Winning the West, Part 2

Giving “Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman” (CBS) credit for “opening up the West--again” (TV Times, Aug. 22) is misplaced. That distinction belongs to Kevin Costner and his exquisite 1990 movie “Dances With Wolves.” Though “Dr. Quinn” has a wonderful cast, all of that talent is wasted on thin stories and embarrassing dialogue.

Jo Ann Berry, Costa Mesa

Real Leather Issue

I was outraged recently while watching a repeat of “Roseanne” (ABC, Aug. 17). In this episode, Sara Gilbert’s character Darlene bribes her father into buying her a leather jacket. Darlene, and Gilbert, have expressed views on animal rights in episodes before and after this show. How can the writers and cast overlook such a hypocritical and sensitive error?

Letizia Gonzales, San Fernando

Quoting the Past

Recently KCAL’s Prime 9 News aired a special on jockey Corey Nakatani. It started out about a Japanese-American jockey at Santa Anita race track, then it went back to 1942 when Santa Anita was converted to an internment camp for all persons of Japanese heritage during World War II. Then KCAL interviewed an employee at the track who said he remembered when it was closed down for racing after the “Japs” moved in.

Doesn’t Channel 9 realize the word “Jap” is derogatory, racist and insulting to every Japanese-American?

Alan Tagawa, Los Angeles

Network Shows Blocked Out

The death of network TV is at hand. How do I know? Recently, our cable got messed up and we lost channels 2, 4 and 7. When the cable repairman came out, he told us that although the problem affected the entire block (20 single family dwellings) for an entire week, we were the only house to have reported it.

David Doran, Hawthorne