Lots of Utah viewers were rightfully concerned about KPNZ-Ch. 24 becoming the local UPN affiliate. The station's signal still can't be received in a lot of homes along the Wasatch Front, and it hasn't gotten picked up by a number of cable systems.
Basically, if you live south of the Point of the Mountain, you're pretty much out of luck.
Now, for the most part, losing UPN isn't losing much. Of the pseudo-network's 10 prime-time programs, eight aren't worth worrying about — eight hours filled with awful sitcoms like "One on One" and "Girlfriends"; salacious wrestling on "WWF Smackdown!"; lame sci-fi like "Roswell" and "Special Unit 2"; and a Friday-night movie that's generally the repeat of some theatrical flick.
But it's those other two hours that are important to a lot of people. "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "Enterprise" are shows worth watching, even if you have to have a friend tape them for you (which a lot of Utahns are doing these days).
However, even if you can see Ch. 24, you don't necessarily see "Buffy" or "Enterprise." I've had two separate conversations in the past couple of weeks that went something like this:
"Buffy" fan: "What will UPN do about missing the first few minutes of 'Buffy' last night?"
Me: "Huh?"
"Buffy" fan: "It was dead for the first few minutes last night."
Me: "That wasn't UPN — that was Channel 24."
And the second conversation was eerily similar.
"Enterprise" fan: "Why did UPN show the same episode of 'Enterprise' two weeks in a row?"
Me: "Huh?"
"Enterprise" fan: "Yeah, they showed the one where the guy gets pregnant again last night."
Me: "That wasn't UPN — that was Channel 24."
At my house, we have the Dish Network and that satellite system's superstations package — we watch UPN on either a New York or a Boston station. And those stations have had no such problems.
No, it's our friends at Ch. 24 who can't seem to get their act together. And it's getting old.
Yes, it's a start-up operation experiencing growing pains. But, frankly, viewers don't really care — they just want a chance to see the correct programs at the correct times.
One e-mailer expressed the same frustrations as many others: "I am a big 'Star Trek' fan. Since channel 24 is in Ogden, I wasn't getting much of a signal here in Taylorsville. I installed a separate UHF antenna before the beginning of the season just so I could watch 'Enterprise.' . . . Channel 24's presentation of the program certainly hasn't added anything. Their transmitter won't stay up, and their transitions frequently cut up the program."
(At least with "Enterprise," there's a second airing of each episode — or, sometimes, a first airing of the proper episode — Sundays at 6 p.m. No such luck with "Buffy.")
KPNZ is working on an upgraded transmitter and getting itself on more cable systems. But the station is building a reputation for unreliability that will be hard to overcome. Ownership and management would be well advised to get things straightened out — soon.
E-mail: pierce@desnews.com