When I suggested that my house would be a good location for storm updates once the rains came here, I WAS KIDDING. Did not mean to invite the harsher forces of weather to the neighborhood. So far it's just a steady rain, but I just got some things off the basement floor in case water decides it's time for a visit.

Well, the skies are gray over this part of Northeast Ohio, and I can't help but think that we're going to get some kind of residual beating from Hurricane Katrina in the not too distant future.

The increasing frequency of TV shows on DVD has affected the way I review them. I can't get through every episode of every set, as well as extras, in the time available. So I try to get through all the key extras, some of the available commentary, and a sampling of the episodes.

Tonight's telecast of the Browns-Panthers exhibition game on WOIO included a spot promoting visits to the Browns' training camp. ''Time is running out,'' it warned viewers, a bit late. The ad said the last day for visits was Aug. 24.

Remember last season, when The WB ran the season finale of ''Gilmore Girls'' a little longer than usual -- and people who'd set their timers for the show missed out on a key moment at the end? Well, let it be known now that the new WB series ''Supernatural'' is going to run long. Here's the word from The WB:

I've been meaning to blog about the coming changes at TV Guide. In case you missed it, here's a bit of the official explanation, from tvguide.com:

My wife will tell you that it's because I'm a slob. I plead guilty. But I do so with extenuating circumstances.

The mail this morning included a new ''Saturday Night Live'' compilation DVD, ''The Best of John Belushi'' (due in stores Sept. 6, along with other best-ofs devoted to Dan Aykroyd and Gilda Radner). Well, it had to go into the player -- and not just because movie critic George Thomas was screaming to see the Belushi-as-Beethoven-as-Ray-Charles skit.

A couple of co-workers complained to me today about the ''Lost'' reruns on ABC. As I mentioned some time ago in a mailbag column, the network is skipping some episodes on rerun because it doesn't have enough weeks to replay the entire season in order during the summer. But for people who are trying to catch up on plot turns, or simply refresh their memories, episode skipping just adds to the confusion about a show that can be confusing enough when you're playing close attention.

Over the last few days, I was spending a fair amount of time at a hospital. (Just visiting, but some long visits.) While there were plenty of issues to think about other than television, once things had settled down I began to see how important TV could be even in such grave situations.

As has been reported, the reality series from producer David E. Kelley is moving to Bravo, where the 4.5 million viewers the show averaged on NBC will actually look like a large audience. Here's the official announcement of when the show will air:

I finally took a moment this afternoon to sit down with the DVD set of the first season of ''Roseanne,'' which is due in stores on Aug. 30.

My TV viewing over the weekend included sports -- golf, baseball, Browns -- and a couple of movies on DVD -- ''Coach Carter'' and ''Finding Neverland.''

(In other words, it contains spoilers)

ABC has not only decided to milk a summer success, it's going to do it as the new TV season has started. Here's the official announcement from the network.

Tonight I was at the Beacon Journal as part of a series of open houses; movie critic George Thomas and I answered questions from folks, who also got a tour of the Beacon Journal building in the process.

First, there's this from ABC today:

While I was the office this morning, I had the TV set on next to my desk -- but not because I was screening a show, or keeping an eye on a news channel. I was catching the end of the PGA championship. A co-worker (as you will see below, I work in a sea of sports fans) want to see it. And I was going to turn it on anyway, to see if Phil Mickelson could hold on for the win -- and if Tiger Woods was going to get to play a little longer.

Sounds if things are improving for the ailing TV producer and star, at least based on this announcement from his public-relations firm:

Well, the investigation of Corey Clark's claims about Paula Abdul is done. And it doesn't exactly exonerate her -- mainly saying there's not enough evidence against her. Here's the official statement from the production companies and Fox:

Here is HBO's latest announcement that ''The Sopranos'' will keep going longer than anticipated -- which, of course, just makes us all wonder if it could keep going beyond this.

Odds and ends from too much TV watching (and thinking):

By now, you all should know of the death of Peter Jennings, the ABC News anchor who had been battling lung cancer.

Just when you thought you had all your fall viewing plans worked out ... here's a change from UPN:

A reader of my online mailbag recently asked about the song playing at the end of the second-season finale of ''Nip/Tuck.'' It wasn't that surprising -- I get a fair number of queries about songs in TV shows -- but it was tidily coincidental. Last week, I had seen that scene as the setup for a ''Nip/Tuck'' press conference in Hollywood.

Here are the fall launch dates for CBS's shows:

I'm waiting for the day when a television series comes out on DVD first, then makes its way to cable or broadcast. That day is closer than you might think.

Last night I watched three episodes of the new comedy ''Starved'' and another three of ''It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia.'' (My review of the shows will be in Thursday's Beacon Journal.) Last week I watched five episodes of ''Weeds.''  Before that, I saw three episodes of ''Over There'' before reviewing it, and three of ''Wanted.''

When writer-producer Shaun Cassidy was at a press conference to talk about his new series, ''Invasion,'' he noted that the success of ''Lost'' had made it easier to get networks to look at serialized shows where the readers are kept guessing. So, later on, I asked him if his 1995-96 series ''American Gothic'' would have had a better chance today.