Hi DaveyRackets,
Get hold of either the Avia calibration DVD or the Sound&Vision Home Theater Tune-Up DVD. The latter is cheaper (Amazon.com) and easier to use than the Avia disc.
Adjust your center channel just loud enough so movie dialog is intelligible but no louder. And it sometimes helps if you move the center speaker back a bit and the main left and right toed in a bit so the three fronts form a gentle arc.
I don't use home theater surround for newscasts, documentary shows or the like, mostly because the studio mikes are lousy (lavalier) and there's lots of distortion on the audio from location reporters. Sometimes I use Surround for sports if they are mixing crowd noise into the surrounds; otherwise, not. Late-night talk shows and SNL sometimes have very clean surround sound.
Lots of older 2-channel Dolby Surround matrix movies can sound very good in Dolby Pro Logic II (if your TV cable box has a digital audio output, use it). Try the Movie and Music modes with each source. One may sound better than the other.
Do you have your surrounds at the sides of the room, up above your ear level? That usually helps envelopment.
Regards,
