The reviews are in on the superfluous fourth hour of the day show, and NY Newsday's Verne Gay isn't pulling any punches.

The Fourth Hour is utter glop, with no reason for being, no purpose, no intelligence, no thought, no energy, and no originality. Remember 'Later Today,' the third hour at the turn of the century that derailed or sidelined a whole bunch of careers? That was actually better.

And don't even get him started on how he feels about the first three hours! Meanwhile, in other completely unrelated news, Today's ratings have dropped 6.2% since Meredith Vieira's arrival. Possibly due to the fact that Vieira is, admittedly, "not really an early-morning person," possibly due to the fact that the show is unintellectual glop, definitely due to the fact that it's lost its (i.e. Katie Couric's) legs.