Carlson in the Morning…
Those who saw it, what did you think of Tucker Carlson’s turn in the Imus slot. The format wasn’t the usual Tucker format. These guys seem to like it…and Willie Geist. It seemed a tad Red Eye-ish to me with all the back and forth banter though.
I’ve been watching this morning and I really like it!! Way better than Smerconish or Miller. Tucker does a good job with the phone interviews and also keeps the banter flowing among his co-hosts. I like all of them, too.
I hope this one is a keeper.
I’m probably one of few that like Tucker but the show was good. I couldn’t stand Smerconish or Miller.
Comment by Chad — May 3, 2007 @ 11:40 am
Tucker - Yes!
Comment by PF — May 3, 2007 @ 11:50 am
Great show! All the cast contributed to the show. Good talk show with no agenda. Good talkers with brains and wit. No zoo here.
Comment by alice cervantes — May 3, 2007 @ 12:05 pm
I would watch Tucker and the rest of these guys every day! It was a good show, and the conversational style felt relaxed and like regular folks taking. Even though Tucker is conservative, he’s very good at giving it to both sides, plus he’s way easier on the eyes than IMUS! HA!
Comment by Obama in 08! — May 3, 2007 @ 12:12 pm
I saw the last few minutes and the show looked good.
Spud: The “Red Eye” comparison is appropos because that comedian (Chuck Nice?) from VH-1 Best Week Ever has been a guest on “Red Eye.”
Comment by Ira — May 3, 2007 @ 12:27 pm
Whatever happened to MSNBC being the liberal network?
I agree with the other posters. Tucker did well this morning, and he’s a better host than most other conservatives, but the fact that it’s yet ONE MORE conservative-hosted cable news show is going to limit its appeal, I think. Tucker should have a liberal co-host, but other than that the show and the format look excellent to me.
Comment by berberry — May 3, 2007 @ 12:34 pm
I think FNC has demonstrated that a cable news show with a conservative point of view can actually get good ratings.
Comment by Jim — May 3, 2007 @ 12:47 pm
I watched Tucker this morning. He is the only one on MSNBC that seems to be fair-minded and down the middle. He has my vote and my attention.
Comment by cathy — May 3, 2007 @ 12:49 pm
Fair like BOR cathy?
Comment by Randy — May 3, 2007 @ 1:05 pm
Randy are you Married to elmonica?
Comment by mike — May 3, 2007 @ 1:14 pm
Brilliant, Jim. By that logic, every conservative-hosted show MSNBC has offered over the past half-decade or so should have been a ratings hit, since FNC has demonstrated that conservative shows get good ratings. But that hasn’t happened. The only hit show MSNBC has is ‘Countdown’, and I think the network should take a clue from that fact.
It’s not that I think you’re incorrect, Jim, it’s just that I think you’re missing a key point: FNC - at least in my opinion - has the conservative audience locked up tight. I think it’s foolish for MSNBC to try to go after it. I think Tucker looked great this morning (for some reason I like him more in this time slot than in the evening, not sure why), but however moderate-by-comparison he might be, it’s still obvious that he’s a conservative. That’s fine, but if MSNBC wants to grow an audience beyond what they had with Imus then I think they’re going to have to really give people something they can’t get elsewhere. A moderately-liberal co-host for Tucker could be just the thing, I think.
Max Kellerman would be great, and including sports with the usual news mix might give the show a bit of an edge (Imus used to cover sports, after all).
Oh, and I agree with Ira about the Red Eye comparison. That occurred to me as I was watching this morning, in fact. Red Eye is the only Fox show I like at all. Its biggest fault is that it needs a good guest in order to have a better than ho-hum show.
Comment by berberry — May 3, 2007 @ 1:38 pm
I wondered where you were Randy. I have no idea if he is fair like BO. I never thought of BO being fair just very interesting. I am just tired of the Bush Bashing ahd the BO bashing. A lot of people love BO, more then KO and what do you have to say about that. Last night I saw KO making BO the worse person in the world again and the worst was some radio host commentary (I wish I could remember his name) What is poor Keith going do Randy when Campbell takes a dent in his few thousand listeners.
Comment by cathy — May 3, 2007 @ 1:38 pm
I guess that’s one of my problems with Tucker, cathy, cuz I DO want the Bush bashing. I consider Bush to be one of the worst presidents ever, probably worse than Nixon. That’s just my opinion, of course, but I think there are a lot of people like me who’d rather hear a war criminal like Bush being bashed than innocent victims of his war like Cindy Sheehan. Surely you disagree, but then that’s why you like BO.
Comment by berberry — May 3, 2007 @ 1:56 pm
Why are you tired of BO bashing? The only person that is bahsed here is KO.
Comment by Randy — May 3, 2007 @ 1:57 pm
Hardly…
Comment by Spud — May 3, 2007 @ 2:12 pm
I am one of the ten people that watches Tucker’s regular show every day. Other than a token Pat B. he almost always has very strong liberal guests. He does not need a co-host because he is not conservative or liberal. I did not see this mornings show but I believe that if Tucker were in that slot with a show that has a been format than “TUCKER” he will attract viewers from both sides. Willie is great!
Comment by Aunt Mary — May 3, 2007 @ 2:16 pm
Randy — Bill O’Reilly and Keith Olbermann live to be bashed. If some one did not bash them everyday neither one of them would have a show for that day. Both of them love the bashing, it is what got them their fame!
Comment by Aunt Mary — May 3, 2007 @ 2:24 pm
berberry your last comment was VETOED by President Bush!
Comment by mike — May 3, 2007 @ 2:27 pm
I think most people are tired of the Bush bashing. Not saying that CRITICISM isn’t deserved… but the constant HATE HATE HATE, and insults, and juvenile name calling, gets pretty trying real quick.
I have no problem with someone disagreeing with the President, but throwing a boo-hoo baby fit for no reason isn’t do anything. You wonder why there’s such a strong divide in this country? Part of it is policy, and part of it is reaction to policy. Call me a stupid idiot, call me a war criminal and a murderer for supporting the Iraq war… see how much time I spend listening to you.
Good for Tucker if he’s moved beyond that. He’s not a conservative, according to him, he’s a libertarian. Which is fine… and probably better for a morning show. He’s more down the middle, and therefore generically entertaining, than yet another partisan fighter.
Comment by ImNotBlue — May 3, 2007 @ 2:35 pm
Spud, on this site, there are probably four people or so that defend KO and bash BOR, to at least 3 times that many who bash KO.
Comment by Randy — May 3, 2007 @ 2:36 pm
berberry — you must not have been an adult during the Carter years!
Comment by Aunt Mary — May 3, 2007 @ 2:39 pm
#13 I hate Bush also. He has been one of the biggest disappointments that history has witnessed and he is stupid, but we have until 2008 before he will be gone. There are more important things then Bush. You can tune out BO. Sometimes I do watch him, but he is full of himself, but he (in my opinion does not bash as much as KO. KO reminds me of Rush Limbaugh (which I don’t like him either) they can spew, but they won’t take calls or have someone on with a different point of view. BO does.
Comment by cathy — May 3, 2007 @ 2:40 pm
It was okay - just like his afternoon show, only earlier. The one thing that was wrong with it, in my opinion, was Contessa Brewer. She just comes off kinda stupid to me and not very interesting to listen to. Other than that, it was okay but I don’t think it will ever be the same in the morning without Imus.
Comment by SOPHIA — May 3, 2007 @ 3:02 pm
I turned twenty during Carter’s last year in office, Mary. Until about 2003 I considered myself a moderate. I voted for both Reagan and Clinton. But compared to the god squad that runs the wars and the republican party today, I’m a radical leftist. Mostly because I’m an atheist and I believe this war is the dumbest, most ill-informed military mistake anyone has made since the battle of Balaklava.
Sorry if I misunderstood you, cathy, your earlier post sounded defensive of BO. I have no problem with defending BO, so long as one is willing to acknowledge that he does every bit as much bashing as anyone else ever has or ever will. His targets may be different than those who go after Bush, but he’s a basher extraordinaire. And in my opinion, he goes after innocents far more often than the Bush-bashers do.
Comment by berberry — May 3, 2007 @ 3:08 pm
“The only hit show MSNBC has is ‘Countdown’….” Don’t think 600k /300k in the demo is a hit. Nor is #30 (MSNBC) on cable….
Oh yeah, your not a “moderate”, what ever that is…. And you forgot Gore and Kerry !
Comment by hmmm — May 3, 2007 @ 3:29 pm
Meanwhile, over on American Morning….Kiran’s leg show continues unabated….
Comment by spiffo — May 3, 2007 @ 3:36 pm
#25, are you on drugs? Did I say I’m a moderate? If I remember correctly, I said I’m a RADICAL LEFTIST!
And frankly I don’t give a damn what Countdown’s ratings are. The show’s a big enough hit that it’ll be around a few more years. I like it. If balance requires that Keith has guests he disagrees with on so that he can shout over them the way Bill O’Reilly does then I don’t want balance.
‘Countdown’ is a big enough hit that it isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. That’s fine with me. Whenever I like a show, I want it to get high enough ratings to stay on the air. Beyond that I don’t care much, except that I’ve never liked being part of the biggest crowd so I kinda like NOT watching the most popular show (I have yet to tune into a single episode of ‘American Idol’).
If a Royal Shakespeare production of ‘Hamlet’ were to run on American TV against the WWE, I suspect the WWE would win by several orders of magnitude in the ratings. But I’d be watching ‘Hamlet’.
Comment by berberry — May 3, 2007 @ 3:44 pm
Told ya’ so. Told ya’ so.
I have been praising Tucker on this board forever!
He was perfect this morning. He and Willie are great.
I watch him everyday at three p.m. central.
The only thing missing today is his animation.
In the daytime show, he waves his arms and laughs out loud. He is six steps ahead of all of his guests. While they are trying to think of an answer, he has moved on.
Rachel Maddow was great with him, too.
I agree that Contessa is not a good fit here. She is too dumb, to put it harshly.
Comment by cella — May 3, 2007 @ 3:49 pm
Cella, maybe Rachel Maddow could be that co-host I was talking about. I agree that she and Tucker are quite good together.
I still think MSNBC should consider putting Tom Joyner’s radio show in this timeslot (unless of course they really are wating for Alison Stewart’s radio show to go on the air). But this morning’s show was much better than anything I would have expected from Tucker Carlson.
I’m not so sure about Willie Guise(sp?). He’s excellent, but I’m afraid someone at a more popular channel, like Comedy Central maybe, is going to notice him and snatch him away.
I like Contessa but agree she shouldn’t be on this show. She’s better as a news reader. Give her seat to Rachel.
Comment by berberry — May 3, 2007 @ 4:01 pm
I must state that I am an Imus fan,I really believe MSNBC dropped the ball bigtime…that being said,I thought Tucker and Willie are a great team,if todays show is any indication of whats to come,MSNBC would be crazy not to go with this duo! Carlson occasionally appears on the”Bubba the Love Sponge”show on Sirius Satellite radio,providing political commentary…and he is quite good!As I have said,Nobody can fill Don Imus’s shoes…but MSNBC has a good in house talent with Tucker.
Comment by BernieO — May 3, 2007 @ 4:09 pm
berberry… to be fair and express both opinions, you don’t have to have a debate… you just have to present both opinions and ALL the facts. KO only presents the facts that supports HIS views of reality, and that’s dangerous to the audience… you included. If you’re only hearing half the story, and being told it’s the whole story, how are you going to be able to form legitimate opinions about anything?
You don’t have to have a shout-fest to be fair.
Comment by ImNotBlue — May 3, 2007 @ 4:25 pm
#31, what facts has KO left out that have you so aggrieved? Have you made the same criticism of BO?
I can assure you that KO is no danger to me, dude. Perhaps you think he’s dangerous since he’s skeptical about war criminals with power, but he’s no danger to me. But go ahead and worry about it. I don’t care.
Comment by berberry — May 3, 2007 @ 4:42 pm
You folks that want Maddow on the mornings with Carlson might get your wish. Was she not doing AAR mornings? And now Lionel will be taking over that slot in the next week or two.
Comment by puck — May 3, 2007 @ 5:18 pm
I stopped watching Tucker a while ago because there are better programs shown at the 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. ET timeslots.
But I do think Tucker is an excellent fit for the timeslot vacated by Imus, and his program this morning was much better than anything shown by the competition. I hope MSNBC makes Tucker a permament fixture at that time in the morning.
Comment by Missy — May 3, 2007 @ 5:36 pm
KO only presents the facts that supports HIS views of reality, and that’s dangerous to the audience…
And the adminstration presents the facts that support THEIR views of reality (and sometimes make them up) and that’s dangerous to… well, everyone in the world, really.
Comment by Arthur — May 3, 2007 @ 5:51 pm
27.
Yeah you did, just before you used the comparison about god squad. Don’t understand how someone can reach their middle 40’s in 2003 and suddenly loose their identity (like a lost soul listing in the wind) and then suddenly discover, at the same time, that they are really filled with blind rage and hatred towards one man. Must have been one two many reefers in the 60’s, or perhaps today. Switching religions usually means that one has found peace, but obviously not for you.
2003 eh? bet you supported the war in the beginning - Love hypocrites.
And you might not want to blink, cause MS is in troubled waters.
Comment by hmmm — May 3, 2007 @ 6:45 pm
I agree with you guys. I don’t like tucker in the bo / scarbo. conservative-give it straight to the camera role, but as a host of a panel w/willie and the comedian it was great conversation. They should add two things, A. rachel maddow/or female liberal-but not way of left lib. and have people call in to talk with them, like during the david gregory post/Imus morning show.
Comment by scott — May 3, 2007 @ 6:59 pm
If they add a liberal to the program, it should be someone who is more of a moderate (like Flavia Colgan), not a far left-type like Rachel Maddow.
Comment by Missy — May 3, 2007 @ 7:48 pm
Scott: You were doing fine (#36) until your suggestions. Maddow was awful on TV and taking calls (on MSNBC) didn’t work for Michael Savage, didn’t work earlier this week for Stephanie Miller and does not seem to fit into an early morning TV show.
Missy: Unless MSNBC decides to throw oodles of money at his feet, I can’t see Tucker taking this slot full time. For starters who knows if he can handle three hours a day and also I wonder if he would really relocate his family to New York.
Comment by Ira — May 3, 2007 @ 8:15 pm
Why not they got him to take his bow tie off…
Comment by hmmm — May 3, 2007 @ 9:47 pm
#36, learn to read, idiot. I DID NOT say I’m a moderate. I said I “used to consider myself a moderate”. I didn’t change, I just suddenly realized that I was surrounded by stupid people. It happened about the time I learned that well over half of Americans believe in the Genesis account of creation. No wonder our schools are failing - the parents are stupid.
And how old were you when you lost your goddammned mind? I never “switched religions” because I never believed in all the Jesus crap. Not even when I was a kid. I quit believing in all those fairy stories about the time I quit believing in Santa Claus.
Comment by berberry — May 3, 2007 @ 11:34 pm
Yeah, I agree, Tucker did a good job…he would be good in this slot, and Willie!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I don’t understand why this guy doesn’t have his own show. He’s just terrific. Tucker, as a libertarian(?) pisses me off frequently, usually when he’s wearing his “conservative” hat, but that is a good thing. He’d be great in the morning just to get my blood boiling. Willie gets my blood boiling for other reasons….:-) and I love his humor….he’s just tooo wholesome looking, i love it, those dimples, those LIPS, he’d wake me up in the morning just fine and I would spend the remainder of the day VERY happy just having heard and seen him….LOL, vocino
Comment by vocino — May 4, 2007 @ 11:38 am
41
I’m sure your parents are real proud of you.
Comment by hmmm — May 4, 2007 @ 3:28 pm
the dynamic between everyone on this program is terrific!!!! Tucker is good in the evening but great in the A.M.
Comment by Indypendent — May 5, 2007 @ 1:43 am
42 and 43: Ditto
Comment by cella — May 5, 2007 @ 3:51 am
I loved the show and hope MSNBC makes it permanent. What I saw of his shows was 100% better than the week of Skirmonish and days of Miller combined. My only complaints are: (1) none of the shows covered sports, and (2) I prefer Monica Novotny over Contessa as the news anchor.
Comment by Becky in OH — May 5, 2007 @ 2:02 pm