All Episodes Talk: Orange is the New Yuck!

[vmcd88]

Did they really need to bring out Katie Couric to give Matt butt paste?  Guess so.  Also, the Nick Cannon dancing thing was just so awkward.  Moving side to side like an very old man is not dancing.  

[Ohwell]

Savannah's mother is very much alive.

Oops, my bad.  I forgot she went to Australia with her mom.  I was thinking about my local NBC new anchor (who actually reminds me of Savannah) whose mom was dead.  They did a similar segment locally, again with only the female anchors talking about their mothers. 

[Haleth]

I haven't seen more than a few minutes of Today each day for a while, but I'm guessing their fascination with the Duggars is finally over.

[Ohwell]

Yep.

[Hildegard802]

Well, that's too bad cuz they'll have to keep rehashing Matt's Big Bike Ride to fill in the gap. Gag, these people love themselves.

[Mrsjumbo]

I can't take much more of Jeff Rossen's "you are all going to die, danger around every corner!" reports.

[The Solution]

I was rooting for the raging river in Rossen's segment today. I was denied.

[Lakewood27]

I haven't seen more than a few minutes of Today each day for a while, but I'm guessing their fascination with the Duggars is finally over.

 

Ann Curry had carved out a niche for herself as the resident Duggar Correspondent for the Today show. When she was pushed out in 2012, it seems like the Dugger stories also went away. There were no more reports from inside the Duggar compound. And there have been no segments dedicated to impending marriages and/or babies, either. For which, I am glad.

[Lakewood27]

Well, that's too bad cuz they'll have to keep rehashing Matt's Big Bike Ride to fill in the gap. Gag, these people love themselves.

 

It is strange how much coverage these people dedicate to themselves, every day. I thought there was some kind of rule about that? A journalist shouldn't become the story. At least when Katie Couric filmed her colonoscopy, it was to raise awareness.

[Ohwell]

I was rooting for the raging river in Rossen's segment today. I was denied.

I was rubbing my hands and cackling like a witch, hoping that the river would wash him away.   I just can't stand him.

[captain1]

I don't understand all the Jeff Rossen hate on this thread - he seems likeable enough and his segments seem to me to be some of the more interesting ones on this train wreck! Far better than the hosts sitting around asking stupid questions about each other.

[The Solution]

I don't understand all the Jeff Rossen hate on this thread - he seems likeable enough and his segments seem to me to be some of the more interesting ones on this train wreck! Far better than the hosts sitting around asking stupid questions about each other.

Now you've done it. By posting on this thread, you've enabled ISIS to come to your house and terrorize you. They came to mine. I told them I gave at the office, gave them some old Watchtowers and sent them on their way.

[AntiBeeSpray]

I just saw a clip from the show today, an interview with David Duchovny... and Kathie Lee and Hoda couldn't even get Mulder's name right! They called him special agent Fox Butler XD. WTF?! 

 

So I guess they mixed him up with Rhett Butler from Gone with the Wind! At least they got his character from 'Californication' right.

 

I can't watch anymore of it! They're fricken drunk! I feel so sorry for him there, so awkward!

[HyeChaps]

Please NBC, hurry up and put Hoda on an earlier hour and save her from a permanent reputation as a fool.

[AntiBeeSpray]

Please NBC, hurry up and put Hoda on an earlier hour and save her from a permanent reputation as a fool.

 

I think it's too late tbh. It's nearing the retirement stage imo.

[Medicine Crow]

I think it's too late tbh. It's nearing the retirement stage imo.

So what about KLG, who's waaaaay past her expiry date!!!

[AntiBeeSpray]

So what about KLG, who's waaaaay past her expiry date!!!

 

Shhh... I meant BOTH! :p

[HyeChaps]

KLG is 60.  Hoda is only 50.

[AntiBeeSpray]

KLG is 60.  Hoda is only 50.

 

I know. But their act is reaching a boiling point imo.

[Mrsjumbo]

Jeff Rossen's report today actually would have been informative (what to do if your car approached water). However, because he was talking while on the river, I couldn't hear a single word he said!

My Jeff Rossen's hate comes from every single story being a LIFE THREATENING EMERGENCY!!! He rarely has statistics or facts to back up his story. How prevalent is this problem? How many people have been affected? Is there an increase or decrease? I want facts, not fear mongering.

[Lakewood27]

Often times, Jeff Rossen's reports are just pointless and stupid. Why do I need to know what happens if I drop my iPhone from a 60-storey building? I already KNOW what will happen. I will need a new phone. There was no need to destroy hundreds of dollars worth of iOS/android phones to tell consumers something they already know.

[harrie]

The Soup did a Jeff Rossen montage last week that was hilarious - it was alarmist sound bite after alarmist sound bite.  That is one thing I don't care for about Rossen - every topic is a critical emergency, even if said topic is ,say, crossing the street with the light, in a crosswalk.  (Watch out!  A car could inch up on you!)  

 

The other reason is stuff like this - where Rossen's story is essentially someone else's story* he picked up and retold.  Plus - and I know this is standard, and that even local news is edited so that we see what they want us to see -- the whole coaching of his interviewee, seemingly trying to whoop her up to his level of excitement, is something I really dislike.  If something is that newsworthy, it shouldn't require the coaching.  

 

I just see Rossen as a self-important blowhard who couldn't do a real news story if his life depended on it; admittedly, that's my opinion and (obviously) nobody else is required to agree. 

 

 

*To be honest, Today started doing this some time back; I'd read a story on Gawker, and in the next day or two, Today would cover it like they found and developed the story.  That is when the show really started to lose me. Nothing wrong with Gawker, something definitely wrong with semi-plagiarizing from them.   

He rarely has statistics or facts to back up his story. How prevalent is this problem? How many people have been affected? Is there an increase or decrease? I want facts, not fear mongering.

 

If I could like this one point a million times, I would.

[Lakewood27]

The other reason is stuff like this - where Rossen's story is essentially someone else's story* he picked up and retold.  Plus - and I know this is standard, and that even local news is edited so that we see what they want us to see -- the whole coaching of his interviewee, seemingly trying to whoop her up to his level of excitement, is something I really dislike.  If something is that newsworthy, it shouldn't require the coaching.  

 

I just see Rossen as a self-important blowhard who couldn't do a real news story if his life depended on it; admittedly, that's my opinion and (obviously) nobody else is required to agree. 

 

*To be honest, Today started doing this some time back; I'd read a story on Gawker, and in the next day or two, Today would cover it like they found and developed the story.  That is when the show really started to lose me. Nothing wrong with Gawker, something definitely wrong with semi-plagiarizing from them.

 

They just did something like this again this week. It was a local story about a sheisty hotdog vendor at the WTC site selling hotdogs on a sliding scale. The going rate for tourists is $30!!! Anyway, a local reporter uncovered the story and eventually the dude was fired. But Rossen swooped in with his undercover cameras and made it seem like it was his reporting that got the dude fired.

 

Sometimes I long for the days when Rossen was marooned in South Africa, covering the Pistorius trial.

[AKA...CJ86]

They just did something like this again this week. It was a local story about a sheisty hotdog vendor at the WTC site selling hotdogs on a sliding scale. The going rate for tourists is $30!!! Anyway, a local reporter uncovered the story and eventually the dude was fired. But Rossen swooped in with his undercover cameras and made it seem like it was his reporting that got the dude fired.

 

Sometimes I long for the days when Rossen was marooned in South Africa, covering the Pistorius trial.

Yes!  I don't know why it grates me but it does.  I've noticed it off and on over the years.  

 

The internet is my news source and whether it's a news site, entertainment, or heck, when I occasionally peruse Yahoo! headlines, I'll notice a particular story now and then and then a few days later TODAY covers it like they got the scoop.  

 

I've noticed a few stories from a forum I frequently visit that will post news, and like a week later TODAY covers it.  In those situations, I'm like, is it really that slow of a day you're covering week old news?

[AntiBeeSpray]

Yes!  I don't know why it grates me but it does.  I've noticed it off and on over the years.  

 

The internet is my news source and whether it's a news site, entertainment, or heck, when I occasionally peruse Yahoo! headlines, I'll notice a particular story now and then and then a few days later TODAY covers it like they got the scoop.  

 

I've noticed a few stories from a forum I frequently visit that will post news, and like a week later TODAY covers it.  In those situations, I'm like, is it really that slow of a day you're covering week old news?

 

Exactly. But it seems as if a lot of news companies are doing that lately tbh, and not just Today.

[The Solution]

Wow, I didn't think Tracy Morgan was quite ready for that interview. It was kind of painful to watch. And Matt proved again what a smug C U Next Tuesday he is with his shit-eating grin and prodding Tracy to speak about his emotions.

[Wings]

I don't watch Today anymore; I changed to CBS.  I just watched Tracy's interview on their site.  Clearly Tracy was up for doing this or it wouldn't have happened and they probably covered what would be asked in the interview so I cannot blame Matt, though I would like to because i don't like him anymore! 

 

I never cared for Tracy Morgan nor thought he was funny.  His delivery was too frantic and loud.  This makes no difference, of course.  He is in bad shape and my heart goes out to him.  And this time his family did not come with him.  Wow.  Hearing that give me goose bumps. 

Edited June 1, 2015 by wings707

[woodscommaelle]

Sad, sad situation.  Continued vibes to Tracy Morgan. 

[AntiBeeSpray]

Sad, sad situation.  Continued vibes to Tracy Morgan. 

 

Definitely. He did a good job on the interview and I'm glad he's improving.

[Ohwell]

I think that Matt did as well as he could with Tracy Morgan in that interview. 

[junemeatcleaver]

CBS This Morning keeps gaining on Today

 

I wonder if Today will finally do something if CBS ties or surpasses them.  Something's got to happen beyond allegedly exiling Natalie to Dateline.

[Mrsjumbo]

The sad thing is that CBS is the better show of the three, yet ABC has the lead, & Imho I don't see much difference between Good Morning America & the Today show. Both have giggly hosts that have made themselves the show, rather than the news & lean heavily on pop culture news.

Edited June 9, 2015 by Mrsjumbo

[Ohwell]

As much as some of the people on the Today show annoy me (Savannah, Al, Tamron), I still take them over CBS or ABC.  CBS, especially, just makes me feel old and sleepy.

[junemeatcleaver]

The sad thing is that CBS is the better show of the three, yet ABC has the lead, & Imho I don't see much difference between Good Morning America & the Today show. Both have giggly hosts that have made themselves the show, rather than the news & lean heavily on pop culture news.

 

That's probably something NBC is scratching their heads about. 

 

One of reasons I think NBC can't gain an permanent edge on GMA is that there's no one there that people like and have become attached to anymore.  Hoda might have had a shot to become that if NBC made her the co-anchor instead of Savannah, but now she's stuck in Kathie Lee wine soaked hell.  Everyone else is, like, whatever.  Matt hasn't been likable for years.  Al has become annoying and incoherent like Willard Scott was at the end of his run.  Willie and Natalie just don't have that spark IMO.  Tamron is annoying and does anyone know why Carson is there?

 

But yes, despite my complaints, I still like Today better than my former fave GMA and CBS.

[Lakewood27]

One of reasons I think NBC can't gain an permanent edge on GMA is that there's no one there that people like and have become attached to anymore.  Hoda might have had a shot to become that if NBC made her the co-anchor instead of Savannah, but now she's stuck in Kathie Lee wine soaked hell.  Everyone else is, like, whatever.  Matt hasn't been likable for years.  Al has become annoying and incoherent like Willard Scott was at the end of his run.  Willie and Natalie just don't have that spark IMO.  Tamron is annoying and does anyone know why Carson is there?

 

But yes, despite my complaints, I still like Today better than my former fave GMA and CBS.

 

If I could like this post 1,000 more times, I would! Matt went from charming to smarmy around 2006. I can't stand Savannah for unspecified reasons, and I also wish we could replace her with Hoda. Al is just embarrassing. I reflexively cringe every time he opens his mouth. It is time to put his ass out to pasture. Willie and Natalie have anti-charisma. And I want to like Tamron so much, but every time she's co-anchoring Today, I want to punch my television.

 

And yet, i can't get into any of the other morning shows. I've been watching Today since the Gumble/Pauley days. I can't seem to break the habit.

[theabsolution]

Seriously though, why the hell is Carson there? I mean, he seems like a nice dude but he's seriously redundant there.

[Ohwell]

I didn't like Natalie's segment this week on "would my kid do that?" or whatever it was called.  I don't like the idea of punking kids on national television to teach them a lesson.  While it's important to teach kids about certain things/dangers in life and learn from their mistakes, I think that such "teachable moments" should be done in private.  

[Wings]

I switched to CBS months ago and do a drive by here to see if things are still the same on Today.  I like the CBS show much better.  I love Gayle.  When she was the local news anchor in Hartford I watched her every morning for years,  before I even knew who Oprah was.  She is like an old friend.  

[Lakewood27]

Oh FFS, today's Rossen Report is what to do when the 'Shawshank' escapees show up at the door. Um, okay Jeff.

Edited June 15, 2015 by Lakewood27

[M. Darcy]

 

Oh FFS, today's Rossen Report is what to do when the 'Shawshank' escapees show up at the door. Um, okay Jeff.

Don't answer it? 

 

James Taylor! Finally a musical act I've heard of. 

[Mrsjumbo]

Oh FFS, today's Rossen Report is what to do when the 'Shawshank' escapees show up at the door. Um, okay Jeff.

In the 318.9 million people in the US, 16 got attacked by sharks this year. So Jeff Rossen's has to do some scaremongering about shark attacks today.

[harrie]

Okay, I am seriously laughing out loud. Are we sure that SNL hasn't secretly hijacked production of this segment?

 

 

ON IT!

 

Jeff Rossen: How To Defend Yourself From A Shark Attack

 

I'm on Team Shark*, so that segment was a little disappointing,  

 

 

*To be clear, I'm only on Team Shark when Jeff Rossen is involved.  As for the people recently attacked, I wish them speedy recoveries and rehabilitation.  

Edited June 17, 2015 by harrie

[M. Darcy]

I know Today is not a news show...and normally I hate when news shows use the tragedy music but really? 

 

They really should have started the 8 o'clock hour immediately mentioning what happened in SC with the tragedy music.   The Today Show and NBC spent all that time talking to and about a fake African American woman and when less than 12 hours ago, 9 African Americans are murdered (and I know we don't know for sure but they most likely were killed because they were African American), don't start the hour with the cheery music talking about sugar and some idiot woman who ate 2 tic tacs.

[Lakewood27]

I'm spraining my eyeballs listening to this Brian Williams interview. He refuses to say the words "I lied". This is a very 'Clintonian' apology. I can't help but feel that he subconsciously self-sabotaged because he never really wanted to be the next Tom Brokaw.

[MonicaM]

If this interview was supposed to be the first step in rehabilitating Brian Williams' image, then I'd rate it as a massive fail.  All it did for me was to reinforce his image as a liar who's so impressed with himself he thinks he can explain everything away.  I can only guess that his contract with NBC is solid enough that if they let him go, they'd still have to give him a big pay out - otherwise he'd be off the air and out the door with no further discussion.  

[junemeatcleaver]

I have to commend Today for devoting most of the first half hour to the Charleston Church shooting this morning.  Whether they just did that because Savannah was in Charleston because she's filling in for Lester Holt on Nightly News, or because Today is finally making a half hearted effort again, I don't know.  I do know they seemed to do better than GMA

 

NBC and Brian Williams would have been better just sticking to with the statement they put out and moving on. 

[AntiBeeSpray]

The only part of being Tom Brokaw that Williams wanted was the paycheck. Dude has always been too much of a Fallon-wannabe. Brokaw used to go on Late Night with Dave, but the dynamic was always Goofy Dave trying to break down (and crack-up) Serious Tom. Brokaw never tuned into Letterman, he just enjoyed playing off of him as his opposite. Williams has always sent off the exact opposite signals - he wanted to be a vaudeville-like star moreso than any of the late night talking heads he would make the rounds with. 

 

So glad Holt finally got the chance to shine.

 

I'm glad too.

[Mrsjumbo]

I'm spraining my eyeballs listening to this Brian Williams interview. He refuses to say the words "I lied". This is a very 'Clintonian' apology. I can't help but feel that he subconsciously self-sabotaged because he never really wanted to be the next Tom Brokaw.

Gosh, I love all of your posts!

Yes, I noticed he would not say "I lied". He used the word "misled" which has a softer tone to it.

Love Lester! Now they better not bring the annoying Jenna Wolfe back on weekends!

[Ohwell]

The thing I'll never understand is, why can't people like Brian Williams who get caught in this situation, just come out and say that they lied?  Most (all?) of us lie at some point in our lives.  (I know I've told my share of whoppers and expect that I will tell a few more in my lifetime.)  But nooooo...he spent all that time tap-dancing around the fact that he lied.  He would have come off much better and humanized himself if he had just come out with the truth--which was that he told lies.  Matt wasn't any better in the interview because at one point, the way he kept asking some of those questions, I thought he was going to suggest that Williams had some sort of disorder which mitigated the lying.   

Edited June 21, 2015 by Ohwell

[AntiBeeSpray]

The thing I'll never understand is, why can't people like Brian Williams who get caught in this situation, just come out and say that they lied?  Most (all?) of us lie at some point in our lives.  (I know I've told my share of whoppers and expect that I will tell a few more in my lifetime.)  But nooooo...he spent all that time tap-dancing around the fact that he lied.  He would have come off much better and humanized himself if he had just come out with the truth--which was that he told lies.  Matt wasn't any better in the interview because at one point, the way he kept asking some of those questions, I thought he was going to suggest that Williams had some sort of disorder which mitigated the lying.   

 

Exactly. But some people feed off of it. They're narcissists and/or are compulsive liars.