NYT TV critic: new "Nightline" is "ordinary," "flimsy"

Television Review | 'Nightline'
Like Gaul, Divided in 3 Parts
By ALESSANDRA STANLEY
Published: December 13, 2005

It is a little painful watching Cynthia McFadden, Terry Moran and Martin Bashir on ABC's new "Nightline." They look like Kerensky's provisional government right before the October Revolution - well meaning but doomed.

Probably sooner than later, the 11:35 slot that Ted Koppel held on to for 25 years is bound to fall to a late-night entertainment show. And now, there is no real reason to bemoan that loss.

The new "Nightline" isn't terrible, and some of the more recent segments have been quite good. But over all, the revised show is surprisingly ordinary, a flimsy, fast-moving magazine show like "20/20" that omits the kind of sustained, intelligent inquiry that turned Mr. Koppel's "Nightline" into a landmark....

***

ABC News clearly seeks security in numbers. Unable to decide on a single person with sufficient pizazz to replace Peter Jennings, who died last summer, the network settled on two anchors: Elizabeth Vargas and Bob Woodruff. It is a compliment to Mr. Koppel that his bosses figured it would take three people to replace him. But it was fuzzy math, because if Mr. Koppel proved anything it was that less is more. His was a bare-bones operation, with visual effects that were about as dazzling as radio. Yet Mr. Koppel had a gift for asking incisive questions in a conversational tone, then zeroing in on tendentious or contradictory replies with a sneaky follow-up question.

"Nightline's" new anchors are more like United Nations interpreters: they smoothly ask questions, nod knowingly at the reply, no matter how fatuous, then move onto the next topic on their scripts....

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/13/arts/television/13stan.html

Now, I usually do a quick check to see what they're covering and move on to something else.

If ABC is determined to have a late night show, I wonder if there's any chance ot getting someone similar to Jon Stewart, or Keith Olberman?

I've only watched one or two in the new format and I agree totally with the article. Before that I'd watched it religiously, now there is no reason to. Sorry Ted, I tried, but there's just no there there.

Some executive was told to dumb it down and jazz it up (I hate the thumping background 'music') in hopes it would drive away the old market for the show so they can say 'well, we tried' and then kill it.

I just wonder if ABC is renewing its efforts at wooing Letterman to their network. They tried before but Dave wouldn't have it. He didn't want to be responsible for bumping his good friend Ted. But now that Ted has retired .....

It died on 11/22.

The "new Nightline" is only distinguishable by its time slot.

The NYT reviewer hit the bullseye.

kick

series about inner city school teachers that was excellent, it's a shame they've done away with what Night line once was.