We all know of the movie "It's a Wonderful Life" which was made in 1946 starring James Stewart and Donna Reed. Although it was a flop in its initial release, it eventually gained tremendous popularity and became a standard on TV during the Christmas season.

At one time it was considered in the public domain and practically every TV station showed it numerous times in December. That ended a few years ago when the copyright ran out and NBC bought the exclusive rights. That was a dark day for "It's a Wonderful Life." Usually NBC only shows it once a year and after viewing Friday night's showing, that is a blessing for the movie.

This is a typical case of what happens when a commercial TV network gets its hands on a classic movie for the sole purpose of exploiting its popularity in the never ending quest to make a buck.

I realize that the network has to make a profit but what they did to the showing of this classic movie was inexcusable. It was edited down to fit the time slot as any movie on commercial TV would be. Then they showed the film in 10 minute segments separated by 5 minutes of commercials and as if that wasn't bad enough, they showed tag line commercials for two of their upcoming shows on the bottom of the screen while the movie played.

Just what we want to see: Color ads for "The Clash of the Choirs" (whatever that is) and ads for "The Celebrity Apprentice" with Donald Trump plastered on the screen during "It's a Wonderful Life."

I would equate NBC's showing of the movie with someone painting a mustache on the Mona Lisa.

It was done tastelessly but typical of what one could expect from a commercial channel. If you want to see "It's a Wonderful Life" and truly enjoy it, I suggest buying the DVD.