The creators made the best deal they could with Time Warner or whomever. If TW owned Netflix, this would be pertinent.

Uhh. Netflix is independant, right?

Do people outside of the south still hold debutante stuff? I think that is a tradition long-faded in my neck of the woods, but I have seen photos of deb balls from, like, Texas.

Every once in a while I run into someone I went to The Right School with. If I were luckier, more personable, and more ambitious, I bet I could have made something more out of The Right School than merely getting into One Of Many Rightish Colleges.

Of course, there's still the economic aspect of that kind of opportunity. If you can afford to take an unpaid internship during the summer, you gain networking contacts. If you can afford to travel, you can go on skiing vacations and meet the parents of your classmates.

TOM LOVE! later I may take a crosstown bus to the gasp westside.

Do people outside of the south still hold debutante stuff?

Yes.

I don't know. I brushed shoulders with millionaires for years, and none of it rubbed off. No one married me, no one bought me more than dinner (admittedly lovely dinner), I didn't reap anything other than the occasional nice vacation, being able to drive lovely cars every now and again, and a fair amount of disdain or inconvenience because I wasn't able to even remotely pay my own way.

This. Except add to that list some pretty nifty parties. And one of my friends dated a guy from one of the wealthy families, but there was no hint she would be able to marry in.

So I must disagree with your disagreement. I think we now agree...

No we don't. See above. Perhaps these were millionaires without enough money to be an entree, but I saw people try and whore (physically and/or business-wise) themselves out to the same group, and it never worked.

I know more people who made mad loot by hard "honest" work than by association.

Direct digital (PPV) has a lower overhead.

Not according to the rate card next to my desk.

Do people outside of the south still hold debutante stuff?

Yes.

Damn. I hoped feminism had killed the poufy white dress. And the "Hey, my daughter's for sale! Come look!"

I've heard locally of quinceaneras, and bar/bat mitzvahs, but not deb balls.

I was thinking more along the lines of dating/marrying

See comment about whoring -- if there was anyone in the group I actually wanted to date or marry, sure I would have. But dating or marrying with an eye to profit = whoring in my book.

or putting your MBA to use.

Never had one of those, myself.

Do people outside of the south still hold debutante stuff?

Yeah, I knew a bunch of people in high school who did that. It was more of a big deal to their parents, though, I suspect.