Franken talked about why he was running (doesn’t like the country’s direction, wants to work toward universal health care and energy independence, hopes to help restore America’s standing in the world); about Republican Sen. Norm Coleman’s TV ad attacking Franken’s racier writings (“Norm Coleman doesn’t want to talk about the issues because he has such a terrible record.”); about his energy proposals (would bring more transparency to the oil futures market, sell off part of the Strategic Petroleum reserve to boost supply, invest in renewable energy research and energy conservation).

Travis was worried that Franken, the candidate, would be too serious. But there were plenty of lighter moments. Franken, talking about his USO tours of Iraq and Kuwait, said he kept politics out of the shows, offering his standard joke about the quality of military food: “I’ve had five MREs and none of them seemed to have an exit strategy.”

Or when Travis asked him whether his best experience in the entertainment industry was his work in TV, radio or movies.

“This is my favorite show biz experience,” Franken said.

After the show wrapped up, Travis said he thought the interview had gone well. Bethany Studio Director Chris Johnson was also pleased, saying his emergency fill-in crew did well despite one camera operator’s minor confusion about “right” and “left” when getting instructions from the director.

And the Chinese students, who are leaving Bethany today for their return to United International College in Zhuhai, applauded and smiled. They’d learned plenty during their month in Mankato.

“Most of these students had never been in a TV station before,” Johnson said. “Some of them had never operated a camera.”

“Between the Lines” airs daily at 8 and 1 — both a.m. and p.m. — on Charter channel 14. The Franken interview will begin airing Monday.