Submit your question to Rob Owen
This week's TV Q&A responds to questions about "'Til Death," "Raising the Bar" and viewer feedback on WTAE's changes. As always, thanks for reading, and keep those questions coming.
-- Rob Owen, Post-Gazette TV editor
Q: It looks like "'Til Death" got rid of the characters the Woodcocks. While I think the Kenny character is funny, it's hardly enough to replace the Woodcocks and the whole side of the show with Eddie's job at the school. This season's first two episodes were mildly funny, but last week's was a dud, and it's dying quickly. Did the show dump the Woodcocks because they weren't seen as being funny? Or was it a money thing? Or something else?
-- Kevin, 36, Brentwood
Rob: I hear there are a few leftover, unaired episodes from last season that include the Woodcocks but they won't be in any newly taped episodes.
Fox executives fell in love with J.B. Smoove, who plays Kenny, and decided to make him a permanent part of the show. To me, both versions of "'Til Death" are unwatchable. I can't fathom why the series has been renewed for three seasons already but I doubt it will make it to a fourth year.
Q: Do you recommend the legal show with Mark-Paul Gosselaar and Jane Kaczmarek on TNT?
-- Joe, 22, Greenfield
Rob: No.
Q: "Boston Legal" was pushed back to some unseemly early morning hour on Wednesday because of "Monday Night Football." Is this going to be the case all football season or will it be moved to another night to avoid the wrath of "Boston Legal" fans?
-- Mary, 72, Charleroi
Rob: My understanding is there will be one more Monday night pre-emption for the Steelers this fall and I expect "Boston Legal" will again air in late night when that happens Nov. 3.
Q: I saw a story on both Channel 4 and Channel 2 last week about a possible abduction of two children on the North Side. The way the story was laid out it made me believe that the kids simply did not want to leave the park and the parents or guardians had to use some extra effort to get them in the car. When I turned on KDKA news on The CW at 10 and Channel 4 at 11, I did not hear anything about the story. If it was a false story and Channel 2 and Channel 4 rushed it on the air without all the details, shouldn't they at least update us later on?
-- Mike, 30, Pittsburgh
Rob: WTAE news director Bob Longo said the story was first covered at 5 p.m. based on police reports and was followed at 11 p.m. with this update:
"Reports of two little girls abducted from North Park. Tonight we've learned that what looked like a man grabbing the girls and putting them in an SUV with Florida plates was really and older brother trying to get his little sisters to leave a playground."
At KDKA, news director John Verrilli said the story developed during the evening news.
"The first report from County Police stated there was a possible abduction in North Park of two young children and that's what we reported on air, at first. This was not just from the scanners, but came from County Dispatch," Verrilli explained. "Our reporter arrived at the location soon after our initial report and spoke to the police on the scene ... their information came from a woman who witnessed two children being put into a van against their will.
"The police were still gathering information, but were now investigating the possibility that this could have been parents taking their reluctant children into their own car, no family members had contacted them about missing kids. With that new information we went back on the air at 6 p.m. and updated our viewers. At 6:30 p.m. the police were convinced that the children were not abducted and we again updated our viewers with the new information.
"We did not continue with the report at 10 p.m. since it was over before the end of our earlier broadcast."
Without seeing the reports, I can only comment on how the news directors describe the resolution. It sounds like both stations followed up and did offer a conclusion, which was the right thing to do. Whether or not the story should have been reported in the first place is another question entirely.
"Hi Rob, I'm reading this morning's paper and I'm reading here this Bob Longo, the news director at WTAE, does he have bats in his belfry? I can't believe what he's doing to Mike Clark and Sally Wiggin and Michelle Wright! He's taken and he's putting that big mouth on and taken Mike Clark and the regulars and moving them all around. I mean, this is totally outrageous! I think that Wendy Bell, she's probably a nice person, I don't know, but I do think her mouth is too big and I do think her face is stuck on the TV too much. Why can't they let the people that does the news the correct way that it's done now. Don't these TV stations get any feel for the people that watch these shows? That's just like Channel 2 with, oh, um, I gotta think. Uhhhh, the blond-haired girl married to the fella that's on the news. Well, I mean, her face is on the TV all the time, too. What's wrong with these stations. They have people on and then all of a sudden they're off! Andrew Stockey, yes, he's good, but come on, Mike Clark is a very fine man and a very good news person and you know they're shifting him out of there because of big mouth Wendy Bell. It was peaceful and quiet when she was on maternity leave. Tell Bob Longo that he better start taking a look at things and start thinking about the people who watch TV news. Thank you and have a good day."
-- Audrey, a disgruntled WTAE viewer
"I called just a minute ago. That was Marty [Griffin] and Kristine [Sorensen] that has her face on all the newscasts. You know, enough is enough with her face on all these newscasts. And Marty needs his mouth zippered. I have never heard anybody mouth the way he does and I've been a Pittsburgher all my life. ... KDKA better zipper his mouth. They never had people on the radio like him and I'm 75 years old. ... Is he president of KDKA or something? No wonder KDKA's ratings have gone down. Also, tell Mr. Longo that's what's going to happen to his ratings here with getting Wendy Bell's picture and mouth on all day long. Mike Clark and Sally Wiggin and Michelle Wright did such a fine job, why can't they leave it that way? I guess that's the $64,000 question. They need to shake him out the damn door. Thank you and have a good day."
-- Audrey, calling back, and conflating the role of Marty Griffin on TV and the radio, which illustrates the danger to a TV station's credibility by allowing a reporter to also work as a talk radio blowhard
"Yes, I just want to make a comment for the changes they're making. I have nothing against Andrew Stockey. I think he's halfway decent but I don't think he deserves to be on all the news shows. As far as I'm concerned, I liked the different ones on there, Michelle Wright and definitely Sally Wiggin and Mike Somebody. If you're going to move them, I'll move my watching to another channel."
-- Female caller, upset at Channel 4
"I'm calling to complain about 'Boston Legal' at 2 in the morning. That's terrible. They should find another time slot for it. I'm also calling to complain about Andrew Stockey getting a promotion. That's terrible. He can't even talk right. He talks too fast. That's a disgrace he got a promotion."
-- Sylvia, also upset at WTAE
"I'm calling to complain about them taking off 'Dancing with the Stars' for football. Not everybody likes football and then we have to watch at 9 in the morning? Who do I complain to? Some of us older people like dancing better than football."
-- Mary, who doesn't understand that TV stations don't care what older people want, only what viewers in the key 25-54 demo want