Does The World Need Another Talk Show?

Two years ago, when Katie's Couric's hugely hyped new talk show was ready to make its debut, I wondered if the world really needed another television talk-fest. It turns out we didn't: "Katie" flamed out after two years. (Or, if you prefer, Ms. Couric chose to pursue new opportunities at Yahoo...)

Now Meredith Vieira is ready to step into the arena, apparently for $5 million per year and an equity stake. From promos I've seen she's trying not to be same old, same old, with a set that looks like her real-life living room, an all-woman on-set band, and audience contests. Will it work? The odds aren't good. The list of failed talk show hosts, as listed by Lloyd Grove at The Daily Beast, includes Anderson Cooper, Megan Mullally, Jane Pauley, Tony Danza, Kris Jenner and Sharon Osborne, plus, of course, Katie Couric.

I like Meredith Vieira and I wish her well, but I have no real interest in watching her show. We'll know in a few weeks if anyone else does.

You can read Grove's article here.

The "Fed Up" Challenge

Question: Can I give up sugar for 10 days?
Answer: Sure.
Honest answer: I'm not sure.

There's a new documentary out today, called Fed Up, with Katie Couric as a producer and narrator. It's about the really horrible stuff most of us Americans eat most of the time and in conjunction with the release of the movie, Katie has issued a challenge: give up sugar for 10 days, starting Monday.

Question: How hard can that be?
Answer: Really, really hard.

It's not just about giving up the obvious stuff with sugar, like candy, cookies, ice cream and Coke, where the sugar is easy to see. The harder part is the "hidden" sugar, which is in almost everything we eat. A quick check yesterday, as I pondered attempting the challenge, revealed sugar as an ingredient in such things as Wish Bone Italian salad dressing, the tomato sauce in a jar that I put on pasta and the mustard and mayo I put on my sandwich. The pasta doesn't have sugar, but it does have wheat flour, which apparently affects my brain the same way sugar does. The bread in the sandwich has sugar, too, although the label loudly announces "No High Fructose Corn Syrup."

Yikes.

So am I going to take the challenge? Yes, with one caveat: I'm giving myself permission not to do it perfectly. It's not going to be easy. I've already figured out that if I really stop eating everything with even a little bit of sugar in it there won't be much left to eat other than fresh fruit and vegetables, with the occasional piece of chicken or fish on the side. That's pretty much the point of the whole thing, but still. It's a big change to make.

If you're intrigued, check out the Fed Up website here.

Katie And The Kardashians

I would guess that Katie Couric feels the same way about the K's as I do: Why are they famous? What is it that they do, exactly? Why do they get so much attention? In fact, I don't have to guess, because Katie said the following in an interview with, wait for it, In Touch magazine: "I don't understand - why are they famous? I think it's mostly teenage girls that are interested." So I had a few seconds of being surprised when I learned that Katie had sent Kim a gift when Miss North West was born. Then I remembered that regardless of Katie's personal feelings, having Kim on her talk show would be a huge "get" for Katie, which is why she was sucking up to Kim by sending the gift. It's just business.

The plot thickened when Kim saw the In Touch interview and fired back on Instagram with a snotty message for Katie: #IHateFakeMediaFriends, and #MayIHumblySuggestYouNotSendGiftsThenTalkShit. I had a few seconds of actually feeling some sympathy for poor Kim, being used/sucked up to by Katie just to get Kim on the show and boost Katie's ratings, but then I remembered, whatever else you think about her, Kim Kardashian really isn't stupid, especially when it comes to brand-building via media. She knows that Katie Couric isn't her best friend. She knows why Katie would send her a baby gift, and I'm pretty sure Katie isn't the only media heavyweight who is trying to get Kim on their show by reaching out/sucking up. It's all just business and Kim knows that better than anyone. She wouldn't be rich and famous otherwise.

Saturday afternoon update: Katie Couric has issued a "sort of, but not really" apology: "I've met Kim before and I think she's a really sweet person. I was responding to a reporter's question, and explaining how I'm intrigued by the public's fascination with her family. I didn’t mean to hurt her feelings. The gift is genuine, and I'm happy for Kim and Kanye."

Her First Guest Was Jessica Simpson???

I didn't see Katie Couric's new talk show today, but based on Howard Kurtz's review at the Daily Beast, it doesn't sound as if it was anything very exciting. ABC's been hyping this show for over a year, and on day one the big guest is Jessica Simpson?? Is that really the best Katie Couric could do? Sheryl Crow was on as well, but still. It certainly doesn't sound very earth-shattering/format-busting to me. Now I'm really interested to see if Katie can make this work.

Here Comes Honey Boo Boo And Other TV Updates

I had intended for this blog to be a Boo Boo-free zone.  I figured pretty much everything there is to say had been said elsewhere:  it's a new low, it's exploitative, it's the end of civilization as we know it; countered by no, the family gets the joke, they're laughing all the way to the bank, etc. Then I saw this item in the current issue of TVGuide:  "On August 29, Honey Boo Boo was the top-rated show at 10 p.m. with adults 18-49." Wow. I'm trying to think of something profound, or even profoundly snarky to say about all this and so far, inspiration isn't striking, so I'm stuck with Wow.

In other Reality TV news, I've been having some fun with Snooki, her new baby and the cover of People magazine, but I admit I don't take Snooki very seriously. Then I read that she makes $150,000 per episode of Jersey Shore. Can that be true? I've been known to say that when I was in school, back in the day, we didn't know that in the future Food Network Chef was going to be a career option. Obviously "falling down drunk jersey girl" is a pretty good career option, too.

Who will be the next Bachelor? ABC should be making the big announcement any day now, perhaps even tonight during the finale of Bachelor Pad. Over the week-end producers announced that after an audition, they've decided not to give Ryan Lochte the rose, which was probably predictable. Reality Steve said a few months ago that it will be Roberto, who's now single after he and Ali broke up, and Arie and Sean from Emily's season are apparently also in contention, although Arie's been quoted as saying it's not him. For the record, I'm rooting for Roberto. Stay tuned, Bachelor fans, we'll know soon.

Finally, today is the premiere of Katie Couric's new talk show and I'm interested to see how it goes. Does the world really need another television talk-fest? To put it another way, can Katie really bring anything new to the table? Many, many talk shows have been launched with great fanfare then ignominiously cancelled a  few months or a season later. Will Katie be different? She was beloved and hugely successful on the Today show, (which, by the way, is probably fervently wishing they could have her back,) and maybe she does have just the right combination of luck, timing and interesting things to say and her show will be a big hit.  Her promo on Good Morning, America this morning struck me as "same old, same old," but maybe I'm wrong.  In Chicagoland "Katie" comes on at 3.00 p.m., and Ellen, Rikki Lake and Dr. Phil are all doing their talk show thing in the same time slot. Is there an audience for Katie?  We'll see.