Heard or seen something on the radio and TV lately that appalled/delighted/enlightened you? Of course you have. That's what Station Break with Paul Farhi is here for. Local stations, cable, radio shows, commercials -- they're all fair game.

Farhi, a reporter in the Post's Style section, writes about media and popular culture. He's been watching TV and listening to the radio since "The Monkees" were in first run and Adam West was a star. Born in Brooklyn and raised in Los Angeles, Farhi had brief stints in the movie business (as an usher at the Picwood Theater), and in the auto industry (rental-car lot guy) before devoting himself fulltime to word processing. His car has 15 radio pre-sets and his cable system has 75 channels. He vows to use all of them for good instead of evil.

The transcript follows.

Editor's Note: Washingtonpost.com moderators retain editorial control over Live Online discussions and choose the most relevant questions for guests and hosts; guests and hosts can decline to answer questions.

Paul Farhi: Greetings, fans of the electronically visual and aural. Thanks for checking in. Before we go on, a moment of keyboard silence please for the late, great Fred Rogers, arguably the greatest TV dad ever...Okay, on with the festivities, if any.

Hamilton, Va.: I've been at home for a month recuperating from surgery and have found that between E! and Comedy Central you can see at least six Saturday Nights everyday. E! is showing original Not Ready shows and Comedy has '90s shows. No one pays any attention to the '80s.
The originals are the best. The skits were funny and there was stuff they could never do today, and they weren't crude which seems to be the baseline for current material.
Anyway, I've seen lots of Weekend Updates and refering to a comment you posted a few chats ago I just don't understand the appeal of Norm MacDonald. He isn't funny, his delivery sucked. He would read a lame item, wait for a laugh, when no laugh repeat it or try to elaborate, still no laugh and he looked hurt. This happened all the time. He was a jerk. And his efforts following SNL have been bombs as well. His only real talent seemed to be Bob Dole.

As an aside. Trio network shows Laugh Ins and I've noticed that Lorne Michaels was a writer on that show.

Paul Farhi: Interesting point--about the lack of '80s SNLs, not about Norm, whose defense I shall rise to. There were, of course, some very dark years for SNL in the 80s (the post-Not Ready for Primetime players, pre-Carvey, Farley, Sandler, Hartman years WERE all generally lousy, Eddie Murphy excepted. As for Norm, maybe he was an acquired taste. But I thought his timing, his material and his attitude (snarky, even a little hostile) were really distinctive.

Bethesda. Md.: Hi again, Paul. Always a pleasure to listen in on these chats.

It's PBS pledge time again -- time for "commercial-free tv" to disappear for a few weeks.

Putting aside the rightie/lefty debate from last time, it seems to me that with the increasing frequency (not to mention vehemance) of the pledge drives lately, it can't be too long before PBS just goes to a commercial model like everybody else. They're already practically there -- are we up to six pledge drives a year now? And practically every program has commercials at the end of it telling who sponsored the thing.

I realize times are hard for PBS, but they are quickly losing any differentiation they once had from the avergae commercial station, IMHO. What do you think about PBS' future?

Paul Farhi: Interestingly, the PBS board in early February approved a change that will allow underwriters to have 30-second (as opposed to the current 15-second) "credits" on PBS shows (I love PBS emphemisms for commercials--"credits," "enhanced underwriting," etc.) So, yes, PBS is, and has been, inexorably drawn into the commercial TV sphere little by little, year by year. But what choice do they have? The government has mostly chosen to put them on subsistence rations. The TV world is hyper-competitive and getting more so. You could argue (and I would probably agree) that they've done a pretty fair job of maintaining something resembling integrity. It hasn't been easy.

Alexandria, Va.: Paul -- any plans to be a contestant on "hot or not?"

Paul Farhi: I would, but Lorenzo Lamas' laser pointer scares me.

Downtown, Washington, D.C.: Any word on Olivia Fox from the Russ Parr morning show?

Paul Farhi: I've heard nothing, but I suspect she may be in a contract "blackout" period; it's fairly typical that on-air personalities can't take a new job until their current deal runs out. I dunno how long Olivia's contract runs. In any case, I am sure she will land somewhere soon.

Harrisburg, Pa.: In your last chat, you basically thought A&E was not doing its job as an arts channel. I tend to agree with the comment, but not for the reason you put forward. Your comment was to the effect that A&E was the "Law & Order" channel. While this comment may have had some validity prior to September 2002, A&E hasn't shown "Law & Order" since that time because TNT bought all the rights to broadcast them. I understand that the loss of "Law & Order" has hurt A&E's ratings, as "Law & Order's" replacements have not done as well. That being said, A&E is suffering because arts programs have been displaced by repurposed NBC shows like "Third Watch" and "Crossing Jordan," although I like the latter.

Paul Farhi: Thanks for the correction on "L&O." Amazing but true: I was wrong.

Herndon, Va.: Paul --
Ever since the Kornheiser-Rome spat on WTEM a couple of years ago I've been wondering why do syndicated radio talk show hosts get all crabby about being tape delayed or having portions of their show not broadcast? There is the obvious inability to interact with a larger audience. Is there also a money and ratings issue?

Paul Farhi: There is ENTIRELY a money and ratings issue. Advertisers pay for "reach"--the total number of people their ad gets out to. Having half the show carried cuts down what sponsors will pay.

Washington, D.C.: I get really irritated when sports overruns delay or completely pre-empt the evening news. Who's responsible for such boneheaded decisions? Is it the network or the local stations? And what's so damned important about a bunch of thyroid cases running back and forth in their underwear?

Paul Farhi: Can you say "Heidi"? Back in 1968, NBC learned the great lesson about pre-empting the conclusion of sports--i.e., that sports fans will burn down your corporate headquarters if you do (NBC cut away from a Jets-Raiders playoff game to show the movie "Heidi," thus forever branding it "the Heidi Game"). Anyway, most pro sports contracts (probably all of them, in fact) REQUIRE the networks to show the game until its conclusion. Usually, this is a good deal for everyone--sports over-runs tend to bring larger audiences to the shows that follow than would be watching in the absence of the game.

Point of Rocks, Md.: So what's the twist going to be on "American Idol"
tonight? I know you know! Tell me! I can't wait!

Paul Farhi: Okay, okay, just between us. Promise not to tell? Okay, here it is: Frenchie, she's not really a MILLIONAIRE!

TVland junkee: I am amazed at the language used on sitcoms these days, even by the child actors. I have now pretty much heard every word except the "f" word and I"m sure that will be forthcoming eventually. Specific organs, body parts, parentage (or lack thereof), sexual morals, you name it, they've used the words. Why do you think sitcoms have felt they need to punch up all their dialog with these? I can see it in serious shows, cop dramas, etc., but not silly sitcoms.
Or am I looking at this the wrong way and by desensitizing us to these words, now makes them just words, nothing more and therefore their "taboo" will be non-existant?

Paul Farhi: I'm no prude (people who start sentences that way usually are prudes) but I agree with you. It's pretty foul out there, and getting fouler. I saw a promo for (I think) "Malcolm in the Middle" last week where they slipped the "s" word in in the most juvenile way (teacher character calms classroom down by saying "ssshhhhh," then quickly starts next sentence with "It...."). I guess I blame the networks for pandering to 18-34 year olds, whom they assume don't mind such [sssshhhhh!].

Washington, D.C.: I enjoy listening to WMAL's old radio programs that they air Saturday nights/Sunday mornings (1 a.m.- 6 a.m.). Don't you think there's more of a market out there for these old shows than at this godawful hour? I'm not an old fuddie-duddy; I'm a mid-30s guy with a decent income.

Paul Farhi: Yes, I love Ed Walker's oldies program on WAMU-FM (88.5) on Sunday nights, and at a better time, too (7 pm.). Old "Gunsmokes," old "Fibber McGees," even old "Dragnets" etc. It constantly amazes. Radio used to be such a theater of the mind...

Married by America: did you see it last night? your thoughts?

Paul Farhi: A bomb. A total and utter bomb. I think the audience has gotten much more sophisticated in a very short time. It recognizes that these people are really getting married (and if they are, it's a sham). Also goes to show you that the most interesting thing about relationship and courtship shows is the courtship, not the relationship, per se. The rejection of this,"Are You Hot" and "I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here" are small validations for the wisdom and intelligence of the vast American viewing public.

Shhhh... It was the Bernie Mac Show: Just a clarification.

Paul Farhi: Yes, sorry. That makes TWO corrections in one chat. I'm not slipping--you're just really smart (cue applause sign for host's transparently pandering comment...)

Saturday Night Live: Norm was also good for David Letterman skits.

As for the `80s, 1984 was a decent year with Billy Crystal, Martin Short, et al. The synchronized swimmers goes down as one of the funniest sketches of all time, as well as the model for Christopher Guest's subsequent mockumentaries like "Waiting for Guffman" or "Best in Show" (my personal fave).

Paul Farhi: Agree on all counts. By the way, anyone read Tom Shales' book on SNL, "Live from New York"? Excellent stuff in there.

Gaithersburg, Md.: Paul,

I just happened across some old papers I was about to throw out, including a cable bill from 1991. Back in those good old days, my basic cable was $19.95/month for all the broadcast and government channels, plus 15 basic (cable channels including A&E, ESPN, CNN but not CSN).

Now I pay about $52/month for maybe 20 more basic cable channels, most of which I don't watch. Am I the only one liked the old way better? Do consumers' wants count in this industry, or has Comcast simply bought the politicians that make the choices?

Paul Farhi: By way of background, I covered the re-regulation of cable TV rates back in the early '90s for the Post's business section. There was a lot of politician-generated outrage (by a fellow named Al Gore, as I recall) about the "skyrocketing" cost of cable TV. Some of the outrage was, of course, legit. And what happened? Congress passes lids on cable prices, FCC tries hard to do something about it, consumers get about $1 a month cheaper cable. Then the cable industry goes back to Congress and gets the '96 Telecom Act, which de-regs cable rates again. That brings up to our present outrage. The only thing different now is that no politician is making an issue about it.

Falls Church, Va.: Checked out the "Boomtown" marathon on Bravo this weekend. This was the first time I had seen the show, and what a nice surprise! The multiple points-of-view concept makes for interesting storytelling. I know the show was pulled a few weeks ago in favor of "Kingpin" (Yeck!). What are the chances "Boomtown" will live to see a second season?

Paul Farhi: I'd say 50-50 at this point. The ratings have been so-so, but NBC likes the critical acclaim. That alone may get it to a second season, but it's gonna be a really, really close call.

Arlington, Va.: Yea for 24's third-season renewal. Do you believe this rumor that Tony is going to turn out to be the orchestrator of all the evil doings over the past two seasons? Given that he shot the Serbian assasin right before Teri was murdered (around 5:00 p.m. last season), I think that would make 24 "jump the shark."

Paul Farhi: Yes, fans, it's that time again. Time for our bi-weekly "24" sub-chat! Our new guarantee: only two--TWO!--"24" questions per chat. Okay...Yes, "24" renewal is good news; the show is better this season than last. As for the Tony angle, well, they ARE going to have to turn at least one major good guy, and since Jack is definitely out, I'd say Tony is next in line. But I wanted to give you my new "24" rule, which is: Any female character on the show who looks remotely sweet and innocent (Marie, Michelle) will turn out to be DIRTY! Mark my words...

Buffy's over!: Am I the only non-teenager (besides my boyfriend, who has been in a deep, dark depression ever since EW came in the mail with the news) who likes this show? It always seemed like something I should hide.

Paul Farhi: Never warmed up to Buffy, but I understand its appeal. And yeah, the show has/had many grown-up fans. And, with that wussy sendoff, yes, it's a sad day...

Saturday Night Live: In Shales's book he points out the difference between finding the talent (Second City, Groundlings), and going out and paying for high priced talent (Anthony Michael Hall? Harry Shearer?). I think the proof is out there, that the most talented SNL players weren't always the funniest, and the funniest weren't always the most well known. It took a while for Eddie Murphy, Jon Belushi, Bill Murray, and more recently Phil Hartman and Will Ferrall to break into their roles as SNL's leaders. People like Chevy Chase thought they were bigger than the show, and it suffered because of it. And for the record, Norm MacDonald is a comic genius, check out some of his old stand-up.

Paul Farhi: One of the many interesting things in Shales' book is what a jerk Harry Shearer seemed to be--constantly whining about this or that. And to your point: the Crystal-Martin Short-Chris Guest season was actually an aberration for the show. It was the first time(and last, I think) that Lorne Michaels recruited established comedians. The show always works better with "finds" like Ferrell, Hartman, Farley, etc.

Swearing: I heard the S word on one of the nightly news shows a few weeks back, in an interview. It made me giggle.

Paul Farhi: Hey, that's news. We're allowed to swear.

Chantilly, Va: Paul --

Is it just me, or is the bank commercial with Ben Franklin doing what I consider to be an obscene dance enough to drive you to drink (or worse)?! I'm a 35 MWM customer of theirs and I've seriously considered switching banking institutions if they continue that ad campaign much longer. I can't take it anymore.

The ad manager should be taken out back and given what for. And then some.

Thanks for the rant-space.

Paul Farhi: Hate that, hate that, hate that! Bad '80s song. Bad dance. Bad concept. Someone remind me who the advertiser is, and we will semi-publically shame them....

Fairfax, Va.: We are in a class at George Mason University that is called Radio Workshop. We study and learn basic radio on-air skills. Our question: Why does commercial radio lack formats for people over 50 years of age (who comprise a large segment of the listening audience)?

Paul Farhi: The answer is actually somewhat more complicated than you think. I'll try to be brief: People over 50 constitute a large part of the radio and TV audience; they are already THERE. Advertisers don't have to work hard to reach them. It's the other groups that are hard to reach--young men, especially. Hence, scarcity equals value (advertisers pay more to reach the hard to reach). Also, the kinds of advertisers that want to reach young people (movies, fast food, consumables) are in abundance. Forget all the hooey about people over 50 being set in their consuming patterns. It's not really true.

Gaithersburg, Md.: Carl Reiner is talking about doing a Dick Van Dyke Show reunion for Comedy Central. Good idea?

Paul Farhi: No. They won't improve on the memory of the original, and at this point they can do a fair amount of damage. Let it go...

re: PBS Pledge Drives: I love PBS and understand the need for the pledge breaks, but I wouldn't hate them so much if the PBS programming didn't suddenly change to horrible boring stuff that they wouldn't otherwise show. I can't believe that they actually raise pledges by re-showing Suzie Orman, that continuous loop on Blenko glass, doo-wop concerts, and those cheesy self-help lectures that are more like informercials.

I specifically do NOT watch PBS during pledge weeks and I'd be more inclined to give them a big donation if they asked after Masterpiece Theater, the NewsHour, or a documentary.

Paul Farhi: Well, let's make a few distinctions here. PBS is the distributor of the programming. Pledge drives are the work of the local stations (locally WETA, WHUT, Maryland Pub TV), which aren't controlled by PBS. And, yes, there's been plenty of internal discussion at the stations about the bait-and-switch you're describing (populist crap during Pledge Weeks, quality stuff the rest of the time). I don't know. You got a better answer?

Re: Ben Franklin: SunTrust Bank. The Ben Franklin commercial gives me the willys. Then again, so do their checking policies.

Paul Farhi: Thanks. But we'll thank you to take your checking complaints to Bank Chat...

Washington, D.C.: The Junkies keep talking on the air about closing to half a point behind Eliot -- can that be right? Also, what has happened to Howard Stern's ratings with the Junkies moving to the morning? I would think he would really be the one that would lose the JFK listeners.

Paul Farhi: According to the monthly Arbitrends (not the quarterly Arbitron survey), yes, the Junks are breathing down Elliot's neck. Impressive, no? As for Stern, he just powers along. My theory: Stern's audience is a little older than the Junks'...

Your a bad guy on 24 when: your computer is a PC and not a Macintosh. Seriously, it's true. Watch and see.

Paul Farhi: Interesting. Evidence, please...

Silver Spring, Md.: Yes, cable rates are truly atrocious. But at least part of that is because people don't press the cable companies enough, and don't know their rights.

Witness the recent study that most local cable systems would not tell customers who called that it was possible to order a premium channel with the purchase of basic cable -- they wanted those same customers to believe it was necessary to buy one of the higher multiple-channel packages.

Yet, all cable companies are REQUIRED to permit customers to order premium channels separately, as long as they are purchasing basic cable. And if you as a customer insist on it, they will do it.

Paul Farhi: Yep. I'm wondering: Did the 1996 Telecom Act (de-regulating the cable industry, allowing the radio industry to consolidate) do ANYTHING good?

Saturday Night Live: I definitely agree with you about Norm, but people have to keep in mind that you also like Kevin Nealon, so your taste in Saturday Night Live anchors can be called into question.

And for the homebound, WGN shows Rockford Files re-runs at noon.

Paul Farhi: Right, and I suppose YOU like the much over-rated Fallon-Fey pairing, huh? Nealon only was No. 3 in my book (Norm, Miller, Nealon, with Chevy's number having been retired).

Washington, D.C.: Since when did Tuesday night become the best night on TV? 24, followed by The Shield. I dare you to find a better 2-hour block of television than that.

I love The Shield if only for the small number of commercials. At what point does a sponsor break down its moral guard and realize that it is missing out on a large and largely sophisticated audience? Is The Shield still so "taboo" that sponsors shy away? I hope they stay away as long as the show remains on the air.

Paul Farhi: "The Shield" belongs with Fallon-Fey: O-ver Rat-ed! Needlessly violent, gratuitously gritty in my book. (The sponsor defection seem to have abated, by the way, as has the big early audience).

Silver Spring, Md.: I like Oldies 100 and was sorry to see Dave Adler go (and now has to do weekends for 97.1). But why didn't evening host Goldy get promoted to morning drive? He seems like a perfect fit with his personality and humor to take over that role.

Paul Farhi: This question is an oldie but worth a reply since it comes up so often. Dave Adler's off-loading really seemed to be part of a corporate-run deejay shuffle; BIG brought in Murphy & Cash to replace him from sister station WMZQ, then "Ben & Brian" came in to MZQ from another sister station in Phoenix. Clear Channel, which owns all of 'em, has a lot of sisters...

24 bad guy: Jack, uses a Mac, seen often with it at work and home.
Nina, was on a PC last season.
The computer Reza was working on when he was shot by his soon to be wife was a Mac, hence he was a good guy.

If you see an Apple logo on the computer the character uses as his/her main terminal, they will be "good guys."

Paul Farhi: Now wait a second. Doesn't everyone at CTU use a PC? Wait another second, could it be that everyone at CTU is DIRTY?!

Potomac, Md.: In regards to PBS becomming completely commercialized -- I see NPR going this direction as well. There seem to be more and more commercials as time goes by, especially in the morning. I can understand why they have to resort to selling advertising, because they only get 15% from the tax payers and they probably don't get a lot of voluntary personal donations from listeners. As it stands now, there's no way I would give them any money -- no more than I would give WMAL or WTOP a donation -- because of how commercialized NPR has become. I would, however, give them some money if they stopped denying that these are commercials and call them "commercials" instead of "underwriting messages", and if they told us (the listeners) how much we need to give them in order for them to cut back on the commercials. For example, they could say that if they get $X from the listeners then they will cut back on the commercials by Y percent. What do you think of this?

Paul Farhi: Nice idea. But won't they always need more money? I mean, don't costs always go up? I'm not saying public stations are greedy, but why would they want to limit themselves to a certain amount? Would you do that at work?

Bethesda, Md.: I am the original poster who asked the PBS question and I completely agree with the last poster. I generally give a minimum pledge because the shows during pledge week are so pathetic. If they kept to a more or less normal schedule, and asked me to give for the type of programming I actually WATCHED, they would get a lot more.

I have emailed them about this, but they really don't seem to care.

Paul Farhi: Well, I don't like the game-playing anymore than you, but I think what they're doing is necessary to maximize their revenue. If they just stuck to the loyal core and advertised only on a few shows, they'd hurt themselves. They HAVE to run those cheesy Suze Orman specials, or something like 'em, because they bring in irregular viewers and their pledges.

Paul Farhi: And on that hilarious note, I shall bid you adieu (I think that means "see ya" in Canadian). Let's reconvene. As Mr. R would say, you'll have things you'll want to talk about, I will, too. Bye now.

   |      |