Remember yesterday, when we related Matt Lauer's bizarre confessional about over-flooding the NBC toilets, and ruining a perfectly good pair of penny-loafers, belonging to then-stranger (now esteemed colleague) Tom Brokaw? Well, look at how far Matty's come along since then!

"The departures of Katie Couric and Charles Gibson for evening anchor jobs last year left" Matt Lauer "as the king of morning television," the AP's David Bauder writes. "Although the transition to a new "Today" hasn't been flawless, Lauer has assumed his role with quiet authority and skill. No one really comes close."

And it's exactly that sort of "quiet authority and skill" that prompted Matt to wax nostalgic about the days when he soiled the floor of the men's lavatory! Meanwhile, when asked for his reflections on Gibson and Couric's decisions to leave morning television, an impish Lauer shrugged and replied, "When you gotta go, you gotta go."

It's time to check in with the three newest talk shows out of the gate: The Megan Mullally Show, The Dr. Keith Ablow Show, and The Greg Behrendt Show. Clearly, you have to be good with names to give a shit. Times TV scribe Alessandra Stanley clogged up her TiVo – or, quite likely, simply asked friends if they'd seen the shows – to offer today's review, which firmly places her allegience with Greg Behrendt (he of the "He's just not that into you" fame). The Sex and the City hanger-on's gimmick? "Minor celebrities promote their latest projects by helping people overcome petty problems." Almost like The Tyra Banks Show, except with Behrendt, the minor celebrities are the guests, not the host. Over at Megan Mullally's set, things aren't going so well, as viewers are trying so hard to identify with Will & Grace's Karen, not this sweet-voiced commoner whose mug is, most likely, filled with virgin coffee or water. And at Keith Ablow's circlejerk, where real people have real problems, you've got a discount Dr. Phil interviewing the likes of faux JonBenet Ramsey killer John Mark Karr, otherwise known as ABC's failed get. Which all makes for a lovely way to spend an afternoon — if you don't get SOAPNet.

Being Chatted Up, With the Whole World Watching [Alessandra Stanley, NYT]

Here at Jossip, we can totally understand why people hate Reality TV stars. Especially if you live on your quiet little Fire Island beach house, and a group of drunken 20-somethings in bikinis come around and slut it up, acting like they live in some horrible place like the Hamptons.

The helicopters: annoying. Camera crews taking over the beach: very annoying. Being forced to see the cast of One Ocean View in your local Fire Island bar: likely unbearable.

But complaining that this is going to ruin the reputation of your community? Come on. Nobody actually thinks that the normal people who live in these towns are anything like the celeb hungry kids who audition to for the "reality" of tequila shots and shower scenes. And all these middle aged rich people are upset because they think the gaggle of guzzlers under 30 are giving them a bad rap?

“It’s not porn,” insisted one of the executive producers, Laura Korkoian. “It’s more about strangers living together and networking with each other. It really is the story of the mid-20’s.”

How do they think the rest of the mid-20's folks around the country feel? They were all prepared for a reality porn show and they get "networking." It's really so unfair.

Reality TV, the Unwelcome Guest [Allen Salkin, New York Times]

Today's Wall Street Journal features a full-out attack on Larry King, and his show CNN staple Larry King Live. The criticism is rooted in King's lack of journalistic focus and over exposure of celebrity and crime coverage.

Guests like James Frey and Lance Armstrong seem to choose King's show because they know they will avoid the hard-hitting questions.

But the real trouble is that Mr. King often appears disengaged. He seems to do little research before sitting down with guests. In interviews, he rarely strays from prepared questions, which means he misses the chance to probe his guests on the rare occasions when they say something revealing.

Other problems plague the show: it is smashed in between Anderson Cooper 360 and Paula Zahn Now, King "appears disengaged," and basically, he's an idiot. Even celeb NYU prof Jay Rosen thinks he totally sucks.

Had he only asked the really tough questions, like "James, is anything in your book actually true?" or "Lance, admit it, you're a total player." Then maybe King could've at least gained a Katie Couric level of journalistic respect from the WSJ.

Tabloid-Style 'Larry King Live' Is Losing Viewers and Credibility [Joe Flint, Wall Street Journal]