^ ,4m*r**4-y r You’d Think Someone Would Cover the Holes, Wouldn r T/Yodt . A TRANSMITTER is a complicated ,piachine that sends television or radio jwaves from some distant point, {through the air. and into your home. Transmitters are usually found in ?mall cinderblock buildings on remote mountaintops off in the middle of fiowhere. Each transmitter is full of lit tle transistors and capacitors and resistors and wires and I don't know what all else. Plus lots of electricity. As, you. can imagine, transmitters don't'like water dumped all over them. When this happens, they pop and flash and puff out smoke and then refuse to work. Transmitters are hard to fix. Which was the reason our new edu cational TV station, Channel 12, was in visible from last Friday afternoon until Monday afternoon, in what must be a record for brokenness of a Denver TV station. Seems as how the new build ing's roof leaked snow water into the transmitter. Why did the new roof leak? Because somebody left two holes in it for later installation of cooling devices. How did such an inexcusable thing happen? "That's a good question." re plied station spokesman John Schwartz, who sounded just a bit per turbed over the matter. “I would have thought somebody would have covered the holes," I observed: “I would have thought so. too," said Schwartz. “They’re not open now, I can assure you.” But another Channel 12 principal took the embarrassing catastrophe phi losophically. “I think everything has happened to us that can happen to us." observed board member Penfield Tate, probably with reference to bothersome newspapermen always ©on TTErD® M\? by CLARK SECREST picking on the station, and even more troublesome lawsuits brought by the city’s other educational TV station, Channel 6: “After all this, I really can't help but think we're going to make a success out of it.” For one, I certainly hope no addi tional misfortunes befall Channel 12, particularly during the 8-8:30 p.m. weeknight time periods, in which the ‘Gambler’ Week’s No. 1 TV Program LOS- ANGELES — Singer Kenny Rogers’ first dramatic special, “The Gambler," . was last week’s most- watched television show, leading to speculation here that the story might become a series next season. The two- hoiir western was seen on CBS, which was last week’s most-watched net “That’s Incredible!,” “Real People,” “The Jeffersons,’’ “Nurse,” “M*A*S*H." “Alice," “Flo" and “The Dukes of Hazzard." Among other films and specials, “High Plains Drifter” finished 12th; “Magnum Force” was 15th, “The Comeback Kid” was 34th, “Coming next Tuesday. The 1979-80 television season will conclude next Sunday night. At the moment, ABC and CBS — the tetter showing an impressive comeback this season — are almost in a dead heat. ABC had been expected to win handily. station this week started playing some 150 episodes of Rod Serling’s classic sci-fi series, “Twilight Zone” (CBS, 1959-1962). Channel 12’s run began Monday night with the first original ep isode. “Where Is Everyone?,” which was seen on Oct. 2, 1959. I hope somebody reminds me when the one comes on about the guy who turns into a worm. TWO GOLD stars and a tip o’ the fedora to the Channel 9 crew which produced the “Assignment Colorado" newsmagazine segment the other night regarding Colorado’s infamous Alferd Packer, who munched on his traveling companions over by Lake City during a blizzard a long time back and was the only one to make it out alive. But instead of telling the old tale over again in the same weary manner, this time it was related through narra tive form by an actor portraying Mel ville Gerry, the judge who sentenced Packer to death — a sentence that was never carried out. This imaginative production, filmed in and near Lake City, will be repeated Saturday at 4:30 p.m., and is well worth your while. . Mary Brenneman was producer; wonderful photography was by Sonny Hutchison, with a script by Nancy Colvert and Carl Akers. The role of Judge Gerry was more than capably handled by local thespian Em ery L. Kedocia. I should think this vi gnette will be nominated next year for a regional Emmy. WHY, YOU ASK, did Channel 7 show a slide of a Denver police badge Sunday night during its account of the slaying of a Colorado Springs police man? Beats me. FRIDAY NIGHTS debut of ABC’s “Fridays,” a rip-off of NBC’s “Satur day Night Live,” admitted as much, opening with a declaration that the show wouldn’t be a carbon copy and then cutting to the cast which was dressed in "Saturday Night Live” re galia. Well, honesty is the best policy, as they say. The two shows are very much alike, even down to “Fridays’ ” spoof news cast. "Fridays" even managed to out- gross “Saturday Night Live" in skits regarding the illegality of •‘driving while deceased" and a Muppet hunt, with people thumping little Muppets tp death on an ice cap. concluding with a showing of Muppet coats in a Rodeo Drive boutique. And how about prosti tutes being referred to as "genital en gineers." “ Fridays” has potential, but the pro ducers must realize that johnny-come- latelys must surpass the originals; in creativity if they are to be recognized in their own right. HOW 'BOUT the watchband compa ny whose commercials tout its product as “sensual?” How kinky — if you're into watchbands, that is. ONCE, JUST ONCE. I wanted to see a TV news anchorperson stumble over a word. As you know, most of them come on like faultlessly coiffed ma-- chines, spitting out words as would'a well-oiled computer. That’s the reason it was so refreshing the other night to hear fill-in Channel 9 anchorwoman Marlene McClinton, quite obviously nervous, fall over a word — and no) justohce. Those people are human, after all! ”