“The Situation With Tucker Carlson,” the first show developed at MSNBC under new president Rick Kaplan, debuted last night. And while “The Situation” had many of the same problems as other cable news shows, it did have one significant, and surprising, thing going for it: It was nice.
When you think of Tucker Carlson, best known as the former co-host of the recently cancelled and unlamented CNN shoutfest “Crossfire,” nice isn’t a word that normally comes to mind. But at least on opening night, “The Situation” made a point of not letting its talking heads interrupt each other. The guests for much of the show were Air America’s Rachel Maddow, and Jay Severin, a libertarian New England talk show host — a pair-off with a real potential for nastiness — yet they were civil throughout, as was the host.
Carlson’s default mode is one of casual, smug amusement, even when discussing the weightiest issues. He often seems equal parts embarrassed and enthralled, like the smart-ass member of the debate team who thinks maybe he should be trying to hang with the cool kids, but just can’t help himself. That attitude rubs off on the entire show, giving it an air of friendliness rarely seen on programs featuring debating ideologues angling for the best sound bite.
But a nice show isn’t the same as a good one. And, in the end, “The Situation” wasn’t a good show. For one thing, it felt weightless; the same attitude that makes Carlson’s show feel friendly also made it feel inconsequential. The choice of topics didn’t help: Last night, after a half hour on the Michael Jackson verdict, Carlson moved onto such topics as cracking down on speeding, whether or not the government should evict a woman who lives in a state park, male sexual harassment, nude British cyclists, and toast featuring messages about … Michael Jackson.
The show is supposed to move fast, and in that it succeeds; like the drive-time talk radio shows it seems to be emulating, it offers up mental stimulation in the smallest chunks possible. (Even the Michael Jackson stuff was split up, making it easier to dip in and out. Will Jackson recover? What’s up with the fans? Do celebrities always get off? Is Jackson just like Oscar Wilde?)
But there weren’t a lot of surprises. Carlson and Severin seem to believe Jackson should have been convicted; Severin even portentously tried to play prophet, saying “I think this is not the last time he’s going to dangle someone out a window.” Carlson couldn’t resist pointing out that Jackson once raised money for Democrats. And Maddow served as a liberal mouthpiece. Two conservatives vs. one liberal is a stacked deck, of course, but it wasn’t too much of an issue last night, since Maddow was allowed to make her points without interruption. A larger problem was the fact that the guests were given so little time to talk — just twenty seconds on each topic. With no time to develop an argument, they never really said anything.
Which leaves us wondering: What is “The Situation” supposed to be? It’s not a news show, since it doesn’t spend any real time on any topic, and it’s not a debate show, for the same reason. It’s also not particularly entertaining. That isn’t to say there weren’t interesting moments — Carlson brought up and endorsed Steve Jobs’ commencement speech at Stanford, when he told students to drop out, and in the second half of the show ESPN radio host Max Kellerman actually uttered the words “who could possibly resist the luscious fourteen year old boy?” (Don’t worry — he was being sarcastic.) But mostly, it was a blur of bad puns, friendly surface-level disagreement, and instantly forgettable Can You Believe This!-type stories.
Jon Stewart famously said that Carlson’s old show, “Crossfire,” was “hurting America.” “The Situation” will never earn that kind of vitriol. Not because it’s too affable, but because it’s too inconsequential.
That may be a step up for Carlson, but it’s a baby step.
–Brian Montopoli
Brian Montopoli is a writer at CJR Daily.