Sharper Than a Ginsu Knife : Television: Confused about cable rates? Leery of Larry King look-alikes? The Answermaven is here to help.

Knowledge is a blessing only if it’s shared. Thus, getting into the holiday spirit of giving, the Answermaven has graciously agreed to respond to questions that you haven’t asked but should have.

DEAR ANSWERMAVEN: Frequently, we speak of “the networks” as if they were a monolith. However, don’t they have distinct personalities? For example, which of the Big Three networks has the most violence-minded schedule?

--TERRIFIED

DEAR TERRIFIED: Compared to ABC and CBS, NBC is Mayhem Inc., a network whose programming at times appears designed to make Americans feel generally lousy and fearful. Here, for example, are some of the movies on its schedule for January:

“Viper,” a series premiere that takes place in a city “terrorized by a powerful criminal syndicate”; “Betrayal of Trust,” whose heroine accuses her psychiatrist of raping her while she was sedated; “Secrets of the Father,” about a law officer who arrests his father for murdering his mother; “Two Fathers: Justice for the Innocent,” whose protagonists pursue the man who murdered their children; “Confessions: Two Faces of Evil,” the story of two young men who confess to the Christmas eve murder of a California cop; “Visions of Murder,” about a psychotherapist “caught in a web of suspicion and intrigue” when one of her patients is found murdered, and “In the Line of Duty: The Price of Vengeance,” centering on an L.A. cop who is stalked and killed by a gang leader following a routine arrest.

Otherwise, peace and good will reign at NBC.

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DEAR ANSWERMAVEN: I’ve noticed that a variety of stations have been airing reruns of Larry King’s interview with a memory expert. I didn’t think CNN ran repeats of “Larry King Live” or let other stations run them. What’s the deal?

--CONFUSED

DEAR CONFUSED: What you refer to is not a Larry King interview at all, but an infomercial--a program-length commercial that individual stations and cable networks are paid to run--cleverly designed to look like “Larry King Live.”

The product may be fine, but the format of the infomercial is clearly meant to deceive, and an occasional disclaimer identifying the half hour as a paid advertisement reads almost like the fine print on an insurance policy.

The “interviewer” (identified as Andy) wears his gray hair like King’s. He is in shirt-sleeves and suspenders, a la King. Like King’s, the infomercial’s backdrop is black with white dots. And like Larry, Andy faces his “guest” across a table on which sits an old-fashioned studio microphone. That’s King’s trademark.

That “guest” is “memory expert” Kevin Trudeau, and this infomercial for Mega Memory consists entirely of him giving a monologue on his product, occasionally punctuated by a mushy question from the earnest-looking Andy.

Finally, friendly old Andy gives up. “I really would like to trip you up here today, but I don’t think I’ll be able to do it.” Time to put up the 800 number. Then Andy again: “Kevin Trudeau, I want to thank you for being with us today.”

Tune in tomorrow when his guest will be, er, Kevin Trudeau.

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DEAR ANSWERMAVEN: You are such a brilliant wit. Have you heard anybody say anything funny on TV lately?

--LAUGH STARVED

DEAR LAUGH STARVED: Yes, I have. Garry Shandling, star of that ingenious HBO talk-show parody “The Larry Sanders Show,” was asked by a TV interviewer last week what he thought of real-life hosts David Letterman, Jay Leno and Arsenio Hall.

“I find myself sitting in bed flipping,” said Shandling, pushing his thumb up and down in a demonstration. “And I don’t have a remote.”

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DEAR ANSWERMAVEN: I thought that new federal law re-regulating cable was supposed to lower my monthly bill, but instead my bill has gone up. What can I do?

--DISGUSTED

DEAR DISGUSTED: The Center for Media Education in Washington--(202) 628-2620--has published a handy $3 guide that promises to help consumers lower their cable bills. Titled “It Pays to Complain,” the guide is the premiere issue of CME’s quarterly “CableWatch” newsletter.

“The only way to ensure that your local cable company is fully complying with the new rules is to file a formal complaint with the Federal Communications Commission,” says CME Executive Director Jeffrey Chester. To that end, “It Pays to Complain” includes a copy of an FCC complaint form along with instructions for completing it.

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DEAR ANSWERMAVEN: I recently read about the death of Moses Gunn, a distinguished actor who was a favorite of mine. Wasn’t he on some cop shows?

--MOSES FAN

DEAR MOSES FAN: On more than one cop show, actually. But it was on an episode of NBC’s soon-to-return “Homicide: Life on the Street” that veteran character performer Gunn gave what the Answermaven believes was last season’s finest performance by a guest actor in a series. Titled “Three Men and Adena,” this mesmerizing episode was set almost entirely in an interrogation room, with Gunn just amazing as a suspected child murderer being grilled by two police detectives. Far from being exploitative of a violent theme, it was a complex character study of both the suspect (whose guilt or innocence was left open) and the cops.

The 64-year-old Gunn died Thursday of what his publicist said were complications from asthma.

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DEAR ANSWERMAVEN: If Ted Turner ever gained ownership of “Schindler’s List,” what would he do with it?

--CURIOUS

DEAR CURIOUS: Colorize it.