Jae-Ha Kim

Pitted against Lipstick Jungle during the 2008 TV season, “Cashmere Mafia” holds its own with a familiar but still welcome focus on four powerhouse New York women whose fierce devotion to their jobs is matched only by their unwavering friendship with each other.

When the ABC sitcom aired during the 1994-1995 TV season, it did well enough to place in the Top 5 for the fourth consecutive year. And aside from some pop culture giveaways (Jill’s clothes; Randy’s use of a floppy disc to backup his computer), the warmth and humor exuded in this 25-episode, 3-disc set hold up remarkably well.

In both the book “Memoirs of a Geisha” and its film adaptation, women fall into two categories: sexy geisha and conniving dragon ladies, two stereotypes about Asian women that linger today. Already some members of the Asian-American community are worried that the film, which opens locally Friday, may reinforce unflattering images of Asian women as being submissive, sexual objects.