I'm a devoted fan of James Gandolfini. Would you have any information on his background? He appears to be a very private person, shy and bashful when he appears in public. — A.R., Delray Beach

You have him pegged perfectly. During the run of The Sopranos, he appeared on the HBO portion of TV press tours several times. Friends at HBO said he hated it because he is just not comfortable in that kind of setting. Nonetheless, he was great every time, cordial, funny and forthcoming. James Gandolfini is his real name and he is a Jersey boy, born in Westwood on Sept. 18, 1961. He is married to a woman named Deborah, his second wife. Prior to The Sopranos, his big role was on Broadway in A Streetcar Named Desire, starring Alec Baldwin and Jessica Lange. You can catch him on Broadway now in God of Carnage, for which he received a Tony nomination.

When the digital change was made, having a new digital TV and rabbit ears with UHF and VHF capabilities, I thought we would get all or most stations. We lost the ABC network entirely, including WPLG and WPBF. Any suggestions for the Coral Springs area besides cable? — J.N., Coral Springs

This is direct from WPLG general manager Dave Boylan: "My first question would be, 'Did they re-scan after the DTV switch?' Some local stations changed the channel for their DTV signal when we turned off our analog signal. Some people have found they need to hit the re-scan settings on their sets to find these stations. I also want to point out that we are doubling our power. Maybe the problem this viewer has is that our signal is being blocked by a structure of some kind. With the boost in power, they may be able to get us if a blocked signal is the problem."

I know that MyNetworkTV will be shifting from a regular TV network to a syndication programming service on Sept. 28. Will it be de-listed from the Nielsen ratings because of that? Also, will all MyNetworkTV affiliates, such as WBFS-Ch. 33, go back to independent status when MyNetworkTV becomes a programming service? — P.B., Hallandale Beach

Nielsen has ratings for all shows. MyNetwork's are often not reported because they are so low, with the possible exception of wrestling. WBFS-Ch. 33 will carry whatever shows MyNetwork provides in prime time, including wrestling and movies. The rest of the day, it will operate as an independent as it has been doing.

Several weeks ago, a reader asked about the movie Queen of the Stardust Ballroom. It's now airing on the FLIX channel. — D.W., e-mail

The people have always been a fertile source of information for this column. Thank you for helping a fellow reader.

I know I remember Jackson 5 cartoons on Saturdays when I was a child. No one else remembers this. Please help me out on this.

— Cyndy Pyke, Plantation

Never say never and never say no one. I remember the Jackson 5ive cartoon show. It ran from 1971-73. However, none of the voices belonged to the real Jackson Five.

I know background music is part of drama, but why does it have to be so loud? It is so hard to understand the dialogue. Or is that the point? Also, on the season finale of The Medium, the caption said, "to be continued." Will it be or is that a ruse? — M.H., e-mail

The background noise issue has been raised and answered so many times, I declared a moratorium on answering it. Since it has been a while, I'll give you the short version. The problem is almost entirely with older viewers, so TV, which targets 18- to 49-year-olds almost exclusively, doesn't care. As for Medium, the story line promised will undoubtedly be picked up when the series moves to CBS on Friday nights at 9 in the fall.

Write to Tom ...

Send your questions to Tom Jicha, TV/Radio Writer, Sun Sentinel, 200 E. Las Olas Blvd., Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301-2293 or tjicha@SunSentinel.com. Personal replies are not possible. Please do not send self-addressed stamped envelopes.


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