TVSquad

I know that the most devastating news that came out of the recent network upfronts was that NBC didn't announce when or if The Apprentice was coming back. I think I actually saw people crying and screaming on the street that day, shaking their fists to the heavens. But then NBC said it wasn't canceled, they just hadn't decided what to do yet. And then Donald Trump "quit" before they could "fire" him.

But wait! Trump told Larry King the other night that NBC wants to do another season of the show and he wants to do it too. He also criticized the network, saying they ruined the show by putting it all over the schedule (yeah, OK). So I guess they'll be another season.

Starting today and running throughout the week, CNBC will be looking at how Star Wars has changed the way movies are made and financed (it is a business channel after all). This is all in celebration of the movie's 30th anniversary. Reports will also be shown on the CNBC Web site.

I'll admit that I'm a huge Star Wars nerd, but even I think this is a bit too much. I'll sit down for any special that delves into the making of the trilogy, the technology behind it, the mythology, and all of that cool stuff, but I couldn't care less about box office, financing and merchandising. That's obviously part of the whole package when talking about a huge blockbuster like Star Wars, but none of that stuff mattered to me when I first saw the movie all those years ago. The truth is, even if Star Wars wound up just being some cult movie that only a few people saw, it would still be one of my favorite movies of all time.

I have to ask, is anyone interested in an examination of the financial side of the Star Wars phenomenon? Please comment, I'd love to hear your views on this, too.

Last October I hepped y'all to a possible new reality series from Tori Spelling and her husband Dean McDermott in which the couple would run their own bed and breakfast. Well, it's a-comin', and it's a-gonna be on Oxygen. I'm-a gonna stop typing like that now, if you don't mind.

Huh?

Not sure I get what SalesGenie does, but then again I haven't been involved in sales and marketing for quite some time. You go to their site and you can get sales leads? What type of sales leads? Any industry, any business? How do you qualify those leads? Are they up to date?

Then again, if I'm asking the question and I'm not even into sales anymore, I'm sure a lot of business types will be going over to their web site and checking out exactly what this is all about. Is the ad effective? If you want salespeople to go to your site, I guess it is.

Interesting piece over at Seed magazine. A Boston University researcher decided to try out for Who Wants To Be A Millionaire, and used his training in learning, memory, and decision-making to win $500,000.

Ogi Ogas describes his thought process for each question he got, and how he got the answer that he chose for each question. How he would use bits and pieces of knowledge and what he knew was right about an answer to put together the pieces that would give him the final answer, like a memory detective. There's also a bit of intuition involved, as with the question of the first produce that Sears sold in its catalog. Ogas had no idea what the answer was, but for some reason, immediately, "watches" came into his mind. Was it some sort of information that he had read quickly once and had been stored in his memory bank? I wonder if intuition isn't pure intuition at all, but a decision we come to from what we've learned in the past and stored. I'm not sure if this explains why I can't remember to pay certain bills every single month but I remember the Bionic Woman's telephone number (555-2368), but it's fascinating.

Of course, if various aspects of memory and learning are the keys to winning Millionaire, I guess luck and a lack of greed is the secret to winning Deal Or No Deal.

(S02E14) If you check out the Adult Swim schedule grid, the words "Worst episode ever" are written next to this particular episode. The men and monkeys who run Adult Swim have never been above a bit of self deprecation, but I actually thought this episode was pretty damn hilarious.

The show opens with the Mayor poking Tom in the eye with a sharp metal rod. It's okay, though, because Tom's eye is made of glass. It seems he had an accident while playing with his step-sons. Tom, however, isn't there just to have his eye poked buy the inquisitive Mayor, he's there to sell hoagies for the annual Father/Son Barrel Goat Hunt, in which the father/son teams hunt the dreaded barrel goat, a creature that is driven insane by the scent of pickle barrels. The Mayor has never heard of a hoagie (he pronounces it "hoogie") before, and he can't get enough of the sandwiches. He also takes a liking to Tom's glass eye and buys two for himself, which of course makes it difficult for him to see and move around.

(S02E02) I think a better title for this episode would be "Outsourcing--Where's the Outrage?"

As we all know, many jobs in the United States, mostly in the computer programming and telemarketing sectors, have been outsourced to foreign companies, mainly to India. Outsourcing continues to be a hot topic in this country, and I think it would be safe to say that the majority of American workers abhor the idea of an American-based company outsourcing American jobs to another country in order to save on labor costs and increase their own profits. I'm sure there are plenty of people who say outsourcing is a good thing, but I haven't been able to find them.