MOST PEOPLE with half a brain and somewhat interesting life will watch "The Happy Hour"--NBC Bay Area's hour-long sports cable colonoscopy, and be inclined to get a severe buzz after watching this local tripe show that looks as if it were created and developed in the time it takes to guzzle a pint of warm PBR.Greg Papa is tieless --OMG, how creative! Ray Ratto is still the same pain-in-the-ass contrarian who would get cranky if there were a cure for cancer. Ratto, for some reason, has someone at the cable store who still thinks people give a rat's ass about his opinions; he's about as interesting as watching an elderly woman Bingo show in Vallejo.
And to make the PC grade, NBCBA has added a woman, Kelli Johnson, for the purpose, I guess, of having a woman on the show because, you know, you have to have to have a woman --that gives these type of crappers, legitimacy, I guess, because Johnson doesn't say anything even remotely interesting or exciting. Maybe that's intentional because you most certainly don't want to piss off the clients, Larry Baer is always watching.
I tried watching this program, seriously, I gave it the fifteen-minute rule which means if I could get past the first quarter of the show, I'd watch the entire hour but I couldn't take much of after 15; frankly, I needed to get drunk to get back into the action and I didn't disappoint --"The Happy Hour" needs to get 86ED.
And what a clever name. Was someone watching mid-afternoon ESPN programming to come up with it?
ReplyDeleteThey should have used Kate T. Scott.
DeleteNo to Kate Scott. No.
DeleteI told Ray to stop coming to my house and eating everything in the fridge. Fat Bastard.
ReplyDeleteSince you are in Petaluma, could you invite Amy G to your house during Giant home games?
DeleteYou lasted 15? whew- what a constitution. I could only take about 2 minutes. Papa pretending to drink alcohol I guess is going to be the running joke. Its old already.
ReplyDeleteWhile I have a higher opinion of Ratto than you do, overall I agree with your assessment of this new show. I almost couldn't listen to their conversation because I kept wondering "Who designed this set with a desk so narrow that they don't even look comfortable around it?"
ReplyDeleteIt's almost as uncomfortable as watching the Dan Patrick Show. Bring back the multiple panelists like Tim Kawakami and Marcus Thompson.
DeleteWhat a novel idea! A show with...
ReplyDeleteA marginally talented former jockette (other than Amy G).
A notoriously cranky, morbidly obese, highly disgusting sportswriter who wears a food ladened pornstache.
An ostentatious veteran announcer from the East Coast.
I'll watch it…..once.
Could've been worse - could've have had the high-pitched insufferable Fallon Smith. At least Kelli Johnson knows how to give sports reports/update, no matter the quality. Me thinks this show may be forced upon us - NBCSBA under complete Lockstep?
ReplyDeleteHere I thought I was the only one who thought Fallon's voice was a train wreck. Who makes these hires? It should take more than a pretty face to be on a show.
DeleteClear your throat, Fallon!
DeleteI don't know why they replaced Sportstalk Live with this. I watched it for about 30 minutes and tuned out. Kelly is cute but she was awkward and struggled to gather her thoughts and keep up with the dudes. Ray and Greg just talked over her a lot of times. This show may be similar to something KBHK 44 had ages ago. It was some sports talk show. I can't remember if the KBHK show was similar to Sportstalk Live (with guests) or just the same people talking about different topics.
ReplyDeleteI think I recall the show to which you're referring. It may have been on Channel 36 with Jan Hutchins, Mitch Juricich, John Schrader, and guests like Glenn Dickey and Ralph Barbieri. It was mostly talk and no highlights.
DeleteAll kidding aside...
ReplyDeleteI hope Ratto either gets help, or takes independent action in regard to his health. In other words, hopefully he has it in his heart to start taking better care of his heart. I suspect that even his staunches critics would agree with that message.
Shocking that Fatto is still on TV. The SOB looks like Jabba the Hutt. NBC Sports Bay Area or whatever the hell they call themselves is a joke. There's so much conflict of interest. We're all being brainwashed to adore the dribble coming from talking heads and blobs because the teams pay for broadcast rights. What happened to objective reporting? The game broadcasts are living up to their form as a three-hour commercial. Except on a national level. It's not going to change folks. Thank goodness we have choices and mine is to avoid the local dribble on NBCSBA/CSNBA or whatever they call themselves.
ReplyDeleteSo far their Promo is better than the show..
ReplyDeleteI saw about 15 minutes of the first episode and to a large degree, I agree. However, I'll be curious to check back on the show in a couple of months. New shows frequently take time to develop into what they really become longer term.
ReplyDeleteI don't really get the insults towards Ratto, other than the internet seems to promote judgemental criticism. Yes, he's overweight. What the hell does that have to do with him performing the job? Does anyone know if he might have any condition that contributes to his weight? Regardless, we're all human. We all have our issues and weaknesses. His just happens to be clearly visible. Criticize all you want about the job he does, but slamming his weight is juvenile.
I agree about Kelli Johnson. Her attempts to make points sounded extremely superficial, and within 2 minutes of the show I was thinking ok, here's the PC factor at work again... a woman on the show because, well, there just needs to be a woman on the show.
And that first few minutes doing the "toast"... wow, is this a middle school production? They all looked kind of like "oh gawd do we really have to do this".
Just all seemed very very silly. Hopefully it improves, otherwise, ya, this is drivel.
Ratto is a notorious curmudgeon, so people seem to be more judgmental toward him. He dishes it out, so he puts himself in positions where he is going to take returned fire.
DeleteIn regard to his weight, it has been reported that he is a trencherman. I have even heard him, and his on-air coworkers and guests, joke about his propensity toward overeating. Again, he is quick with the needle, so people stick it back at him. And appearance is definitely one of his soft spots, pun intended.
Even the promo looked bad. I watched about a half hour. This is reminiscent of the types of programming cable networks would offer 30 years ago when there were more channels than original content.
ReplyDeleteBut, hey - it's POWERED BY XFINITY!
Rich if you only can handle 15 minutes of this - How can you handle 5 minutes of KRON
ReplyDeleteSports programing is dominated by token females.
ReplyDeleteThey are used by these cheap cable outlets.
CSN Bay Area is a prime example.
A certain reporter with an initial for a last name comes to mind.
I gave the show a chance this week and it's a total train wreck. First of all, the set looks like it's set up in the back corner of the NBCS studios with them so uncomfortably close together. I don't mind Kelli too much, at least when Papa actually allows her to speak. Why does Papa constantly talk over everyone? And does Papa have nothing else to do? Between calling Raiders games, doing Giants pre/post, and his radio show, was he just not on the air enough??
ReplyDeleteAs for Ratto, I just feel sorry for the guy. He was obviously picked last for everything in life and hates the world because of it. He's the guy who would win the lottery and bitch about the taxes. Just have Kelli interview various people (athletes, writers, coaches, owners, etc...) and lose Ratto and Papa. Honestly, the only way this show could be worse is if you replaced Ratto and Papa with Kate Scott and Ann Killion, who are actually similar. Kate does a bazillion jobs while Ann just hates everyone. At least with that show, maybe their periods would sync up and we'd get one great show a month.