Review: '(Get To) The Point'

Back in the mid and late 1990s I was hired to work at a fledgling syndicated radio network based in Phoenix. The theory was that we would provide a non-crude, pop-culture talk alternative to what was at the time a talk radio world dominated by Rush Limbaugh and Howard Stern. I ended up regularly working three shifts a day. During the 3 to 5 a.m. shift, I was partnered with another guy and we basically did an off-kilter look at the day's breaking news. Three hours later I was the male half of a "he said/she said" show that focused a lot on relationships, dating and non-work issues. Much later I hosted a three-hour overnight shift which aired primarily on classic rock stations in the Midwest and South. Three entirely different experiences but I loved all of them.

I mention this not as an excuse to talk about myself, but as a way of framing my review of the CNN show "(Get To) The Point", which gets a one-week tryout this week. I don't pretend to know anything about TV talkers, but I do think I have a sense of what it takes to be entertaining and thoughtful in a talk format.

On the face of it, "(Get To) The Point" is a smart idea for CNN's primetime schedule. In general it's easier to create a compelling ensemble news/talk show than it is to find someone who can carry the entire show on their backs. CNN hasn't given the format a serious try since the heyday of "Crossfire" and new network head Jeff Zucker should have the background to frame the show in just the right way.

It's always difficult to fairly review a panel show after just one episode, but after watching night one it's apparent that the biggest problem with "(Get To) The Point" is that the panel often gets to the point in the most predictable way possible.

The panel featured CNN contributor and conservative Republican Margaret Hoover, CNBC gadfly and business executive Donny Deutsch, ESPN columnist Rick Reilly, retired NFL player and ESPN NFL analyst Jason Taylor and conservative writer and commentator Kayleigh McEnany.

In theory, all of the panelists have enough media experience to contribute to the mix, but the first topic quickly illustrated the chemistry problem. They began talking about Louisville guard Kevin Ware, who broke his leg in a televised game over the weekend. There was the ritualistic bemoaning of some media outlets continuing to air the footage of the injury. Then when the topic came up of athletes and whether or not they should be paid, ESPN employees Reilly and Taylor both shrugged off the idea, with Donny Deutsch contributing the "well, let's not forget they do get a free scholarship" talking point. Which might have been helpful if it wasn't also an idea that only tells part of the story.

That segment illustrated the lack of diversity and depth in the panel, whether they were discussing gun control or Victoria's Secret models. The conversation during much of the show just lurched from talking point to talking point, with panelists frequently referring to notes or cards that apparently included some fact they wanted to include in one of their "spontaneous" comments.

There were a couple of flashes of real emotion. At one point Reilly responded to the by now over-familiar "find your husband at Princeton" letter with the comment that the writer's attitude was "just a bunch of elitist crap." And Donny Deutsch pushed back strongly against conservative McEnany when she kept referring to the U.S. as being built on "Christian" principles. "And I'm Jewish," he snapped. "So which one of us is correct? Which religion is the better one?"

When those moments did occur, quasi-host Margaret Hoover jumped in with some variation of "Hey, let's focus on the things we can all agree on." I suppose CNN didn't want the show to become some modern answer to "Crossfire," but the efforts to corral the passion of the panel just intensified the blandness of the conversation.

I'll keep watching this week and I'll probably write another take on the show on Friday. CNN is on the right track with a show like (Get To) The  Point," but this iteration of the panel seems to be the wrong one.