exactly what i was thinking : ).

The boy who plays Raja is Adhir Kaylan. He’s not ABD, he’s South-African born.

And hopefully there will be more authenticity because the main writer is: Sameer Asad Gardezi. He’s written other stories about racial tensions: http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendID=88953803

The song played when Raja saw his exchange sister is from Pussycat Dolls.

I enjoyed the show, but I’m still skeptical. I’ve seen too many shows go south after episode one.

I forgot to add that you don’t have to worry ANNA, cuz my tastes are definitely more lowbrow than yours

a young South Asian man in America wears a salwar-kameez to school everyday (which most don’t especially if they are brand new here) or anoter stereotype which makes us roll our eyes, it is a gross misrepresentation.

why does it make you roll his eyes that he’s wearing traditional clothing to school? As Kate eloquently said a few comments upthread, he is an exchange student and the purpose of that is to showcase his culture, aand someone else mentioned upthread that he is shown having Western clothing but he wants to wear traditional clothing because he is proud of his culture. I’m having a hard time understanding why anyone would roll their eyes at that or think that it is a ‘gross misrepresentation.’ I don’t even see how it can be considered a stereotype, considering that South Asian media representation is next to nil.

I’m sorry if I come off like I’m attacking you, but I just get SO aggravated by the insinuation that if a desi actually exemplifies something perceived as brown by American media but which isn’t thought of in terms of any sort of ethnic identity in the homeland, then it’s automatically an unflattering stereotype because they aren’t stripped of any and all ethnic markers. In my eyes, it basically smacks of fob-phobia. I’m not pro-exoticism either, but I don’t think this attitude is any good either.

Also, damn, I missed this premiere. I’m trying to cut down on TV, and only have time for the Wednesday night whammy of ANTM + gossip girl (I was disappointed as well, and speaking of gross misrepresentations, how this show presents class issues in NYC is SO laughable), and Ugly Betty.

I don’t know about Pakistan, but in India, though being very respectful to elders, middle class teenage sons seldom help out around the house. There are usually servants or sisters for that. What kind of helping out was Raja doing?

I join Anna in being very positive on the show in general, my one worry while watching was that Raja’s scenes of being helpful around the house, which Asian families would perceive to be normal behavior, might be interpreted as some sort of subservience by an American audience, but I still think that is minor. I think there is a line even in there that says that the dad has never seen a teenager be so helpful before.

Finally, I LOVED the way they used the music for the show and promo (“What’s so funny ’bout peace love and understanding” as covered by Junoon) and what’s the name of the one they played at the end, from the ’60′s- another anthemic peace tune that never got “dated”.