Editing and post-production take a few more weeks, she says, and the show's producers must edit until the "last minute" to maintain their six episode-per-semester schedule.

But the show's season premiere this fall only drew about 30 audience members to Loker, according to Dedeo. And that, she says, is an improvement over last year's draw.

"That's just the audience from a lot of cast members telling their friends," she says.

Dedeo says that the low turnout is particularly frustrating to cast members and producers of the show.

"We have a lot of freshman in the cast, and it makes it easier to get freshmen over there," she says. "Getting upperclassmen to go to Loker has been a problem."

Hussain says that HRTV has used all forms of publicity in the past--from kiosk posters to the LED board in Loker.

The posters disappeared last year, Hussain says, because "the campus was reaching posturing saturation" and he was satisfied with the size of their audience.

But HRTV posters will probably return soon, as the Internet expansion takes shape.

"We need to expand the fan base again," Hussain says.

Merlin's Money

That's why Kosberg stormed into office this fall with big dreams--whether through the newly installed common room cable or through new Internet technology. He was determined to get HRTV productions beamed into student dorms.

"Everything feeds on each other," he says. "We can make better-quality shows if more people see them. Web broadcasting is something everyone can access.

HRTV has been receiving technical and financial assistance for the Internet multicasting project from Doyle, who runs a media company called New Media Labs from his Cambridge home.

Doyle's claim to fame was the hand-held game Merlin, which he invented in the 1970s. Merlin, an electronic game similar to Simon, was marketed by Parket Brothers and featured on the cover of Newsweek when it debuted in 1978. About 5 million were sold, according to Doyle.

Doyle acknowledges that he "made quite a bit of money" from the success of Merlin and has since donated an estimated $15,000 worth of equipment to HRTV.