(12 September 2005 8:00 pm)

MUMBAI: Star World continues its attempts at bringing in the best from the west. Next month it will launch two dramas Medical Investigation and Ghost Hunters.

Medical Investigation deals with an elite team of medical investigators from the National Institute of Health in the US. They deal with disease outbreaks. The team led by Dr. Stephen Connor get on different cases to get to the bottom of the danger anywhere in the US.

However, the medical situation is only part of the problem as their public relations officer simultaneously attempts to control to prevent public panic and complicate things still more. In an entertaining way the show tries to remind viewers that one cannot be complacent about any disease. The teams hunt down the source of the epidemic and concocts an antidote. It stars Neal McDonough, Kelli Williams and
Christopher Gorham.

Fans of the X-Files may dig Ghost Hunters which deals with the paranormal. Two plumbers are also the co-founders of The Atlantic Paranormal Society (Taps). This is a paranormal research team which investigates hauntings and other strange occurrences. The show which was dubbed a docu-soap by the Sci-Fi Channel in the US follows their investigations from first contact through the gathering of evidence, and to the reveal of that evidence to the client.

Every week the team investigates a new case, from poltergeists who throw a child's toys around an attic to a lighthouse whose late keeper still welcomes visitors. Meanwhile, those intersted in extraterrestrial activity can check out a two hour special which will air next month on the channel. Seeing Is Believing with ABC News' Peter Jennings takes a fresh look at the UFO phenomenon.

Jennings says, "As a journalist I began this project with a healthy dose of skepticism and as open a mind as possible. After almost 150 interviews with scientists, investigators and with many of those who claim to have witnessed unidentified flying objects, there are important questions that have not been completely answered — and a great deal not fully explained."

A scene from an upcoming attraction Nighty Night

Besides drama the other important genre for Star World is comedy. It will launch the comedy Nighty Night this month. This show from the BBC stable will air every Saturday at 10 pm from 24 September 2005. It is a dark comedy/drama series and centres on Jill who is the co-owner of a suburban beauty salon. She has other things on her mind, though, namely the handsome doctor who lives in the house opposite with his wife, a wheelchair user. Jill claims that her hospitalised husband is dying of a terminal illness and so descends on the life of the unfortunate couple… and refuses to leave.

The Cast of 8 Simple Rules strike a pose

It will also air the comedy 8 Simple Rules for dating My Teenage daughter. This was the last show that the late comedian John Ritter Three's Company was involved with. When it starts it deals with a father dealt with Ritter who has rules regarding his eldest daughter's dating habits. Every suitor is scrutinised. What is interesting is that the show wove Ritters death into the script.

After his death which happens several episodes down the line it becomes a time for healing and learning to deal with life without the family patriarch. The Hennessy family discovers the frailties of life and the strength of the family unit.

Cate (Katey Sagal) now finds herself in the precarious position of raising three teenagers on her own while holding down a full time job as a hospital nurse near their Detroit-area home. She does, however, get a little relief, thanks to her father, Jim (James Garner), who's been staying at the house since the death of Ritters' character. Retired and separated from his wife, Jim mostly spends his days making home improvements to the house — with arguably mixed results — and, in his own inimitable way, gives comfort and guidance to his daughter and grandchildren during their time of need.

But the family is thrown for a loop when Cate's wayward nephew, C.J. (David Spade), moves in and finds it hard to resist getting himself into trouble or offering questionable advice to the kids. Now more than ever, Cate needs to be there for her kids — particularly her daughters. Oldest daughter Bridget (Kaley Cuoco) has matured into a beautiful and popular teenager — especially with the boys.