Austin360 blogs > TV Blog > Archives > 2006 > July > 07
Friday, July 7, 2006
Eeew! It’s Geraldo!
Sometimes it’s hard to believe Geraldo Rivera is still around. But he is. Like an antibiotic-resistant virus, he just refuses to leave us alone.
From ABC News, to daytime talk show (remember when he had fat from his butt injected into his face?) to his rightful place among the hysterics of Fox News. He turns up in hurricanes, wars and all manner of disasters — always careful to make sure the spotlight is on him.
So why am I calling attention to The Biggest Ego in TV News? I received an e-mailed press release about his syndicated show “Geraldo at Large” (weekdays at 4:30 p.m. on KTBC Channel 7).
“Geraldo is about to go one-on-one with the mob hitman who claims he risked his own life to save Geraldo’s on the Monday episode,” crowed the show’s publicist in the e-mail.
“The Philly mobster has been in the Witness Protection Program ever since his testimony took down five mob bosses. The hit was in the ’90s, but the mobster is now back. He’s out of hiding and ready to face Geraldo in a tell-all of how the ‘warrior journalist,’ yet again, faced death’s door.”
The release goes on, in melodramatic fashion, to imagine what the TV landscape would be like if the mob had “whacked” Geraldo. It then goes on to mention his name in the very same sentence as Peter Jennings, Tom Brokaw, Ted Koppel and Dan Rather.
That’s when my blood officially reached the boiling point. Granted, Rivera, now 63, started his career 40 years ago as a serious journalist. Or at least a wannabe serious journalist. He has won numerous awards for investigations into prisons and drug wars. He also has a law degree.
But somewhere along the way he turned from journalist to hot-shot crusader, a lover of all limelight and a parody of a globe-trotting, hard-news reporter. Trying to referee an explosive argument on his old daytime talkie, Geraldo managed to get his nose broken on the air. Perfect melodrama … hardly journalism or even enlightening television. He ain’t no Oprah.
So a mobster is going to warble about Geraldo on Monday? I don’t care … not even a little.
Mulling Emmy nominations … again
Now that the dust has settled on the Emmy nominations, I have a couple more thoughts to share.
First, people should be ineligible for an Emmy nom if they’re playing themselves. And Larry David (“Curb Your Enthusiasm”), nominated for lead actor in a comedy, wasn’t the only offender here. Patrick Stewart, Ben Stiller and Kate Winslet were all nominated for their “guest actor” roles in the HBO comedy “Extras.” Please.
If the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences is going to allow actors to be recognized for playing themselves, why not let reality show contestants in on the honors? The folks on “Survivor” and “Amazing Race” are playing (heightened versions of) themselves, too.
Speaking of reality shows, there are two categories in the Emmy nods for this overworked genre: plain old reality and reality-competition. Regular reality features contenders “Antiques Roadshow” (PBS), “The Dog Whisperer” (NGC), “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” (ABC), “Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List” (Bravo) and “Penn & Teller: Bull——” (Showtime).
You will not be surprised to learn that I am pulling mightily for Cesar Millan, aka “The Dog Whisperer,” to win.
The reality-competition category includes “The Amazing Race” (CBS), “American Idol” (Fox), “Dancing with the Stars” (ABC), “Project Runway” (Bravo) and “Survivor” (CBS). If I’m forced to care about this category, I guess I favor the cadillac of them all, “Idol.” So far, nobody’s done it better.
Permalink | Comments (3) | Categories: News coverage
