I'm allergic to Cashmere

Poor Lucy Liu. Cashmere Mafia had all the makings of a great series. But there's a reason it was held for mid-season.

The show was flatter than a pancake. The predictable plots were all very dreary and dull.

There were also scenes that had me leaping out of my chair to howl at the screen. First, the Caitlin character has had several failed relationships with men and she magically meets a woman who captivates her. I kid you not, the two women make eye contact and the soundtrack plays chimes. It was the cheesiest, most blatant pandering I've seen on a TV show in at least a couple of years.

That's when I said I was going to bed. I set the TiVo to catch the rest for me and I made time to finish it tonight.

The second howl-worthy moment came when the Juliet character learns that her friends saw her husband snogging another acquaintance. She launches into the speech of how she knew he cheated when he was out of town, but it was worse because it's someone they know. Then she justified herself for staying with him because the men who marry women like them give up the chance to have the ideal wife. To paraphrase, she said that because she makes more money and is more successful, her husband should be allowed to have an affair.

WAKE THE FRAK UP! What century was this woman from? First of all, if the man marries you, he should be faithful. That's kind of in the vows. Second, if he's cheating and you don't do anything about it, you are demeaning yourself by not doing something about it. Then later, instead of leaving him, she promises to him that she will 'take a lover' from their pool of friends to get even. If this is the way marriages operate in real life, something's definitely wrong.

The third character Zoë, is a hard-working mother of two with a working husband. She's at a crisis because she's in between nannies and barely has enough time for her kids. Bless her for trying to do it all, but the show made it look as though children were actually this woman's punishment for being successful.

The one redeeming quality the show had is that Mia, Liu's character, gets promoted to publisher over her fiancée and he breaks off the relationship because he secretly wanted Mia to be a stay-at-home wife. At least someone did something right. He was less than progressive for feeling that she should be for all intents and purposes barefoot and pregnant, but at least he didn't marry Mia under false pretenses.

At the end of the credits there was a shot of the familiar Darren Starr productions logo. He was behind Sex In the City, 90210, and Melrose Place. For me, the plots and characters were all just rehashed and mishmashed from those old shows. "Cashmere Mafia" is really nothing new.

Even though I consider myself amiable and open-minded toward entertainment, this is one show I really don't care for.