It's been a while since I sat down to watch a full week of Pittsburgh's two daily public affairs/news magazine shows, "NightTalk" (8 p.m. weekdays) on PCNC and "On Q" (7:30 p.m. weekdays) on WQED. When I tuned in last week, I was surprised to discover not much had changed.

"On Q" remains at its best in taped pieces, particularly when it covers stories the commercial broadcasters largely ignore. When it's an in-studio discussion, "On Q" remains largely skippable.

What I don't remember from when "On Q" started were 15- and 30-second commercials after the first segment each night. Yeah, yeah, PBS stations call them "sponsorships." Whatever, an ad is an ad is an ad.

	Lynn Sawyer: Good local feature stories.

"On Q" is especially adept at reporting human interest stories and features on the arts, worthwhile explorations of the community and the people in it. Last week, Tonia Caruso reported on a neurological disorder in children, former KDKA reporter Lynn Sawyer profiled The Children's Home and its baby-holding program, and producer/photographer/editor Pierina Morelli allowed a local artist to tell his own story. They were good pieces, well-produced, entertaining and informative.

Still, I wish "On Q" would just drop the studio stuff and pretense and become the deeper version of "Evening Magazine" it clearly wants to be.

"NightTalk" will never be as entertaining as it was when John McIntire was the host. He enlivened even the most boring, dreary subjects. Host Ann Devlin is not an entertainer and makes no attempt to be one. Her strength lies in interviewing newsmakers, not oohing and aahing over fluffier subjects, as she did in a never-ending segment on books for holiday gift-giving last week.

	Ann Devlin: Interviews are her strength.

"NightTalk" has no production values, so the show is only as good as its topic and its guests. County Executive Dan Onorato has charisma, so the night he appeared last week was far more watchable than, say, an interview with the suits behind a local holiday lights display.

But even when colorful politicos show up, "NightTalk" has no buzz -- and it did have some, if not the ratings to match, during the McIntire era.

Of these two programs, I prefer "On Q," but I'm always more drawn to well-written feature stories than static, talking-head chatterboxes. Do I like "On Q" enough to tune in nightly? Probably not, but I'm still glad it's there.

Be thankful for what we have

I hear from viewers all the time who are disdainful of local TV news, and I certainly am, too, when executives make questionable decisions. But think of it this way: Things could be a lot worse.

I was in Nashville for Thanksgiving visiting my brother, and watching TV there left me giving thanks for TV in Pittsburgh.

Nashville's Meredith-owned NBC affiliate is much more commercial than any of our TV news stations.

Not only do they still do money give-away contests during the news, something that went by the wayside in Pittsburgh in the past couple of years, but even worse, they allow blatantly commercial content within the borders of their newscasts.

Every time a camera shot from atop a hotel comes on screen, the hotel's logo appears in the lower third of the screen (like what it appears WTAE is doing with school closings; a station promo shows the logo of a local ski resort on screen as sponsor of the closings list).

The Nashville station also turns its five-day weather forecast into a money-making opportunity: A banner advertising a car dealership pops up on screen. Tacky stuff.

No 'Reunion' conclusion

Not long ago, Emmy magazine surveyed TV critics on a variety of subjects, including which TV executive producers most respect their fans. My response: Those that don't use a cliffhanger when their chances of renewal are slim-to-none.

At the July press tour, a like-minded critic tried to get "Reunion" executive producer Jon Harmon Feldman to commit to giving fans the payoff if his show didn't make it to the full 22 episodes.

"People give their hearts away much less easily than they used to," the critic noted.

"We're focused on telling the full story," Feldman said. "If I get a call that says, 'You're only doing 13,' will I tie it up? Absolutely."

Flash forward to now and, guess what? He's not keeping that promise. Fox canceled the decade-hopping murder mystery but will continue airing episodes.

Still, there's not much incentive to tune in, because fans will never get a satisfactory conclusion to the mystery of which member of a group of high school friends killed Samantha (Alexa Davalos).

"Because the events of Samantha's murder are partially reliant on characters we haven't yet met -- and events we haven't yet seen -- there is no way to solve the mystery of her murder without being able to complete the full arc of our story through the present day," Feldman said in a statement. "I greatly regret that this question, along with many others that the series has posed, will remain unsolved, and I am deeply grateful for the support of viewers who share this regret."

The show was in production on episode 11 of 13 when Fox canceled it. Feldman may not be able to finish the show the way he envisioned, but with some scrambling I think it would be possible to cram together enough information -- even if it required tweaking and shortening the story -- to give viewers a sense of closure.

Holiday TV addendum

Some viewers were crying in their cocoa after they couldn't find the movie "White Christmas" in the Post-Gazette's guide to holiday TV last month. Never fear: The 1954 Bing Crosby movie will air on WNPA at 1 p.m. Sunday and at 5 p.m. on Christmas Day.

Another TV cabaret

If you missed Christine Laitta's "TV Toons Sing-a-Long!" at the CLO Late Night Cabaret in October, you'll have another opportunity to catch this fun evening of TV classic show theme songs at 9:30 p.m. Dec. 30.

Laitta returns to the CLO Cabaret to perform TV themes (mostly from sitcoms of the '70s and '80s) just after Christmas, so if you know a TV fan, tickets might be a cheap present ($8 in advance, $10 at the door).

TV Q&A

This week's TV Q&A responds to questions about blurred product logos on TV shows, DVRs and A&E's "Family Plots."