· There are way too many commercials on TV. The number of minutes devoted to selling us stuff has been growing steadily, and I'm afraid one of these days the balance between how much time is devoted to a show and how much is devoted to commercials will tilt over to the other side.

If that weren't bad enough, commercials are getting embedded into the shows themselves, so we see everyone eating a certain kind of cereal or using a specific type of credit card.

It weakens the television viewing experience. Nothing gets a chance to develop flow and rhythm, because it's always interrupted by a commercial. And when you keep seeing a certain product being used at the expense of all others, it gets way too distracting.

I wish this would stop, but I know it won't.

· Donald Trump is just too much, isn't he? I admit to being swept up in an "accident on the side of the road'' kind of way during the first episode of "The Apprentice,'' in which a dozen or so beautiful idiots -- who seem to be clones of all the people who show up on reality shows -- vie for a chance to work for The Donald or, as they must call him, Mr. Trump.

The contestants have taken pandering to a new level. They ask permission to stand up, tell his young girlfriend how lucky she is to be with The Donald, and admire his ghastly, bordello-inspired Trump Tower apartment.

Have you seen it? As one television critic rightly noted, it makes Saddam's former palaces look classy.

But it's his hair that really is shocking. I'm waiting for one of the contestants to start cracking up and say, "Um, Mr. Trump, may I stand up and tell you that the person who styles your hair should be fired?''

The out-of-control combover is bad enough (Why do men do that? They always look better bald), but the bad dye job makes him look like a parody of himself.

· Why are so many movies so dark? Have you noticed? Movies acclaimed by New York and Los Angeles critics for their gorgeous cinematography arrive here looking muddy and murky.

All the action seems to take place in a literal twilight zone, where the sun never shines and nobody bothers to turn on a light. It has gotten so bad at times, it's ruined the movie for me.

So what's going on?

The answer, according to film critic Roger Ebert, is that theater operators refuse to project films at the correct light intensity because they think they can save money. The projector bulbs are apparently expensive, so theater operators either install projector bulbs that are too small or they turn down the wattage on the bulbs, hoping they will last longer. Hence, the movie is not seen the way it's meant to be seen.

Ebert calls the whole problem a national disgrace.

I agree.

· Speaking of the movies, I have to lodge a complaint against the new pre-show "entertainment'' at the Regal Cinemas. It's called "The 2wenty,'' and it's so annoying I am now actually trying to be late for movies.

There are commercials for everything from Pepsi -- the suburban kid who is trying to be an urban rapper is getting old -- to video games that involve lots of explosions.

There are segments on how movies were made that are, in effect, commercials. And everything is ultra-loud and in your face -- all in the name of selling us even more stuff.

But you know, maybe the revenues from all of those ads could go toward paying for new projector light bulbs, and we could actually see the movies we're watching.



Jane Holahan is a New Era staff writer. Her column appears Wednesdays.



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