Last night, Katie Couric made her CBS Evening News debut. Overall, the newscast was perfectly fine - no banter, a long Lara Logan feature on going in Taliban-run Afghanistatn, an interview (sorta like The Daily Show, just without the humor) with the NY Times' Thomas L. Friedman, a segment from Morgan "30 Days" Spurlock, and what the public has really been waiting for, pictures of baby Suri Cruise (she has a crazy head of hair!). Sure, people tuned in for last night's broadcast, but will they tune in every day? Are you going to watch? And are you going to help Katie pick a sign-off? more ›

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Gothamist was pretty wary about NBC's version of The Office, but the commercials and previews have make it look very watchable. And we love shows that touch upon how insanely soul-crushing the office life can be. The American cast even looks pretty schlubby - a rarity this side of dumb-oaf-male leads on some sitcoms (you know, the ones where you're wondering "How did he land Leah Remini?") - which must have been an answered prayer to all those people labeled "character actors." We'll be tuning in tonight at 9:30PM, after the other office comedy, The Apprentice. more ›

Chung chung! It's the moment Gothamist has been waiting for - at least since May 20 - it's the season premiere of Law & Order. And since it's the much ballyhooed CSI:NY vs. Law & Order smackdown on Wednesday at 10PM, NBC is rolling out TWO episode of L&O tonight, starting at 9PM. The first episode is "Paradigm":

Dennis Farina joins the cast as Detective Joe Fontana, a stylish veteran uneasily paired with Detective Green (Jesse L. Martin) when a former female Guardsman from the second Gulf War is found murdered -- and evidence points to the vengeful Iraqi sister of a an ex-inmate at infamous Abu Ghraib prison. However, when D.A.s McCoy and Southerlyn begin to prosecute, they discover that the suspect's lawyer boldly plans to defend his client as an "enemy soldier" -- subject only to the terms of the Geneva Convention. New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg guest-stars as himself. .

The Daily News' David Bianculli doesn't even give "Call Me" any stars: "...one of the least sexy films ever made about the world's oldest profession." And the Post's Linda Stasi rips the movie a new one: "Horrible script, horrible acting, horrible direction. Horrible period." Damn it, Gothamist will definitely have to watch tonight. Only if the Law & Orders on TNT are ones we've seen six times before, though. more ›

It's the old "garment collapsed" excuse from Janet Jackson's camp. Last night, her agent read a statement from Ms. Jackson: more ›

• Alessandra Stanley says, "Except for the politics and soft-core pornography, "The L Word," Showtime's new series about lesbians that starts on Sunday, is old-fashioned fun." Hey now!
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It's Gothamist's second favorite Times Arts & Leisure feature of the year (after the Fall Preview, which, even though "Fall" is less of an event in film and TV, just seems to be an exciting way to ring in the best season), when all the critics give their favorites and hateds of the year. The film critics list their best, with Elvis Mitchell calling Pirates of the Caribbean his top movie (Merry Christmas, Jerry Bruckheimer), A.O. Scott naming Master and Commander his, and Stephen Holden picking Angels in America (technically a film made for cable, but considering its ten month shoot, $60 million price tag, and ultimate 6 hour running time, it's certainly an event, so why quibble?). Then the critics have a discussion about the worst things in movies this past year (roles for women, children's movies); Scott reveals that when critics tell their children some movies are bad, the consequences are dire: [Also Scott on the year in general and Dave Kehr on the Year of the Documetary.] more ›

And really, is this betrayal any worse than Al Gore's snub of former running mate Joe Lieberman by supporting Howard Dean? The future is bright for Adam, though: While falling for Melana is not the most dignified thing, it couldn't be avoided in the hothouse NBC created, and now the reality TV watching world knows he's a "millionaire" (though one with a roommate in typical bachelor digs; maybe he's thrifty). Perhaps the sequel is "Average Joe with Many Shallow Girls Fighting For Him." Gothamist got swept into Average Joe fever for the obvious reasons: Rooting for the underdog is such sweet sorrow. Someone who also knows about sweet sorrow, and lots of it, Red Sox fan Lockhart Steele. more ›

Variety's Todd McCarthy: "Fully capturing the grandeur, extravagance, urgency, poetry and humor of the produced play, the savvy veteran director [Nichols]has brought out an elemental dimension of emotional melodrama that makes the piece compulsive screen fare without subtracting one bit from its status as great theater." more ›

Last night, Rocco DiSpirito's reality show, The Restaurant, premiered and the Times' food critic William Grimes reviewed the show in the weekend's Arts & Leisure section. (Gothamist is curious if one of the TV critics Alessandra Stanley or Julie Salomon or even Caryn James - who we haven't seen much of lately - will be reviewing Rocco's On 22nd Street, the restaurant, as a restaurant then?) Biff loves the "thrilling" glimpse into what goes into making a New York restaurant buzz, but was also reminded of "the unholy alliance of creativity, money and public relations that dominates New York's restaurant economy." The LA Times on the show and Newsday on Rocco's mother, Niccolina, who was his mentor of sorts. more ›