I like the first 2 episodes of Cashmere Mafia so far, I never really did get into Sex and the City so was a little wary about the comparisons but I am enjoying this show.

I cracked up when I saw the club scene, it looked like something from the 80's with Alicia's leather jacket and Catlin's hair lol.

Looking forward to your thoughts on future episodes.

I have to say, I was very skeptical going into this show knowing there was going to be a lesbian storyline. However, the writing has been fantastic and they have managed to portray a first attraction to the same sex in a realistic manner and not so off the wall (a la Jenny on the L Word) that everyday America gets a complete wrong impression.

Not to mention Bonnie Somerville's acting! She is simply fabulous and does a superb job. She is funny, but not over the top. The whole cast is fantastic, but I truly love Bonnie Somerville.

I agree with the 'mommy wars'...I hope its over (right along with some of the herrondous outfits that Mia has been subjected to), but for the most part, I like the show!!

I guess it doesn't hurt ALL of the women are gorgeous ;)

The was great, thanks :-)

I really like the show so far. I never wtached Sex and the City so I can't compare the them.

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check out Sarah Bettens at                                          www.myspace.com/sarahbettens         

I wish I can see the first pilot. This is not a bad show I hope it survives. Loved the Caitlin character. There is a first time for everything, the gay character is perfect.

Funny question. Did you guys decide in advance to wear suits that matched your hair color or did it just happen that way?

I actually really enjoyed the show. I'm kinda surprised at how much I do. I also love the fact damn near every time Caitlin and Alicia are near each other they have to kiss. lol It's like they can't help it. I mean how kick-ass is that. They have wonderful chemistry and it shows.

Oh god when Zoe pulled out that revenge spreadsheet I totally thought of you, Lori. I thought to myself "Oh she's gonna get a big kick out of that".

I guess you guys didn't get the memo that pirate sleeves are the new pink. I'm getting some tomorrow.

When I started typing there were none...Anyway great review! You gals crack me up!  I like the show so far and will watch to see if it improves. It is a shame if they did tone down the characters but the fact that we have a little representation on network tv makes it worth the watch anyway.

And I will watch you two review anything!

http://bee-haven.blogspot.com

Bonnie Somerville will definitely be in the Afterellen Top 100 Hotties, I'm sure.

I hope the lesbian storyline will last :-) I'm already afraid, that she will leave Alicia for a guy .... please don't make her go "back" to men.

I keep watching and i'm curious what's going to happen with Caitlin

Mia's pirate sleeves were distracting for me in every scene in which she wore them.  I am usually not too picky about a show's wardrobe...but I simply don't think anyone can pull off wearing pirate sleeves...except a pirate.

Otherwise, I am entertained enough by the show to want to continue watching.  Caitlin is *adorable* and I have worked with a few women who would slip in and out of their NY-specific accents when saying certains words so that didn't bother me.

The show's background music is off...although I did like that they used "Natural Woman" for Caitlin after "the kiss."  I have been there in that reverie so I thought it suited her mood pretty well.

You two are just too cute together...specifying what your favorite graphs are...lol...but Sarah, I think that was a low blow about Carol Burnett being before your time.  *wink*  :P

Oh, back to the show for a second...I do think the show needs stronger male characters for it to make sense that these women (with the exception of Caitlin) have these men in their lives.  Weak men don't make the women look stronger...it just makes the women look weak.  If they keep up with the men are dinks theme...then I think soon there will be four lesbian characters in the show.  (Not that there is anything wrong with that.)

Great vlog, as always, Sarah and Lori! You both look lovely in your suits!

I'm really enjoying the show so far. There are certainly things I would change here and there, but overall, I think they're doing a great job. The actresses are all fantastic, and the writing has made me laugh out loud a few times (Juliet at the marriage counselor) and squeal a few times as well (most of the Caitlin-Alicia scenes). 

I thought episode 2 was better than the pilot, so hopefully the show will continue to improve.

I really enjoying the show and the second episode was better than the first.

Personally, I liked the puffy sleeves. There was no puffy collar to make it look like a 18th century outfit. Although she should have been wearing a skirt(pen maybe) so she didn't look like a ballroom dancer competitor.

I watched CM when it was on and DVRed American Gladiators. I have always liked it, and I don't know why. I hate reality shows and don't like sports. It seems more physical game show. Plus, women who look good the right way by exercising and not starving themselves.

"Bad jokes are us, ur me."

 Sarah W I'm diggin' the red shoes. I guess I need to start watching CM, especially now I know it's about smart,beauiful,rich womyn (all I want in womyn-ok there are other things too) Sweet!

Did I ever say I would play nice?-Miss Ketina

I have never gotten into the whole Sex and the City thing, but I adore Cashmere Mafia, and forgive me, I actually find the music quite fun.

I adore the characters and I absolutely LOVE LOVE LOVE Bonnie and the Alicia/Caitlin Storyline

The Way The Cookie Crumbles

Lesbians dispropportionately making it to the higher levels in business? I recall having a similar conversation with someone about this - along with queer women in the arts - that culminated in the suggestion that they had no man to hold them back. (e.g., the old adage, 'Behind every great woman is a man who tried to stop her.')

Ah, the Cubby Hole - tiny yes, but the time I spent there in the company of a couple of friendly locals who insisted I hang out with them for the evening during a trip to New York a couple of years ago ... thanks for the memory.

I'm not sure about the show - the only character I like so far is Caitlin (sp?) - the whole cute and slightly dorky thing is, well, cute.

Oh, and you guys really rocked those suits.

At risk of making a comment here that would be better placed in a forum thread, I'll try the following: Good mentors are, more ofthen than not, self-identified with one or another minority or historically underrepresented group.

OK, I realize it's always risky to generalize, and my thesis is ripped right out of critical race/gender/sexuality studies 101. Afterall, it's the people on the margins who always know the most about how the center works, and it's only one step beyond that old chestnut to suggesting that marginalized folks who make it inside are perfectly poised to mentor or show people both what and how things work.

That said, it's less theory and more practice talking here. As I look back over my own educational and professional experiences, each and every one of my mentors believed that he or she had, in one way or another, broken into the upper ranks of professions that historically excluded people like themselves. I first noticed this phenomenon when I found myself working with my second straight white female mentor. In trying to figure out why she and her predecessor were so great, while so many other SWFs develop terminal queen bee syndrome, I realized that both of the women I knew were self-consciously Southern working-class girls in jobs stereotypically reserved for the Yankee upper-class elite. By contrast, my worst mentoring experience was engineered by a dyke who would have given her eye teeth to be a straight white guy. Working with her was a rare chance to witness first hand every bad workplace behavior in the book—plus a few more.

As I look around at my peers—we're all mentors ourselves now—I definitely see the pattern repeating itself, and I look forward to seeing what transpires on CM.

I am taking a business course at a community college (focusing on accounting next year) and one of the courses I am taking is called Intermediate Spreadsheets.

I am not the biggest fan of the spreadsheet, but because I am going into accounting, I am forcing myself to like them.

I LOVE THIS SHOW!!!!

Now that Ive gotten that out the way, great vlog guys...I wanted to comment on the whole spreadsheet thing. I would type a freaking letter in spreadsheet if I could. I use it for everything else tho...I find that alot of ppl are acared to use it and always inserting tables in word which sucks!! Anyways, avid spreadsheet user here guys lol!!!

Looking forward to more vlogs and of course more Cashmere Mafia!

Laters Yan

I love this special instalment of She Made Me Watch It! I was very skeptical about the show but you made good points about its positives. From the two episodes I watched I felt the acting was a bit lacking (or perhaps it's because the lines didn't seem strong enough?), but overall, it's entertaining and has enough to the storyline to suspend disbilief.

On a different topic, I manage a team of information architects, we live and breath web work - yet a large amount of documentation that happens is in spreadsheets. It's just such a standard, I am surprised people would debate that.

My partner and I also use spreadsheets for everything. From comparing info before purchasing a washer and dryer, to gather data about the car she's considering and even forecast our joint expenses. Spreadhsheets are mega useful! (And if you don't like Excell, try GoogleDocs! http://docs.google.com)

I'm surprised to hear about the stat regarding lesbians success rate in business - was that meant as domain specific? (ie: Entertainment). I have not met one yet in my line of work and certainly have not had any mentors along the way that fit the bill, unfortunately.

I thought Bonnie's acting was really really good in these two episodes so far too. Well, I thought all the women's acting was great, but Bonnie's especially. My favorite scene so far from the show was actually the same as y'alls - the group scene in the cafe-type-place (well aside from all the Caitlin+Alicia scenes). Anyway, I love the show so far, and I can't wait for more new episodes!  

As always, thanks for the great vlog! Oh, and I loved the outtakes!! Hilarious! 

Sarah and Lori, when I saw your suits I could only think of a certain Helen Stuart moment: http://youtube.com/watch?v=tudmwgwt1Mo 

Thoroughly enjoyed the vlog--but that really goes without saying.  Always looking forward to next time.

Loving the suits guys.

  *** says wistfully "i want to be just like you guys when i grow up."  ***

Looking back on it the music was very similar to SATC and ( if i remember this correctly) some of the shots of the characters just walking quickly down the sidewalk reminds me of Carrie but it's the same setting so.

The dance club scene was wierd. I thought they were at the age where dates were dinner not a club. But Caitlain's speech at the end was really nice and well done.

Mia's shirt did scream pirate. She needs a new wardrobe. I haven't really liked many of her outfits.

 Liked Juliet more pre-makeover.

I'm loving the show and the actresses. i think Mia is growing on me a little.

And seriously this took about 2 hrs to load.I kid you not.

I was well pleased when puffy sleeves were in fashion and immediately bought a puffy sleeved shirt. lol. Lucy Liu looks cool in anything anyway. At first glance at the character of Mia I really thought she was basically going to be Ling (Ally McBeal) again. But she is much nicer than Ling, the scene with her giving advice was sweet.

Caitlin is so cute! I liked Bonnie in friends but she is so good as Caitlin. She makes me think of season 1 Dana for the "awww" factor. I love how all the characters have been so nonchalant about Caitlin dating a woman, which says to the viewer that lesbianism is not abnormal or shocking. I also love how Bonnie Somerville seems really passionate about the role. They seem to be handling the lesbian storyline really well. There are too many shows that exploit lesbianism to boost ratings so Cashmere Mafia is really refreshing.

Bonnie Somerville for top 5 of hot 100

First, I would like to say that I am enjoying Cashmere Mafia so far.  Women in mainstream TV are well represented in the fields of medicine, forensics, police, and now high powered business, but when will we get women represented in electrical engineering, physics, or mathematics? The intrigue of industrial espionage and intellectual property, the drama of a lab evacuation due to a toxic gas leak, the heartbreak of broken silicon wafers at the final process step and...oh yea, the formless polyester clean room bunnysuits.  I guess you can't "tart up" accessorize a bunnysuit enough to bring in the male 18 to 45 demographic. Oh well. I guess the answer to my question is never.  ; )

Thank you Sarah and Lori for the rundown on the first two episodes of CM. Loved the outtake!

"I'm...a spreadsheet geek myself...I loooooove data." - Sarah Warn

LOL!!! That may be one of the best quotes ever from this vlog. And if only b/c I completely identify. My vacation is planned out in spreadsheets (yep, I'm one of those people). I also love the fact that you know what kind of charts each of you prefers. "She's pie charts; I'm histograms." hee.

I think Bonnie is doing a fabulous job as Caitlin. In the post-meeting flirt w/ Alicia, the look on her face definitely made me feel the giddiness that comes along w/ meeting someone new.  If Alicia is being written out b/c of her pregnancy (bummer), I hope she's only the beginning of things to come then.  Though honestly, I'm sort of over the pregnant lesbian storyline.  

That's interesting about lesbians being disproportionately represented in the upper ranks of business, allegedly. I'm slightly younger than Sarah, and I have met zero lesbians in my line of business. My profession is pretty conservative and if there are women in the upper ranks, they've been hetero. Also, I've only met one person who I'd consider a mentor careerwise (she was a woman FWIW)...that's pretty amazing that Sarah's had 5 or so.

A random last note...love your shout out to the Cubbyhole...it IS teeny tiny, but I rather like the crowd there. Plus, ironically, there doesn't seem to be very many other options in Manhattan.

I did love the lesbian storyline and the spreadsheets. Definitely high points of the show.

But right now the straight characters are not very likeable or interesting. They're still redeemable right now, but I'm not sure how long I'll be able to watch the show if they don't make drastic changes soon.

Most of all, I'm not thrilled with the materialism that all the women exhibit. I tend to find that "women love shiny, expensive things" attitude really disgusting and actually physically painful to watch.

_____________________
Obsessive? Me? Never!

I completely agree with all of the comments about Zoe. I really like Frances o'Connor, and I really want to like Zoe, but I hate seeing the inept mommy routine. I hate seeing women who have an utter lack of control when it comes to their kids. Her kids are far too old to be allowed to be that out of control. Zoe, disipline those hellions!

 The only thing I didn't agrre with was the wink comment. I didn't think it was over the top at all. I believe the wink is a lost art form. As Sarah and Lori both demonstrated, it's much harder to pull off than it seems. Not everyone can give a sexy wink. I think the wink Alicia gave was dead sexy, and it just adds to the attractiveness of the character.

Ok this really has nothing to do with the topic of this Vlog, and it's really none of our business... but I really like the dynamics of Your (Sarah and Lori)'s relationship (on camera). I'm sure it's not a perfect relationship (cos who on this planet has one of those? and if you do, can you write a how-to book for the rest of us!!) but it really gives me hope that I will one day have a long term relationship where I don't want to strangle my partner 110% of the time.

So thanks for giving me hope guys!!

P.S I love the line "I was trying to process one lesbian , now I'm processing three"

They just can't take their eyes off each other *squee*

Caitlin is adorable beyond words. "My life is like a romantic comedy that's never romantic. Or comedic", "Does this spinster get a vote?", "I don't know if I'm gay. Oh God!". She's seriously killing me with her cuteness. I'm on the "Bonnie for Afterellen's Top 10 Hot list" campaign now.

Juliet looks tartily hot post-makeover.

Mia had me at "Lesbians are the new babies". That should be a T-shirt caption!
She looks fab in any ridiculous outfit btw. I don't go gaga for the Gucci bag but love that pirate sleeved shirt. Guess I'm the minority of the minority.

I don't really care about Mia's ex fiance but kinda miss the actor who plays him simply because he's so smooth and sexy.

Frances has good chemistry with those who play her children. The powerful mom who is fearful of her own children to the point that she needs to hide in the closet (literally, damn!) is hilarious. The working mommy bear is very funny too.

One character that I think has great potential is Juliet's daughter. She reminds me a bit of The O.C's Caitlin: sarcastic, laid-back, bored. Her "Thanks for caring" to her dad is just perfect.

I do agree that the music on the show is a bit off. Like Grey's Anatomy, the songs themselves are not bad but they are either too popular that is distracting (e.g Irreplaceable) or the tone doesn't fit in the scene (e.g All Eyes on Me). The music editing needs serious improvement.


I kinda wonder if the lesbian character were on Lipstick Jungle, would it be dubbed Lipstick Lesbian :D?

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""My love life is terrible. The last time I was inside a woman was when I visited the Statue of Liberty."

Until I watched this I totally didn't click that Bonnie Somerville played Mona in friends! And i'm one of those Friends geeks too. I just did a 'computer seach' to confirm I was indeed blind and she did play her. :-P ;-)

I can't believe I didn't see it before. She has changed alot though... meow. :P

Great Vlog guys. Some very good points made.

Since Cashmere Mafia doesn´t air in my country :( I´ll have to rely on the recaps and your vlogs (and youtube) when I watched a bit of this show it seemed great, but the lesbian storyline was just the BEST! It is well done and it hasn´t been stereotyped as far as I can tell.

When I saw the spreadsheet scene I immediately thought of you Lori, who would´ve known that you are a geek for data Sarah.

PS: Women in suits HOOOOT!!!!!! and those red shoes were awesome...