There's an awkward silence a couple of minutes in as each character is introduced. Lauer gets off a funny line about why he was late.
Meredith Vieira-related stories
Today Show's Halloween: Matt is Luke, Ann is Darth, and Hoda is Yoda
This morning, the Today gang dressed up for Halloween like they do every year, and this year it was a Star Wars theme. Besides the characters mentioned above, we have Meredith as Princess Leia, Kathie Lee as C3P0, Natalie as Amidala, Al as Han Solo and many Storm Troopers.
There's an awkward silence a couple of minutes in as each character is introduced. Lauer gets off a funny line about why he was late.
There's an awkward silence a couple of minutes in as each character is introduced. Lauer gets off a funny line about why he was late.
Ann Curry is so... Ann Curry-ish
NBC just sent me a series of photos showing the interviews that will be conducted during the network's "A Woman's Nation" series. As part of the series, NBC, CNBC and MSNBC personalities will interview each other about "the state of women in American life," as the accompanying press release has stated.
In most of the pics, the pairs -- Andrea Mitchell/Rachel Maddow, Kathie Lee Gifford/Jenna Bush Hager, Mika Brzezinski/Hoda Kotb, Natalie Morales/Suze Orman -- sit on the comfy chairs, legs crossed. As you can see from the pic above, Ann Curry, who's paired up with Meredith Vieira, wants to be different: shoes off, feet tucked under her rear end. She's really into this conversation, know what I mean? She's listening. She's comfortable.
It's so Ann Curry, isn't it?
Continue reading Ann Curry is so... Ann Curry-ish
Sneak Peek: tonight's 30 Rock (bonus: Tina kisses someone from Today)
Tina Fey was on The Today Show this morning to promote the new season of 30 Rock (tonight at 9:30 on NBC), and besides showing a clip from the episode, Fey kisses someone from the morning show.
But that's OK. Meredith Vieria kisses Tracy Morgan too. What the hell is going on over at NBC? [Watch full episodes and clips of 30 Rock and other shows at SlashControl.]
But that's OK. Meredith Vieria kisses Tracy Morgan too. What the hell is going on over at NBC? [Watch full episodes and clips of 30 Rock and other shows at SlashControl.]
Why are the ladies of The View always kissing each other?
This week on The View, the ladies were talking about how to avoid getting the swine flu. The discussion began with ways to handle (or not handle, as the case may be) guests, to reduce the amount of germs passed from one human to another. Or something. Anyway, during the course of the bit, Joy offered several options, including the elbow-bump, the knuckle-bump, and -- getting progressively worse -- the hand-shake, the body hug, an air kiss, and then a full-out kiss on the mouth. She proceeds to demonstrate this on Whoopi Goldberg.
My question is this: Why do the ladies of The View always end up kissing each other on the mouth? Ok, "always" is a pretty strong word, but there was the Meredith Vieira / Barbara Walters smooch, and I'm sure others in between that one and this one between Joy and Whoopi.
Continue reading Why are the ladies of The View always kissing each other?
America's Got Talent: Audition show 10
(S04E10) "We've saved the best for last." - Nick about this being the last audition episode
The last America's Got Talent audition episode not only featured loads of good performances -- sadly, most shown in a quick montage -- but also an interview with Britain's Got Talent's Susan Boyle. The "Susan Boyle - Daring to Dream" interview with Meredith Vieira depicted well Susan's path to fame and her life struggles, but I would have preferred to have seen Boyle perform live on the show during one of the performance episodes in August. Then the contestants could have interacted with someone who went very far in the competition and be inspired by her story, as well as show that everyday people who truly have talent can become stars.
Before we get to my two cents about tonight's performances, I wanted to point out that contestant Shaunie, who performed a unique singing number in last night's episode, dropped by the comments section in my review of Audition show 9 to share the link to his YouTube channel so you can watch more of his talent.
Continue reading America's Got Talent: Audition show 10
Breaking News: Betty White still not dead
I was watching Today's coverage of the Michael Jackson funeral yesterday, and after Michael Okwu's report about memorial preparation, I had to quickly rewind it (thank you DVRs) to make sure I heard what I thought I did. And I did. Okwu was listing some of the famous people buried at Forest Lawn, and he included Betty White. Meredith Vieira corrected a clearly confused Okwu, saying he probably meant Bette Davis.
Other people who are not buried at Forest Lawn: Betty Buckley and Ugly Betty.
Other people who are not buried at Forest Lawn: Betty Buckley and Ugly Betty.
A day in the (former) life of Jay Leno
I'm not sure why Today ran this segment this morning. You'd think that a "day in the life of Jay Leno" feature would run when he starts his The Tonight Show, not when he's one day from ending it forever. This isn't going to be his day anymore. I hope they do one for Conan when he takes over the show. Anyway, we get to see Leno from morning until the taping of his show (and what he does when taping ends, which is still more work). (Video also here.)
Millionaire returning to ABC this August (with Reege!)
Remember when Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? was the prime time sensation, a timely game show that people actually talked about the next day, and then ABC ran it so much they ruined the whole thing? Well, ABC is bringing the show back for a limited run this August, and Regis Philbin will host once again. In celebration, here's a bunch of videos of people blowing easy early questions.
Continue reading Millionaire returning to ABC this August (with Reege!)
Matt Lauer takes a tumble
If you tuned in to Today this morning expecting to see Matt Lauer, you were disappointed. But Matt wasn't off on another world wind tour of Asia or South America or the Baja Peninsula. No, the intrepid NBC host had a serious bike accident which sent him flying over the handlebars. According to co-host Meredith Vieira, Matt was biking at his Long Island home over the weekend when he had a run-in with a deer!
Continue reading Matt Lauer takes a tumble
30 Rock: The Bubble
(S03E15) "His video game made a fortune and he invested all of it in a company that dismantles bank signs. They're doing very well." - Jack, about TracyI have to really disagree with Jack and Cerie: Liz Lemon is a bubble person.
Sure, Cerie is hot, but Jack himself admits that he hasn't been great looking since he was 25 and still had really blue eyes. They think Liz is merely nice and "pleasant looking"? That's crazy talk. Tina Fey is a bubble person.
That's a line I never thought I'd actually type, but she is. She really is. Liz should get what she wants a lot more than she does.
Continue reading 30 Rock: The Bubble
Yes, Stephen Colbert has Twatted - VIDEOS
I constantly wonder what they're thinking over at NBC.If you missed it this morning, Stephen Colbert was on the Today show to talk about his role in the new animated movie Monsters vs. Aliens and The Colbert Report shows that he is going to be doing from The Persian Gulf. As usual, he was his funny self, even saying he was irritated that the show wasn't doing "Where in the World is Matt Lauer?" this year (he's hoping one day they really will lose him somewhere around the globe).
At the end of the interview, Vieira asked him if he knew what Twitter was and if he was on it. Colbert answered "yes, I have Twatted." The crew got a nice chuckle out of it, but you can see from the video (after the jump) that when NBC posted in online, they took that section out! Really? Come on, it's not that bad.
Here's Colbert's Twitter. He hasn't updated it in a while. The "offensive" part has been caught on video and it's after the jump too. I think Vieira's response was even more suggestive.
Continue reading Yes, Stephen Colbert has Twatted - VIDEOS
You might want to watch Millionaire today - VIDEO
Remember when the prime time version of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire was the buzz-worthy show on the air? That was before ABC said "hey, we have a big hit here so let's run it into the ground." The show then started airing too much and the episodes were filmed too far ahead of time (it was so much more exciting when the dates for the filming of the show and the airing of the show were really close to each other) and it just became another game show. Now there's a daytime version with Meredith Vieira, and they've made several changes to the show. But are fans still watching?You might want to watch today's episode. Former Jeopardy! champion Roger Storm looks like he might be going far if the video after the jump is any clue. It also asks us to watch today's episode, so maybe he just might win that million dollars?
Spoiler follows after the jump (though the title of the video is misleading.)
Continue reading You might want to watch Millionaire today - VIDEO
Brian Williams puts in his hour at Today - VIDEOS
Seeing Brian Williams sitting next to Matt Lauer on Today was a bit disconcerting, wasn't it? I knew NBC was having some budget problems, but I didn't realize how thin of a bench they actually had. Williams subbed in for Meredith Vieira, but only stayed on the show for an hour, as I'd imagine he'd rather spend the 8:00 hour putting together tonight's Nightly News lineup than talk about ten ways to keep your car running or what Drew Peterson ate for breakfast.Anyway, Williams was at times a bit too stuffy for the morning gig, but his famous sense of humor showed through a number of times, including the clips after the jump. The first one is a clip reel of some strangely homoerotic interplay between Williams and Lauer, which Al Roker called "a Whitman's Sampler of man candy." The second one is of Lauer, Williams, and Natalie Morales making their Oscar picks.
Continue reading Brian Williams puts in his hour at Today - VIDEOS
Ann Curry: Today's lovable nut talks about climbing Kilimanjaro
Something about Today's Ann Curry has always struck me as odd. Don't get me wrong; she seems like a nice woman and a hell of a journalist. But something about the way she answers questions, how she gets chummy and touchy-feely with people she's just met, and how she always chooses to go on needlessly life-threatening assignments makes me think that she's not quite all there.Her November climb up Mount Kilimanjaro furthered this notion. Yes, it was nice to see how the glaciers on the African mountain were affected by climate change, but couldn't we have seen it using an airplane and a high-powered spy camera? Did Ann and her crew really need to climb the toughest route up the mountain during the most treacherous time of the year to get the story?
Well, it was absolutely necessary, as she tells TV Week in an entertainingly wacky interview about the assignment.
Continue reading Ann Curry: Today's lovable nut talks about climbing Kilimanjaro
Changes to Millionaire: New lifelines, funky music ... and a clock?
Anyone who's read TV Squad for any period of time knows that we have a bunch of game show fans here. OK, maybe it's just me and Bob. But we've been watching game shows for years and know what works and what doesn't. A challenging premise that allows the viewer to play along? That works. Picking numbered cases at random? That doesn't (at least not after the first five episodes, anyway).So, when I heard about the changes that were coming to the syndicated Who Wants to be a Millionaire?, I wanted to reserve judgment until I saw them. Now that Meredith Vieira's smiling face has graced my TV for the seventh season opener, I can say that I like most of the changes ... except for one. The new graphics and music are fine, the new lifelines make more sense (more on those in a second). But now there's a clock.
Yeah, you heard me; the show that once let contestants take as much time as they wanted to answer very tough questions now adds the pressure of a time limit. And that's not a good thing.
Continue reading Changes to Millionaire: New lifelines, funky music ... and a clock?
Andy Richter: The TV Squad Interview
Have any questions for Vik Sahay of Chuck? Ask them here!
Mike Henry and Daryl Hall on a Cleveland Show Thanksgiving
