Submit your question to Rob Owen

This week's TV Q&A responds to questions about the writers' strike, "Doctor Who" and WTAE's promos. As always, thanks for reading, and keep those questions coming.

-- Rob Owen, Post-Gazette TV editor

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Q: Can you give us a scenario of what would happen if the strike ended tomorrow? If a show like "The Office" gets its writers back tomorrow, then what? Do they have shows that are partially shot? How long will it take them to get a new show on the air? And what about the summer? Will the top network shows run into the summer with new episodes or will the networks hold off 'til the fall and cram them all in then instead of repeats? If say the strike went on til April then what? I'm assuming that by the time they shoot new episodes they wont be able to get them on before the season ends so do they just wait 'til the fall.

-- Mike, Philadelphia

Rob: Those are a lot of questions and to each one there are a variety of answers depending on assorted variables. While I'm not an expert on the production process, I did check with some friends who work in Hollywood. They largely confirmed my educated guesses:

• Traditional sitcoms will likely be back in business most quickly. A multi-camera sitcom filmed in front of a studio audience could return to production in one or two weeks. New episodes would begin airing about a month later.
• Drama series will be all over the map depending on where they were in production when the strike began. Are there nearly completed scripts just waiting for re-writes or will writers start with blank pages? I imagine it differs from show-to-show, meaning the time it takes to get back into active production could range from two-to-four weeks. Viewers would begin seeing new episodes a month later at the absolute earliest. A month-and-a-half is more likely.

The networks are unlikely to air fresh episodes of our favorite scripted series in the summer because that time is not sold to advertisers on the basis of original scripted episodes airing. That said, the strike would have to end by the middle of March for any of the 2006-07 season to be salvaged and episodes to air during May sweeps. If the strike ends much later than that, networks will probably have to scrap the season and start anew in September.

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Q: My boyfriend and I are fans of "The Soup" on E!. Has this show been affected at all by the writers' strike? It has been airing new episodes, and since it deals with satire on current event entertainment "news," it clearly has writers who write jokes. The last few episodes have been countdowns dealing with the Best of 2007 stuff, but the jokes are new.

Just wondering how they are getting around the strike?

-- Laura, Imperial

Rob: According to the show's publicist, E! is not a struck company. I tried to find out if E! is a WGA signatory, but had no luck. My guess is it is not and so the writers for "The Soup" are not working as WGA members.

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Q: Any ideas if new episodes of "Doctor Who" will be returning to the SciFi Channel, or will it air on BBC America, which is currently running repeats from series one through three?

-- Patti, Pittsburgh

Rob: It appears to be up in the air. A Sci Fi Channel publicist said there's currently no deal for the fourth season to air on Sci Fi Channel. Last summer, BBC America chief Garth Ancier said if he'd been working at the network when BBC allowed "Dr. Who" to be sold to Sci Fi, he would have swooped in and grabbed the show for BBC America.

Looks like there could be a turf battle over who gets the good doctor. Stay tuned.

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Q: "Pushing Daisies" is my favorite of the new shows. It seems to be fresh in its point of view and the color is phenomenal in HD. Do you see this vibrant style and content as being a fad or can we look forward to more larger-than-life shows in the future?

-- Kristi, South Riding, Va.

Rob: "Pushing Daisies" is my favorite new series, too. I hope its prospects are not damaged too much by being away during the writers' strike.

The look of "Daisies" is unique and I'm not sure that future shows will copy it once the strike ends, but I do think it's cheerful, mostly optimistic nature is gaining in popularity and that portion of its recipe for success may be copied by others once the strike ends.

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Q: Is Courtney Thorne-Smith of "According to Jim" pregnant? It just seems that since it came back on the air, she's covered up a lot and not standing in any of the scenes.

-- Andy, West Mifflin

Rob: Yes, she gave birth to a baby boy last week.

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Q: Every time that I see the commercials on WTAE that show people from various local communities talking about how the newcasters care about them, I wonder if the people in the commercials are residents of the community as stated or if they are actors. They seem so comfortable in front of the camera that I can't help but think they are actors. Are they?

-- Donna, Washington

Rob: No, they are not actors, but some of them have a connection to Channel 4. "Ziggy" Murin is a hairdresser for several local newscasters, including WTAE's Michelle Wright. Mark Kuhns is known as a WTAE "superfan."

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Q: Perhaps you can reach someone within WPXI, Comcast and The History Channel who can address these technical problems:

Comcast/WPXI RTN: The amount of video compression used for WPXI's RTN channel often borders on the absurd. It's frequently unwatchable, with fuzzy, noisy images, macroblocking artifacts streaming across the screen, audio dropouts and video freezes. It's almost as if RTN supplies Comcast with a compressed signal which Comcast then compresses again. Does Comcast ever monitor the quality of the signals it transmits?

Comcast: If they have the technology to receive a signal measured in microvolts from a satellite 22,200 miles out in space, why can't they maintain consistent audio levels, especially with their OnDemand service? It's often necessary to crank up the sound all the way to hear an OnDemand feature. When the show ends and the box drops back to the standard cable channel, you risk blowing out your speakers.

History Channel HD: These guys apparently think you generate high def by taking a standard definition program shot in the 4:3 aspect ratio and distorting it to fill the entire screen. Worse, they take stuff shot in HD's native 16:9 aspect ratio, then stretch it. Every once in a while you actually do get an HD program with correct presentation, but most of the time it appears they just take the standard def History Channel, stretch it, and send it out as HD. For this we lost CSPAN 2?

-- Kevin, South Park

Rob: On WPXI's RTN: According to WPXI general manager Ray Carter, the digital channels (such as RTN or Weather Plus) do not have nearly the bandwidth of the primary channels (say Channel 11.1).

"When that thinner bandwidth is compressed by the cable provider, it can really wreak havoc on a digital channel," Carter said.

But Comcast says the cable company is not to blame.

"We do not compress anything that we receive from WPXI," said Comcast spokeswoman Jody Doherty. "Under Federal Communications Commission rules, we are not allowed to modify a broadcaster's signal in way. We take the signal directly from the broadcaster."

On Comcast and audio levels: "The audio for VOD is encoded by the provider and we receive it via satellite," Doherty said. "There is one signal, not separate audio and video signals, so we are unable to control the audio at our end."

On History Channel HD: Seems like some patience is in order. All programming will not switch from standard definition to HD overnight.

"The History Channel HD feed is a simulcast of the network's standard definition east coast feed," explained a network spokeswoman. "Since the beginning of last year, all of our new programming is shot in HD, and as we move forward you will continue to see more and more HD programming. Please note that the required HD delivery format for all The History Channel programs is 1080p, which we adhere to. We still have some series and specials on the network that were produced in standard definition and in order to program the full screen we must "stretch" the image. We understand this is not the perfect solution, and apologize for the quality. Also, as you can imagine, original source material, such as archival footage that is integral to many of our shows, may have to be modified."

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Q: I hear Comcast is doing away with Fine Living and DIY. I thought they would continue adding channels for the price we pay, not deleting them. What's up with this?

-- Bobby, Moon

Rob: According to Comcast spokeswoman Jody Doherty, this is not true, and the channels are not moving to another tier either.

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Q: Why does DirecTV's Weather Channel portion of "Local on the 8s" give entire U.S. coverage instead of Pittsburgh and the surrounding area? It seems if they can figure out how to transmit local TV stations, they should be able to provide local weather coverage.

-- Angie, Pittsburgh

Rob: Not without another feed for local weather for every city in the country.

Instead, DirecTV viewers can get local weather by pushing the "Active" button on their remote controls. It offers a five-day forecast for any city by entering a zip code and is sponsored by The Weather Channel.

Last week Mike from Charleroi submitted a question about a "Thriller" or Alfred Hitchcock episode. I think what he may have been referring to was one called "Where The Woodbine Twineth," which was on "The Alfred Hitchcock Hour." It was one of the scariest ever and my Mom and I often talk about. This is from imdb.com:

"After Eva Snyder becomes an orphan, she comes to live with the elderly Mississippi riverboat Captain King Snyder and his old maid sister Nell. While the Captain is piloting his boat, Nell finds it difficult to govern Eva, who constantly talks to imaginary friends whom Eva believes are real, including Mingo and her father Mr. Peppercorn. When the Captain returns, he presents Eva with a gift -- a black doll named Numa. Nell hears Eva chatting and playing with Numa, but suspects that it is a child from the neighborhood. Eva warns that if Nell takes Numa away, Eva will trade places with Numa and go to the idyllic place "where the woodbine twineth." When Nell puts Numa on top of the player piano, Eva steals Numa away, and the piano mysteriously plays by itself. Nell finds Eva in the back yard with a black girl playmate, and Nell chases the girl away, warning her to never return. Then Eva disappears. When Nell finds a doll in Numa's box that looks exactly like Eva, she tearfully realizes what has happened."

-- Peggy, Speers

That sounds like a better guess than my "Thriller" episode suggestion. "The Alfred Hitchcock Hour" does not appear to be available on DVD. Thanks, Peggy!