So much average

Sick Product of a Sick System

Good concept, poorly executed.

A Masterpiece!

As talk-shows go, Larry King Live is not bad, and since he occasionally gets good guests, it's a show to turn on once in awhile, but not compulsively. When Bill Maher, Carl Bernstein, a former president, or other substantive guests sit across from him, it's not too bad. Other times, he tends to host guests involved in the latest celebrity scandal which contributes absolutely no intelligent information to the country and feeds a largely uneducated public that wants to hear the latest gossip about movie and TV stars. During the OJ Simpson trial, it seemed like every other guest on his show was related to the case. But is this really journalism? Or the National Enquirer on the tube? Sometimes, it comes off a little bit like trash television--Jerry Springer in a sit down interview with phone calls instead of a live audience.On the other side, King's show is definitely much better than Bill O'Reilly whose show is nothing more than a rightest-political platform of the Rush Limbaugh variety. That said, Larry King is not a bad interviewer, but alas, he is not a great one. King does not always come off like he completely comprehends when intellectual material is being presented, especially if it is by a scholar or historian with a new book on subtle aspects of politics. Always seems like the minute King can't quite deal with the issue at hand, that's when he turns to the phone calls, maybe hoping someone out in the country will have a better question than he has. He might interview someone like David Gergen, but may not have read any of his books. Sort of like the movie producer that never bothers to read the script.When it's an entertainment celebrity, no problem. He can come off like he's thoroughly knowledgeable since the material is not that substantive anyway. Talking to Elizabeth Taylor about her relationship with Richard Burton is not exactly rocket science. And I notice he usually has seen the star's latest movie. Watching a movie takes much less time and contemplation than reading a book. However, if it's the likes of John Dean or Bob Woodward, King comes off a little like he didn't quite finish his homework. So off to the phones.If you are looking for real in-depth interviewing, Terry Gross of NPR is probably the best interviewer in the United States. She reads and/or researches everything written by or about her guests beforehand and has a working knowledge of those areas. I don't see King quite doing that. Granted, he probably has an audience 1000 times larger than Terry Gross, which may say more about the American audience than King. In short, Larry is better than Bill but not as good as Terry.

I was deeply enlightened by Larry King's interview with Joel Osteen. I read Mr. Osteen's book, "Your Best Life Now" and even though I enjoyed reading the book, I was disturbed by some of the comments made by Mr. Osteen. I brushed my feelings off thinking it was just me because so many people love Joel Osteen. When I read the interview on-line it confirmed what I felt when reading the book; Mr. Osteen thrives on himself instead of giving all the glory to God who put him where he is today. The interview with Joel Osteen ended with the "icon" asking Larry King if he was ready to submit to Jesus Christ and Larry's answer was no, I think I'll give a deathbed confession. This is not a direct quote. I hope Mr. King has the opportunity to confess on his deathbed instead of dying in an accident where there is no time to confess anything. My question to Mr. King is wouldn't you rather be living as a Christian and find out there is no heaven than to live as a non-believer and find out there really is a hell? What do you have to lose, except your soul? My prayers are with you, Mr. King.

I used to watch this show all the time one time he had Ron Popeil on his show to discuss the Showtime Rotisserie and Barbecue. At the beginning of the episode Larry asked Ron to put a chicken in the machine and he wanted to taste the chicken at the end of the show because chickens take about an hour and when he tasted the chicken he said something like This Is The Best Piece Of Chicken You'll Ever Have. And then he asked Ron a question but he interrupted Ron and said I've gotta another piece of chicken and went off for another piece of chicken. Another time he had Bob Barr and Larry Flynt on his show because Bob denied charges of pergniry and condemned Larry for false accusations. Another time he had Brenda Van Dam the mother of Danielle Van Dam on his show and Brenda told Larry how upsetting it was to see David Westerfield kill her daughter they used to end their show with a song they also at times discussed movies.

Love him or hate him if you haven't yet then learn to respect the talk show king that being Larry King. "Larry King Live" has been a key success for CNN now for 16 years, over the years Larry features the people from the entertainment and political world in which they talk about issues concerning life and current times of the world. Larry is a great host as he can ask the tough questions to anybody, plus when a scandal or controversial issue is making headlines this talk show examines best. During Monday thru Friday at 9PM on CNN "Larry King Live" has become idolized pop culture so tune in.