Coming soon to the my fave websites list on the right (no political affiliation implied) is a link to the Charlie Rose Show page. I will now pause a few seconds so most of you can say back to your computer monitor, “Who CARES?” (an old Jack Benny bit, immortal!)
Charlie Rose is host of the most intelligent interview TV program host, I have seen. He is as intelligent as Dick Cavett was when he had his short-lived counter-Carson hour on ABC, but Rose is better read, better researched and better delivered than Cavett and without the “Scrogginly demeanor” Cavett used to ooze when talking with Kate Hepburn. Rose is a non-practicing lawyer who regards everyone appearing on his show without obvious rancor, with occasional glimpses of comaraderie and every nanosecond of the show, with defference to what they have to say and consummate respect. He’s not in a contest with his guests. He doen’t “win” if he’s funnier or smarter than they are. And there’s enough healthy, hail-fellow-well-met humor to satisfy my pre-snoozy craving to laugh my fool head off. Do you want to laugh out loud at 10:30 weeknights and at noon (repeats of the previous show) on weekdays? Neither do I.
The guests are a combination of upper floor diplomats, proven theater and movie people. politicians of all persuasions and business people from all over the world. Some of them have never even appeared in People magazine and Entertainment Tonight. . On Wednesday night April 11, he interviewed Walter Isaacson, author of a new biography of Einstein and an Iraqi politician whose insights into the current malaise over East should have been shared with every living high school graduate in the USA. Alam Alawi was his name, if I remember correctly. BRILLIANT man, and easier to understand than Kavitha Cardoza will likely be in 20 fripping years. Rose has interviewed #43 people on and I’ve watched the entire interviews because I know I’ll see objective journalism without the “soft balls” (metaphorically speaking) of Tim Russert and absolutely no animated dancing elephants making CEO’s go “ha ha” in the interminable onslaught of General Electric commercials.
The show is going soft, to my profound regret. In the past two weeks, a “Global Wrapup” of news at the start has lessened the precious, incomparable interview minutes. What a SHAM, telling many of us the same old “news” we’ve heard on the radio for the past 12 hours. I hope this — and the fact total show time seems to have shrunk about five minutes since mid-March — don’t indicate Charlie needs more time for his single-malt whiskey. For SURE, I said that to see if you’re still reading. He’s as clear and clean from what I can tell as a wind chime on the summit of Mt. McKinley. .
If you have to work a schedule that prevents you watching The Charlie Rose Show on Channel 8, WSEC Public Television, here is your best excuse to haul mass and go buy a TIVO. I don’t care what you think of Dr. Gerold Groebel and Lawrence Welk re-runs on Saturday night (Where have you gone, Myron Floren? Our nation turns its lonely ice to you. Woo Woo Wooo), BUY the TIVO and get to know this program. It will make you a smarter hummin’ bean, as they say in December, “Yule” thank me for the sejeschin.
Thanks for reading this.
Lib long . . . . . . . and pester.
