TOP3: MSNBC WINDBAGS

IN TWEET: LIKE EVERY BUSHEL, EVEN MY FAVORITE NEWS NETWORK HAS SOME BAD APPLES. HERE’S THREE THAT SPARK THE “CHANGE CHANNEL” REFLEX.

I’ve been a loyal MSNBC viewer since the days when Keith Olbermann was on the schedule and Rachel Maddow was his fill-in. The network has come a long way since its awkward launch in 1996 as a Microsoft/NBC News hybrid. The “MS” hasn’t stood for Microsoft since the company pulled out of the TV portion of the venture in 2005 and what started as a laughing stock has steadily grown to become the number two cable news network.

Over the past few years, MSNBC has staked out a center/left position as a strategic counter to Fox News. In the process,  the walls between the cable network and broadcast baby daddy NBC News have largely been torn down. This has given MSNBC access to a stable of seasoned NBC News vets but it has also created some awkward clashes between the cultures of partisan commentary and old school impartiality.

When you release the Kraken, a few nogoodniks are bound to exploit the beast for selfish reasons. It’s made some of the talking heads at MSNBC think they’re paragons of new journalism and, at the same time, caused a few NBC News staffers to occupy a soap box no one asked them to stand on. While most of the on-air personalities at MSNBC are doing a fine job in their respective roles, here are three worms that should be plucked from the apple.

CHRIS MATTHEWS

Chris Matthews is starting to feel like Olbermann reincarnated (with a light dusting of Bill O’Reilly that tempers his lefty political tendencies). I used to be a fan of Matthews, even looking past that ball of spit in the corner of his mouth and his tendency to chew more of his words than he speaks. However, since the last election, he’s mutated into an erratic curmudgeon with an annoying habit of cutting off any guest whenever he feels the need to blurt out whatever pops into his head.

Matthews has also become one of those commentators who really believes he’s god’s gift. When your mind begins to think like a press release you wrote for yourself, all pretense of humility goes out the window. If Matthews isn’t lavishing ridiculous praise on guests (mostly just for showing up) he’s making grandiose proclamations and predictions that run the gamut from odd to downright loony.

THE ED SHOW coming back to weeknights and knocking Matthews down to a single hour at 7PM was a welcome change. Of anyone currently filling an evening slot on MSNBC, Chris Matthews is the one weak link in the chain. I’m definitely not playing HARDBALL anymore.

CHUCK TODD

Remember the old saying “who died and made you boss?” Well, Chuck Todd has fast become the living, breathing embodiment of that very question. He’s loud, loutish and arrogant; a massive ass hat you can’t help but want to smack square across his doughy face. Of course, Todd is so in love with himself, he’d probably mistake the gesture for a sign of passionate adoration.

Unlike class acts Pete Williams and Richard Engel, Chuckie never met a news item he didn’t have an opinion about. He can’t just report a story because, in Chuckletown, he IS the story. Todd has gone from journalist to commentator to center of the known universe, often in the span of a single appearance on MORNING JOE. He pontificates, bloviates and just plain grates, all while managing to never lose the smug smirk of dickishness that is his calling card. When Todd makes a mistake or misspeaks he does what any classic twit would do: more of the same.

If you want to see what large swaths of the hoi polloi think of Lord Chuckalot, just do a Twitter search of his name. He has the distinction of doing something no elected official can these days: uniting people left, right and center. Too bad that unity is based on showering Todd with comments that make mine here look kind by comparison.

LUKE RUSSERT

Luke Russert is the Jaden Smith of the news world. He’s proof that a famous papa is often all you need to score a plum gig you have absolutely zero talent for. If I ran Google and you Googled “nepotism bad,” Luke Russert would occupy at least the first half dozen pages of search results. Plain and simple, he’s an affront to journalism (and kind of a jerk, to boot).

Let’s see..what bugs me most about Li’l Lukie? I’m not sure if it’s the blank stare of his squinty rat eyes, the ever-present look of constipation on his face or the nagging feeling that every time I see him on camera it still seems like I’m watching his audition tape. Russert has a talent for stating the obvious (but acting as though he's showering us with pearls of wisdom) and I suspect that every time he mentions one of his “sources” what he’s really talking about is the search engine on his office computer.

Truth be told, I never bought into the myth that Tim Russert, Luke’s daddy, was all that. He seemed like a pleasant enough guy who was, at best, a competent journalist. There is no doubt in my mind that Li’l Lukie would not be stinking up TV news if his famous father hadn’t died suddenly. I have no problem with someone using an “in” to get a leg up on the competition but, when you have no business being a journalist and your head is so inflated that you’re incapable of seeing how badly your shit does indeed stink, that’s where I draw the line.

LEGACY: ANNETTE FUNICELLO

IN TWEET: ANNETTE FUNICELLO, ONE OF THE ORIGINAL MOUSKETEERS AND STAR OF CAMP CLASSICS LIKE “BEACH BLANKET BINGO,” DIED TODAY AT AGE 70.

America watched Annette Funicello grow up on television as one of the original Mousketeers on the wildly popular MICKEY MOUSE CLUB. Unlike many of her peers, she made a successful transition from child actor to teen icon to box office star. Funicello defined the “beach party” genre that also defined a good chunk of the early to mid 1960’s.

She was the lead in campy classics like HOW TO STUFF A WILD BIKINI and, paired with Frankie Avalon, the duo created a sensation in seminal genre hits like BEACH BLANKET BINGO.

Funicello was a triple threat who could sing, dance and act. Perhaps because of the roles she played in films and on television, she never got the respect she deserved. Still, that’s not what her career was really all about and that’s not a bad thing. Annette Funicello symbolized youth, fun and the free spirit that lives in all of us. She was also a kind and decent person who did more than age gracefully. She made us laugh and smile and, even when battling her own MS, exuded an infectious air of warmth and dignity.

Bob Iger, Chairman and CEO of the Walt Disney Company, said it best today: “Annette was and always will be a cherished member of the Disney family, synonymous with the word Mousketeer, and a true Disney legend. She will forever hold a place in our hearts as one of Walt Disney’s brightest stars, delighting an entire generation of baby boomers with her jubilant personality and endless talent. Annette was well known for being as beautiful inside as she was on the outside, and she faced her physical challenges with dignity, bravery and grace. All of us at Disney join with family, friends, and fans around the world in celebrating her extraordinary life.”

CLICK HERE for a  tribute to Annette Funicello from the Los Angeles Times.

Annette Funicello was a fan favorite her entire life, something very few celebrities experience or deserve. She certainly was more than worthy of our adoration. Perhaps the most fitting tribute to Funicello is a celebration of the fun that symbolized her career. So, put on your virtual bikini or board shorts and take a trip BACK TO THE BEACH with the title sequence from one of my favorite guilty pleasures: BEACH BLANKET BINGO.

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TRIBUTE: VALERIE HARPER

IN TWEET: VALERIE HARPER ANNOUNCES SHE HAS TERMINAL BRAIN CANCER. JOIN RONTHINK FOR A CELEBRATION OF HER AMAZING LIFE.

 

Growing up in the 70’s meant coming of age during a comedy renaissance on television. It was an era of major social upheaval; a decade that laid the foundation for the modern chapters of the civil rights movement, fueled the second wave of the feminist movement and gave real momentum to the fight for gay rights and marriage equality.

 

ALL IN THE FAMILY, GOOD TIMES, THE JEFFERSONS, SANFORD AND SON, CHICO AND THE MAN, MAUDE, THE MARY TYLER MOORE SHOW and RHODA were sit-coms that also held a mirror up to society. Through these now iconic series, once taboo or little discussed subjects like race relations, the plight of the poor, divorce, rape, homosexuality and women in the workplace  were suddenly broadcast into living rooms across the country. From controversial episodes like the Maude’s (Bea Arthur) decision to get an abortion (a TV first, to this day) to the attempted rape of Edith (Jean Stapleton) on ALL IN THE FAMILY, comedy in the 1970’s could indeed be very dramatic.

 

The territory covered by THE MARY TYLER MOORE SHOW and spin-off RHODA was decidedly on a more sunny side of the topical street but no less important. In both series the central characters were smart, single career women. They were also close friends who certainly dated quite a bit but were never defined by men or reduced to pathetic man hunters. Rhoda, played by Valerie Harper, also happened to be Jewish. VERY Jewish; something quite ordinary behind the scenes in Hollywood but still surprisingly rare on television at that time. Rhoda did eventually get married (in the spin-off) and also divorced, another taboo topic off the no-no list.

 

Watching many of these shows now, it’s almost shocking to see how freely topics that we still grapple with were discussed with a frankness and honesty that would probably not clear the S&P process today. Hearing Archie Bunker call someone a “fag” on ALL IN THE FAMILY or an episode of THE JEFFERSONS where the word “nigger” is bandied about would have many people in a tizzy if they aired tonight. Of course, those shows were expertly written and well-cast with talented folks who knew how to stoke controversy without exploiting it.

 

Valerie Harper was part of something special. A creative revolution of sorts, the likes of which we may never see again on the major broadcast networks. Harper announced yesterday that she has leptomeningeal carcinomatosis, a rare and terminal form of brain cancer. She believes she has as little as three months to live. It was devastating news for friends of Harper’s and fans like me.

 

While the news from Harper is indeed sad, she is still with us and has already amassed a body of work worth celebrating. I’ve pulled together a collection of links to great articles and posts that do just that along with one of my favorite full episodes of the spin-off RHODA (from Hulu). Note to to TV trivia buffs…run a stop watch during the opening credits of the series and try to find any modern TV show that would be afforded the same luxury of time.

 

CLICK HERE to visit Valerie Harper’s official website.

 

CLICK HERE to tour Los Angeles with Harper as your guide (from LA Magazine).

 

CLICK HERE to re-live some of Harper’s best television moments (from The Daily Beast).

 

CLICK HERE for a retrospective of Harper’s life before and after RHODA, in her own words (from The Washington Post)

 

CLICK HERE to buy Harper’s new book I, RHODA (from Amazon.com)

 

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