13 September 2006

Oh, Meredith. How we've waited. The Katie-Rosie-Meredith switch is complete with Meredith Viera's "Today" show debut this morning. I didn't watch the whole show--so take my early review with a grain of salt. (Unlike my reviews of Rosie and Katie which I'm sure you took as GOSPEL! ;)

ANYWAY--some thoughts.

1) Meredith is the anti-Katie. She's down-to-earth, bawdy, and funny. Even when she screwed up, she did it with such a self-effacing sense of humor that the audience was totally rooting for her. She was nervous, but that will subside--and, I think, helps her with the audience by showing her vulnerabilities. She bordered on silly at times (even for the TODAY show) that critics will pounce on. This from E! Online today: "Cake smashed into faces, on-air bickering, gushing over cute boys -- maybe Meredith Vieira's new gig isn't so different from the old one after all..." Meredith also did hard news today, too (her segment with Tim Russert, comes to mind). But like Katie and Rosie--the show (and her demeanor) --will evolve over time and what we saw today isn't necessarily what we'll see in 2 weeks. Meredith has a balancing act in this setting: showcasing her hard news credentials while showing off that girly, funny, down-to-earth charm. But she has to be careful not to go into her over-the-hill sorority girl act that she sometime displayed on "The View." Matt is a great foil for Meredith too--even better than Katie. They have great on-air "chemistry" already--one that will only get better with time. Their age difference combined with their flirty teasing totally works. The news set is a little too "futuristic" for my tastes--looked like something from NASA. Someone said it looked like a bathroom in a hotel lobby. The "interview" set is nice. Beautiful colors and an "airy" feeling. The lighting (on a "mature" Viera) was perfect, too.

A plea, though, to the folks at "Today:" PLEASE no more "It's a New Day" promos. I beg of you.