Piers Morgan has 'ugly' start, but shows promise
Talk show host Piers Morgan attends the luncheon to honor The Weinstein Company's "The King's Speech" at a Private Club in Manhattan. (Jan. 10, 2011) Credit: Getty Images
Of all the wacky moves CNN has made in the past (oh) five years, none quite topped for sheer wacky bravura the move to replace Larry King. Piers Morgan is a former British tabloid editor, "Celebrity Apprentice" champ and host of a hunk of summer Velveeta called "America's Got Talent." Why this guy, some wondered? Wasn't the Hoff available?
Morgan had credentials in Britain - an interview show and host of "Britain's Got Talent" - but none of any consequence in the States. He didn't charm critics who pointed this out during the TV press tour in Pasadena earlier this month - "Mr. Obnoxious" seemed to be the favored sobriquet - and then challenged them to write "about the show regularly, good, bad, and ugly."
Challenge accepted: Monday night's's premiere of "Piers Morgan Tonight" was mostly ugly. But "ugly" is sometimes better than "bad," and in rare cases even better than "good." This is another way of saying that Mr. Obnoxious has promise.
First guest was Oprah Winfrey, who has a new network to sell, OWN. She spoke to Barbara Walters last month and covered pretty much all the ground Morgan covered Monday night.
But Morgan has a rope-a-dope interview style. His strategy is to first unleash the disarming, obsequious suck up questions that aren't quite questions ("the thing I know about you is that everything you touch is a hit . . . could you touch me?") then move in close with some body shots. "How many times have you properly been in love?"
At first Piers was the dope who got roped. Winfrey is a pro who has twisted more would-be interlocutors into 10 types of pretzels. She chatted amiably and endlessly about nothing - just words, words and more words that any fan has heard on her show a thousand times.
But he persisted and pushed. "Did you ever tell your father you were pregnant?" That pushed her off-message. "Had anyone known at the time . . . I would have never been able to be Miss Fire Prevention."
Unexpected question. Interesting Freudian response. Mr. Obnoxious does have promise.
