All Episodes Talk: TRMS 2022 Season

[tessaray]

Discuss 2022 episodes of The Rachael Maddow Show here. Usual rules apply; discuss the show; personal politics will get a post removed, and repeated violations may result in further sanctions. Thank you! 

Questions?  Contact @thewhiteowl or @tessaray.

[shok]

What a wonderful interview Rachel did with Jamie Raskin yesterday. The tears were rolling down my cheeks when he was talking so bravely and lovingly about his Tommy. Raskin is a marvelous writer from the excerpts that Rachel read. I'm going to order the book tomorrow.

[Hanahope]

it was good.  i do wish that Raskin had answered what they could have done had they known about the violence threat, and why they didn't know about it - it was all over the internet

[catlover79]

Last night was the return of Rachel's home studio (due to technical difficulties, we didn't see her regular set-up, as per Rachel):

[freddi]

I thought the Thursday show was supposed to be an extravaganza about the Biden speech -- didn't Lawrence O'D say he would be watching from home in a "semi-reclining" position?   But it became a show from Rachel's bunker? 

Also, I thought the guest host on Friday had hosted for Rachel previously, but Jonathan Capehart congratulated him on his first 9:00 Friday show.  

And Rachel is back on Monday -- thanks for telling us!  

[ahisma]

Rachel must have been in heaven over the A block. Heists AND Presidential history? Together?! What could be cooler?!!

[possibilities]

For the bulk of that story, I was wondering why it was news, why she was spending time on it. I've learned there's usually a reason with Rachel, but the story was full of the kind of juicy tidbits that I did consider she might have just been talking about it because it struck her fancy.

[freddi]

At the end of the Thursday show, Rachel said that "Mehdi Hasan will be sitting in for me tomorrow."  I don't think I have ever heard her announce in advance that she would be taking Friday off and noting who would replace her.

This might be part of the more flexible plan I keep reading that she wants in order to remain with the show.  I have to say that I appreciate knowing the Friday host in advance.  Even though he is not on my favorites list.  

[possibilities]

I am liking Medhi more and more lately. I like Rachel better, but she's better than all the others because she does a completely different format than any of the others. LOD has been skipping Fridays for a long time now. If this is Rachel's new normal, I'll miss her, but 4 days a week is better than none. I wonder, also, if they're testing out who will replace her. I wish they'd TRAIN people to do what she does, instead of just seeing which person gets the best ratings to just continue the same format they use on every other hour of the day.

[ahisma]

The one thing I don’t like about any of the guys who replace her—and they do a great job otherwise—is that they always cut off the guests. They say something like, “Thank you for speaking with us tonight,” then immediately start the next story. Meanwhile, the guest’s “Thank you” is awkwardly run over. It happens very occasionally with Rachel, but she does give a second of pause and it’s usually a sound delay issue. With the guys it just sounds like they’re summarily dismissing the guest and ignoring/talking over them. I guess the producers should just start immediately cutting off the guest feed the second the “Thank you for coming” is over, whenever there’s a guest host. 

[gatopretoNYC]

It wasn't Mehdi Hasan who filled in Friday. It was Ayman Mohyeldin. He interviewed a representative of the Irish fishermen.

 

https://www.irishcentral.com/culture/craic/irish-fishermen-russian-navy-rachel-maddow

 

Also, the Irish fishermen, or to quote Lawrence O'Donnell, "the Murphys" have won the battle.

https://www.irishcentral.com/news/irish-fishermen-defeat-russian-navy

Edited January 31, 2022 by gatopretoNYC

[possibilities]

I know that. I dislike Ayman intensely,  but I am liking Medhi more and more. Medhi has been filling in elsewhere and I used to dislike him but am liking him more lately, so if they are going to have a Friday guest host, I am wishing it was him and not Ayman.

[tessaray]

I'm putting this here because it affects the show. (Any discussion of non-TRMS projects should go in Rachel's personal topic.)

Basically the show will have rotating hosts while Rachel is on hiatus for several weeks months. (April? That's a long break imo.)

https://deadline.com/2022/01/rachel-maddow-to-take-hiatus-1234923178/ 

[ScoobieDoobs]

I'm very conflicted about Rachel's "break"  Look, she seems excited about it & that's lovely for her.  But it really makes me very anxious.  The Repubs have their well-established propaganda/bullshit network in Fox that consistently gets the best ratings in cable.  And the other side?  CNN's ratings have always been meh & since Cuomo left, and their inability to find a decent replacement, their ratings have stunk.

MSNBC needs Rachel badly.  There are way too many hosts that are really not good (lookin' right at ya, Hayes the racoon).  Melber is snotty & annoying as hell, Chuck Toad has needed to get the boot for far too long, Andrea Mitchell should be retired, Katy Tur is good but is likely to take more time off to have more kids.  Joy Reid is OK but she often goes too far & makes herself fodder for Fox & the like.  LOD is great but his good ratings were likely coming from Rach.

So what will become of MSNBC when Rach leaves Thursday?  The network is likely to become a hodge-podge of rotating hosts.  So viewers won't know at all who to watch when.  To me, that spells disaster -- and ratings will certainly sink like a stone.  Ugh.  I blame the execs at MSNBC (or was it NBC/Universal?) that made this deal with Rach.  She probably forced them into it.  Honestly, I don't think anyone is gonna come out of this a winner.

I get what Rachel wanted to do -- she wanted more time off & she wanted to do other types media, including podcasts.  You know, the format of TV has not changed much.  Podcasts rarely offer the same power & influence that a regular TV show can.  Joe Rogan is an extremely rare exception to that.

Can Rachel maintain the same influence with a podcast, as she has with her TV show?  Maybe, but not if it's once a week or even less frequent, as she seems to want to do.  Joe Rogan is on 3 hours every day.  Doesn't sound like Rach wants to do that.  Can she build an audience as large as his without the same frequency?  Idk, maybe yes, maybe no.  I'm hoping she'll change her mind & want to go back to her TV show, even if just for 3 or 4 times per week, particularly if she sees Dems are struggling before the election this year & as Biden continues to struggle with messaging & low approval numbers.

Edited February 1, 2022 by ScoobieDoobs

[tessaray]

8 hours ago, ScoobieDoobs said:

MSNBC needs Rachel badly.  There are way too many hosts that are really not good (lookin' right at ya, Hayes the racoon).  Melber is snotty & annoying as hell, Chuck Toad has needed to get the boot for far too long, Andrea Mitchell should be retired, Katy Tur is good but is likely to take more time off to have more kids.  Joy Reid is OK but she often goes too far & makes herself fodder for Fox & the like.  LOD is great but his good ratings were likely coming from Rach.

Well, I do like Chris Hayes but otherwise agree that the list of potential substitute hosts is uninspiring. 

[meowmommy]

On 2/1/2022 at 12:44 AM, ScoobieDoobs said:

MSNBC needs Rachel badly.  There are way too many hosts that are really not good

This is the network that is so shallow in the bench that their idea of compensating for Stephanie Ruhle going into Bri-Wi's slot is to add an extra hour to the already bloated incompetence that is Morning Joe.

They have nobody.  Nobody.  And certainly nobody who's going to compete with Hannity.  Nicolle would have been their best choice from the current stable, but with kids, she probably doesn't want to work in prime time.

[FoundTime]

A friend who identifies as libertarian heard the news about Rachel and sent me an article from Yahoo News that Tucker Carlson has experienced a ratings surge thanks to Dems in the 25 to 54 demo, which is utterly mystifying to me. I do think Rachel's ratings are going to fall off a cliff starting next week.

Is anyone here going to watch TFRMS (The Faux RM Show) long-term? I am really not sure what I am going to do. Her writers clearly have a "house style" that the guest hosts "deliver," but it always seems a bit lacking without Rachel's unique energy. 

[ahisma]

I always listen (I follow via the podcast), even when Rachel is off. I still want to know the news at the deeper level the show provides. 

[ScoobieDoobs]

Rachel was (in her sign-off) trying not to make a big deal out of her being away from the show, but sorry, I wasn't buying it all.  She's not gonna be away for a week or 2.  She said she won't be back "regularly" until April, and before then, only making an appearance maybe once or twice.  To me, that spells the end of this show as of now. 

Idk, I'm still hoping she's gonna realize very quickly, if she only appears sporadically, with no regularity at all, her influence is just gonna evaporate.  And I hope that'll bother her & motivate her to appear on the network more often, maybe even take the show back -- cuz there is just nobody that can replace her, to counter the Fox fools.

I watched a little of Ali on Friday nite.  He's very good, but he's not Rachel.  I doubt I'll be watching much.  I wonder if the show's ratings are gonna completely crater.  Anderson Cooper seems to mostly be filling in now for Cuomo on CNN, as that network falters, so the RM show doesn't even have much competition with AC. 

Welp, Rach, you may be very excited & happy about leaving this show, but just keep in mind, so is Hannity, Carlson, the rest of the Fox idiots, Rupert Murdoch, Trump, Trumpers, anti-vaxers, and maybe all Republicans.  I'd bet Putin is probably thrilled too!  Rachel was particularly pointed, hard & focused on Putin very regularly, as she was Thursday, which I considered her last show (ugh).

Edited February 5, 2022 by ScoobieDoobs

[possibilities]

I agree she fills an important role and no one so far has stepped up to replace her in that project. At the same time, I don't think she should be a martyr. If the entire fate of democracy dangles on the thread of one TV host, we're doomed anyway.

What really needs to happen is that people need to be motivated and train in how she does what she does. There's clearly a market, since her show has been the highest rated one on the network. But it's just lazy and easy to throw together unresearched opinion panels and yammer away doing a half-assed job, so that's what mostly happens.

 

[ScoobieDoobs]

Well, Idk if we’re that dependent on whether Rachel fades out or not.  My point was —  I don’t think this deal she put together with NBC is gonna work.  Either you’re all in (or mostly in) or not.  But to do specials once in a blue moon is bullshit.

Rachel has hinted how exhausting her schedule has been been & we don’t have a clue just how intense it’s been for her.  Sounds like she’s tired & needs a break — and has realized she just can’t physically continue what she’s been doing.  Guess it’s wait & see if she can continue to be a powerful influence in a way she can also manage to be happy with.

 

[possibilities]

The movie she's working on during her hiatus has big names attached to it, and I suspect it will get a fair amount of viewing. It may be that a movie you can watch in one sitting gets her more influence than a show you have to watch nightly to keep up with. 

Or, if not more influence, than at least some influence, and with an audience that doesn't necessarily watch MSNBC. 

[FoundTime]

On 2/5/2022 at 12:22 AM, ScoobieDoobs said:

I watched a little of Ali on Friday nite.  He's very good, but he's not Rachel.

I deleted the series recording from my DVR, and then "Just when I thought I was out..." I wound up watching the show Friday night. I like Ali the best of the guest hosts; I think Aymon tries too hard to be casual and it doesn't suit him, and the less said about Ari Melber, the better.

Rachel's "special sauce" is, I think, almost impossible to duplicate. It's a combination of deep research, dogged persistence, connect-the-dots, 25-minute-long openers, and Rachel's own personality and energy. To me all of the Good Journalism would be nothing without the personality that's gone along with it these many years. I have a lot of confidence in her staff, but I just don't know how sustainable The Rachel Maddow Show is without Rachel Maddow. I'm not saying it's a cult of personality or anything, but the reality is that we choose who we let into our homes on our TV screens, so personality is a factor.

[tessaray]

I feel like Rachel's situation is mirroring Jon Stewart leaving the Daily Show. While Western civilization won't collapse without her, I'm pretty sure Jon not skewering politicians on a regular basis was a gift to some of them. 

Many of her stories make it impossible for tpbt to ignore or bury them. I can't see any of the substitutes having that kind of impact. There's just something different about the intros and Rachel's storytelling that makes me want to tune in.  

It's too bad Keith Olbermann is ... well, Keith Olbermann.  He would be my fantasy substitute.  Everything coming full circle. 

[SG429]

A personality-driven and -promoted program kind of loses its appeal when the titular (heh heh he said titular) personality disappears. Ratings out today seem to support that.

[possibilities]

I agree, but it's kind of too bad. Ali has been delivering scripts that honestly feel like they were written for Rachel, and they were really good ones this week. But I still find it's not the same. And I like Ali!

[FoundTime]

On 2/10/2022 at 1:55 AM, possibilities said:

I agree, but it's kind of too bad. Ali has been delivering scripts that honestly feel like they were written for Rachel, and they were really good ones this week. But I still find it's not the same. And I like Ali!

I think the house writing style is for Rachel's voice, so the scripts are always going to sound like they were written for her. It then becomes a matter of which guest host can deliver them best.

On tonight's show, OMG Amy Klobuchar looked like she had a glam makeover! I think all she did was change her hairstyle, but I could barely concentrate on what she was saying, she looked so different.

[possibilities]

I thoguht Friday's report on the "Trucker Protests" was great. It told me things I didn't know, like the history of trucks being used in protests in Chile. I also thought the perspective on how few actual people it takes to disrupt society when using big "guns" like giant trucks was highly instructive. Plus, warning about how this kind of minority leverage can destroy a country... people need to think very hard about that message. 

I really thought it was an important and well-presented show tonight.

 

[ScoobieDoobs]

On 2/7/2022 at 4:56 PM, possibilities said:

The movie she's working on during her hiatus has big names attached to it, and I suspect it will get a fair amount of viewing. It may be that a movie you can watch in one sitting gets her more influence than a show you have to watch nightly to keep up with. 

Or, if not more influence, than at least some influence, and with an audience that doesn't necessarily watch MSNBC. 

I don’t agree.  Movies come & go & tend to be easily forgotten.  And political movies?  And by Ben Stiller, whose peak has come & gone 15 years ago & who specialized in stale comedies?  We’ll see how that well goes.  A nightly show is absolutely a steady influence, which is what is desperately needed now to combat the nightly blaring & blatant lies coming out of FOX.

I see Ali isn’t on every nite & they’re trying out some really lackluster others.  Ugh.  As I predicted, ratings have collapsed — not just for this show, but for the whole network.  Well, at least there are some other hosts that still get decent ratings, such as LOD, Joy, Ari & Nicole.  But as far as subs for Rach?  Not happening.

[tessaray]

I like Alex Wagner better than the guys who usually sub but she can't pull off puns. The bunny in the Pentagon story was amusing but the dialog was cringey, imo. 

[possibilities]

Lorne Michaels is producing the movie. I'm not saying it's a substitute for nightly exposure, but Lorne has a following, and I do think movies can have a lot of impact. Lots of issues were ignored until some media made a splash. I know a lot of people who do not watch TV, but will see a movie. So that colors my viewpoint. 

Maybe them not having done more to find a replacement with Rachel's presence is a sign they genuinely do think she's returning, though my sense of it is that they are just frankly too lazy and incompetent to know how to find or train anyone to do what she does.

The scripts are still good, though. When I imagine them being delivered by Rachel, they seem perfectly on target for what we usually get. I don't know why the delivery isn't working. 

Edited February 16, 2022 by possibilities

[Prairie Rose]

I miss Rachel. She would have been in her glory interviewing the Irish fisherman!! Oh well, she'll be back for the SOTU coverage with Joy and Nicolle next week.

[M. Darcy]

Rachel tweeted that she’ll be on MSNBC tonight starting at 8 ET 

[BuckeyeLou]

2 minutes ago, M. Darcy said:

Rachel tweeted that she’ll be on MSNBC tonight starting at 8 ET 

Thanks for the info, I'll be tuning in(since I have not been watching since Rachel's 'intermission")..Rachel's viewpoint is needed in times like this..

[tessaray]

It's so weird seeing her.  I think I'd resigned myself to her maybe never coming back.

[gatopretoNYC]

I had no idea - I had MSNBC on, and she just popped up! ❤❤❤

Edited February 25, 2022 by gatopretoNYC

[Morrigan2575]

1 hour ago, tessaray said:

It's so weird seeing her.  I think I'd resigned myself to her maybe never coming back.

I knew she'd be back for some things. They specifically said she'd be back to cover the State of the Union.

I was happy to see her tonight but, holy crap she has succeeded in terrifying me over this Russia/Ukraine invasion

[tessaray]

31 minutes ago, Morrigan2575 said:

I knew she'd be back for some things. They specifically said she'd be back to cover the State of the Union.

I was happy to see her tonight but, holy crap she has succeeded in terrifying me over this Russia/Ukraine invasion

I know she was supposed to be back for special events and back at her desk in April but I'm cynical and didn't expect she would want to go back to the daily grind after getting away from it.

I am glad she was here though. The nuclear aspect is one of her areas of expertise. 

[meowmommy]

I'm glad she came back for this.  I needed her last night, though. 

Not a knock on Ali, though.  He's very good.

[possibilities]

It's like night and day having her there. I really like Ali, but Rachel is in a class by herself.

[M. Darcy]

Rachel’s on again tonight at 9 ET. 

[M. Darcy]

She’s on again tonight (and tomorrow for the State of the Union).  

[cynicat]

I feel so lost without her being on the air during this scary madness.

[roughing it]

On 2/16/2022 at 11:03 AM, ScoobieDoobs said:

Ben Stiller, whose peak has come & gone 15 years ago & who specialized in stale comedies?

Ben Stiller produced Escape From Dannemora, a mini-series a couple of years ago, which was excellent.  I don't know what else he's done, but he's broken out of the "stale comedies" mold.

[possibilities]

She's been hosting the show every night since the war started, hasn't she?

 

[LaylaGirl]

Ali Velshi has been doing some great on-the-ground reporting from Ukraine this week. If he is still in Rachel's slot next week, he is well worth watching.

[ScoobieDoobs]

No doubt, Ali is quite good.  It's just very hard adjusting to life without Rachel.  So this is how it's gonna be from now on, cuz of this idiotic deal the delicate geniuses at NBC/Universal worked out with her?  Will she mostly be in oblivion/retirement, but pop up sporadically & randomly & completely unpredictably?  Sounds awful to me.  Why even bother to have a Rachel Maddow Show anymore?  Really should be the Ali Velshi Show now.  Alex is better suited to a weekend timeslot & given how she's not been seen lately, that's likely where she'll end up.

While Ali may be capable, is he getting anywhere near the ratings that Rachel did?  I suspect eventually CNN is gonna finally replace Cuomo's timeslot with Chris Wallace & then MSNBC is really gonna get killed in ratings.  I'm astounded at the laziness/stupidity in NBC/Universal not even attempting to find a replacement for Rachel that could garner decent ratings.

 

Edited March 12, 2022 by ScoobieDoobs

[meowmommy]

9 hours ago, ScoobieDoobs said:

Why even bother to have a Rachel Maddow Show anymore?  Really should be the Ali Velshi Show now. 

I totally agree.  Show up for two nights and then, poof, back to the fishing hole or whatever, while the world is on fire?  I know she has her reasons for wanting to scale back, but dammit, this is not the time if you're a serious journalist.  You need long weekends?  Take Fridays off.  You need long vacations?  Take them.  But don't call it The Rachel Maddow Show when you've essentially become a guest host on your own show. 

You've got Ali reporting from freaking Ukraine.  Anderson Cooper's been in Ukraine for weeks.  Jim Sciutto just left.  Poor Richard Engel looks like he gets about ten minutes of sleep a night.  And Rachel can't even do a couple of hours a week from her cabin in Massachusetts?

9 hours ago, ScoobieDoobs said:

I suspect eventually CNN is gonna finally replace Cuomo's timeslot with Chris Wallace & then MSNBC is really gonna get killed in ratings. 

AFAIK, Chris Wallace is scheduled to work on CNN's streaming platform.  Why anyone would pay extra for CNN is beyond me, though.

MSNBC can't just keep cannibalizing itself to fill holes, e.g., Morning Jerk going to four hours.  They've got to recruit some serious outside talent.

[possibilities]

I agree MSNBC needs to cultivate more talent, but I don't think Rachel owes it to us to be there. She's actually working on something else right now, and didn't she say she'd be back in April? 

[Hedgehog2022]

Couple of things here...this subbing other people in to do her show, isn't working . Ratings for TRMS are WAY down. I don't even watch it anymore. It's just not the same. Yes, Rachel is working on other things but is her podcast more important then delivering news stories with deep dives that we need to know about??? I've read that Chuck Todd is lobbying for Rachel's show...big time. If MSNBC gives her show to him, then that would be the single worst thing to happen to this network. MSNBC needs to grab someone from another network who has the same journalistic pedigree and great on air persona that Rachel has. There isn't anyone currently from the MSNBC stable that can replace her...they are all bench warmers not stars. 

On another note...what is with this SKY News that is on for a several hours in late night before Way Too Early? What happened to repeated shows like Chris Hayes and TRMS in those time slots? I couldn't sleep one night and thought I'd watch the Chris Hayes 3:00 AM repeat since I I missed the 8 PM show and it this SKY News that is apparently now on for several hours before Jonathan Lemire. What is going on over there?