Gail: Hi, everybody. Cardinals 1, Mets 0 — nothing I like as much as a day game during a chat, because the TV is just to my right. Of course, my colleague Joe Holleman is here distracting me, so I’d better dive in and start answering.

Elizabeth: Summer TV is the pits. If I hear about Jon & Kate plus Hate anymore I might have to throw out my analog TV, I mean it! No TV questions today, just a suggestion. I think your lil Oliver kitty would love to watch the Disney movie Oliver & Company. It’s about a precocious orange kitty and it’s delightful. You can borrow my VCR tape anytime.

Gail: Oliver has actually seen “Oliver and Company.” He was a bit bored; he prefers real animals on TV. But you never know what will attract his attention — the other day, he caught sight of Bill Maher, ran to the TV and smacked him in the face. Twice.
What will you do if one of the knobs falls off your analog TV? Change the channel with pliers? I’m just worried about you.

suzyjax: I’ve caught a glimpse of what looks like Chris Noth in commercials for CBS’ upcoming Fall Season. However, the faces go by pretty fast as well as the names of the shows. Is Chris Noth coming to a show this Fall on CBS? I have loved him since he was part of the original cast of the original Law & Order and would love to see him in my living room again on a weekly basis.

Gail: Chris Noth plays the husband on Julianna Margulies’ “The Good Wife” on CBS this fall. Don’t start hyperventilating yet, though. He’s a politician. Who’s in prison. So I can’t promise you’ll see him every week.

ksmplc: I was left puzzled by the story line of Merlin last night. Why would the series creators choose to significantly alter the Merlin legend, rendering it silly? It seems to me that the teenage demographic would be just as enthralled with the original.

Gail: “Merlin” was made in Britain, where it was very popular. There were complaints from purists that much of the King Arthur legend had been tossed out, with many anachronisms. But since it’s a legend, I guess the writers thought we’d seen the original version enough and chose to go with a
“Harry Potter”-ish version.

evanbenn: Hi, Gail,
Now that another Real Housewives season is over, is Bravo looking to to make another season with the same New Jersey women? Any talk about the next city/state they might use for the show?

Gail: You know, as much bad TV as I enjoy, I do draw the line at the “Real Housewives” franchise. These aren’t people I want to spend time with. But people tell me they loved “NJ,” which was very popular for Bravo. I’m sure there will be a second season, although I’m not sure I’ve heard one announced. Bravo did say that the next entry in the franchise will be “Real Housewives of D.C.”

david: Hi Gail! Since you mentioned it, have you seen any episodes of “Hung” and, if so, do you recommend it?

Gail: I’ve seen the first two episodes of “Hung,” HBO’s new comedy that debuts Sunday. I liked it — kind of a surprise, since I expected it to be crude and it’s really not. Thomas Jane plays a high school coach who’s very down on his luck and decides to take advantage of his “greatest tool.” Can you imagine what that is? Jane Adams plays his, er, pimp.

Mike H.: Are there plans to bring back “11th Hour” in the upcoming seasons? Also, will BBC America bring back “Wire in the Blood” any time soon? Finally, is there a cable channel available for import that shows nothing but old television shows, e.g. “Naked City,”, “Johnny Staccato?” I know Hulu offers some. Thanks.

Gail: “Eleventh Hour” was canceled.
I’m always stumped by BBC America questions, but I think “Wire in the Blood” was canceled in Britain a couple of years ago. Not sure if every episode has aired here, but probably.
There’s a digital channel called (I think) “American Life” that has some classic shows. Also, the local channel that used to be Pax shows older things, but on a confusing schedule. Online or DVD are good options.

Dustin: Gail, what is your go-to show when you just want to chill? I used to kick back with old sit-coms on TV Land but they are almost all gone now.

Gail: You know what I love? “House Hunters” and “House Hunters International” on HGTV. It’s like a little travelogue, a look at interesting houses and a peek into people’s lives. (They all want crown molding!) I record a bunch and always have them for relaxation time. Also, I record “Jeopardy” every day. Used to be able to remember whether I’d seen an episode before, but now I pay no attention to that.

MAP727: No real question….just an annoyed comment.

Given the tough economic times, particulary for advertising supported businesses like local TV stations, why would they continue to irritate viewers and drive them to find content elsewhere (on cable and via the Internet) by preempting new episodes of shows for infomercials.

KSDK apparently did it several times in the past few weeks, and now channel 30 just did it for the new episode of Better Off Ted this week.

I know, I know. In the short run it is very profitable for the local affiliate to make a quick buck by bumping network programming and running the infomercial. But why do they have to schedule it when a new episode is set to air. There are plenty of re-run slots during the summer, why pick a slot to bump a new episode? All it does is drive people to find the content elsewhere. Don’t they realize their short run gain may be a long term loss as they drive viewers to find the original content they want online as a primary option. When that happens, then fewer people will tune into the actual program, and fewer people will watch the actual commercials that support their business model.

For the record, I did fast forward through the infomercial that Channel 30 aired instead of BOT, and I made a mental note of the businesses who advertised. My mental note was to never buy any of their products…..I’m sure just the outcome they intended.

Venting complete. Thanks Gail, keep up the good work.

Gail: We’ve always seen preemptions of the networks by local stations. Every one does it, and the networks allow a certain number of preemptions per year. But we may be seeing more right now because of the economy. The stations are under a lot of pressure from owners to improve the bottom line. Paid programming is pure profit, as opposed to splitting revenue with the network. They probably think, it’s summer, we’ll just be bumping reruns. I’ve been told that the preemptions are planned well in advance, with the slot chosen to cause the least disruption. Not sure if that’s true or if there are any good intentions at all. When Channel 5 discovered that it was bumping the results episode of a competition, they should have made a change. Channel 30 should also have made sure listings were right so we didn’t expect “Better Off Ted” and not get it. But I don’t think they worry about alienating viewers. They should.

Newshound: Gail,

Has the local ABC affiliate put out any notice on whether/when it will run the new episode of “Better Off Ted” that was pre-empted by paid programming on Tuesday night (incidentally, my husband and I have vowed not to buy products from Champion or any of the other companies that participated in the 30-minute infomercial)? I’ve been checking my DVR guide but haven’t seen the pre-empted episode show up yet on the schedule.

Thanks.

Gail: All they say is that “Better Off Ted” will air next week. I wouldn’t watch their repeat even if there were one; I make a point of watching a preempted episode online.
That infomercial they ran instead was especially sleazy, wasn’t it? No problem with the products, but it posed as a news magazine instead of an ad. Lucky we figured it out.

garricks: Hi, Gail!

So KDNL replaced a brand spanking new episode of “Better off Ted” this week with an infomercial.

What were they thinking??? (And I’ve heard the episode was hilarious, too, about bosses and employees getting too social) Will it be shown any time soon, or is it lost to St. Louisans?

Gail: They say they meant to preempt a “Scrubs” rerun, but that ABC made a late schedule change.
Watch “Ted” — which is hilarious, to all who haven’t sampled it — on ABC.com.

Steve M.: Gail-The folks at KSDK are pathatic.They had two articles on their website boasting about the “I’m A Celebrity” show,yet they pre-empted two of the Thursday vote shows for locally broadcast informericials drab. What a joke KSDK have become.

Gail: Agreed. But I don’t think anybody’s actually in charge over there.

Colleen: Gail! For Mike H, all seasons of Wire in the Blood are available on Netflix. That’s how I got into it; I highly recommend that show, although I didn’t like the replacement for Carol Jordan.

I also have a question, is the normal Top Chef coming back this summer or are they just doing the Masters version?

Gail: I think he’s seen all the ones that aired here. There were only 24 episodes.

Season 6 of “Top Chef” will be set in Las Vegas, but no premiere date has been announced. Not this summer. I love “Masters,” by the way.

April: Each summer, my step-daughter visits and we get way-deep in to the Mole. Is it coming back again this summer? Also, when is the next Amazing Race scheduled?

Gail: “The Mole” didn’t do very well. The producer says don’t give up hope, but I’m not optimistic for another season.

CBS just set Sept. 27 for the TWO-HOUR (!!!) season premiere of “The Amazing Race.”

PamE: I am really enjoying Top Chef Masters. It is fun seeing the professionals sweat it out. Loved when they had the Girl Scouts as judges and last night’s challege at Universal Studios was really creative. When does the regular season of Top Chef begin?

Gail: I’ve liked everything about “Top Chef Masters,” but I haven’t seen last night’s yet. (Thanks for avoiding spoilers.) You saw my earlier answer about the regular edition. Bravo has also announced a “Top Chef Juniors” for teens.

Joe: Do you remember a series that ran for a short time on Channel 9 called “I’ll Fly Away” Sam Waterson played a lawyer in a small southern town. I don’t remember who played the female lead. It was a great series and I can’t find anything about it anywhere.

Gail: “I’ll Fly Away,” one of my favorite series ever, aired on NBC from 1991-93. Then it was repeated on PBS, which also aired a movie wrapping the show up. Regina Taylor, most recently on “The Unit,” played Sam Waterston’s housekeeper, Lily Taylor. Unfortunately, it’s not out on DVD.

April: Have you gotten a sneak peek at Mad Men? What can we expect this season?

Gail: They only recently started shooting the new season, but buzz (from the cast) is that it’s GOOD. And speaking of good, my good news of the week was the arrival of my Season 2 DVD set. It comes out July 14.

cornwallis: This past week when I was watching the syndicated version of Deal or No Deal, I just caught the last part of what I thought mentioned a casting call for the show. Are you aware of what date this will take place?

Thanks.

Gail: “Deal” has been holding open casting calls, but not here. Find out about casting for all NBC and NBC-produced shows at NBC.com/casting.

Mary Lou: What has happened to “Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? It was one of our favorite programs. Has it been taken off the air permanently? If so, who can we write to to protest? Thanks for your help.

Gail: I just highlighted “Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader” for next Friday, July 3. There will also be a syndicated version this fall on either Channel 2 or Channel 11.

garricks: I heard that Big Brother “Press Day” was last Friday. Have you heard from any of your colleagues who spent the day in the house?

Gail: I don’t know who the 12 people who spent the day in the “Big Brother” house were. Los Angeles-based media, I’d guess. I haven’t read a peep out of them about the experience; have you? TCA press tour — that’s when I visited a couple of years ago, while filming was in progress — is in early August this year.

April: Hey Gail!

Okay, will there be an Arrested Development movie or not? I keep hearing conflicted answers.

Gail: The thing is, everybody wants an “Arrested Development” movie. It’s just that nobody’s had time to make one. Mitch Hurwitz did “The Goode Family,” but now that it’s canceled, maybe he’ll get to work. Every cast member has signed on, so fingers crossed.

boml: Is Kitchen Nightmares going to have another season?

Gail: Fox has ordered another season of “Kitchen Nightmares,” but I don’t see a debut date. There will be two editions of “Hell’s Kitchen” this year, so chef Ramsay may be busy.

garricks: So what is Life Sherpa watching on TV this summer? Care to share?

Gail: One thing the Life Sherpa is about to be watching is “Hung.” I know because I lent him the DVD. Otherwise, I think summer is a big time for sports and action movies in the Sherpa household. He abandoned me when the Mets went ahead in the game, by the way.

Gail: That’s it for today, folks. Thanks for all the good questions, comments and rants. I do like a well-composed rant. We’ll be back here next Thursday, and look for the transcript on Tube Talk shortly.