Sampling a few shows that we had pretty much written off, it turned out they were all pretty good in a second look.
CBS Evening News has improved a lot. Couric has given up being a star, at least in front of the camera. CBS is providing more news stories than the other networks, with more substance, covering international news more regularly. Couric could probably start to let herself smile again. That would be okay.
Smallville has become a real production. The TV show looks like a well-produced movie. The plots are uneven, but it is an entertaining show, with real comic book type stories — just what it should be.
Even Leno — I'm no fan — had a very funny show the other night. The best segment was of his interviews of school kids. The writers probably were prompted by Kimmel's regular segment where kids talk to Kimmel in a gorilla suit. But they are young kids, so they think they are talking to a gorilla. Premise good, often it doesn't payoff though. But with Leno it was better; he had a computer hookup with a school. Two kids would appear and he would talk to them. One duo, two boys, were hysterical. Both children had enough personality for four adults, with the focus on the younger irreverent kid. The dynamic between the two kids involved the younger one saying something wacky; then the older kid would crack up, lean back in his chair, and say, still laughing, "You didn't have to say that."
When Leno asked the two which of their parents were smarter, the younger kid said, "My father, because he is a computer brainiac and he can download illegal music."
