Survivor: Ain't Nothing But a Race Thang has voted out seven castaways so far and most of the ballyhoo surrounding the season has died down considerably. Now that the initial shock of the idea has faded, maybe now is a good time to ask: was it as racist as some people said it was going to be?

Well, no.  It isn't really racist at all.  Shameless, yeah, but not filled with hate.

For the most part, the series has steered clear of any race-fueled conflict. That is, no person has been badmouthing any of the other tribes just for kicks.

How have the races been faring?

So far, the Latinos have made a poor showing. Four of the five Latinos have been voted off, with the scrappy Ozzy as the last man standing.  I don't think there's any reason for this trend, as they've all been voted off for different reasons.  Heavy metal guitarist Billy got the boot (from his own racially-divided tribe — they're now in two mixed tribes) after they threw the competition to get rid of him.  Supa-hot piece of manflesh J.P. was taking the knives out of his back after the women of his tribe turned the tables on him.  The perfectly nice Cecilia was given her walking papers because no one knew who else to vote out.  And now Christina got the axe because no one seemed to like her.

How does this break down?  

Latinos: 4
Blacks: 2
Asians: 1
Whites: 0

So Team White is the only race to have everyone still on the island.  Even the grating Flica, a self-described performance artist and rollergirl. Thanks God, though, they recently voted off Cao Boi (yes, pronounced 'Cowboy'). He proclaimed himself not a "typical" Asian because he has crazy facial hair and tattoos.  And, presumably, didn't score in the 700s on the SAT math portion.

We're a couple days late with this, but NBC has announced that it is giving up on 8 PM. To save money, they won't be scheduling scripted dramas or comedies in the 8 PM time slot — only game shows and reality shows.

This is sad to me, as it means fewer opportunities for great shows to get produced. (Not that all shows NBC produces are great. But you have to throw a lot of pies at the wall to get one that sticks. Or something.) And I doubt they're going to come up with any groundbreaking game shows or reality contests, especially as it's now the game-and-reality dumping ground, the hour that it's okay to ignore.

Poor NBC. All this talk of saving money and rising from the ashes. Buck up! You have my favorite new shows — Heroes, 30 Rock, Studio 60 — and returning champ (and Emmy-award-winner!) The Office. Things aren't so bad. No need to go cutting off your own limbs.