Fall 2000!

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Slash : ...The second "double slash" of the season, goes to none other than Sony, in regards to...well, you know, don't you? Not releasing enough PS2s upon initial launch is not only UNlike Sony at all; it's a cheap sales ploy through and through. While half a million people are gloating over their potential October 26th victory, keep in mind a system is practically worthless in the long run, until it makes that millionth-unit sale. With so many people scared away from even looking for the stupid thing, how likely is it that they will make 1 million by holiday season? You can say "very likely," though that's what Trip Hawkins said, when asked how likely it was that his 3DO platform would become the "universal standard" in game program design. "What's a 3DO," you ask? Exactly.

DOT : To Internet Movie Database's Tenth Anniversary, as of the week of October 15, 2000. Ten years ago, what began as a small Usenet newsgroup with 10,000-movies categorized, has grown into what is quite frankly the #1 web site to bookmark at all costs. Keep that database growing, guys!

DOT : To Madonna, who finally fought back at those porn sights that steal domain names of celebrities. Even better, she won. "madonna.com" will no longer go to some cheap sleaze site based in NYC. Quick, someone call other female celebs, and tell them to follow Madonna's lead (and how often will they be asked to do that?)...

DOT : To the people who made the U.S. Presidential Debates get higher Nielsen ratings than the new Fox series, Dark Angel. It was a foolish mistake to introduce a series during a major political event. It would've been even more foolish, if the majority of the TV audience saw this as a reason to not watch Al Gore and George Bush square off together for the first time. No matter how half-and-half the debate was, viewers felt that deciding who to vote for was more important than watching an action series premiere. Good for them.

Slash : To the folks making the Blair Witch Project multimedia adventures. I already had a gripe about their design concepts in an earlier list, though now I may not even buy the first game at all. Why? Because they're releasing them in "episodes," not all at once. Oh, let me guess; each episode will have a "to be continued" message, coaxing us to buy the next, until the sales drop, and no more episodes are released, right? Seems like a sure fire way to guarantee a "to be continued" message is all you see, over and over and over again. How fun is that?

Slash : To a Pretty Woman turning into a petty one. While I don't consider myself a Republican, at a recent Democratic fund-raiser, I still feel Julia Roberts went a bit too far. In a speech apparently meant to brown-nose her way into the hearts of Al and Tipper Gore, she claims that the word Republican can be found in the dictionary right between "reptile" and "repugnant." Say what you will about Republicans: this comment is soooo junior-high. After all, let's be honest; the word "Democrat" can be found in that same dictionary between the words "demobilize" and "demon"...do you really want to start such a juvenile "word war," Julia? While on the subject, sweetie: weren't you made a star by playing the role of a HOLLYWOOD HOOKER? Enough name calling; stick to the issues! (I feel a need to cut and paste that last comment here)

DOT : To giving the limelight to the Olympics in September. Any number of shows could have started in September, as they often do, and competed very easily with most of the Olympic coverage (how many people watch every single sporting event at the Olympics; even the water polo?). Instead, networks pushed their premieres to October, and gave the Olympians the 15 minutes (or in this case, days) of fame they deserve. It's a nice gesture, especially when, after Survivor last summer, TV viewers can survive one or two more weeks of re-runs...right?

Slash : ...or should I say, Double Slash...? Sure, George Lucas has made a few goofs to the Star Wars universe; Jar-Jar Binks in particular. However, this is going too far! Kenny Baker, the little person behind the personality of R2-D2 for all four of the past films, is being replaced...by a fake, CGI version of the character! You may think like Lucas apparently is --all Artoo has to do is beep, bloop, and move around-- and yet that is major movie myopia to the highest degree. Just look at how "lifelike" CGI creatures looked in Phantom Menace...NOT! I was already skeptical that Episode 2 would have any life to it at all; now, it's confirmed that at least one of my favorite characters has been made totally lifeless.

DOT : To a well done curtain call. I'm talking about CBS' finale to their summer hit, Survivor. While my opinions of the castaways still stands (click show title above to see them), the finale was surprisingly gripping. True, the final contestants consisted of the so-called "Cheater's Alliance," and yet, exactly which "cheater" would be the Million-dollar winner was gripping, intriguing, edge-of-your-seat entertainment. Good job.

Slash : To not accepting a well done curtain call. Sure, CBS isn't about to pass up any extra publicity they can get for their station, thanks to their surprise summer hit, Survivor. However, this may be going a bit too far: repeating all the episodes back to back, just before the new fall season begins. The alleged difference here is that castaway interviews will be re-edited into the program, with their personal anecdotes and behind-the-scenes comments of what actually happened each day. It's an amusing idea --presuming you really, really liked the show that much-- and yet it's hard to not see this as overdoing a fad. Memories surface of when the 1970's Pet Rock was re-painted to look like Superman Kryptonite, or the Rubik's Cube was re-shaped to be the Rubik's Globe, Pyramid, etc. Don't overdo it, guys; you don't want people sick of the concept before SurvivorII even airs!

Slash : To overdoing the Hollywood political "endorsement" angle. Whether you personally like Bush or Gore as the next President is irrelevant; what's with all the shots of celebrities in the audience of the recent political conventions? Are people really going to vote for Bush just because they saw WWF's "The Rock" in the audience, or vote for Gore because Christie Brinkley was in the audience? I sure hope not! Enough with the celebrity endorsement angle, and get back to discussing the issues.