Skip to main content

PILOT REVIEW: Rock Center with Brian Williams

ROCK CENTER WITH BRIAN WILLIAMS










Hosted by Brian Williams
Featuring Harry Smith, Kate Snow, Ted Koppel, Meredith Viera, Richard Engel, Nancy Snyderman, Matt Lauer, Ann Curry, and Natalie Morales

Rock Center with Brian Williams is the first new primetime newsmagazine to debut in years. Featuring NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams and pretty much every other NBC correspondent, Rock Center features a mishmash of serious stories, human interest stories, and in-studio guests (Jon Stewart on the pilot tonight).

THE GOOD: Brian Williams is likable and a personality that's fit for a primetime newsmagazine as he always wants to be looser than he is on the Evening News. Plus, he loves to be on TV and that's apparent from this debut. Like any show, it will rise and fall in quality based on the intrigue of the story and that will be the case here. It was smart to get Jon Stewart as an interview guest because he can always make for interesting TV.

THE BAD: There seemed to be a little too much packed into the pilot. They didn't seem to have time to explore everything with as much depth as they might have wanted to. Brian Williams is likable but his mocked arrogance sometimes wears thin (talking about Rock Center's 25th anniversary in 25 years). And just as this was a good thing, the show will rise and fall based on the stories of the week.

BOTTOM LINE: TV has seen some throwback success this year with sitcoms, Tim Allen, etc. Maybe a newsmagazine may work. But more than likely it will skew old as the TV landscape is not the same as it was in the 90s when newsmagazines were all the rage. With the constant cable TV news available, it may not be able to make much of a dent.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

EPISODE GUIDES: Rhoda Season Five

On Thursdays, I go through classic series with a critical look at each season. Today I am looking at Season Five (the final season) of  Rhoda ! RHODA: SEASON FIVE 1978 13 episodes Rhoda' s final season was a truncated one as the show was cancelled in December 1978 after only 13 episodes had been produced (and only nine had aired). This feels like a continuation from season four in many ways except with the ill-advised split between Ida and Martin (more on that below). While  Rhoda  has an occasional good moment and even a couple decent episodes, it is a show that seems so wildly different from season one and not in a good way.  Rhoda  could never figure out what it fully wanted to be and only made it four and a half seasons as a result. Starring Valerie Harper as Rhoda Morgenstern  (13 episodes) Julie Kavner as Brenda Morgenstern  (13 episodes) Ray Buktenica as Benny Goodwin  (11 episodes) Kenneth McMillan as Jack Doyle  (9 episodes) Nancy Wa...
Post a Comment
Read more

SCHEDULES OF THE PAST: 1995-1996 Thursdays

On Tuesdays, I take a look at schedules from yesteryear. Here's a look at Thursdays in the 1995-96 season! ABC 8:00 8:30 9:00 10:00 Sep Charlie Grace The Monroes Various Programs Oct Murder One Nov Various Programs Dec Various Programs Thursday Night Movie Jan Feb World’s Funniest Videos Before They Were Stars! Mar Apr May NBC was the powerhouse on Thursday nights but ABC still gave it the old college try in the Fall of 1995 with a trio of new dramas that they hoped would help them cut into the Peacock's dominance. Headlining their night was Murder One , a high profile new show from Steven Bochco that received much of the network's attention before the season started. The series focused on one murder case for an entire season, whi...
Post a Comment
Read more

DECADE IN REVIEW: The Best Comedies of the 2010s

During the month of December, I will be looking back at the decade that was the 2010s on TV. I will be sharing my favorite sitcoms, dramas, the best episodes, the best performances and the worst shows of the decade. To be eligible for this list, a show had to air the majority of its episodes in the 2010s. However, for the rankings and determination, all episodes were taken into account, including ones that may have aired before 2010. I will also preface that there are comedies that have aired this decade that I haven't watched yet so this is the best of what I have watched. To be fair, that preface is more true for dramas. There's not a ton of unwatched comedies sitting in my Netflix or Amazon watchlist. So here are my Top 10 comedies of the 2010s! Close Calls:  Master of None (Netflix) - An inconsistent but occasionally fascinating commentary on many life issues done so with innovative storytelling. The Good Place (NBC) - A show that aims high with a fascinating premis...
Post a Comment
Read more