| MUMBAI:
English general entertainment channel Star World has announced a slew of shows
that it hopes will keep viewers tuning in for more. They run the gamut from
a hit sitcom to a family drama.  Kicking
things off on 3 August 2006 is The Office. This is the US broadcaster NBC's
version of BBC's show im the UK. For the uninitiated, the show looks at the humdrum
everyday goings-on in a typical nine-to-five workplace, straight out of the 'Dilbert'
school of work ethics. The Office is a mockumentary of the office Dunder-Mifflin,
a paper product company.
The show has won praise form the characters and
the many mini-plots. As the camera follows the Dunder-Mifflin staff around, viewers
are treated to a plethora of stories and character backgrounds. There's Michael
Scott, the manager/dense buffoon who may not be diabolical, but is certainly oblivious
to what's going on around him. There's Pam, the permanently-engaged sweetheart
receptionist who's with a habitual jerk who is constantly putting off their wedding
date. There's also Jim, the witty and charming nice guy who harbors a secret
crush for Pam despite her engagement. Dwight meanwhile is somewhat nerdy, Lord
of the Rings obsessed, and comically abrasive/intrusive to the point that
no one takes him seriously. Steve Carrell won a Golden Globe Award this year for
his portrayal of Scott.  Those
in the mood for family drama can check out Sons and Daughters from 24 August.
The zany and slightly troubled members of a family try to make it through life
as comedy ensues. In the center of the mess is Cameron (Fred Goss), who is happily
married to second wife Liz (Gillian Vigman), with three children.
Cameron's
teenage son from his first marriage has officially moved in-and has a little-well,
a lot-of trouble becoming comfortable in the new environment. Cameron's sister
Sharon (Alison Quinn) seems to have the perfect life-although her husband, Don
(Jerry Lambert), are both in denial about their sex-less marriage. Then there's
Jenna (Amanda Walsh), the gorgeous little half-sister who had her life upturned
when she became a single mother. Jenna doesn't really know what's good for her.
She always goes for the bad boys like Tommy White (Greg Pitts), while the
nice guys like Wylie Blake (Desmond Harrington) love her. Equally problem-filled
Colleen (Dee Wallace Stone) and Wendal (Max Gail), the parents of the siblings,
try to keep their family in order somehow. Colleen, though, is admittedly uptight
and impulsively judgmental. Even though they're all a little nuts, the Halbert
family hangs in there and keeps it all together. The
supernatural thriller Ghost Whisperer kicks off on 29 August. Jennifer
Love Hewitt plays newlywed Melinda Gordon. She communicates with earthbound spirits
- ghosts who cling to the living because they have unfinished business which prevents
them from moving beyond the familiar plane of existence we call life. Inspired
in part by the work of famed medium James Van Praagh and Mary Ann Winkowski, a
real life communicator to spirits, Ghost Whisperer explores the spiritual
side of life and death.  Actor
Charlie Sheen saw his acting career being revived with the comedy Two And A
Half Men. This kicks off on 31 August. Sheen and Jon Cryer star along with
young Angus T. Jones as three males from two generations, each learning what it
really means to be a man. Charlie's casual Malibu lifestyle is interrupted when
his tightly wound brother, Alan, who's facing a divorce, and Alan's son, Jake,
come to stay with him. Together, these two and a half men confront the challenges
of growing up-finally.
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