Look at Charlie…
So what happened to Charlie Rose, arguably the worst interviewer on television? Did a guest finally get tired of his incessant interruptions and smack him one? Did someone take umbrage with his bloated, preening ego?
Not quite:
Viewers of the Charlie Rose show tonight were stunned to see the normally composed Rose looking like he’d just been in a bar fight. He has a very bad black eye and a bandage over part of his forehead. I contacted the show’s producers to hear what happened. Earlier today, they said, Rose tripped in a pothole while walking on 59th Street in Manhattan. He was carrying a newly purchased MacBook Air and made a quick (but ultimately flawed) decision while falling: sacrifice the face, protect the computer. “In doing so, he pretty much hit the pavement face first, unfortunately,” they said.
Being a Mac guy myself, I gotta admit - that MacBook Air does look sweet…
Tags: Charlie Rose
March 22, 2008 at 3:34 am
I agree, Charlie is pretty bad. But the worst interviewer on television is Conan O’Brien. Hands down, the worst. Let’s say a guest’s total segment is 9 minutes long. I’d say the guest speaks for 3 minutes, and Conan interrupts; tries to make jokes; and talks about himself for 6 minutes.
March 22, 2008 at 5:58 am
Welcome LB.
Conan is, at least sometimes, funny. The thing I can’t stomach about Rose is his self-regard. He’s not there to interview, i.e. learn from, his guests. He insists that he’s there to have a “conversation.” Which implies that whatever he, Charlie, has to say is just as important as the guest’s.
The shame is that he often has good guests. He doesn’t just have actors plugging their next movie - he’s got writers, architects, real musicians, even scientists - the whole gamut of American and international cultural experience. And he has them for as much as an hour, commercial-free. Where else do you get that on TV?
I think the format is good. They just need another host.
March 22, 2008 at 6:42 am
Is it ok to respond (again)?
Yes the Rose show format is great - 1hour & commercial free. But that Rose stinks.
Conan O’Brien is only funny, sometimes, as a writer. When he was a writer for The Simpsons and Saturday Night Live, the material was funny. His written comedy “bits” on Late Night can be funny.
But he his horrible as an interviewer. To borrow your words; he’s not there to interview. He takes a guest’s appearance as an opportunity to interrupt and come up with as many sophmoric jokes as he can think of off the top of his head. He’s constantly in a writing frame of mind, with no regard to the guest. It’s so aggravating! I keep hoping NBC will change their mind about giving him The Tonight Show. (that would be funny.)
I hope I haven’t side-tracked your initial comment about Charlie Rose too much. I just had to take the opportunity to rant and get that off my chest because Conan irritates me so much. I feel better now.
March 22, 2008 at 2:49 pm
I take your point. But at least Conan has Triumph the Insult Comic Dog who, I’m convinced, is some sort of genius.