Did Matt Lauer and Meredith Vieira ruin the opening ceremonies broadcast last ni

1. 37

   ChristinSposted 12 years ago

   Did Matt Lauer and Meredith Vieira ruin the opening ceremonies broadcast last night?
   
   I was really looking forward to watching the opening ceremonies in one of my favorite cities.  It was MADDENING to me how much those two talked and wouldn't shut up.  Most of us are intelligent enough to figure out what is going on without their silly commentary. When meredith started to sing through it I wished with all my heart I could reach through the tv and smack her.  The ceremonies were stunning - aside from their blather.  Anyone else agree?

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2. 65

   lovesleftoversposted 12 years ago

   I was thinking that their commentary resembled that of a couple of parade emcees. I suspect they were asked to provide the frequent explanations by the ceremony producers. Some of what was going on down on the field needed a bit of explaining. I honestly didn't feel it took anything away from the actual ceremonies.

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      ChristinSposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      I could see a few brief explanations - but the constant blather was just over the top.  They even edited out Britains tribute to their citizens that were killed in a terror attack I'm sure the producers are behind ruining it though it's their job.

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   NicholasAposted 12 years ago

   YES! They need to have an event for the commentary where you see how long you can be quiet for.

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      ChristinSposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      LOL, I agree. I remember my parents playing that game with my sister and I.  Let's see who can be quiet the longest - ready go! or maybe technology to mute the commentary and not the event would be stellar too.

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4. 74

   cactusbytheseaposted 12 years ago

   Yes, many of their comments were so empty and silly.  They treated the ceremony as if it were a sporting event itself, requiring constant explanation and a play by play.  Unfortunately, they've been doing it like this for years and are unlikely to change in the future.

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      ChristinSposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      empty and silly is absolutely correct.  I agree, they are likely to continue this practice and not change and that is unfortunate.

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   Volitansposted 12 years ago

   I could've done without 95% of their comments. Really, J.K. Rowling wrote Harry Potter? I had no idea!
   
   It's one thing to give a little bit of info... for example, "Oh, that was Kenneth Brannagh reciting a passage from "The Tempest." But when you can't shut up and have to talk about things that are blatantly obvious, it really ruins it, particularly when there's music or other interesting action going on down there. Did they really need to tell us that there were smokestacks rising from the floor? I never would have known! Never mind the fact that I could see the smokestacks rising from the floor with my own eyes.
   
   And then the commentary during the Parade of Nations: Could they not have kept politics out of the commentary? And on top of that, the babble was so inane and oversimplified. My favorite was Rwanda: "Oh, they had some problems back in the '90s, but they've rebounded." So glad they rebounded from that little genocide problem they were having...
   
   Lastly, I could've done without every single comment about the director of the Opening Ceremonies. There's a reason the Director's Commentary is an optional feature on most movies and not the default setting... I don't want to hear about it until I've seen the thing myself!

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      ChristinSposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      what can I say except I totally agree with every point you just made.  I hate that we are talked to by people like we are so stupid we can't understand anything without the constant, inane blathering.

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   Uninvited Writerposted 12 years ago

   Thankfully, I got to see it live on Canadian TV. I tried to watch some of the NBC coverage later and couldn't stand it.

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      ChristinSposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      I'm glad you got to watch it on Canadian TV Uninvited - anything had to be better than NBC lol

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   cat on a soapboxposted 12 years ago

   They were annoying and considerably overpaid for their worthless commentary.

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      ChristinSposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      agreed cat - agreed!

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