DOUBLE FEATURE

In Brian Lowry’s piece on the tribulations being overcome to enrich our culture with “Ink� (“Next Time, Use a Pencil,� Oct. 20), CBS Entertainment President Leslie Moonves is said to maintain that the public has become too discriminating for anyone to try to slip a mediocre series past them. “You can’t close your eyes and say, ‘Gee, I’m going to put this show on the air and maybe I’ll fool ‘em.’ �

Well then, Mr. Moonves, how do you explain the presence of “The Nanny,� “Pearl� and “Dave’s World� on CBS’ schedule? Fifth columnists from ABC?

In Glenn Lovell’s Oct. 20 Film Clip on auteur deluxe Joel Schumacher’s efforts to create a 2-hour, 40-minute “director’s cut� of “Batman Forever� (apparently so the film will truly live up to its title), Schumacher gushes this quote at us: “Woody Allen made ‘September’ twice with two totally different casts. Wouldn’t you love to see two versions of the same film? . . . And certainly if there were multiple choices in ‘Citizen Kane’ I would be on the edge of my seat to see that.�

Gee, and I thought “Citizen Kane� was perfect as is. Aw, if only I could see that alternate ending where “Rosebud� is a teddy bear. And as for “September,� why would anybody want to see two versions of a movie nobody wanted to see once?

DOUGLAS McEWAN

Long Beach