TV Maven: "In the Loop with iVillage"--Bye-bye, Brainless Talker

amp160Hereamp8217s good news NBCamp8217s sobaditamp8217ssometimesfunny daytime talker In the Loop with iVillage is getting the axe at the end of March The hourlong Webinteractive show airs live on NBCowned and operated stations beamed out from WMAQTVamp8217s Chicago studio at noon ET weekdays Itamp8217s hosted by comic actress Kim Coles and Apprentice alums Bill Rancic and Ereka Vetrini amp160To see just how amateurish In the Loop looks take a peek at this clip and wonder why Rancic is dressed like Annie Hall Or where Coles got that wormy weave Or why Vetrini is there at allamp160Remember amp8220Morning Latteamp8221 the SNL sketch with Will Ferrell and Cheri Oteri as the overcaffeinated halfwit hosts of a bad local morning show iVillage is like that But for real Every dayamp160As the guest lineup has slipped from Blist names promoting movies and cooking shows to whatever Dlisters are out on bail iVillage has taken on a tone of nervous desperation not seen on daytime TV since Kathie Lee Giffordamp8217s last days with Regis Under lighting that makes everyone look jaundiced and sleepdeprived the trio of twits on iVillage pepper whoever sits on their couch with insipid questions that betray not only their own ignorance on almost every topic but that of the producers Watch how they insulted Madeleine Albright by making her play a amp8220word associationamp8221 game with Kim Coles amp160iVillage Live as it was called when it debuted in 2006 was designed to blend live TV with the Internet Viewers could log on and send in questions or comments during the show or watch it streamed live on the Webamp8212a bit of technological gimmickry that might have been cutting edge around 1995 amp160A visit to the showamp8217s Web site during a telecast reveals streams of typedin chatter about how awful the hosts are how bad the show looks and not a few lively arguments about whether the catatonic studio audience glimpsed only rarely oncamera has been bused in from Chicagoarea nursing homes or are in fact homeless peopleamp160grateful to be in a warm place for an houramp160A relocation from Orlandoamp8217s Universal Studios theme park where noise from a nearby roller coaster often drowned out the host chat to Chicago was supposed to beef up the ratings and improve the guest roster but word seemed to get around quickly among publicists that it was an iVillage of the damned Just being on it could serve as evidence that a career was in a downward spiralamp160Itamp8217s certainly done that for Rancic Vetrini and Colesamp160Hucksterism was another obvious problem on In the Loop with iVillage Advertisersamp8217 names and products were all over the chat topics and instudio demos which often went amusingly awry Look stayathome moms and shutins will watch almost anything at that hour of the day but even they39re alert enough to sniff the snake oilamp160NBC spent 600 milion acquiring iVillage at one time the largest womenoriented Web site Another 935 million was went to buy Oh the former Oprahowned and femmecentric Oxygen channel amp160And this show was the best idea they could come up with for amp8220synergyamp8221 of those expensive propertiesamp160Ratings for competing midday shows such as Maury Povich Montel Williams and Young ampamp Restless depending on the market ran circles around the sagging In the Loop amp160This was a show that went off the rails soon after it started The move to Chicago only made it a costlier train wreckamp160Spending 15 billion to chase women viewers tells us what NBC Universal wants in daytime Now if theyamp8217d only ask women what they wantamp8212and itamp8217s not a fifth watery hour of Today Showamp8212maybe the network could get back on track

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TV Maven: "In the Loop with iVillage"--Bye-bye, Brainless Talker

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Elaine Liner

Hispanic Leadership Roundtable: Inclusion, Mentorship, and Building the Next Generation (Video) - By Juan Ayala

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TV Maven: "In the Loop with iVillage"--Bye-bye, Brainless Talker

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Elaine Liner

Hispanic Leadership Roundtable: Inclusion, Mentorship, and Building the Next Generation (Video) - By Juan Ayala

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