This is what I’m thinking:

* It was a little surprising to get a Showtime release announcing that the David Duchovny male fantasy series “Californication” will return for a fifth season.

As I’ve said before, the series about self-destructive novelist Hank Moody (Duchovny,see right) is one of my guilty pleasures.

During my winter break from college teaching, I watched all 12 episodes of season four and felt the April finale would have a perfect resolution for the series.

That’s why I was surprised to see that it will return. But it is a happy surprise as long as guest stars equivalent to Callie Thorne and Carla Gugino will be along for the ride.

* The kinder and gentler ”American Idol”  featuring new judges Steven Tyler and Jennifer Lopez took a ratings hit from CBS’ “The Big Bang Theory” Thursday locally. “Bang” — which moved to 8 p.m. Thursday this fall — had a 16.8 rating on Channel 4, the local CBS affililiate. The first 30 minutes of “Idol” had a 12.4 rating. The full hour averaged a 13.3 rating on WUTV, the local Fox affiliate. It is expected to be down 20 percent or more locally from a year ago when the second night of “Idol” averaged a 20.8 rating after the time-shifted audience up to seven days later was added to the live rating. 

* Inquiring minds have asked me who is the new guy who replaced me as the Buffalo News television critic after seven months?

This has confused me since the newspaper hasn’t replaced me with a local hire.

Then I realized the people who are asking believe that Washington Post writer Hank Steuver is working for the News.

The confusion is easy to understand.

The News has run several of his reviews with a photograph. It isn’t until the end it runs an italic line that says “The Washington Post.” Notably, the fact that he works for the Post is clearer on the News website.

Steuver’s reviews often run on the front page of the newspaper’s living section. (When my reviews ran there, they ran without my picture). Steuver is an excellent writer, but he often writes about national cable programs that would appeal to five or six newspaper readers (OK, I exaggerate and that ’s a bit of a cheap shot)  so some readers might not get to the end.

The News is essentially doing the kind of shameful thing that I used to criticize the local TV stations for doing when they ran CNN or other syndicated stories and made it look like their own.

If I were The News, I would carry a picture of its own talented staffer, Anne Neville, when she writes an occasional local or national feature on television.

The News should be promoting its own writers rather than try to pass off a guy whose reviews are available online as one of its own.

* As regular readers of this blog realize, some of my best friends are Canadians so I’m not about to get in on the fight between my friend Donn Esmonde of The News and a Canadian writer about the tipping habits and behavior of hockey fans here during the World Junior championships. I was surprised to hear another Buffalo News columnist, Jerry Sullivan, take a gentle shot at his colleague during a WGR radio appearance.

* Speaking of my Canadian friends, Toronto TV critic Bill Brioux tells me that one of the highlights of the recent TV critic tour in Hollywood was the appearance of former Rocketship 7 star Dave Thomas with his TV star son David Boreanaz (“Bones”) at a party.  It brought Bill back to his days as a child watching Thomas — who later had a long career in Philadelphia — on the Channel 7 program. Wish I had been there. Actually, I wish someone from The News was there. Or Hank Steuver had been there.

* Buffalo armchair football fans helped the NFL get record ratings last weekend. All four playoff games had significantly higher ratings here last weekend than they did for the corresponding weekend in 2010. The New York Jets upset of New England had a 31.5 rating on Channel 4, which is higher than several Bills games scored in the 2010 regular season.

* I understand the interest in the beheading trial of Mo Hassan. But do the local TV stations and the News really think readers and viewers need live blogging and twitter updates of practically every detail?

Can’t they find better use for their manpower?  Then again, I also think all the live blogging of NFL, NHL games and “American Idol” is a waste of energy and makes it harder for reporters to really think about what is going on and prepare stronger stories for the newspaper and local newscasts.

It is one thing if the bloggers were additional manpower. But they are being asked to blog at the same time as they prepare to do their regular stories and that can’t help their concentration.

pergament@msn.com   

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