57 replies to this topic

[billsmusing]

Will it last the summer?

Yes, because Zucker is so involved.
What do you think?

[SeeeTeee]

The sidekick Fuglestank is awful. He was awful on America's Funniest Home Videos and he's awfuler here. He's up there with the other host of American Idol who only lasted the first season.

Edited by SeeeTeee, Jul 7, 2004 @ 9:13 PM.

[JuanitaSmi]

I really wanted this to be an enjoyable new talk show. It airs at 10 p.m.: the perfect time in my world. Unfortunately, the premiere episode was just painful to watch. The only redeeming aspect, in my view, was Patty Smyth, she was just a breath of fresh air. Maybe they should can John Fuselang (hey, there is life after VH1) and make Patty the sidekick.

Poor Jersey took a number of hits last night.

[Sumner]

I tuned in just to see my man Sting, but it was pretty painful to watch. McEnroe was just so awkward with the questions and the chit chat. Patty was a hoot though! Who knew?

[JuanitaSmi]

Somehow I could guess your interest in that ep based on your Member Name :-)

Johnny Mac is always so comfortable during tennis broadcasts and in the tennis environment it was painful to watch him like a fish out of water. I would love this show to be a success for him but somehow I think he'd be better off having a show on The Tennis Channel, which I don't even get.

And what about asking Sting for the gazillionth time about the tantric sex? Boring and uncomfortable for everyone. (Although Patty asking Sting why he and Trudy had never offered to swap with Mac & Smyth was hilarious.)

[iMissEthan]

Johnny Mac is always so comfortable during tennis broadcasts

I don't agree with that statement at all. When he's commenting on game play or giving his opinion when the camera isn't on him, Mac does a great job. However, he always looks so uncomfortable when the tennis broadcast begins and he is staring frozen at the camera when they're in the little talk show looking area. He was also horribly stiff and uncomfortable-seeming when he guest hosted for Letterman. I did watch The Chair, but have no memory of what he was like during that disaster. He would be outstanding as the host of a radio talk show.

[starwannabe]

Gawd, this really WAS painful. Johnny Mac, so far, has like ZERO interviewing skills and seems most comfortable when things are about him. (IMHO) Sidekick guy was pretty bad, but it seemed like there were a couple of times when he actually bailed John out when he got a little stuck in his interviews. Patty Smyth was a hoot -- no inhibitions there!

Did anyone check to see if McEnroe's guitar was actually plugged in?

Maybe they can get Mary Carillo as a sidekick! (Although I don't think she'd lower herself.)

[vallegirl]

This show so needs Mary, though, because she's known John forever and loves to take the piss out of him. Maybe as a guest, but they need to get her on the show.

Mac is so enamored of himself, though, that he sucks as an interviewer. He never let poor Will Ferrell get any kind of leverage because he was so hyped to ask all the questions he was supposed to ask and then didn't even let Will answer. If he had just managed to shut up for 20 seconds Will would have made the first half watchable. I switched to an Unwrapped about candy for the second half because I couldn't watch anymore.

[JuanitaSmi]

he always looks so uncomfortable when the tennis broadcast begins and he is staring frozen at the camera when they're in the little talk show looking area...He would be outstanding as the host of a radio talk show.

Very good points, iMissEthan.

I do think Fugelsang was trying to help McEnroe (unsuccessful though his attempts were.)

During NBC's Wimbledon coverage, McEnroe was plugging his show. He said, "I don't know about the show but I know we'll have the best theme song because my wife wrote it." Well, John. There you go.

I was shocked that they signed off with Patty singing Scandal's old hit. I figured she'd be sick of it by now. But I do love that song. I'm such a sucker for the 80s (or was it 90s?).

Edited by JuanitaSmi, Jul 8, 2004 @ 8:39 PM.

[iMissEthan]

I think Scandal peaked in 1984. And I will say this for Mac - he's very vocally demonstrative towards his wife and children.

[buttersister]

So Zucker's involved, eh? Then I imagine it was he who, after the first part of the extraordinarily awkward Sting interview, phoned in and had Patty slip in next to Sting. And try to save it, which, bless her, she almost succeeded doing.

[Adina Leigh]

That was terrible, though not quite as uncomfortable as watching a Sharon Osbourne interview.

Sting is truly the sexiest man on the planet. Trudie is a lucky, lucky woman.

[JuanitaSmi]

Well I thought he did much better on the second night. But interesting that they added Karch Kiraly to the lineup. He's still a hottie. Looks like every night they'll have some kind of athlete on.

Weird that my cable lineup doesn't show McEnroe on at 10 p.m. but it does show it re-airing at 1 a.m. or so. Huh?

[iMissEthan]

This is a daily show? I thought it was weekly. Why would they start a daily show on Wednesday? Bizarre. Needless to say, I haven't tuned in.

[JuanitaSmi]

I think it started on Wednesday because Mac has significant obligations at Wimbledon. He does some broadcasting for the BBC plus there's a gala for the champions after the Finals. Anyway, he was probably in London until Monday. But I thought it was weird too.

[Helter Skelter]

His show is the definition of painful. He's so awkward and unfunny--at least his cohost has some animation. I watched Friday's episode with Aisha Tyler, who is so gregarious, so interesting, that it literally made me ill watching her try to get something resembling a conversation out of Block-o-Wood McEnroe.

[rocknemo117]

Call me gullible, but was Will Ferrell's interruption of CNBC's Power Lunch that they showed in the premiere ep "real" (I mean, did he actually wind up interrupting a live broadcast during CNBC daytime)? Or was that just done as a skit?

[JuanitaSmi]

I interpreted it as a skit.

Anyone else cringe when John says, "You're watching McEnroe!"?
That line, of all lines, should just roll of the tongue. And he is so stiff and uncomfortable in the delivery. Poor John.

Edited by JuanitaSmi, Jul 12, 2004 @ 8:51 AM.

[iMissEthan]

It wasn't a skit, they really interrupted the Power Lunch show. There was an article about it in today's NY Times business section.

[JuanitaSmi]

Thanks for the info iMissEthan! Who knew?

CNBC showed a clip of the event through the rest of the day, and Mr. McEnroe used it as the opening of his show that night at 10, when "McEnroe'' drew an estimated 266,000 viewers, according to Nielsen Media Research. That was nearly 100,000 more than CNBC had attracted, on average, in that time slot in the previous eight months, when it mostly ran programs repackaged by NBC News.

From The New York Times. Note: requires free registration.

**sigh**
Show 4 was still relatively painful to watch. And guess there will be no A-list guests on this show. You would think with as many tennis pros on the East Coast for the Hall of Fame induction, he'd at least have a few folks pop in tonite. Alas, not so.

Edited by JuanitaSmi, Jul 12, 2004 @ 10:10 PM.

[billsmusing]

One of Monday night's guests was Katrina Vanden-Heuvel. The interview began with a ninth grade class picture of Katrina and John. She was hot and in a micro-skirt and he was short and geeky. Ah the terrible memories for guys of being in the ninth grade!
I notice that Brian Williams is a guest tomorrow night. Now there's another NBC battleship that is sinking fast. Let's see what two nervous people do together.
However, Wednesday looks good - Elton John.

Edited by billsmusing, Jul 12, 2004 @ 11:51 PM.

[JuanitaSmi]

Go here for an SI article on McEnroe. You have to scroll down to get to the section about the show. I've read it, and I think it's intended to be positive. But, um, I'm not sure.

Also, Jon Wertheim mentions it briefly in his column.

[Wint42]

I don't know what you are talking about when you mentioned Brian Williams. Have you ever seen him speak outside of the news setting he's always in? He's a riot with a very dry wit. If anything....Williams will keep McEnroe somewhat interesting for more than two minutes.

[billsmusing]

I thought the Brian Williams segment was painful as anticipated.

[Helter Skelter]

I'll take this moment to mention that I haven't watched the show since it's second episode. I'll watch Dennis Miller and then, somehow, the remote clicks away from CNBC. Poor John.

[JuanitaSmi]

Well that might've been the best show to date. Elton John and Nicole Richie, who'd've thunk it?

I was actually impressed with Nicole Richie. It wasn't the first interview I've seen her do but it was certainly one in which she came across well.

Probably doesn't hurt that Elton and John know each other, if not socially, then at least through tennis (especially as Elton and Andre are such good friends.)

Was a bit disappointed that Elton did Tiny Dancer instead of Philadelphia Freedom for the tennis connection but it was still very cool that EJ performed. Heck Sting didn't do that (just chimed in with Patty).

[Skategrrl]

It was a total goosebump moment watching Elton sing "Tiny Dancer" to nothing but the piano.

Loved it.

[methodshop]

Does anyone else hate McEnroe's sidekick with a severe passion? His sidekick is John Fugelsang from America's Funniest Home Videos. He is probably the lamest people ever born. I just did a Google search on him and there are a bunch of "hate sites" for Fugelsang. Check out this one: http://www.johnfugelsang.com

[redfullmoon]

guess there will be no A-list guests on this show. You would think with as many tennis pros on the East Coast for the Hall of Fame induction, he'd at least have a few folks pop in tonite. Alas, not so.

McEnroe himself was in Newport, RI for the Tennis Hall of Fame induction ceremony (he also played an exhibition doubles match: McEnroe and Tony Roche took on Andre Agassi and Rod Laver). He was probably too busy making his own appearance there to get one of his fellow Tennis Hall of Famers to come back to NY to tape his show...or something like that.

I don't know what you are talking about when you mentioned Brian Williams. Have you ever seen him speak outside of the news setting he's always in? He's a riot with a very dry wit.

You're right...Brian Williams has made numerous appearances on Leno and Conan over the past 5-6 years, especially since May 2002, when it was announced that Williams will replace Tom Brokaw on "NBC Nightly News" at the end of 2004. The idea has been to introduce Williams to the viewing public who may not have seen him on MSNBC or CNBC, and to market him as a funnier, hipper, younger version of Brokaw (he's really into NASCAR, for example).

Williams seems genuinely down-to-earth and funny, but in all these late-night interview appearances, he can come across as trying to hard to impress.

[billsmusing]

When I ask my friends at NBC about Brian, they emphasize his intellect not his humor or human side. Maybe I am reading to much of what I see through those comments.