One of the not-quite-perks that goes with the critic's job is taking tips from the public.

More often than not, the calls are simple: you're settling a bet (yes, Bill Cosby had a TV sitcom before his '80s-era hit where he played a phys ed teacher) or telling people whe their favorite show comes back (the one person in the Tampa Bay area who watches Fox's Standoff called to find it returns in April)

Occasionally, you get a good idea (This story, for example, came from a reader tip).  And then there are the borderline cases.

This morning, a reader called to complain about a commercial area Lexus dealers are airing featuring Trunk Monkeys. In the first commercials, for Suburban auto group, these were chimps who would jump from the trunk to solve common driver problems -- road ragers or problem kids, for example.  As an anti-theft device, the monkey would jump out of the trunk, knock out the thief and dump his body in the river "because sometimes getting your car back is simply not enough." Cute.

But a caller complained today about this commercial featuring the "pediatric edition" of the trunk monkey. When I pressed the caller to explain his objections, he wouldn't go into details, telling me to find the commercial and see for myself.

Well, I did, and assuming the guy wasn't yanking my chain, I have no idea what he's talking about. What do you think?