Apr 10, 2016 4 min read

Things that make you go hmmm:

• Those who claimed that neither Katy Perry nor Nick Jonas added anything to the Academy of Country Music Awards last week might consider that perhaps it’s because they too easily blended with dozens of “country music” stars who don’t really sing country songs. Chris Stapleton performs country music. The others, not so much.

• While some “Walking Dead” fans are complaining about its season-ending cliffhanger, others are convinced the victim of Negan’s barbed wire bat (“Lucille”) is Glenn, in keeping with the comic book series. But if the TV show is going to mimic every frame of its source comic book, why have a TV series at all? It’s far more interesting to watch how a director massages original material for the screen. While alterations don’t always work, they certainly command our attention.

• The surprise hit of the spring has been NBC’s “Little Big Shots,” a coy combination of the ancient “Kids Say the Darnedest Things” and “America’s Got Talent.” But the “darnedest things” ingredient needs some attention. Lately, it seems as if some kids have been schooled by the producer, director or – worse yet – the parents to offer too obviously rehearsed lines. Could be that “Big Shots” is shooting itself in the foot.

• Why is it that TV’s “late, late shows,” the programs that follow Jimmy Fallon and Stephen Colbert, are more entertaining fare? James Corden’s imaginative skits and party atmosphere trump Colbert’s sometimes juvenile humor, Seth Meyers’ opening monologue, which he wisely transformed into a “newscast” a few months ago, is much more insightful, funny and on point than anything the increasingly self-absorbed Jimmy Fallon has to say.

• Isn’t it interesting that NBC, once the go-to network for quality sitcoms, couldn’t possibly string together one “must-see” lineup for fall, while the otherwise struggling ABC could offer two, two-hour comedy blocks in September? ABC’s keystone to success has been focusing on families as opposed to friends – the young, upscale relationships that all networks have unsuccessfully tried to recapture since the demise of “Friends.” Some molds evidently are made to be broken. But since the days of “Father Knows Best,” “Ozzie and Harriet” and “The Donna Reed Show,” the success rate of family-based shows has always been extraordinary.

• We all know what opinions are worth, and that’s especially true regarding WTAE-TV’s firing of Wendy Bell over comments made on the station’s Facebook page. Since no one but Bell and her bosses were part of the ensuing conversation concerning the controversy, it’s absurd to speculate on whether Bell should have been fired. It can’t rationally be argued that she didn’t deserve some sort of reprimand; it’s a given that news people are not to give opinions on issues they are covering, especially on official news sites.

It would have been appropriate for Bell to suggest management offer an opinion as part of its “WTAE editorial” segment, but no Pittsburgh station even approaches upsetting any apple carts with its infrequent editorials, lest they lose a few viewers. If that approach was tried and failed, Bell should have kept her opinions to her small circle of friends.

Still, at first blush, it seems firing was excessive. After all, NBC didn’t completely sever ties with Brian Williams over his controversial comments. It instead removed him from the anchor desk, suspended him for several months, and then returned Williams to the NBC fold, albeit in a lesser capacity. That would seem to be the proper way to handle the Bell situation as well. I suspect there may be more to the firing than we know. And, frankly, it’s none of our business.

But isn’t it sad that we seem to have focused more on a sideshow of the Wilkinsburg shootings than on the shootings themselves?