SUNDAY JABBERWOCKY

1. Opinionated Bill O'Reilly came down to Washington to sit in for Brit Hume on Fox News Sunday. He acted elder statesmanlike. Him? Had a lot of advice for the political candidates. His overly dramatic description of Hillary not tipping somebody was much too over-the-top. ADVICE: Take your big foot and go back to New York and your Factor show.
2. Phil Jones said on CBS Sunday Morning that "the battle in South Carolina has gone from civil to war. It'll be a shootout." Bang Bang, as Cher would say.
3. Sunday Morning ended its show with the Peanuts theme because Charles Shulz died. (It's called Linus And Lucy and it's on the Charlie Brown Christmas album by The Vince Guaraldi Trio.)
4. Those senior Citizens for Better Medicare commercials sure are running a lot.
5. Tim Russert popped up from Austin, Texas on News4 to plug George W. Bush "just six days before the South Carolina primary ... Our sole guest (on Meet the Press) for the full hour."
6. . . . And up it came at 10:30. No folderol. One opening beauty shot of the city and right inside to the small, this time, round table to interview one of the contenders face-to-face, one-on-one, tea for two.
7. Face the Nation wasn't face-to-face with John McCain. He was already down in Greenville, South Carolina. (Gettin' a jump on George?) Bob Schieffer was in Washington. And they didn't have him for the whole show. After he was done they had Christian Coalitioner Pat Robertson from his complex in Virginia Beach.
8. NOTICING HAIR. Tim Russert's is getting lighter, redder. But maybe it was the light in Austin.
9. BORING SHOT. John McCain's background was pretty simple. Up against a pink/beige wall. The only other thing in the shot was the square back of the wooden chair he was sitting in and the wainscoting along the wall. Wainscoting's nice to have in a house.
10. LESS HAIR. George W. Bush looked like he got a trim at Supercuts. Subtle, and probably cheap.
11. Bush called Russert down when they showed one of his "negative" campaign TV ads. "That's not the whole ad Tim."
12. Bush said, "I got defiant after New Hampshire."
13. Bush had on a white shirt and light blue tie; McCain had a blue shirt on with a more interesting tie. Dark blue and other colors. Things going on in it. A bit too busy for TV.
14. Pat Robertson looks like he's got lazy eye in the left one. It's not open as much as the right.
15. THEY DON'T KNOW HOW TO DO IT UP RIGHT. For Meet the Press from Austin, no more shots showing where the Special Edition was coming from. When they announced the show's sponsorship, they were back to the old, regular Meet the Press signs they use back in the Washington studio. And when they came to the end of the show, they didn't even return to the outside shot they opened the show up with. You just caught a glimpse of Tim and W. still sitting at the table. One lousy shot of Austin. I mean, if you're gonna take the show somewhere, let's see some geography.
16. Some weird Lexus commercial ran in Meet the Press where a woman was driving and singing and taking her blouse off all at the same time.
17. OH CAN'T WAIT. For The Stone Phillips Interview with Friends star Matthew Perry who plays Chandler. Is that like The Rolling Stone Interview or something? Is it like the Peabody Awards? Will the earth shake?
18. Tim Russert said that when Clinton came in there were 5 pages on the web. Now there are 5 million. That right?
19. Bush says he's pontificating less.
20. McCain's gonna be Russert's guest next Sunday from Detroit. What's out there? And Trumpelstiltskin's on Today tomorrow.
21. Meet the Press gives its website address above the MTP logo at the end of the show. Guess we all need that.
22. NEWNESSES. This Week With Sam Donaldson & Cokie Roberts has sort of a new opening. It's quicker and the announcer's used more. And the opening shot in the studio shows the show logo on a big angled screen downstage from where the principals sit. Looked good.
23. Jesse Ventura came from Minnesota. Looked like it might have been his home. Shot was dressed up nice. Comfortable. Sam was somewhere with a different kind of background. Lots of blue and yellow.
24. Jesse's denim shirt had an emblem on it and Sam asked him about it. It said Schooner's Tavern or something like that. Where he goes to drink. Like a yacht club. Jesse said they better give him a free one (beer) for all this national exposure.
25. Jesse pleaded, "Don't forget about me because I dis-affiliated."
26. George Stephanopoulos is left-handed. Saw him taking notes during a Focus Group segment.
27. We're sick of those self-serving, frequently airing C-Span ads. "Cable's gift to America." Hmmm.
28. George Will's still wearing turtlenecks. Or was today's a mock? He has a cast on his right hand for the second week. The casual look works for him and his colors were complementary.
29. Ralph Reed was in the Washington studio and Lindsey Graham was in Greenville, South Carolina. He seems more intense these election days than he did back during impeachment. Speaks faster. Doesn't seem as southern gentlemanly.
30. Reed is now a Bush Campaign Strategist. He looks older now.
31. Who's push polling?
32. Cokie Roberts looks good in red.
33. SICK OF ... Those Fidelity ads with Andy Warhol lookalike Peter Lynch.
34. At Texaco, they taste rocks.
35. QUESTION: Who's that girl you see before Cokie pops up on that ad for "More Americans get their news ..." Anybody special?
36. And Channel 7's Capital Sunday had Steve and Cokie Roberts on because of Valentine's Day and because of their new book together, From This Day Forward.
37. They weren't together, although they've been married 33 years. Steve was in the studio and Cokie was in St. Louis, I think.
38. Steve still gets excited "when she walks through the door."
39. They had some very young pictures of the couple that were used for bumpers into and out of commercials. One was Cokie as a reporter with earphones on. She looked so young.
40. AWKWARD. With Steve in the studio guest chair and Cokie on a big Oz screen in the center and Kathleen Matthews and Derek McGinty sitting on the other side. Everytime Kathleen asked Cokie a question, she had to crane her neck.
41. Another early shot of the couple showed them relaxing on a boat. Nice. But on the bottom of the picture to the left was an Oprah logo. Made me wonder what show I was watching.
42. I'm logoed out.
43. And when you're down there in South Carolina guys, let's be hearing some of that great beach music and see some people shagging around a bit.
44. SUGGESTIONS ... It Will Stand by The Showmen on Minit, from 1964 or Give Me Just A Little More Time by The Chairmen of the Board on Invictus, from 1970. You'll get votes.

rocci@roccifisch.com

Archives