Sunday, March 23, 2008
METS WEEKLY 2008.
If you’ve spent any time reading MetsBlog recently, you can’t turn around without tripping over the hordes of commenters salivating over the new host of Mets Weekly. Julie Donaldson has headed off to work for NESNMWHDH in Boston, and her replacement (one Jocelyn Pierce) was causing one to slip in the puddles of saliva dripping from the mouths of some of the members of the community.
We like Mets Weekly. It became a Saturday ritual to watch the program together while eating brunch or getting ready to go to a game. How can you not love a television show that’s just about the Mets? We felt that it really did capture the “for fans, by fans” ethos most of the time, and even when it didn’t, there was enough interesting stuff that you could overlook the things that made your skin crawl. Last year, however, it started to wear a little thin. I realize it was hard to find anything good or interesting to say after the season’s ignominious end, but if I had to sit through that puppet one more time I was going to boycott the show forever.
Eagerly, we looked forward to the 2008 version of Mets Weekly. Unfortunately, the first show does not bode well for the rest of the season. More, as I ensure I will never ever again be invited on the program, after the jump.
- Jocelyn Pierce does not do well on camera. Her delivery is wooden and she doesn’t project any affinity or enthusiasm towards her subjects. I couldn’t find any other television or sports commentary work she had done, but based on what I’ve seen so far, Amanda from Kids Clubhouse is going to kick her ass.
- That said, she clearly speaks Spanish fluently, which could certainly be an advantage on this team so I’ll give her a little benefit of the doubt for now. (What I do want to know is, are the Mets doing a Spanish-language magazine program, and if they aren’t, why the hell not?) I will just be angrier than heck if SNY doesn’t actually let her use her Spanish beyond being able to pronounce the names of the Latino players correctly.
- The questioning is so far below superficial so as to be subterranean. I realize that this is Mets Weekly and Julie Donaldson was not always exploring the hard-hitting subjects, but at least I felt all the time that she had either done her homework, talked to someone who had done their homework, or knew enough about what she was talking about so she didn’t look like a fool. (This, of course, is probably why she’s working for
NESNas a network sports commentator in Boston. [Thanks to the user who corrected me on Donaldson’s current employer. That said, NESN does still make SNY look like the Oxygen network. I read the Red Sox blogs and am continually astonished at the excellence of their coverage. I realize that NESN has many, many more years under their belt than SNY does, but boy do they have a long, long way to go.)
- I don’t know if SNY lost their behind the scenes access or what, but the network has been around for three years now and should know how to get interesting coverage of Spring Training. I felt like they got down there five minutes before they had to tape the show and basically walked around the practice field for half an hour. We should be seeing things we haven’t seen before. If wiring Sandy Alomar for sound is the best you can come up with, someone must’ve pissed off Jay Horowitz.
- While I realize that bowling is one of the only interesting things to do in Port St. Lucie at night, the bowling thing was done last year. (It was so well done that we still have it saved on the DVR a year later.) I really like John Maine and Joe Smith (and TBF really liked how John Maine was bowling left handed - it was the first words out of his mouth after “Pitchers should NOT be - oh, wait, he’s bowling left handed. Good man.") but there had to be another angle to getting color on the two young pitchers besides bowling. I would have rather watched them grocery shop or go to dinner at the Outback.
- The cars were cool but that segment could have gone longer and you could have gotten rid of the Schneider interview, which was so boring that we almost fell asleep.
Fingers crossed that things get better from here. The program has a lot of potential, but I fear that instead of remaining a specialized program that only appeals to the die-hard Mets fan, they think they need to make it as general as possible so it appeals to everyone.
At least the puppet was gone.
[I couldn’t find the link on YouTube but will add it later.]
Posted by MG at 05:16 PM
Julie Donaldson went to WHDH, the NBC affiliate in Boston, not to NESN.
I stand corrected. I was going off of the original reports that she had gone to NESN. Thanks for the correction.
That said, NESN still kicks SNY’s butt.
Hey Metsgrrl,
It could be worse; we could be Yankee fans who have to subject ourselves to YES all the time.
Personally, I think we need to give Jocelyn a chance. Yes, her fiancee plays for the Super Bowl Champion Giants and he appears on SportsNite the Monday after their games, and that’s probably why she got the gig. But I can’t dismiss her after one episode. And give her credit for not fawning about her future hubby during the show.
Look, I’m a guy, and I obviously adored Julie, especially when she smiled for the camera. (I know, a reference to Steely Dan’s Peg; sorry.) But to me, she seemed apathetic on camera and in her narrations in 2007, nowhere near the friendly persona she conveyed in 2006. Though in fairness, some of the segments, and the team’s (a)pathetic play, contributed to my own apathy towards Mets Weekly last year. (Memo to the producers: The puppet and any mentions of the 1992 and 1996 Mets had better not return this season.)
Perhaps a new host is a breath of fresh air for the show in 2008, just as a certain Latin pitcher’s arrival could signal a fresh start for the team. Or you could be right, and by August I may stop watching Mets Weekly altogether. I choose to be an optimist for now.
FYI, Amanda has exited the Clubhouse. Not sure who her replacement is.
Yankees fans *like* YES, from what I hear.
I did say, “fingers crossed things get better from here.” The DVR is set to record every episode, just like always. I’m not sure how that’s not giving her a chance.
I don’t much care who her husband is, and frankly it shouldn’t make any difference to how I critique her performance… which I’m entitled to do whether it’s her first show or her 30th. I really wanted to try do a weekly critique of MW last year and just never got around to it.
At least I am not so charmed by her… other attributes that I can’t be objective.
Too bad that you couldn’t do those critiques last year. None of the other blogs that I read gave serious, in-depth opinions about Mets Weekly, and I would’ve loved to have read your take. Even if you blasted Julie, I would have been okay with it.
However, the show is “By Fans, For Fans,” right? As much as I liked Julie, and am curious about how Jocelyn does, I wonder what that show would be like if it were hosted by a real Mets fan. Hey wait, Cerrone is in partnership with SNY now. Just saying …
I love Matt and what he does, and am thrilled that he is getting all this attention from SNY, but a snappy television personality he is not. That said, with no television or media background, he did a better job on his first few SNY appearances right out of the gate than Jocelyn is doing now. Why? Because he really, genuinely cared about doing a good job and not looking like a fool. And, if Matt wanted to transition to TV he could certainly train for it.
and he’d still be better than jocelyn is right now.
They need to do something on non-game hours to draw some ratings I guess, and I’m sure if this had a ratings hit, they’ll quickly change it. I rarely flip on SNY for anything other than games though, and that coverage is excellent, so for me SNY is right where it needs to be.
Agreed on Matt vs. Jocelyn. As for her attributes, they don’t move me as much as it may other guys. If she stinks as a host, looks notwithstanding, I will say so. I just need a few episodes to draw the conclusion, that’s all.
Julie was generally good on Mets Weekly, but I could’ve done without the Aaron Heilman makeover piece. She also had moments where she looked really foolish on SportsNite. I remember a piece she did on the Jets in October where she said they were off to “a relatively slow 1-6 start.” Not good. She also bungled an in-studio standup during a piece on the Rutgers women’s basketball team last year so badly that SNY removed the report from its Web site.
Anyway, that’s my $.02, for what they’re worth. I like your blog even if I don’t always agree, but haven’t found a reason to write until now. Keep up the good work and Let’s Go Mets!
I’m still undecided on Jocelyn… My first thought when I saw her was that my son was going to be completely in love with her… and sure enough, when he watched it, he was a drooly mess.
I wasn’t a huge Julie Donaldson fan, especially with that Palmer’s “soft hands” plug thingy… I do like the show, though… and I’m so glad it’s on because that means the season is almost here!!!
Julie Donaldson went to WHDH, the NBC affiliate in Boston, not to NESN.