Submit your question to Rob Owen

This week's TV Q&A responds to questions about "The Middle," "Defying Gravity" and lottery interruptions on WTAE-TV. As always, thanks for reading, and keep those questions coming.

-- Rob Owen, Post-Gazette TV editor

Q: I can't find Joy Behar's new show. Does Comcast not carry it?

-- Carol, 69, Oakmont

Rob: Comcast carries HLN (formerly Headline News), which airs Behar's new program weeknights at 9.

Q: What's the current status of "Defying Gravity"? While it might not have been the greatest space opera ever, it kept my interest.

-- John, 50, Green Tree

Rob: ABC maintains that "Gravity" is not canceled but the remaining produced episodes have not been scheduled and likely won't be until next summer. I don't think there's much chance that any additional episodes will be made.

Q: I really like the new show "The Middle." At first it reminded me of "Malcolm in the Middle," but then I thought it was more like "Roseanne." Any chance it will stick around for a while?

-- Melanie, E. Pittsburgh

Rob: I like "The Middle," too, and although I was worried about its ratings dip this week, ABC announced late Thursday that it had picked up a full first season of "The Middle" as well as "Modern Family" and "Cougar Town." Note, the awful "Hank" did not receive a pickup.

Q: Rob, buddy!! Guess who? That's right, your pal from the land of the HillBilly. Cousin Ellie Mae and I just spent the last couple of months snuggled up on the couch watching "America's Got Talent." Ellie Mae says I bear a striking resemblance to the chicken plucker guy who won, but I digress. My question is, are the results really, honestly determined by a voting process or is the vote just window dressing for a pre-determined outcome? I mean, come on, did anyone outside of West Virginia and maybe Arkansas really vote for Grandma Lee? As always, your response is gospel to us readers.

-- Mike, 46, Weirton

Rob: The NBC publicist for "Talent" didn't respond to Mike's query for several weeks -- I edited out the hillbilly humor for her consumption -- and when I finally got her on the phone, she directed me to the publicist for the production company and I have not heard back from him.

Q: I'm hoping that "Lingo" on GSN will have new shows soon. I'm so tired of watching the old ones. Any information on this great word show would be appreciated? Thanks.

-- Christine, 58, Fombell

Rob: Sorry, no new episodes are in production and there are no plans for new episodes.

Q: WHY DO THEY PLAY THAT HORRIBLE MUSIC IN THE BACKGROUND OF THE TV SHOWS? FOR PEOPLE WHO ARE HARD-OF-HEARING IT COVERS THE PEOPLE TALKING.

-- DOROTHY, 66, PITTSBURGH

Rob: Back in 2001 I wrote about people having difficulty distinguishing dialogue from background music/sound may be related to hearing loss. But it can also be a matter of settings on the source of the sound.

This summer at press tour, ABC screened the "Flash Forward" pilot for a room full of TV critics. The audio platform was a system with many audio channels. Not long into the screening, it became difficult to understand the dialogue. At first I thought it was me, but the TV critic seated next to me also could not understand the dialogue. So I walked to the audio booth and asked the operator to turn down the channel devoted to the background sounds of explosions. After he did that, I had no problem understanding the dialogue.

The point of that anecdote is this: The difficulty I had in understanding the dialogue had nothing to do with the program; it was about the hardware use to broadcast the program. Try making adjustments to your TV set -- some viewers suggest a mono audio setting rather than stereo -- or use the closed captioning.

The other audio complaint I hear, about the volume of commercials, is explained here.

Q: Why does HBO show its own movies, series in widescreen yet all the movies from the theatres are shown in fullscreen?

-- Peter, 55, New Kensington

Rob: This is not something I've noticed but I never watch movies on HBO, just their series.

Per an HBO spokesman: "The shape of TV screens in America has been changing gradually from 4x3 to widescreen (16x9). HBO programming has been gradually changing as well from 4x3 to widescreen. Eventually most new programming on HBO will be shown in the widescreen format as will theatrical films."

He said the variation often has to do with how the movie was originally shot and he noted that if you're watching on a 4x3 screen as opposed to 16x9, you'll see more fluctuation in appearance.

Q: I was watching "Eastwick" on WTAE and was dismayed by the lack of consideration for the viewers when they abruptly cut away from the show so they could show a flashy intro to the Powerball drawing. They put the show in a tiny box that nobody with less than 20/20 vision would be able to see, and they completely eliminated the previews for the following week. I record my favorite shows on tape to view again until I can purchase the DVD, but I don't want the cliffhanger ending butchered every time I watch the show. I would like to know who made that decision, what was their reasoning and what can be done to prevent that from happening in the future? I see it as a poor marketing decision because people who are still undecided about a show would be more likely to tune in again if they see the end of an episode and if they see the previews to let them know where the show is headed. I can only imagine the outrage that would be brought down upon them if they pulled this stunt with a serialized drama such as "Lost."

-- Nicolas, 23, Butler

Q: I hate WTAE cutting "Eastwick" down to the size of a quarter with no sound to show the lottery. At the most dramatic moment of the show last week this happened. I have no idea what the final moment was -- think I know but am not sure. And this is going to happen every week?

-- Audrey, 74, Pittsburgh

Q: I'm wondering if anyone else has complained about the premature ending of "Eastwick" due to the "live" drawing of the Pa. Lottery on Wed. evenings. The picture is reduced to a tiny box, while the lottery receives the majority of the TV screen. For the past two weeks, vital information is occurring in this time period, and its virtually impossible to determine exactly what's happening. This has become extremely annoying.

-- Patricia, North Versailles

Rob: I've been watching "Eastwick" too (but I won't be anymore -- what a terrible show), and also noticed WTAE's clunky cut-in, which does indeed show a disregard for viewers. (Remember: TV stations view advertisers and other money-making opportunities, such as the lottery, as their customers; viewers are just the eyeballs TV stations deliver to advertisers.)

That said, although I was mildly annoyed, I wasn't seething like some viewers. WTAE did not cut out any of the program and it was still mostly clear to me how the episodes ended, and unlike Audrey, I could still hear the show. Personally, I try to avoid promos for upcoming episodes because often the previews give away too much plot. But I can understand how some viewers feel cheated by the pre-empted promos and distracted by the split screen that shows both the end of "Eastwick" (in a smaller square) and the beginning of the lottery (in a larger square) until the moment "Eastwick" ends and then the lottery fills the screen. This week the screen was split for the last seven seconds of "Eastwick."

According to WTAE director of sales Bob Bee, the lottery is live at 10:59 p.m. and although the station has the option of delaying it to 11 or 11:01 or running a scroll, which Channel 4 will sometimes do if the lottery will interrupt actual program time, they prefer to take it live because evidently when they do not WTAE is flooded with calls by paranoid viewers who think the fix is in. It should go without saying that those most interested in the lottery tend to be older viewers, which makes this a rare case of a TV station catering to older viewers rather than the younger demos so prized by advertisers.

The decision of whether to air the lottery live is made on the fly in the control room, so there is room for human error.

Q: I currently have Verizon FiOS TV and I am wondering if BBC America will ever host programming On Demand. I'm hooked on "Robin Hood" and "Primeval" and would love to re-watch episodes after I delete them from the DVR. Are there any plans for this to occur, or am I just not finding it in the sometimes-confusing FiOS TV On Demand menu?

-- Eric, 31, Moon

Rob: "Currently, BBC America Video On Demand content currently is not available on FiOS TV. However, Verizon does plan to add it to FiOS TV in the coming months," said Verizon spokesman Lee Gierczynski. "Also, a quick and easy way for customers to determine if a certain program is available from FiOS TV's Video On Demand service is to use the guide's intuitive search function. By inputting information in the search menu (e.g., the name of a program, a partial name, an actor's name), the search will return a list of possible matches based on the search criteria the customer entered. The customer can then use their remote control to navigate to a program on the list and select it to watch."

"Hi, I'm just calling to let you know I've seen [the new] 'Let's Make a Deal' and I'm talking for a group of us: We do not like the new program. I don't like Mr. Brady, I like Monty Hall so I'd like someone like him. If the contestants are on the program, they should have to have costumes on. They always had costumes before. And calling these different curtains blanc and blink and all of that, this is ridiculous. This is not like the original 'Let's Make a Deal' so I just wanted you to know how I feel, how we feel. Bring back the old 'Let's Make a Deal' or let's not have it at all. Who thinks up these new ideas? It's stupid. Thank you."

-- Stuck in the past female caller

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