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.
Rita Cosby will not be appearing on the Today show today, tomorrow or anytime soon if Larry Birkhead's lawyers have anything to say about it.
According to TMZ, Today producers abruptly canceled a scheduled sit-down with the former NBC correspondent (and author of trashy publicity-seeking bio, "Blonde Ambition: The Untold Story Behind Anna Nicole Smith’s Death") after receiving a rather threatening letter from the litigious Larry Birkhead and his newest crop of high-paid high-powered attorneys.
Birkhead, as we reported previously, has threatened to sue Cosby for smearing his *cough* good name with somewhat-believable allegations that he and Howard K. Stern were in collusion throughout the custody hearings and somewhat-less-believable allegations that he and Stern were in a "relationship." At least according to Jackie Hatten, a reliable source "known wacko whose brother served prison time for stalking Anna Nicole."
Ann Curry, Natalie Morales, and Hoda Kotb are said to have been chosen to run the NBC morning show's fourth 60-minute slot kicking off Sept. 11. Now, if Today kicks off at 7am with what they'll refer to as "hard news" and gets more fluffy by the hour, you can just imagine how often Natalie Morales is going to be hosting fashion segments on Spanx. [B&C]
Every now and again, there's nothing quite like a good old-fashioned blast from the past. Whether it's a 3am phone call from an old "boyfriend," a perusal through the college photo album (awwww, we were so cute, pre-freshman fifteen!) or a Beverly Hills 90210 marathon, sometimes it's nice to simply take a moment or two to enjoy a leisurely stroll down Memory Lane.
And it turns out, we're not the only ones feeling nostalgic these days! As Page Six reports, it appears NBC has recently been suffering from Katie Couric withdrawal.
NBC must miss Katie Couric. A promo for the "Today" show that aired during WNBC's 11 p.m. news Monday night showed her but neither Matt Lauer nor Couric's replacement, Meredith Vieira. Couric, who left to anchor the "CBS Evening News" last September, was shown seated behind the "Today" desk with the slogan, "America Watches Today First," flashing on the screen. Reps for NBC did not return our calls.
Unfortunately for both parties, the image of Katie Couric hosting Today is, as lyricist Hilary Duff would say, "So yesterday." On the other hand, nothing says "tomorrow" quite like a recurring gig on 60 Minutes.*
*Except for maybe watching your ex, rock star (of sorts) Joel Madden have a possibly-deformed baby with his rexy new squeeze, Nicole Richie.
This morning, Lindsay Lohan visited the Today show, long red hair, nervous giggles, kiss blows and all. She looked and sounded pretty hung-over, and we could barely hear her vapid answers to Matt Lauer's questions, but nothing says "this is going to be a great week" like TV interviews with our favorite celebrity under 21.
After some mostly uncomfortable chit-chat with Matt which focused on working with Meryl Streep and La Lo dismissing the Us Weekly covers flashing by, Lindsay dropped this bomb on us.
"I work harder than most of my friends parents. I'm the hardest working person I know."
Yes, Lindsay, you do work harder than Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie … and probably even Adam Levine. But there is no way you work harder than those paparazzi just trying to make a quick 500 bucks by following you all over L.A. and New York to snap pictures of you not working.
• The least surprising news of the day: Mario Batali's less loved restaurant is officially on the block. [NYT]
• A lightbulb shattered into Teri Hatcher’s eye. Yeah, whatev, she totally needs a lift anyways. [AP]
• Michelle Rodriguez doesn't really "do" community service. [AP]
• Is Kelly Conlin's apartment the reason Primedia went under? [Footnoted]
• Andy Dick steals beers from a gay bar, gropes a girl, and yells at a bartender. Wait, he has a kid? [Queerty]
• The Today show rolls over for George Clooney and his Darfur trip. See, if they'd shown the part where he visits Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie and they all tlk about the baby and how much they hate Jennifer Aniston, then we might watch. [NBCU]
• Melissa Joan Hart (yes, that Melissa Joan Hart) celebrated her 30th birthday last night at Happy Valley where, we're told, she kicked off her Tribeca Film Festival media blitz with class: She was the one handing out promo cards to guests for Mute, which debuts today.
She was slotted to take over for Katie Couric when the bubbly, gravitas-less, self-absorbed, babbling host was snatched up by CBS. But, sadly for Natalie Morales, it was Meredith Vieira who landed that role.
Now NBC News President Steve Capus is sopping up Morales' tears with a fat, fancy title. She's been been named "National Correspondent for NBC News' Today." This title is effective immediately, and carries a hefty responsibility. Instead of randomly popping in and out as morning fodder, Morales will now have a purpose and a "regular role in the third hour of Today."
Capus carefully says: "For the third time in as many weeks, we find ourselves with another terrific announcement at 'Today.' Natalie is a dedicated journalist and first-rate broadcaster. For years, she's been an important part of the program's extended family, and this just formalizes her role. I couldn't be happier about making it official."
See, it's not so bad, Nat. At least they gave Katie's spot to some lady from another network and not Ann Curry. And someday you might even get to make as much money as Matt Lauer.
FLASH: Natalie Morales Named "National Correspondent" For Today [Bryan Statler, TV Newser]
Out goes Katie Couric, in comes Meredith Vieira. Or was it in comes Katie Couric, out goes Meredith Vieira? And which listened to her heart in their decision? And who said the people and crew were wonderful? Is change a good thing, or important? Who's more greatful? Who has a greater connection with the audience? Who's thrilled? Who's excited? Who's felt like a sister to her colleagues? Who's going to be missed? Who's still going to give advice? And is Matt Lauer really the biggest schmuck in all of this?
In the end, it turns out, it doesn't matter.
Send In The Clones [Comedy Central]
We just about died when we saw that Bonnie Fuller was going to be on the Today show promoting her book.
But when Al Roker started busting out the "what about your former employee Jared Paul Stern?" questions, we actually fell off the futon. When we came to, here's what we extrapolated from their conversation.
AR: Jared Paul Stern was a former employee of yours … what do you think of this story?
BF: Well, I think if the allegations are true, that's very unfortunate for him.
AR: He called Star a "black hole." Why would he say that?
BF: I have no idea. Star is a wonderful place to work.
Ok, so it's not the juiciest sound bite we've ever heard. But, we much rather listen to Bon on Jared than Bon on how balancing your life is for pampered little preps. And they say New York gossip is just fodder.
When we first saw this, it was like, "holy crap! Vince Vaughn finally popped the question to Jennifer Aniston!" Then we realized that the "Biggest Loser" part was in italics, and they meant those former fatties from TV.
Vince better hurry up — Jen only has like six good baby making months left in her.
Biggest Loser Couple Engaged [People]
