Last modified: Tuesday, May 2, 2006 12:21 AM EDT REILLY: Our TV freedom is under attack Today, I'd like to address one of the most significant threats to the American way of life since the introduction of the designated hitter. Do I mean $3 per gallon gasoline? I do not. Do I mean terrorism? A minor annoyance. Do I mean government spying? Of course not. (And I'd like whoever is keeping track of these things at the Homeland Security Department to note that I said that.) I mean a real challenge to Americans' most basic liberties and rights. I speak, of course, about our freedom to watch TV without commercials. Many years ago, in the days when dinosaurs (ABC, NBC, CBS) walked the earth, we were denied this basic human right. Then, in order to watch such important events as national political conventions, major sporting contests and Milton Berle dressed as a woman, we had no choice but to sit through up to several minutes worth of so-called `` advertising'' that frequently consisted of Ed Herlihy telling us how to make an entire 12-course dinner using only Kraft American processed cheese. Then came a technological revolution. The home video cassette recorder allowed viewers to tape programs for viewing at their convenience. In the early days, these devices were of limited practicality since they were slightly larger than the average carport and could only be programmed by specially trained technicians from the Los Alamos National Laboratory. Eventually, the VCR evolved to the point where it could fit into most American homes and could be operated by any average homeowner with several advanced engineering degrees. But, eventually, scientists working around the clock developed recording systems like TiVo that allowed viewers to simply record and play back programs at will. That not only meant that viewers would never again have to suffer through missing an episode of `` Masterpiece Theater'' or face the agony of a choice between `` Pepper Dennis'' and `` Family Guy,'' they would also be able to `` fast forward'' through parts of the show they did not like, such as commercials or any segment involving John Stamos. So, for years, Americans have enjoyed hitting the `` FF'' button and blitzing through ads for overpriced autos, home gyms and personal hygiene products or just using the remote to channel surf when a commercial came on. You didn't think they were going to let you get away with that, did you? According to a recent story by the Associated Press, scientists at Royal Philips Electronics in the Netherlands `` have created a technology that could let broadcasters freeze a channel during a commercial, so viewers wouldn't be able to avoid it.'' In a scientific understatement (rivaled only by J. Robert Oppenheimer saying, `` It's going to be pretty loud'' ), `` Philips acknowledged that the anti-channel changing technology might not sit well with consumers and suggested in its patent filing that consumers be allowed to avoid the feature if they paid broadcasters a fee.'' Meaning that you would pay not to watch a commercial. Which brings up a real question: How much to let me not watch TV altogether? rdrtrdrsrdrw15rsp140 TOM REILLY is a Sun Chronicle news editor who would be willing to take out a small loan if he didn't have to watch `` Deal or No Deal.'' He can be reached at 508-236-0332 or at treilly(at)thesunchronicle.com