Miscellanea

"The Apprentice," which has already been taking hits in the ratings over its past few installments, lost one of its best elements Thursday.

Carolyn Kepcher, my favorite of Donald Trump's right-hand people, was fired from his company this week. Carolyn was sharp and witty, and it was usually priceless to see her reaction to some of the more misguided attempts of various candidates.

Carolyn's best moment came when she dressed down one female candidate a few seasons ago after the woman tried to augment her street-corner promotion by -- I don't kid here -- flashing her g-string to customers by lifting her miniskirt. After Carolyn, who probably has encountered her fair share of glass ceilings along the way, demolished the contestant in the boardroom, there wasn't much left for Trump to fire.

I'm not sure what office politics led to her departure, though one tabloid reported that she was self-promoting too much based on her success from "The Apprentice." Personally, I just don't think Trump likes anyone being more popular than him. What it means is Trump's kids, Donald Jr. and Ivanka, will now get more air time as his right-hand men. Neither offspring adds much to the boardroom sessions.

Carolyn, you will be missed.

RETRO-EFFECTS: CBS announced this week that it will digitally remaster "Star Trek" in honor of the series' 40th anniversary. Included in this is new CGI effects and sharper images and sound.

Please, please, please, Hollywood, stop doing this crap. We didn't want colorized movies from Ted Turner in which Humphrey Bogart's skin tones came out orange, we didn't want 17 versions of "Star Wars" so George Lucas could add that one extra shot of a stormtrooper dying in some scene, and we don't want this.

Part of "Star Trek's" charm is the cheesy effects from the 1960s. The special effects were much better in all of the "Star Trek" spinoffs, which is how it should be. CGI technology was developed in the 1990s and lousy effects wouldn't have been tolerated on one of the spinoffs.

By the way, "Star Trek" debuts on TVLand next Friday with a mini-marathon of four episodes: ‘‘The Man Trap,’’ ‘‘City on the Edge of Forever,’’ ‘‘The Trouble With Tribbles’’ and ‘‘Plato’s Stepchildren.’’

ONE MORE DVD: Something that should have been added to Thursday's post for DVD picks is season one of "Hustle," one of the best shows airing on TV. Co-produced by the BBC and AMC, it follows the adventures of a team of five con artists and the various heists they pull.

Much like the remake of "Ocean's 11," the series has charm, wit and excitement, without suffering the lameness of "Ocean's 12."

WEEKEND'S BEST BETS: Sean Bean ("Lord of the Rings") reprises his role of British soldier Richard Sharpe in "Sharpe's Challenge" (Saturday and Sunday, 9 p.m., BBC-America), the first new TV movie involving the character in nine years.

Sharpe is based on the books by historical novelist Bernard Cornwell, and BBC-America has been re-airing the previous installments periodically. This time around, Sharpe, a British officer during the Napoleanic wars, is stationed in India.

Fans of the excellent A&E series based on the Horatio Hornblower novels (back when A&E was actually airing quality TV, not the reality junk it shows now) should enjoy this.

If British historical dramas aren't your thing (and why not?!?) college football has kicked off this week and the most anticipated game on the slate is Notre Dame at Georgia Tech (Sat., 8 p.m., ABC). For Tech fans, it will be an opportunity to see the No. 2 ranked Irish and their Heisman candidate quarterback Brady Quinn. Georgia fans can watch the Dogs battle Western Kentucky (Sat., 12:30, Fox-24) and will have the opportunity to see Tech stomped by the Irish and their Heisman candidate quarterback Brady Quinn.