A few months ago, Al Roker interviewed Heidi and Spencer (I think they go by the cute couple name "Hencer") on Today and it didn't go well. Well, it didn't go well for Heidi and Spencer; Roker became a hero to many viewers for pretty much not taking the couple seriously at all. Well, the battle has continued on Twitter.
The two stars of The Hills were supposed to be on Today yesterday but were bumped (they did appear on Regis & Kelly this morning though). So Spencer went on Twitter (the new celebrity battleground) and said "WEATHERMAN I thought you were out of town today getting your stomach stapled again? He called Roker "abusive to women" and a "sicko." Roker responded by simply saying that people shouldn't pay attention to haters on Twitter.
Heidi and Spencer have a new book out, How To Be Famous. Tip #1: be complete morons.
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.
NBC News political editor Chuck Todd had a bet with ABC's Jake Tapper about the outcome of the NLCS, and Todd lost. The deal was this: if Todd lost, he's have to shave off his trademark goatee. If Tapper lost, he'd have to grow one. Todd appeared on Today with White House press secretary Robert Gibbs. Did he shave it off?
This is one of the more enjoyable clips you'll see this week. Paula Deen was on the Today Show a few days ago to make some coffee cake, but things got out of hand after some mysterious guy walked onto the set and laid on the ground behind the counter.
Deen gets off one of my favorite lines of the year, wondering where the guy came from. As a bonus, another TV personality makes a random appearance to try some of the cake and Ann Curry acts all Ann Curry-ish.
The funniest part of this video (and there are many funny parts of this video, trust me) is the fact that Spencer wants a copy of NBC's feature about them, completely clueless to the fact that it makes them look really, really bad. Or maybe they just don't care. (And Spencer, believe me, NBC is not the only one saying these things about you). Roker can barely keep in his disgust for these two.
Update:Al made Heidi cry! She advises women to "be careful of him." WTF?
Note to self: if you're picked for jury duty, don't bring a cell phone camera and take pictures.
Yesterday, Today co-host Al Roker was picked for jury duty, and like a lot of people he decided to tweet his adventures in real time for his followers, including taking some pics for his Twitter page. The court never told him he could (he took pics outside the court not the courtroom itself), and when they found out they politely asked him to stop.
Like a lot of Star Trek and classic TV fans, I'll be in line for the new movie when it opens tomorrow (actually, tonight in many cities - check your local listings, as they say). Leonard Nimoy is in it (no, that's not a spoiler), and this morning he sat down to talk with Al Roker on Today (video also here). Roker says that Nimoy put the ears on for the first time in 18 years. Wait, 18 years? That can't be right. I feel old.
Here's a move that I'm surprised nobody thought of earlier. Iconic television weatherman Al Roker will be getting his own show on, get this, The Weather Channel. Wake Up With Al will air at 6 a.m. on weekday mornings and will be co-hosted by Stephanie Abrams. Al will be also continuing his duties on The Today Show.
In the standard workday, it's not unusual to find yourself discussing the weather with co-workers. It's a nice, harmless topic that everyone cares about to some degree. However, to dedicate an entire morning show to it seems excessive (mind you, I feel the same about an entire channel dedicated to it). On the other hand, if you're going to have a host of such a show, the natural choice is Al Roker.
Despite this achievement, I have no plans to consider Al as a serious journalist. Perhaps at some point he can get Mother Nature to appear on his show for an interview and discuss her infidelity with Father Time.
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.
NBC is airing the Super Bowl this year. Sunday's all-day telecast (several hours of pre-game and probably another four or so for the game itself) will feature a wide variety of guests. Which of these guests are not going to be seen during the broadcast?
Keith Olbermann Sarah Palin Tina Fey Top Chef's Tom Colicchio Matt Lauer Al Roker Bruce Springsteen Bob Costas Jay Leno Conan O'Brien
Willard Scott doesn't do much around the Today show these days; except for an occasional week where he subs for Al Roker, all the semi-retired weatherclown (hey, he was a clown once) really does is his periodic shout outs to the nation's centenarians.
But at this point, I'm starting to wonder if those centenarians are more with it than the man who's giving them the tributes.
Almost every time I've seen Scott lately, he seems to mumble his way through the birthdays. While he's always been known for wacky asides and nonsensical ad-libs, they seem to be getting wackier as time goes on. But worst of all, he often falls behind the rotating Smucker's jar graphic that serves up each centenarian's name, location and photo. I mean, if you're a guy who's survived 100 years, don't you at least deserve to not have your face smiling on national TV while the audience is being told that you love wearing frilly dresses to church?
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?
It was all really uncomfortable, obvious and out of place when you are tuning in for news, politics, some pop culture and get NBCU corporate cheerleaders in full pom-pom mode.
Okay, enough ranting; there is some news to report. If the deal goes through -- and it will -- Today weatherman Al Roker may be relocating or he'll be repurposed, becoming the face of The Weather Channel.
This morning, as I watched the Today show, I noticed that they had "team coverage" of the big fire on the Universal Studios back lot. Not only did they have reporter Peter Alexander doing a live remote from the scene, but they decided to send Al Roker, who was in L.A. to tape Celebrity Family Feud, over there, as well. Matt Lauer called the fire "devastating," and Alexander went on to list all the sets that went up in smoke, including the town square from Back to the Future. Oh, and some of the video archives were destroyed, even though there are backups.
All of this was delivered in somber tones, as if this was like those wildfires that have enveloped that part of the country over the last few years. It made you wonder if anyone got hurt. Thankfully, no one did. So why the somber tone? Sure, these sets might have some sentimental value, but they're just fake storefronts. And why have a reporter there if Roker was already available? It makes you scratch your head until you realize that NBC and Universal are corporate siblings.
A few months ago, Al Roker interviewed Heidi and Spencer (I think they go by the cute couple name "Hencer") on Today and it didn't go well. Well, it didn't go well for Heidi and Spencer; Roker became a hero to many viewers for pretty much not taking the couple seriously at all. Well, the battle has continued on Twitter.
Note to self: if you're picked for jury duty, don't bring a cell phone camera and take pictures.
Seeing Brian Williams sitting next to Matt Lauer on 
Willard Scott doesn't do much around the Today show these days; except for an occasional week where he subs for Al Roker, all the semi-retired weatherclown (hey, 
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 
At 8, FOX has a new Cops. 
So, you probably heard that the NBC Universal empire will be expanding by one, once 
This morning, as I watched the 
Mike Henry and Daryl Hall on a Cleveland Show Thanksgiving
The TV Squad Podcast: The Prisoner, '80s TV, soap news and more
Let's talk about spoilers ...
