big HUGE must see tv Thursday

the Office
Thursdays, 8:30pm
we left off with jim professing his love for pam in a very un-office like moment. we held our breaths for a long 4 months but the day has finally arrived! will jim accept the transfer to corporate or will pam and jim live happily ever after? probably something more in the middle. we'll take her calling off her wedding to boring roy for now. if romance ain't your thing, tune in for some good laughs.

er
Thursdays, 10:01pm
this is probably the most anticipated season premiere for me this fall and definitely the most exciting one for er since the lockdown of '02. with some of the finest acting the show has had since it lost its fab five, er has quickly worked its way up to the top of my list. we left off with a shooting resulting in a kidnapped sam, an intubated but awake luka, a shot jerry, and abby on the verge of a miscarriage. aside from the shooting, many questions remain. most importantly, will my favorite tv couple and roomies ray and neela aka reela finally hook up or will uncle jesse get in the way?

studio 60 on the Sunset Strip
Mondays, 10pm
ok so this already premiered and it's not part of the thursday line-up but it was supposed to be. good enough. this was without a doubt the most hyped new show. nbc did not hold back in the marketing department and well, it worked. i watched it. and i liked it. no one can deny matthew perry and bradley whitford's chemistry. the rest of the cast wasn't too far from amazing either. amanda peet and steven weber showed off their range; peet as a confident, intelligent network executive not afraid of taking risks far from the mobster loving spaz she played in a whole nine yards, and steven weber as a seriously determined and spiteful businessman opposite his fun-loving goofy brian on wings. the story and set are exciting for anyone interested in the entertainment industry, but i have a feeling future episodes will be less involved and have wider appeal. the pilot accomplished a lot and set up what is sure to be an enjoyable ride.

NBC knows how to do Thursdays (and Mondays)!

white rice

i stopped watching survivor a few seasons ago when the twists and turns took away from the once simple yet brilliant concept. but with all the controversy surrounding the latest installment, i had to tune in to see what all the hype was about. in case you've been living in a bubble the last few weeks, you know what i'm talking about: burnett's questionable decision to split tribes along racial lines.

an interesting concept in theory, some say cbs is taking a huge risk by letting viewers see how this will play out on national television. host probst calls it "a social experiment." indeed it may seem that way, but i wonder how much we can really learn from this.

the unknowing group of 20 is split into four tribes: aitutaki (latino), manihiki (african-american), puka puka (asian-american), and rarotonga (caucasian).

what is truly interesting is how each tribe reacts to the news. all are shocked, but some are more excited than others. manihiki is ready to break down stereotypes, while puka puka thinks this will feed into stereotypes. aitutaki and rarotonga just seem to think it's crazy but it won't affect their game. as much as they all seem like they don't want to play into stereotypes, within the first 5 mins, aitutaki talks about how weird it is to be rowing to an island when their parents were trying to leave an island, manihiki makes a reference to the "ghetto", puka puka talks about white rice, and rarotonga refers to themselves as the "whiteys".

now i'm sure editing played a huge factor in all this, but i can't help but wonder how much of a role ethnicity will play in this game, especially during the next few weeks when the tribes remain split by race. it seems that for now anyone that makes a racial comment will be referring to their own tribemates since the tribes are kept pretty much separate until any sort of merge. that's not to say it wasn't a little bit awkward when puka puka won the first challenge that involved solving puzzles while manihiki came in dead last...

i guess we'll just have to wait and see how it will play out once tribes are merged. will contestants stick with their tribe and by default their own race? or will they stick with their race and by default their original tribe? it's hard to say which is the case. in survivors past, it has been beneficial and strategic to stick with your original alliance. in this season, it could be interpreted as sticking with your race. on the other hand, if you ditch your tribe for a more favorable alliance, will it be viewed as turning your back on your race? all i'm saying is that if judgements are going to be made, it's important to understand how the game of survivor works.

i only had the intention of watching the first episode, curious as to how it would be received. and well i'm already hooked. let's be honest - i was hooked as soon as i heard the opening theme music.

sidenote: anyone else find it odd that the caucasian tribe has a girl named parvati? last i checked, that's an indian name. can you say plot twist?

if you missed last night's premiere, but want to see what all the fuss is about, click here for a recap and tune in next thursday at 8pm on CBS.

It's Showtime

Apple recently sent out special invitations indicating that they will be holding a special event on September 12 at San Francisco's Yerba Buena Center for the Arts Theater. This isn't unusual for Apple, as they have always been secretive with their product pipeline all the way up to launch, however, it has been exactly a year since the iPod Nano birth, and many people are getting impatient to see what Apple engineers have come up with next.

The special invitation didn't have many details, but it looks like Steve Jobs is in a Hollywood state of mind. Embedded in the invitation is an image of a collection of spotlights highlighting the Apple logo above the words, "It's Showtime."

Early guesses are an online movie store addition to iTunes, as well as a new iPod with a widescreen display to better view these movies. However, it's all too early too tell, but many rumors have surfaced in months past and you can get bet your 1st born that Apple isn't sitting around and doing nothing.

I don't usually like to speculate, however, given much of Apple's recent success by revolutionizing the music industry, you would think they want to do the same for Hollywood. Last year, Apple added TV shows to it's iTunes store, and even though Disney was the only partner at that time, the rest of the major media powerhouses had no choice but to partner and distribute their content after Apple boasted 1 million downloads after the first 3 weeks. Logically, movies are Apple's next step, and it will be interesting to see what happens next Tuesday.

Farewell, Agassi!

"The scoreboard said I lost today, but what the scoreboard doesn’t say is what it is I have found.

And over the last 21 years, I have found loyalty. You have pulled for me on the court and also in life. I’ve found inspiration. You have willed me to succeed sometimes even in my lowest moments.

And I’ve found generosity. You have given me your shoulders to stand on to reach for my dreams, dreams I could have never reached without you.

Over the last 21 years, I have found you. And I will take you and the memory of you with me for the rest of my life.

Thank you."