TV Q&A with Rob Owen

Friday, June 08, 2007

This week's TV Q&A responds to questions about "The View," HD on KDKA and CBS's decision to renew "Jericho" after canceling it.

As always, thanks for reading, and keep those questions coming.

-- Rob Owen, Post-Gazette TV editor

Q: There are rumors flying around that CBS is going to renew "Jericho" after a 'save our show' campaign by interested fans. I'm pretty surprised, given that these efforts never seem to work. Can you remember any, other than the famous "Star Trek," example?

-- Mike, Pittsburgh

Rob: It's the rare save-our-show campaign that works after a series has been canceled, but fans of "Jericho" managed to pull it off ('Jericho' renewed, June 6).

I wasn't sure about other examples, except possibly "Cagney & Lacey." I called my old friend Dorothy Swanson, founder of the now-defunct Viewers for Quality Television viewer advocacy organization. She confirmed "Cagney" was canceled and then revived after fan protests, but she couldn't think of other instances either. VQT was instrumental in the survival of "Designing Women," but Swanson noted the show was only on hiatus, not canceled, before it blossomed into a hit.

"Good for them," Swanson said of the "Jericho" campaign. "Empowerment goes on."

Back in her VQT days , Swanson wasn't convinced the anonymity of the Internet would have as great an impact, but she's changed her mind on that.

"That is where it needs to be done," she said. "I had assumed that in an anonymous situation like that where anybody could write a few notes and it wouldn't have much validity, but know that apparently is valid, which is good."

Swanson closed VQT in 2000 and is enjoying her life as just another TV viewer, watching the dramas "CSI," "Criminal Minds" and "24."

"Sometimes I see something really brilliant and I intend to write, but I don't," she said. "I should. They still want to hear it whether it's a campaign or they've reached an individual viewer. So many times I heard [producers say], 'If you don't tell us, we don't know,' and I've been remiss in jotting that note of compliment. I know what it means to them."

That's OK, Dorothy, you've done plenty to campaign on behalf of quality TV.

Q: I see that CBS has relented and ordered more episodes of "Jericho" after that show's fan base protested its cancellation (with an extraordinary campaign). While I realize that the push to save/revive "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip" is not quite up to the level of "Jericho's," do you think there is any chance of NBC doing the same for this show? I just hate to see a good, smart, sometimes funny, sometimes heart-wrenching "the reality TV crowd doesn't get it" series canceled just because it doesn't pull in "CSI" or "House"-caliber numbers.

-- Mike, Pittsburgh

Rob: This illustrates the immediate concern I had upon "Jericho's" renewal. Every TV show has a small, passionate following these days, and every time one of these programs gets canceled, fans bombard TV critics with press releases trumpeting their campaign. Nine times out of 10 I ignore them because I know that 99 percent of the time, once a show has been canceled, it won't be back. (The real time to mobilize is before a show is canceled, which is when I write my pleas for viewers to tune in.) It's why I paid little attention to the "Jericho" campaign.

Now I suspect every fan base will point to "Jericho" and say, "Look what they did; we might have that impact, too!"

Not. Gonna. Happen.

"Jericho" was a unique circumstance. I suspect there was some guilt around the CBS executive offices for pulling the series off the air for such an extended hiatus. I also think CBS executives are looking at this as a test case in a time when everything about how TV works has come into question.

But no, there is no similar hope for "Studio 60." Recently fired NBC Entertainment president Kevin Reilly had lost confidence in the show, and incoming grand poobah Ben Silverman certainly isn't going to pick up an expensive dud as his first move.

Q: I was wondering if you know anything regarding new episodes of the Discovery show "Man vs. Wild." By my count, there have only been six or seven episodes.

-- Bill, Shadyside

Rob: All-new episodes will premiere on Fridays at 9 p.m. beginning June 15.

Q: I have been watching repeats of "The Sopranos" on A&E. They started from the beginning. Just the last week or two, though, they have not been on (usually Wednesdays was the first showing). The episodes stopped in the middle of a season. There were about 4 or 5 more episodes to finish. Do you know whether or not the rest of the shows will air?

-- Linda, Pittsburgh

Rob: There was a Viewers Choice week in mid-May and a marathon over Memorial Day weekend. New-to-A&E episodes returned this week (repeats are on Mondays at 9 p.m.).

Q: What's up with CBS not knowing the proper way to hang the U.S. flag? I wrote to you when "Close to Home" first aired because they had the flag hanging the wrong way in the opening montage. Now, I watched a "Without A Trace" re-run on May 27, and they had the flag hanging the wrong way in a school classroom. Sorry, this is a pet peeve of mine. If you're a U.S. citizen, you should know how to display the flag. Or at least look it up on the various Internet sources.

-- Christine, Moon Township

Rob: I'm not sure your expectation is realistic. I was unaware there was a "wrong" way to hang the flag until your "Close to Home" letter. Maybe this is something they teach in Scouting, but I wasn't a Boy Scout. And I don't remember learning it in school, either. I suspect that, perhaps, I'm not alone, which is why this mistake recurs on TV shows.

Q: When will "Nip/Tuck" start its season? I know they have a different schedule than the norm (September to May). Do you think Rosie O'Donnell will be back since she's jobless?

-- Chris, Allison Park

Rob: "Nip/Tuck" returns in the fall, no exact date announced yet. O'Donnell's Dawn Budge will return for at least one and possibly two episodes in the fifth season this fall.

Q: I'd like to know why "The View" co-executive producer Bill Geddie (a k a "The VIEWmaster") is no longer in "The View" audience.

-- Pat, Butler

Rob: In March, Geddie told The New York Post that he chose not to be on the show and in the audience anymore. "As we built the show originally the network felt it was important to have sort of a hapless boss sitting there. [The show] doesn't need it now. It doesn't need another person," Geddie told the Post. "The show works the way it is, and the ratings prove it."

Q: Every time I watch something on CBS HD, the audio does not match with the video, which can be very annoying. It does not matter if the program is broadcast in HD. ... I have had this problem with HD shows as well as the local news. Is this a local or national problem, and is there any resolution in sight?

-- Pat, Mt. Lebanon

Rob: This has been an ongoing problem, as we've fielded questions on this for a couple of years now.

"We are aware of this intermittent problem and are working to fix it," wrote KDKA general manager Chris Pike in an e-mail. "While not all problems are station-initiated (we have had unique issues with certain cable/satellite providers), in an effort to resolve the problem we have recently replaced a key part (the flexicoder) which hopefully will resolve the issue. We apologize for the inconvenience and understand the importance of getting this right for the ever-increasing number of HD viewers."

Q: What is wrong with local news? As I write this, I am watching the BREAKING NEWS (I'm watching WTAE) on the Squirrel Hill and Fort Pitt Tunnel closings. I'm very glad that they let us know about this important story. However, they are now doing nothing but yammer on about nothing. The people they speak to don't know anything new, but they keep asking the same questions. I KNOW that they KNOW that the person they are talking to DOESN'T KNOW the answer to their question, but they ask anyway. Why? All of this while showing me pictures of stopped or very slow traffic, cars turning around, or (wait for it) an empty tunnel.

I do feel that some of their alternate routes are somewhat worthy of airtime. However, since the vast majority of their viewers are at home right now, it seems to be of little value. I'm ending this at 6:15 p.m., and they're still going. I guess nothing else happened anywhere at all this day.

Please, oh please ... TV guru, tell me, why do they do this?

-- Ron, East McKeesport

Rob: Because they can? Because they live in fear of (sensibly) moving on to another subject and risking that the competition may have an update a nanosecond before they do? Sorry, that's all I've got.

Q: I saw Mike Zappone of KDKA on-air, chewing gum during the "Nightly Sports Call." How ridiculous. Is it not Public Speaking 101 that says DO NOT CHEW GUM when you are making a presentation? I found this to be totally unprofessional. Does KDKA have a policy about this?

-- Jeff, Latrobe

Rob: It shouldn't require a station policy. I would think professional broadcasters would make it a personal policy. I e-mailed news director John Verrilli about it, but he did not respond to your query.

Q: Has a replacement for KDKA's Rebecca Hower been announced?

-- Elaine, Mt. Lebanon

Rob: Not yet, but KDKA general manager Chris Pike said the station is in the process of finding a replacement.

Q: A friend of mine is a semi-regular guest on "Pittsburgh Today Live," and she also appeared on Jennifer Antkowiak's new show, "jennifer." She was told that she would have to choose which program she wanted to be a guest on, and that if she chose "jennifer" she would not be welcome on KDKA anymore.

I find this kind of odd considering the two shows are on different days and times and "jennifer" only airs once a week.

I just thought you might want to look into this and see why KDKA feels so threatened.

-- Brenda, Pittsburgh

Rob: According to KDKA general manager Chris Pike, they don't, and there's no "her show or ours mandate." If someone has been told of such a mandate, I'd be interested to hear from that person directly.

FEEDBACK

Seeing that you've fielded questions on this subject in the past, I thought this deserved a mention. For those who wondered what ever happened to Richard, Ginger and the rest of the Trademark Properties gang from the first season of A&E's "Flip This House," you will be glad to know they are now back on TV.

They now have their own show on TLC called "The Real Deal," which airs Saturdays at 9 p.m. (with a repeat of the previous week's episode airing two hours earlier at 7).

In my opinion their replacements on "Flip This House" were mediocre at best and obnoxious at worst. It's nice to see the Trademark gang's down-home country charm finally back on the air.

-- John, Green Tree

Rob: Thanks for sharing, John.

Here's a heads up for my fellow HD-starved Comcast subs regarding the long-promised channel additions in the North Hills, etc. I know this has come up in the Q&A more than once.

-- Scott, Avalon

Rob: Thanks, Scott. I'm glad to know some North Hills residents will now have access to more HD channels. One caveat to what's in the link: Comcast says GSN is not moving to a different tier.

First published on June 7, 2007 at 3:12 pm