I enjoy Criminal Minds. There is a new actor. I don't know his name and I don't recall seeing him in any movies. Where did he come from? — M.G., Pompano Beach

I assume you're talking about Joe Mantegna, who stepped in early last season after Mandy Patinkin pulled another one of his irresponsible walkouts. Mantegna has more than a hundred credits, most recently in the USA Network's Starter Wife. He also was a regular on Joan of Arcadia and supplies the voice of Fat Tony in The Simpsons. On the big screen, he played Joey Zasa in The Godfather: Part III, among dozens of roles.



Nights without Eddie Kaplan and weekday drives without the acquired taste of Hank Goldberg (on WQAM, AM 560) have left a dearth of any intellect, wit and just plain fun on the radio. Please tell me, lie to me, that some AM station is going to pay the tariff and pick them up. I am now forced to talk to my wife. — D.R.J., e-mail

Both are personal friends of mine, but as a radio listener I miss them on the air, too, especially Ed's Friday Night Football Handicappers. Alas, there is nothing going on with Ed. Hank just had his ESPN contract extended with additional assignments. Funny how the people at the nation's most successful TV network aren't as smart as the genius who ran off Hank from WQAM, which is now the market's No. 2 sports station.



I am hoping to get more information on the old CW, Channel 39. My wife and I left for vacation and when we got back, the newscast was gone and the station name had changed. What's going on? — A.L., e-mail

The old CW (owned by Sun Sentinel parent Tribune Co.), which now goes by SFL-TV, dropped its CW identification to stress its local identity. The 10 p.m. news was dropped to transfer resources to a new 5-9 a.m. newscast, which will debut in January.



I have enjoyed Las Vegas. The last episode had a "to be continued." When? — Frances Levine

That episode will continue when casinos start paying 4-to-1 on red and black. Las Vegas was canceled during the writers' strike and NBC, showing typical network contempt for the audience, decided not to allow the series one more episode to resolve the cliffhanger.



Do you think CBS will renew Swingtown, or perhaps sell it off to a cable network to produce? — Nicole, e-mail

No decision has been made, according to a CBS representative. My gut feeling is it won't be renewed. However, the fact that it is still under discussion is promising given its disappointing ratings. CBS really doesn't own a cable network where it would fit.



In an answer to a question about the commercial time per hour you neglected to explain why there are so many more commercials on TV — Ronald Reagan. It was during his administration that limitations for commercials were deregulated and broadcasters were allowed to sell more commercial time. I wonder if those who worship Reagan would continue to do so if they knew it was he who has made watching TV almost impossible to enjoy. — G.T., Fort Lauderdale

Wrong! Once again blind, hateful partisanship has led someone astray. Limits on commercial time were part of a voluntary National Association of Broadcasters code. When the code was challenged by the Justice Department — Jimmy Carter's Justice Department — in 1979 as a violation of the First Amendment, the NAB decided not to fight in court and agreed to eliminate all rules concerning the quantity or length of commercials on broadcast television.

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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