On TV: Conan, Hulu, 'I'm a Celebrity,' 'True Blood,' More

Columnist Lisa de Moraes was online Friday, June 5 at 1 p.m. ET to take your questions about the drama, comedy and heartbreak of the world of television -- both onscreen and behind-the-scenes.

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Arlington, Va.: I've started watching "The Big Bang Theory" now that "Chuck" has finished for the season. Besides the obvious geek-out factor with both shows, "The Big Bang Theory" is really laugh-out-loud funny. Whoda thunk? This from the same network that subjects us to "Two and a half Men".

Lisa de Moraes: Hi,

I love "BBT" but then I'm the child of a 'rocket scientist'. I relate to the show..

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Adams Morgan: Lisa,

Please please please tell me that WJLA's Wednesday night news special on an election in some place called "Virginia" tanked in the ratings. It ruined my night when I found out that "Wipeout" was preempted. What was WJLA thinking? They replaced "Wipeout," only the number 3 show in the 18-49 demographic last week, instead of the "Goode Family" or the "Unusuals." Whoever made that decision seems about as smart as Ben Silverman.

Lisa de Moraes: Do not have the ratings but I'm guessing they weren't as good as they had been for "Wipeout" which is doing very well this season. For those of you who missed it, WJLA pre-empted "Wipeout" (geesh) this week, in favor of a program in which Virginia Democratic gubernatorial hopefuls R. Creigh Deeds, Brian Moran and Terry McAuliffe answered questions sent in by viewers. Had I been in charge, I would have had the candidates compete in "Wipeout." Sadly, I am not in charge.

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Burke, VA: Is "I'm a Celebrity..." doing in the ratings what NBC expected or worse? Also, I saw a commercial for NBC's new series "Merlin." Are they really going to put that on TV?

Lisa de Moraes: Oh yes, my friend, they really are going to put that on. It looks very cheesetastic, no? "I'm a Celebrity" is doing 5-6 million-ish. For those of you not watching, NBC is stripping "I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!" four nights a week this month -- Monday through Thursday -- and the show has been completely and utterly hijacked by Speidi. But wait, you had an actually question, didn't you? Oh yes, "I'm a Celebrity" is clocking a noticeably smaller crowd than the ABC version did years back -- numbers ABC considered too small to merit bringing the show back, BTW. NBC keeps putting out news releases saying the show is doing better than it had recently adveraged in the timeslots. That is called "damning with faint praise."

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Lost: At what point does a "Lost" obsession become cause for concern? I introduced my husband to the show recently. Upon his insistence, we've watched the first 2.5 seasons in 1.5 weeks. I've heard the series only gets better...should I fear for my marriage?

Lisa de Moraes: What are you -- nuts? Here is a word of advice for all you ladies out there: do not, under any circumstances, introduce the men in your lives to heavily serialized paranormal-ish dramas like "Lost." You will never hear from them again. Unless, of course, that is the idea. Then: great plan!

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Nurse show overload: "Nurse Jackie" on Showtime, "Hawthorne" on TNT, and the other nurse show on NBC in the fall - how did that happen? (Also, are any of them worth watching?)

Lisa de Moraes: It's always one of those incredible coincidences that makes the television industry so mystical, is the answer you get from people in the biz when you try to get them to give you a straight answer. "coincidence" is TV biz-speak for "ripoff." On a similar subject, you are going to see a boatload of medical dramas this fall as everyone searches for the next "ER." Sometimes when a show that had been a monster hit goes off the air, you see a flurry of wannabe's hit the schedules the next season. If you are a serious student of TV you should watch all of the nurse shows at least once, for comparison sake. I'd love to know what people think of them. I'm an Edie Falco fan...

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Silver Spring, Md.: How has Letterman been doing vs. Conan this week?

Lisa de Moraes: He's getting beat, but it would have been shocking had he not....

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Dupont Circle: Something is just off with Conan, right? I know he idolizes Letterman, but should he really look bored with his show already (the way he seemed bored with the last three year of Late Night)? Leno has his faults but he always seemed to be having a pretty good time ... and that's also the appeal of Ferguson.

Lisa de Moraes: I think the look he's going for is ironic, not bored.I dont' have the same reax to the first week you are having, though I'm already tired of the "Let's Go Do Something Fun on the Universal Studios Lot, Shall We" taped bits. And, bad idea to book knuckleheads like Bradley Cooper as guests the first week -- sucked all the life out of that night.

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Arlington, Va.: Hi, Lisa -

So, I am toying with the idea of buying an Apple TV, ditching cable, and watching everything from Hulu.com, Itunes, or on dvds. What do you think? What isn't covered by those options?

washingtonpost.com: Live sports?

Lisa de Moraes: I think you are in good company. More and more people are doing just that.

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Fairfax, Va.: Is it wrong that -- having seen my first commercial for it last night during the basketball game -- that I'm now strongly looking forward to Superstars? I remember watching that growing up and it was awesome! I still recall Gabe Kapler rowing a boat. This could be delicious.

Lisa de Moraes: I love retroTV....I'm dying to see the cast of "According to Jim" doing synchronized swimming....anybody else out there have a wish list?

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Big Numbers for Jay: Cause people were happy to see him go?

Lisa de Moraes: But he's not actually going, as Conan noted his first night. He'll be back in just a few weeks... I think people just wanted to see what he would do his last night -- simple as that. Considering he didn't really get to have a "guest" I thought it was a good show.

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CSI showing it's age: How much longer can CBS coast on their 3 CSIs? Vegas has been down since Petersen left, Miami devolved into parody sometime in season 2, and NYC is pretty forgettable. Does Moonves think there's a real replacement in this year's fall crop?

Lisa de Moraes: Two words:
Jeremy.
Northam.

CBS wins....

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Celebrity: I have to admit "I'm a Celebrity" is not holding my attention. Speidi wears thin quickly and I feel a little sad about where Lou Diamond Phillip's career has gone. And who are the African-American women? Are they celebrities?

Lisa de Moraes: They are comics who have turned up on VH1. Do not forget NBC brokered a deal to rerun episodes of "I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here" on MTV. The Speidi-casting and casting of Frangela -- Angela Shelton and Frances Callier -- is not a coincidence. And yes, can someone explain to me what happened to Lou Diamond Phillips's career?

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Pay to watch Hulu?!?!: Don't we already pay via the advertising we're forced to watch on the site?

washingtonpost.com: Enjoy Your Free Hulu While You Still Can (Gawker.com)

Lisa de Moraes: Wow, compared to the ads on the original network broadcast, the Hulu ads are nothing. Barely time to pet the dog...

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Nurse Jackie: My sister-in-law worked on the show and she says it's very good. (And she'll tell me when a show or movie isn't.)

Lisa de Moraes: I like it, but others here with us feel strongly otherwise....

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Alexandria, Va.: RE: Nursing Surplus

I caught Edie Falco's show. Blech. It was a charmless ripoff of "House." She's talented, mean, and addicted? Shocker! I thought the pilot was slow and dull and not at all fun or controversial. Soooo not worth it.

Lisa de Moraes: ....like Alexandria, Va., for instance...

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Annapolis, MD: I can't believe that TV Land doesn't run "Battle of the Network Stars" marathons opposite the Olympics or on Super Bowl Sunday. HUGE numbers, I tell you.

Lisa de Moraes: nice counterprogramming! Though I'd still opt for Puppy Bowl.

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Washington, D.C.: So have you seen any previews of this? Verdict?

Blonde Charity Mafia

Lisa de Moraes: This is one of those shows that cannot be too bad for my taste. I'm praying it is truly, wildly, record-settingly awful..I am very optimistic, given that it's on CW...You're hoping it's a trainwreck too, right?

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Behind the Scenes: I'd like to know what goes on behind the scenes of shows like "Survivor" and "Celebrity." Do they get to mingle with the crew when the cameras aren't rolling? Can the "cast" help themselves to the sushi from the craft services table? Does someone wander off behind a palm tree to hood up with the cute production assistant? How do the visibles interact with the invisibles?

Lisa de Moraes: Having never participated in one of these shows, I have no first hand knowledge but I like where you're going with this.

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Boat Rowing: It's Gabe Kaplan, not Gabe Kapler. Gabe Kaplan was Kotter, Kapler plays baseball. And is far more attractive.

Lisa de Moraes: I'll watch either rowing a boat....

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Berkeley, Calif.: Lisa, I've had this page bookmarked for years.

It's a link to the Washington Post's Style section.

But for some reason, it's been dead since Tuesday.

It still has Tom Shales' Conan review.

Has the Washington Post dropped the Style section (and your column)?

Lisa de Moraes: I'll see if we can get it to redirect to the right page, but you might want to just make a new bookmark. Here's a link to the new Style front, which went up Wednesday: Style. The actual address is: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/artsandliving/style/

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Frangela...: ...were regularly featured on NPR's now-defunct midday news magazine "Day To Day," so they needed a new gig after the show went off-air in March. I thought they were hilarious on radio, but don't watch "Get Me Out of Here" so don't know how they're doing on it.

Lisa de Moraes: They are the Greek chorus of this drama. Really, they're wonderful.

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Manhattan, NY - HBO hype and ratings: In NYC the city is plastered with "True Blood" ads. How significantly does the show need to improve/build on last year's ratings do justify the ad expense?

Lisa de Moraes: HBO in general needs to build on its recent numbers. HBO has lost quarts of buzz in recent years.

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Arlington, Va.: "Lisa de Moraes: Barely time to pet the dog..." Is that a euphemism for something? It almost sounds dirty.

washingtonpost.com: Be very careful...

Lisa de Moraes: It wasn't -- but it could be. I like how you think...

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San Diego, CA: In my perfect world, you would tell me that "Pushing Daisies" did huge numbers last Saturday and that ABC execs decided to renew the show and that we'll be seeing more of this wonderful world next fall...but...I know that the world isn't perfect...

Kristin Chenoweth needs to get her own show...and Anna Friel...and Chi McBride...and...sigh...

Why don't more people watch this show????

Lisa de Moraes: I'm very sorry to report Saturday's "Pushing Daisies" only clocked 2.3 million viewers. Chenoweth does not have her own show, and you are right, she should, but she is one of the voices in "Sit Down, Shut Up," she is guest starring on Fox's new high school musical series "Glee," and she was, sadly, a prominent player in David E. Kelley's new legal drama pilot "Legally Mad" which NBC decided to not pick up for this season.

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Re: Behind the Scenes: Remember on one of the first seasons of "The Real World" when one of the cast members hooked up with a cameraman? That was frowned upon, I think the guy got fired. Boston Dave from the Seattle "RW" also famously dated his casting director (remember him screaming his love for her as they "clandestinely" fought in a parked car?), and I'm pretty sure she got the boot, too. Cast members of these reality shows are most definitely not allowed to interact with the crew.

Lisa de Moraes: drat. Where's the fun in that?

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ArtMovieLover, VA: Do you ever go to the movies, Lisa? Name the last one you saw.

Lisa de Moraes: Hahahahaha.. No. I have no time. Actually, that is not completely true. When I was last in Los Angeles, I went to see "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers," "Guys and Dolls," and some other musicals as part of a festival at the wonderful Aero Theatre in Santa Monica, which is run by American Cinematheque. I also saw two Audrey Hepburn flicks there -- "Breakfast at Tiffanys" and "Roman Holiday" -- for Valentine's Day..

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"True Blood": Saw a recap of last season/promo for new season the other day. Looks interesting. I still think they killed off grandma too quickly. Southern Gothic always needs some cranky old ladies.

Lisa de Moraes: I believe that is Rule No. 3 in Southern Gothic..I think hoop skirts are Rule No. 6

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Springfield VA: are you on Twitter?

washingtonpost.com: twitter.com/wapoteamtv

Lisa de Moraes: Yes-ish...

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Silver Spring: I would so watch "Behind the Scenes" of "Survivor," "Celebrity," etc. But there must be no editing other than for language or little black boxes over private parts.

Lisa de Moraes: I say run it in late night and forget the censorship..

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Reston, Va.: How often do TV executives call to give you the riot act for one of you columns? Please give an example.

Lisa de Moraes: With some regularity. My favorite was when one network chief officially put me on "Double Secret Probation" for more than a year over a column I wrote about him at the press tour. I was told no one at the network was allowed to talk to me..good times.

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Alexandria, Va.: What, no poll? Nothing worth polling about? Not Conan, not Jeremy Northam? I feel bereft.

washingtonpost.com: It's my fault. Technical shortcomings.

Lisa de Moraes: We had a great poll but we are apparently getting ahead of the technology available here. We're workingn on getting it back up right now.. it's a Conan poll, asking what things from the first week should be saved or lost, like Andy Richter: Save It or Lose It.

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Severna Park, Md.: I thing NBC did the right thing putting Conan on "The Tonight Show." My 19-year-old son has been watching it all week and he would never have watched Leno. Isn't this the demographic they are looking for?

Lisa de Moraes: You betcha! You are NBC's favorite person this week. More accurately, your son is. I think Conan's done a good job this week but I wish NBC wasn't so timid and he could keep more of his regular features.

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Letterman: The fact is Letterman draws from a different demographic than the tonight show. Many of those who watched him at the start of his career on NBC are still folowers of him--they just dont watch him as much because now they have a job and family.

How are ratings adjusted in markets that air late night differently from normal. For example there are some Central and Mountain markets that run primetime from 7-10 local time but dont air the late night shows until 1130.

Lisa de Moraes: One of the reasons it takes so long to get late night final national numbers is so Nielsen can track just those things you mention. And yes, in theory, Letterman's audience is older than Conan's, though we won't have demographic information on this week's debut week for Conan for several more days...

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washingtonpost.com: Poll:

poll by twiigs.com

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Rockville, Md.: Forget "very same network." Does Arlington even realize that "Big Bang Theory" is brought to them by the very guy (Chuck Lorre) who brought us"2.5 Men"?

Lisa de Moraes: Hopefully so.. Lorre is the reigning king of comedy these days -- somehow he's keeping the sitcom alive...

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You got me hooked, now I need more: Ah, Lisa--had never watched "American Idol" before I read your blog, then did so this year just because I wanted to compare the show versus your thoughts. Since then, I've been hooked. So now that this season is over, what do you have to offer me? I can't just watch shows that are craptastic--it's not enough-I need regular snarky commentary. Help a junkie! (And I don't want to get clean.)

Lisa de Moraes: I'm hoping to expand my We Watch So You Don't Have To empire soon...will keep you posted..

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Merlin: This show has, unfortunately, been doing quite well over in the UK. The special effects are "up to" "Doctor Who" standards. It is terrible. It will probably be a hit, at least for a few weeks.

Lisa de Moraes: Not on NBC it won't. But I'll watch if, as you promise, the special effects are Doctor Who-ian terrible. I love bad British special effects -- gives me that same comfortable cosy feeling as curling up with a good book on a rainy day.

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Chicago: Stephen Colbert in Iraq next week!

Lisa de Moraes: can't wait!

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Atlanta: I assume Conan will do fine because, however off-beat his sense of humor, he's really really eager to entertain. He's easy for America to root for.

But I've been surprised at some of the complaints I've heard from the Leno fans in my office. ("The new guy is so WEIRD! I didn't laugh ONCE!") Thought Leno fans were mellower than that.

I might have to find a new job.

Lisa de Moraes: Leno fans are just upset. I hope they'll calm down when he comes back at 10. I hope they watch when he comes back at 10, because he's going to need all the help he can get. He is in a very difficult situation.

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"Double Secret Probation"--yes I used to do this to my best friend...: IN 5th GRADE!

Lisa de Moraes: I know! That's what made it so much fun....

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one network chief officially put me on "Double Secret Probation": Hadda be Zucker/Silverman, right? Moonves can handle it, and nobody runs ABC or Fox.

Lisa de Moraes: No comment -- but keep guessing! This is fun.. I should do this every week. Post one of my encounters with a network suit and let you guys guess which suit it is..

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ArtMovieLover, VA: "I also saw two Audrey Hepburn flicks there -- "Breakfast at Tiffanys" and "Roman Holiday" -- for Valentine's Day.. "

This was for Valentine's Day in 1964? Seriously, I loved your answer. You watch scads of reality TV, mock the moralistics who express outrage over current TV content, but when you go to the movies, it's strictly revival screenings of classic musicals. You go, Lisa!

Lisa de Moraes: Yes, it's true, I am a complex and fascinating chick...thank you for noticing.

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Britain's Got Talent: So, how long do you think before Susan Boyle has a record deal or an offer to sing on the West End?

Lisa de Moraes: Well, she's got to get out of the rest home first. I'm hoping she goes back into seclusion for the rest of her life -- it would make a much better HBO flick than if she goes on to have a brilliant singing career...

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New York: First I wanted to comment on how much better Heidi looks without makeup/when she's not dressed up like porn star barbie.

Second, re: Spencer -- a few years ago a friend of mine from LA who went to the same private school as Spencer was watching "The Hills," and her dad walked in and saw him on the screen and shrieked "IT'S HIM!! THAT KID!!"

Apparently Spencer hasn't changed much from age 13 when he terrorized the bar mitzvah circuit in L.A. to such an extent that the father recoiled in horror when seeing him on TV.

Lisa de Moraes: My favorite part of "I'm a Celebrity" so far was when he was explaining how he would not have walked off the competition had the other competitors been of his level of stardom, like Brangelina. His utter cluelessness is disarmingly charming...

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DC: Why is so much less of CBS' primetime lineup available online? I'm used to watching "Medium" online and am wondering if I'll be able to do that next year.

Lisa de Moraes: CBS has not yet signed on with Hulu. Give it time. I think it's inevitable.

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Santa Barbara, Calif.: The bumper music during last night's NBA game was tired and old. It was definitely geared towards baby boomers. Loved Jimmy Kimmel afterwards. That was smart. When do you think he will go head to head with Conan and Dave?

Lisa de Moraes: When ABC finally comes out from under that flat rock and moves "Nightline" out of there....

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Andover, Mass. (Jay Leno's hometown): Pookie,

You've talked a lot about some of the previews and clips from NBC looking pretty good. You are apparently unfamiliar with the "NBC Law of Inverse Comic Proportionality" which states that any NBC comedy whose previews are funny will suck, and any whose previews suck will turn out to be funny. It's a continuum, of course--somewhat sucky preview means somewhat funny show, etc., etc. I personally haven't watched a new NBC comedy in years, so can't say if it's still true. But use your mental Wayback machine, to days when shows like Frasier and Scrubs, Coupling, and even the Office were new, and you will discover I am right.

Lisa de Moraes: So, the secret to getting viewers to actually watch NBC's Thursday is to make only shows that will clip very very badly! Brilliant..

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Washington, D.C.: I thought summer would give me a break in my TV watching, yet I'm overwhelmed with my schedule of "So You Think You Can Dance," "I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here," "The Real Housewives of NJ," and "Jon and Kate Plus 8," with Kathy Griffin and Denise Richards still to come.

Kathie Lee Gifford told us the other day that we're becoming a nation of people who would rather watch a family go on a picnic than go on one ourselves and I fear she's right. Do you think I have a problem? Should I go cold turkey and quit my TV watching all together?

Lisa de Moraes: This from the woman who hosts the 18th hour of the "Today" show... Give me a break...

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Cleveland Park, Washington, D.C.: Hasn't Mark Feuerstein been certified has a show-killer of almost Paula Marshall-like stature? (And here I must acknowledge that Paula Marshall is no longer a show-killer). Combining that fact with a show about a doctor who provides services exclusively to wealthy patrons, does "Royal Pains" have ANY chance of success?

Lisa de Moraes: "Royal Pains" is on USA so it's chances for survival are great. And, have you noticed how, um, CBS-like USA shows really are? Meanwhile, thank you so much for mentioning we have taken Paula Marshall off our Showkiller list now that her CBS sitcom has been picked up for a second season. We're holding off on Mark Feuerstein until we see how this new show does..

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Falls Church, Va.: You're not really a "Lost" fan until you hear about a real-life plane crash and seriously begin to wonder if maybe a bunch of the people survived and are on a mysterious island somewhere...

Lisa de Moraes: You mean like the Air France flight to Paris from Brazil? Yikes...I'm out of time. Thanks for joining me.

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Editor's Note: washingtonpost.com moderators retain editorial control over Discussions and choose the most relevant questions for guests and hosts; guests and hosts can decline to answer questions. washingtonpost.com is not responsible for any content posted by third parties._