So I’m weighing in a bit late here with my thought’s on Ms. Vieira’s new gig, but it’s been nine whole hours since she was on TV, and in today’s constantly recycling entertainment culture, that means we have gone about eight hours too long without reminiscing about this morning.
Ah, this morning. I woke up with hope! And then I turned on the TV, and wondered if perhaps I was still dreaming. The whole "Meredith Vieira, This Is Your Life!" vibe was surreal to say the least — if you didn’t watch, go back and read Gary Susman’s live blog, and trust me when I say, yes, it was that bizarre — and it was fascinating to watch Vieira’s facial expression gradually get stuck somewhere between Miss America runner-up and Jim Carrey in The Mask. I imagine the entire experience was rather surreal for America’s New Katie as well, probably somewhat akin to having the Extreme Makeover: Home Edition crew remodel her house with a spaceship theme and replace her family with better-looking robot versions of themselves, plus Gene Shalit.
I’m not really all that interested in how she did as a "newswoman" — anyone who kisses up to Tim Russert that much will do just fine on morning news — and far more interested in whether I’ll be able to eat my cereal without throwing it at the screen; so far, it looks like breakfast is safe. She’s way prettier than I remembered, that’s for sure (so important to note when discussing women in any line of work!), and seemed remarkably at home during the scattered moments when she wasn’t having to fend off the unwanted advances of every single man who works at NBC (I’m amazed they didn’t wake up Brokaw and drag him down to 30 Rock to play with her hair). I think the best part was when they took her outside for the first time, and her face just lit up at all the housewives waving those little fans with her own face on them. That was Meredith’s rock-star moment, and she didn’t look like she was taking it for granted, not even a little.
Meanwhile, over at The View, Barbara Walters’s dog is apparently talking to her. Which life would you rather have?
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I miss Katie. A lot.
First of all, yes, they have a new co-anchor at the Today show. Is that any reason to act as though it’s a brand-new show, completely redesign the set to look like an Epcot Center exhibit (isn’t early morning sunlight bright enough?), and fawn all over this lady for simply accepting this job?
I would appreciate at least some old-school icyness directed at the new kid.
In fairness to Babs,some dogs do talk. On Wednesday’s show, they showed a clip from “Letterman” of a pug dog clearly saying I love you.
I love Meredith and I think she did a FANTASTIC job on her first day, especially with all the hoopla surrounding it. Holy cow! I could not have been that graceful under such pressure. Today, her second day, she was much more at ease and did what she does best – report the news in a way that is not obtrusive, boring, or fluffy. Meredith has a heart of gold and is one woman to be reckoned with. She is no push over. She can hold her own and will do so with the greatest of ease. Today is bigger and better than it ever was. I too liked Katie but I’m happy for her and her new endeavor. I watch her newscast in the evening and will cheer her on all the way, just as I will with Meredith! They are both winners in my book!