Originally posted: January 12, 2009
North, Jiggetts get down to business, but not quite up to speed yet
Let's say you set the alarm early so you didn't miss a moment of Monday's debut of "Monsters in the Morning," the long-anticipated 6-to-9 a.m. weekday TV reunion of long-time radio partners Dan Jiggetts and Mike North on Comcast SportsNet Chicago.
You were groggy but figured the fireworks between these two would wake you up. Plus CSN had put out word that Mayor Daley and Blackhawks boss Rocky Wirtz would be stopping by.
It should have been great. But if expectations were all it took to succeed, there would have been a big parade in Chicago in late October. Execution counts.
Alas, almost all of their first three-hour TV show together fell squarely in the amiable but not terribly invigorating 80 percent of topics on which North said he tends to agree with Jiggetts.
The Wirtz and Daley interviews were all right, especially when North and Wirtz recalled the archaic clock at the old Chicago Stadium and Daley was cajoled away from his regular 2016 Olympics spiel to talk about things like his childhood affection for the old Chicago Cardinals.
For much of the rest of the first 180 minutes, it took real restraint not to surf channels for something faster, funnier, louder, more visually interesting or otherwise engaging.
The sort of low-key things you might keep listening to when stuck in Dan Ryan traffic are less likely to hold one's attention when there are hundreds of other channels available, not to mention whatever needs to be done before heading out the door for work or school.
The first three interviews of the introductory program were with the manager of the oldies rock group Chicago, the head of the company that's signed on as title sponsor and the man in charge of Comcast SportsNet Chicago.
Business is business, and North seems acutely aware of business, directly addressing potential advertisers at one point: "If you want to get the best bang for your buck, I'm not begging, we got plenty, but we'd like more."
And it initially might have seemed a good idea to start off by fussing over the men who gave the show its theme song, a major cash infusion and its three-hour TV slot.
If the real show isn't going to begin until 7:30 a.m., however, don't tell everyone to tune in at 6 a.m. It's the viewers, after all, who determine whether any of those guys gets a return on their investment.
Jen Patterson handles weather and traffic for "Monsters," but there should be the occasional news headline or other information to make the program of greater service to someone who wants the TV to help them get ready for the rest of the day.
Besides, the wider the playing field the more likely Jiggetts and North will stray into 20-percent territory of disagreements and more fireworks. For what it's worth, the guys also seemed looser in the living room set-up in which they talked to Daley than when doing interviews behind the desk.
There's nothing to indicate this show can't improve. There's an opportunity here and plenty of people rooting for any local media venture to succeed.
This is a franchise that needs a wake-up call before it can reliably be one.
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