Submit your question to Rob Owen

This week's TV Q&A responds to questions about "The Riches," "House" actor salaries and WTAE news in HD. As always, thanks for reading, and keep those questions coming.

-- Rob Owen, Post-Gazette TV editor

---

Q: Did Jesse Spencer, Omar Epps and Jennifer Morrison have to take pay cuts when their roles were drastically reduced this past season on "House" or did they luck out and get to keep their pay while working less?

-- Tracy, 127, North Huntingdon

Rob: I am sure they took no pay cut. In fact, they may even be earning more. (Actors often get pay bumps for each additional year a show is on the air, which is why some shows bow out on top. They just become too expensive.)

And Tracy, you don't look a day over 120.

---

Q: FX's "The Riches," with Eddie Izzard, is one of my absolute favorite shows. It's engaging, creative, and intelligent and there's absolutely nothing else like it on television. Do you know if it will be back for a third season?

-- Kelsey, 17, North Strabane

Rob: Last month at press tour, FX executives claimed to still be agonizing over what to do with "The Riches." I checked in this week and the show remains in programming purgatory. My guess is it won't be back but we won't know for sure until a final decision is made.

---

Q: As I was flipping through the channels last Friday night I noticed that the NFL Network was blacked out because they were showing the Steeler game that I could get on KDKA. This was no surprise to me but made me ask myself a question. If DirecTV knows that I get KDKA and can block out the NFL Network, why can't it get me a local version of The Weather Channel?

-- Mike, 29, Pittsburgh

Rob: My understanding is it's a platform issue.

"We follow the NFL guidelines for game blackouts, so when it's aired on a local channel, we take it off the national platform," explained DirecTV spokeswoman Caley Cronin. "Weather Channel is only available on DirecTV's national platform, coming standard with all DirecTV packages, so that's why we don't also offer it on the local platform."

As we've noted in the past, DirecTV offers Active channel so customers can get their local weather, news, horoscopes and lottery numbers all in one place, whenever they want it. To access it, press the "Active" button on your DirecTV remote.

---

Q: Sorry, but this is NOT a question about some local weatherperson or newscaster who's disappeared, re-appeared or changed her/his appearance.

What happened to the links to current AP entertainment stories that used to appear on the A&E and TV pages of post-gazette.com? Those were handy little connections to entertainment news that does not appear in the PG. I thought I had read that they were going to be re-instated on the Web site. Nation and global AP story links appear on the site. Why, this is blatant discrimination! Don't make me call and leave ranting, incoherent voice-mail messages!

-- Dan, 54, Pittsburgh

Rob: LOL, thanks for a good laugh, Dan.

The PG Web folks tell me they're still working to restore those links. I miss them, too, and I also hope they will be restored as soon as possible.

---

Q: I saw WTAE is now advertising HD broadcasts are coming soon with their vintage ads. Any word on when the first broadcast might occurr?

-- Chad, 24, Pittsburgh

Rob: I'm told the launch date is a moving target but it will be soon. My guess is HD newscasts will start sometime in September with the launch of the fall TV season. But maybe they'll flip the switch on Aug. 28 to coincide with the premiere of a new 50th anniversary special. Stay tuned.

---

Q: You identified your "Voice Mail of the Week" as an "elderly male" caller. Why? How can you be sure he was elderly and do you identify other goofy callers as "young," "middle aged," etc.?

-- Don, 72, Pittsburgh

Rob: I would say 95 percent of the calls I get are from elderly viewers and I know this because most of the time they start out by saying, "I'm an 80-year-old viewer from ..." It's never been clear to me why they feel the need to include that information but they do.

I actually stopped using any age descriptor for the crazy callers a while back but I did last week because the guy was obviously old and a little too concerned about the fairness of game play on "The Price Is Right." And it wasn't the first time I've heard complaints of one sort or another about Drew Carey, whom many older viewers seem to dislike. I simply called a spade a spade.

Last week a viewer asked me to comment on WQED's Web site linking to "Off Q" panelist John McIntire's blog, which includes profanity and a few photos of naked women. The question sought only my opinion, but I asked WQED for comment regarding the viewer's concern. This response arrived after last week's column deadline:

"Off Q" has not been live on the air since it finished its 8th season on June 14, 2008. It returns to the air live on Oct. 3 at 7:30 p.m. on WQED-TV and WQED-HD.

"Off Q," by the nature of its editorial content and show structure, provides a lively and often provocative forum for open discussion. The "Off Q" panel always draws controversy -- that is the kind of reaction we welcome -- we want the panel to have strong opinions and engage in spirited dialogue which is why the show features diverse and prominent people from the community.

Regarding the Internet, WQED is not responsible for the content of other Web sites and blogs. We live in a multimedia world where people connect to our site all the time. John McIntire has never been profane or vulgar on WQED's airwaves. Nobody has to go to his site and be offended unless they want to and choose to do so.

Rob, frankly, I think we must be doing something right with "Off Q" if people are "shooting at us" from all sides -- the liberals think we are too conservative ?? the conservatives think we are too liberal ... women are angry if we have an all-male panel. Over the years, everyone has changed on the show except for me! People have even told us our panelists are too old. Now they think we are too profane. Know that we aim and strive for balance with our discussion and our demographics ... ALWAYS!"

-- Chris Moore, host of WQED's "Off Q"