The Marx Brothers' A Night at the Opera. Chris Rock's stand-up routines. Christine Baranski in just about any comic role.

All are funny.

But, sad to say, National Public Radio's brand-new comic play - though born of an admirable impulse - wasn't.

I'm not saying it failed to be uniformly funny. I'm saying that it was mirthless. My car was quieter than a Trent Lott testimonial as I drove in to the office each day last week, listening to the ostensibly humorous I'd Rather Eat Pants.

The radio play, written by Peter Ackerman and produced by L.A. Theatre Works, appeared in five eight-minute installments during NPR's Morning Edition last week. As well as a diversion from more weighty matters, the play was intended to win attention for the broadcaster's new West Coast cultural desk by invoking the golden age of radio.

The plot involves a couple who run a profits-challenged deli in New York and take off across the country to make their fortune. Hilarity was meant to ensue - but, alas, it didn't.

It may be that I'm getting in touch with my inner Grinch here.

But I am not alone. More than 1,000 National Public Radio listeners have e-mailed their thoughts about last-week's play, and the overwhelming majority were critical.

Andy Bienstock, program director for Baltimore NPR affiliate WYPR-FM, offers support for the concept but is distinctively less effusive about the result. "I thought it was an interesting experiment," Bienstock says. "It was a nice try."

Here's what Morning Edition executive producer Ellen McDonnell sent in reply to those who wrote critical notes: "Clearly our holiday gift to listeners was not a tasty treat for you. We wanted to give listeners a respite from racism, war and pedophilia as they approached the holiday season. Sorry it didn't work for you. Stay with us."

In a telephone interview, McDonnell says she fell in love with the play during its evolution. I'd Rather Eat Pants attracted participants with a fine comedic lineage, including cast members Ed Asner (of The Mary Tyler Moore Show), Anne Meara (of Stiller & Meara), and Dan Castanella (Homer on The Simpsons).

The show was performed in front of an appreciative audience at the Beverly Hills branch of the Museum of Television and Radio. During the broadcast, members of the audience frequently broke into laughter. Out in America, many of us didn't. And it's not simply that the comic format unsettled the news magazine's listeners. NPR contributors David and Amy Sedaris almost always delight.

"It didn't work, we needed to tweak it more," admits McDonnell. "But we'll get back on the horse."

NPR's evolution over its 32-year-history involves the introduction of many innovations in radio journalism and the willingness to take chances - attributes that some listeners fear have been lost over the years. I'd Rather Eat Pants may signal an attempt to capture some of that whimsy, which is a good thing. Better luck next time.

HBO makes bad call

When it comes to sports, HBO is fighting off a creeping credibility problem. Last year, when HBO Sports introduced Hard Knocks, a behind-the-scenes look at the Baltimore Ravens training camp, it promised a documentary approach. Yet the cable channel entered into a partnership with NFL Films for the series, paid Ravens players for appearing on the program, and allowed team officials to have the final say on what scenes appeared.

That's a problem.

At the time, HBO Sports President Ross Greenberg said he had been surprised by the special treatment given the team. "If we do this kind of project again," he said in October 2001, "we have to come up with a way that doesn't compromise the journalistic quality of the product, or the perceptions of that."

He should have followed his own advice. In the edition of Real Sports currently airing on HBO, Bryant Gumbel interviews Martha Burk, the head of the National Council of Women's Organizations, who is leading the fight to integrate women into the all-male Augusta National Golf Club. (Club leaders have resolutely opposed such a move, even dropping commercials from the broadcast of the Masters at Augusta National on CBS to forestall pressure on advertisers.)

Gumbel is himself a member of the similarly restricted Burning Tree Country Club in Bethesda, but he withheld that fact from viewers. Greenberg, who is on a skiing vacation this week, could not be reached for comment, and Gumbel did not respond to a message seeking comment. But in a statement released by HBO, Greenberg defends Gumbel.

"Bryant delivered a solid and objective piece," Greenberg says in the statement. "We had the right journalist asking all the relevant questions related to Augusta and Martha Burk's campaign."

According to the Chicago Tribune, Gumbel convinced executives that disclosing his membership would distract attention from the substance of his interview. He's right: The information is distracting because it is directly relevant to the issue under scrutiny. Gumbel has a blatant conflict of interest. It should have been disclosed to viewers, whom HBO should trust to gauge its importance.

This was not a hard call, as Greenberg suggested to the Tribune - it was an obvious one. But HBO blew it.

The shame of it is that, with Gumbel, Bob Costas and an impressive roster of contributors, HBO does smarter pieces on sports than many major television outlets. But the nasty, nagging question constantly surfaces: What else aren't they telling us?

Questions? Comments? Story ideas? David Folkenflik can be reached by e-mail at david.folkenflik@baltsun.com or by phone at 410-332-6923.