Organization: University of Illinois at Chicago
Date: Fri, 8 Jan 1993 14:45:00 CST
From: <U54778@uicvm.uic.edu>
Newsgroups: alt.tv.seinfeld
Subject: Re: JS on "Charlie Rose"

In article <1993Jan8.152016.2447@afit.af.mil>, tex@ss2.af.mil (LaTex software)
says:
>
>Did anybody else see Jerry on the Charlie Rose show - who is this guy
>anyway?  Some PBS show from LA that was on about 11:30 last night.

Charlie Rose is one of the great TV secrets, known only to those of us who
use Late Nite TV like others use a radio while working at their jobs.
There are some awfully bad interviewers out in TV land where the talk show
has supersaturated the airwaves.  In considering all these interviewers on
how good they are, and using a scale of 1 to 10, Charlie Rose comes out
about 190.  There is just no comparison.  The best interviewers out there
readily admit this in quick comments here and there.  Bob Costas had him on
and was practically fawning and stumbling over him, asking for tips on how
to be better and tips on what he (Bob) was doing wrong.
  Why is he not better known?  Because for several years Rose ran a show
aired only in the wee hours of the morning in where he interviewed at
leisure in half hour segments, every manner of guest from the famous to
little known artists and persons of particular interests.  He was not only
well versed on what they were doing, what they had done, what anyone else
said about them and what were the most interesting points about what they
did, wrote, or played in but he conveyed a calm, studied enthusiasm that
got the interviewee to open up to his questions like no one else could do.
  I'm 45. I have never seen anyone come close to Rose as the epitome of
the best that a TV interviewer could achieve.  When he left CBS's Nightwatch
it was a sad day, for they continued the show with the worst round of
interviewers I have ever seen.  One woman was interviewing a leading,
well informed expert on the Soviet society.  He was starting a three point
explanation of the forces at work in the USSR that would prevent their
being able to readjust their Society to a better form.  In the middle of
his first point, she jumped in to give her moronic, simple minded  view
contradicting his well reasoned point,  she went to comercial and we never
heard the answer in what was left of the interview.  I was so pissed that
I turned off the set and never watched NightWatch again.  A third
grader could have done better.  Charlie Rose would never have done that.
  It is with great joy that I find the PBS has again picked up a show
using his masterful techniques and I look forward to more hours of
fascinating, insightful interviews.

PS. I also look forward to the Seinfeld move.  I agree with everyone
here that Seinfeld is the best comedy on TV today but its ratings have
not kept up with its critical praise.  A week ago I scanned the AP
reports on ratings and I believe that Seinfeld was in the 35-40 range
while Home Improv. was in the upper 20's.  If Seinfeld is to get its
deserved share of the market, it has to be moved away from Home Improv.
It is just my opinion but I watched Home Improv. in its first few
episodes and found it funny at first.  But after several episodes, they
seemed to overplay the core humor of the main character.  There was no
subtlety or variety, so it soured for me.  Several plot and character
side points are funny but do not add up to enough to make me want to
watch it over time and definitely not choose it over Seinfeld.
ALAN ROGERS  **** U54778@UICVM.UIC.EDU * I speak only for myself as a *
VMKRAFT INC.  708-675-8615             * citizen of the UNIVERSE, not *
                                       * as an employee of Vmkraft nor*
                                       * as a user of U of I Services.*
Newsgroups: alt.tv.seinfeld