WEDNESDAY, MAY 10, 2006
ENTERTAINMENT
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN SB
ENTERTAINMENT
nave iliner the here ee to got."
Stuart Ramson/THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
An oxygen mask is placed on David Blaine after he was brought to the surface when his body showed signs of danger during his attempt to break the world record for holding his breath underwater for nearly nine minutes Monday. Blaine was pulled out of the sphere at the seven minute, eight second mark.
Trainer: Blaine was in danger
BY PAT MILTON THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
NEW YORK — David Blaine was unconscious and having convulsions when he was rescued from his 8-foot aquarium during a breath-holding stunt, his trainer said Tuesday.
"I wasn't focused on records; I was thinking of a rescue," said trainer Kirk Krack, a free-diving expert. Blaine was convulsing and "unconscious when we brought him to the surface. If we hadn't intervened, he would still be at the bottom of the sphere doing a breath-hold."
The 33-year-old illusionist had been submerged in the aquarium with an oxygen mask for a week. Rescue divers jumped into the 2,000-gallon saltwater tank Monday night and hauled him up.
He was rescued as he struggled to break a breath-holding record of 8 minutes, 58 seconds. Blaine, who had spent some 177 hours underwater, went without air for
7 minutes, 8 seconds as a finale to his endurance stunt at Lincoln Center, which was televised live on ABC.
Blaine checked himself out of Roosevelt Hospital on Tuesday. Friends took him out of the hospital in a wheelchair and then helped him walk to a waiting car.
At home, he took a hot shower, played cards and was able to eat.
But "he was crying" Monday night, said Dr Murat Gunel, the head of Blaine's medical team. "He still feels today that he let people down."
Blaine's liver and kidney functions had suffered while he was submerged but are now improving. His skin, which was peeling Monday night, "looks much better today." said Gunel.
His team concluded that the strenuous training and the loss of 50 pounds so his body would require less oxygen had left Blaine too tired before he entered the sphere.
They said Blaine wanted to try the breath-holding stunt again. Next time, he planned to be in better shape, and do it without being in a tank for a week beforehand.
"He is going over everything he did and analyzing what happened," said Gunel, associate professor of neurosurgery at Yale University School of Medicine. "He is remarkably strong."
"I think he was a great success," said Krack, adding there are only a handful of people who could hold their breath for more than 4 minutes with training.
Blaine started training in December, with some help from Navy SEALS. The water temperature was regulated to help keep his core temperature near 98.6 degrees, and he ate and relieved himself through tubes.
ENTERTAINMENT
His previous feats included balancing on a 22-inch platform atop a 100-foot pole for 35 hours and being buried alive in a see-through coffin for a week.
'Will and Grace' to end
BY LYNN ELBER
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
LOS ANGELES — Once upon a TV season a gay man named Will and a straight woman named Grace became unexpected sitcom darlings, challenging television's timidity toward homosexuality and buffing NBC's comedy crown.
"I think the humor of the program got people there and I think the relationship got people to stay," said Max Mutchnick, who created "Will & Grace" with writing partner David Kohan.
Eight years after the debut of "Will & Grace," as the saga of the platonic pals draws to an end, gay characters and themes have emerged on other shows while struggling NBC — and TV in general — searches for the next hit sitcom.
While "Will & Grace" nudged cultural and comedic boundaries, however, its success came from sticking to the basics, according to those who made the series: Be funny and be good company.
"David and I have always said a show creator's job is to put together a television show that consists of a world of people that you either want to be or you want to hang out with." Mutchnick said. "In the case of 'Will & Grace' it's about friendship.
Everybody wants that kind of relationship in their lives. Gay, straight, black or white — that's second to it."
Veteran director James Burrows ("Cheers" and "Frasier" are among his many credits) has the clout to choose projects at will but made the unusual decision to stay for the entire 196-episode run as sole director and an executive producer.
Why? "It made me laugh every Tuesday night when we shot it in front of an audience," he said.
"Will & Grace" was part of NBC's powerful 1990s-born sitcom family that included "Seinfeld" and "Friends" and is the last of its generation to bow out, increasing the void for the ratings-challenged network. Some critics have argued the show's quality ebbed although cast and creators argue it's leaving with head held high, citing its 15 Emmy nominations last year.
At its peak in the 2001-02 season the series drew more than 17 million weekly viewers and was the eighth most-watched program. It's been watched by an average 7.8 million viewers in its final season, which concludes May 18.
"It's time go out," Burrows said. "America was not watching it like they used to watch it. I can't tell you why. It's as funny as it was ever funny."
The show's banter swooped between high sophistication and low bawdiness, turning tender when Will and Grace (Eric McCormack, Debra Messing) hit bumps in their friendship or love lives. Add a couple of sidekicks who expertly stole the spotlight, Karen and the outrageously gay Jack, (Megan Mullally, Sean Hayes), and viewers were hooked.
"Eight years ago, a show with two gay guys would have seemed niche," said McCormack. "The opposite's happened. Kids watch it, old women watch it. Everyone wanted to know when Will was getting a bovriend."
The character finally did, although the series played gay sexuality more for laughs — especially through the flamboyant Jack — than unabashed and open passion. That was largely left to Grace and her succession of lovers.
The show didn't "lead with its chin" when it began, said McCormack, explaining that the network had reservations about highlighting the homosexuality of Will, a serious-minded attorney.
"We could have easily made this a much more controversial show and maybe it would have been a hotter topic. But we might have ended after six episodes," he said.
Play with this!
Kevork Diansezian/THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Members on the news media photograph the new controller for Sony Playstation 3 during the Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. 2006 E3 media event at Sony Studios in Culver City, Calif., on Monday. The new controller looks similar to the one for the older PlayStation 2, but adds motion sensors to detect six degrees of movement.
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