Sally Cohen Cutler

The made-for-TV movie: a very specific subgenre marked by an obscenely long playtime and a certain amount of over-the-top drama.

In the beginning, there was the Real World. Then there were Survivor and The Apprentice. Of course, you can’t discount Fear Factor or The Bachelor. And finally... Strictly Come Dancing?

Middle school was a time of intentional nonconformity for me—the more people my age who liked any given cultural phenomenon, the more I rejected it. This applied to nothing more than the then-hugely popular Dawson’s Creek, which I spent much of my pre-adolescence ridiculing.

At some point in the premiere of the new cycle of America’s Next Top Model, it becomes glaringly obvious that the producers have no doubt about the success of their show.

By Wednesday of any given week, classes seem like they’ll never end, homework assignments threaten to go unfinished several days after they’re due, and that big term paper looms on the horizon. But just when it seems like you can’t take any more, Wednesday night offers the guaranteed one-hour relief of Law & Order.

Nov. 7 was a momentous day for women's rights. In the span of just 24 hours, Representative Nancy Pelosi was set to take her place as the first female speaker of the House, bringing her closer to the presidency than any other woman in history. And Britney Spears served K-Fed divorce papers.