nbc show today

For NBC, putting Kathie Lee Gifford back on television apparently was more important than figuring out why.
So there she was Monday morning, beaming as brightly as her yellow slicker while she co-hosted the revamped fourth hour of NBC’s “Today Show” with Hoda Kotb.
The “why” is still being worked out.
The show’s timeslot and tone suggest it would like to become a bridge between Kathie Lee’s old teammate Regis Philbin, who now partners with Kelly Ripa, and “The View.”
Accordingly, it had generous elements of both those well-established institutions.
Gifford and Kotb started the show with a long complimentary schmooze, bravely ignoring the raw April day around them.
They had the can’t-miss “diet success story,” bringing in a feel-good civilian guest who gave up Snickers bars and lost 110 pounds.
They had a famous guest, in this case Harvey Fierstein, over whom they could not fawn enough.
Then, perhaps to give the show a shot of action, they brought in a team of gymnasts wearing “anti-gravity” boots that turn them into human pogo sticks.
The point of this wasn’t clear until Kathie Lee and Hoda strapped on the boots themselves - and became even less clear when the hosts barely stand up while wearing them.
It wasn’t what you’d call a “killer” segment.
In the broader scope, the whole show felt like we were watching musicians learning to play the guitar as the song went along.
A bear hug at the end couldn’t disguise the fact Hoda and Kathie Lee just met a few days ago, and their conversation sounds like it.
Dressing the adoring audience in yellow and orange shirts gives the production a colorful look that should be enhanced when the sun comes out, and the show is grounded in elements that are proven winners - including, not least of all, Kathie Lee’s name.

nydailynews.com


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