 2 words period, DON'T SAY THEM THEN, OR DON'T SAY THE PLEDGE AT ALL! Our 1st Amendment guarantees us Free Speech, and Free Religion. So, if you don't like the words "under God" in the Pledge, you don't have to say them!

Also, the Supreme Court OK's drug tests. 5 of the 9 justices disagreed that this violates privacy, and they think that the use of drugs by minors concerns them MORE than privacy. Well, I would rather go half and half, that is, "Give the tests, but give them in a way that does NOT violate the students' privacy!" I mean, 90% of us students in schools AND colleges alike do NOT use drugs, and don't we all know that. Let's think of this as the Big Brother for the Drug-Free world.

To wrap this up, I say: "YOU PEOPLE ARE SUPPOSED TO PROTECT OUR CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS, NOT TAKE THEM AWAY!" What good are our rights then, especially in this post 9-11 world?

Now, on to a more serious note. "Millionaire?" in primetime is gone, and so is "Weakest Link." Vamoosh, finito, Adios, Sayanara, whatever. Our coverage of each of these big money making, Million-Dollar giving, heart warming, CELEBRITY-EXHAUSTING game shows closes with some final thoughts by me.

"Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?" (ABC, Regis Philbin)-This show started well from its debut August 16, 1999. Some of the familiar faces we saw during the last 2 years were John Carpenter, Michael Shutterly, Doug Van Gundy, Stephanie Girardi, Robby Roseman, Brian Fodera, and so on. Then on, we got a dose of the celebrities, just for a small bit. But after that, we got MORE and MORE celebs outairing the civilians, and the phone game got ditched, so many people just stopped watching. The only things I want to remember about this show is the fact that SOME of the Goose-Eggs got to redeem themselves in a special 2-parter, and how John Carpenter was able to use his Phone-A-Friend lifeline just to call his dad to tell him that HE, John, was going to win the million. But the biggest that people will remember is the famous catch-phrase that made the show a hit: "IS THAT YOUR FINAL ANSWER?" Yes, Reege, it is. This show was able to outlast the carbon-copies, too (Fox's "Greed," AND "It's Your Chance Of A Lifetime," CBS's "Winning Lines," and NBC's "Twenty-One" revival). Also, during EACH season, only ONE woman went home with nothing. Now, JUST ONE is fine, although ZERO would be better. Add that up, and we have THREE that have gone home from the show without a dime. So, to prevent me from getting NERVOUS about women in the hot seat now, I SAY BRING BACK ALL THE GOOSE-EGGS AND LET THE WOMEN GO FIRST, SO THAT THEY CAN TAKE HOME SOME MONEY! That's MY Final Answer.

"Weakest Link" (NBC/Syndicated, Anne Robinson/George Gray)-This show started well IN PRIMETIME on April 16, 2001 (and I have THAT episode on tape, coincidentally). In that episode, the players played it by the book in terms of voting (that is, voting off the statiscally WEAKEST Link, hence the name) THREE times in a row, and that did NOT happen again until Round 6. In the PRIMETIME version, one of 8 players could win up to $1 Million ($1,000-$2,500-$5,000-$10,000-$25,000-$50,000-$75,000-$125,000; Doubles in Round 7 for $250,000, then a best-of-5 shootout), while in the Daytime version, which premiered January 7, 2002; there were 6 players, and a top prize of $75,000 ($250-$500-$1,000-$2,500-$5,000-$12,500; Doubles in Round 5 for $25,000, then a best-of-3 shootout). So far, like the PRIMETIME version of "Millionaire?", the PRIMETIME version of "Weakest Link" went OVERBOARD with TOO MANY celeb shows. The daytime version hasn't done that, and George Gray wears MORE black, and does NOT imitate Anne, since he's a comedian. He does NOT want to be Anne, so the people at NBC let him do better than Anne. Plus, on the daytime version, I've seen the maximum get banked. However, Anne's US Primetime and BOTH UK versions can't even accomplish this feat VERY WELL! They've BOTH had teams that reached the target, just not as much as the US Daytime shows. So, the show's getting the "You ARE the Weakest Link, GOODBYE!" Well, not for the daytime show. It's going on! And as always, only ONE person's going home with the money!

OK, I would like to extend my congratulations to the LA Lakers for winning a 3rd NBA Championship title, and the Detroit Red Wings, who won the Stanley Cup. Now, the Dallas Stars won the Stanley Cup 3 years ago; but they've been on a slump since! What can we do? Well, just sit back and relax.

I'm out of college for the time well-being, so I've got more time to think about how everything's been going for me. Well, to tell you the truth, my sister's got a research job over at Stanford. Now, in San Francisco, they're planning on raising Golden Gate Bridge tolls. NOW, WHY WOULD WE WANT TO SEE THAT?! MY FAMILY AND I WENT THERE AND WE DIDN'T HAVE TO PAY MUCH TO GET IN! And, even worse, I DON'T HAVE A JOB YET! EVERYONE IN MY FAMILY HAS A JOB BUT ME!

And finally, the new A-Teens "Pop 'Til You Drop" album is out. One of the songs, "Can't Help Falling In Love," is actually an Elvis song. Other than that, everything else is ORIGINAL, like that of "Teen Spirit." Now, pop music is my speciality, as is my sis's. But of course, as always, I do NOT like it when someone decides to play a song, and it ends as FAST as it begins, say "Upside Down," for example. If I were to create MY OWN CD, I would have at least TWO versions of ANY song that goes by TOO fast.

So, do you think a world is perfect like THIS, where BIG BROTHER can watch OUR EVERY MOVE? "WHAT ON EARTH!" And as John Stossel would say, "GIVE ME A BREAK!"

Stay tuned for more "What On Earth?" coming up later in the year. Until then, this is John Lee saying, go back HOME!