'Lear' Without Leering

The actor noted that the other instance in which the production was censored was Singapore, where "it was not allowed" for him to take his clothes off. In both cases, the actor noted, it was still okay to show someone being blinded by having their eyes removed, "but was inappropriate to show a penis."

That is when "Great Performances" exec producer David Horn jumped in to insist that the decision had not been PBS's but Nunn's, who was not there to confirm that assertion.

* * *

Paula Kerger now thinks the conversion to digital TV is being mishandled by the feds.

Well, yeah . . . duh.

Stepping up to the podium on the very first day of I Think I'll Just Take Some of These Dinner Rolls Home to Feed My Hungry Children Winter TV Press Tour 2009, the usually measured, mild-mannered PBS chief vented about the whole digital-conversion mess.

Specifically, she blasted the federal government for running out of money for the coupons it has been issuing. The coupons help people defray the cost of the converter boxes they need to continue receiving over-the-air programs after analog broadcasting ends Feb. 17. After that date, if your TV set is not digital and/or hooked up to cable or satellite and you don't have a converter box, you're outta luck -- no TV signal.

As of last month, nearly 7 percent of the 114 million U.S. households with televisions remained unready for the transition, according to Nielsen.

"I'm very disheartened to hear that with a month before the deadline, the federal government has run out of money to help citizens purchase digital converter boxes," Kerger told The Reporters Who Cover Television, who were momentarily stunned at her outburst and then began typing furiously on their laptops.

Congress had set a $1.34 billion funding limit for the coupon program, which has come and gone. On Monday, the Commerce Department said people seeking help via coupons are being put on a waiting list, which I'm sure is such a comfort.

"Consumers need those coupons, and they need them now!" Kerger ranted. "To put them on a waiting list, which is what is happening, is inexcusable," she raved, adding, "I really call upon Congress and [the National Telecommunications and Information Administration] to . . . fix this as soon as possible." NTIA is the division of the Commerce Department that is the brain trust of the whole coupon program.

"At a time when people are making very hard economic choices in their households, and many are choosing free over-the-air television and are closing down their cable accounts . . . we need to make sure every household that can be connected to a box is connected to a box."