August 22, 2007

 

I may not be the right person to review Anchorwoman.  If there is one thing in this world that I cannot stand, it is the local news.  You could not pay me to sit through an hour of “news stories” about lost cats, car accidents, and consumer reports (“Is your tap water POISONED?”).  To say I came into my viewing of Anchorwoman a little bit jaded would be an understatement.  The FOX reality show debuted tonight and it follows Lauren Jones, a buxom blonde who has been a WWE diva and one of The Price is Right girls, as she moves to small-town Texas where she's been handed a job as a local news anchor.  I can guarantee that this show was pitched to FOX as “The Simple Life goes to the local news”.  But, here's the funny thing: whereas Paris Hilton and Nicole Ritchie came off as the butt of the joke on The Simple Life, Lauren Jones might be the most likable person in the newsroom. 

KYTX 19 in Tyler, Texas is your typical local newsroom, exactly how I would've visualized a small town station.  Lauren arrives, dressed skimpily, excited for her first day.  News Director Dan Delgado is the one who has to get Lauren prepared to go in front of the cameras one week from the day she arrives, no small task considering Lauren has no previous reporting experience. Lauren shows up and isn't initially accepted by the fellow newsroom workers.  And, how could she be?  She was handed a job in which she had zero previous experience.  Lauren's first couple days are spent practicing reading the teleprompter.  It's ridiculous how skeptical the other anchors are about Lauren's potential.  Reading isn't all that hard.  Not unexpectedly, she gets the hang of it on day two.  Dan Delgado feels that her first day on live TV, a week after she arrived, is coming a little early and she may be unprepared.  This sentiment is echoed by the lead 5 o'clock anchor at KYTX, Annalisa Petralia.

Let's talk about Annalisa Petralia.  Annalisa is actually a better looking girl than Jones.  Really.  It's just that Annalisa isn't as curvaceous, or blonde.  However, she is far more unlikable than Lauren.  She even borders on despicable at times, but this opinion may just stem from my overall hatred of local news.  Annalisa thinks Lauren's presence at KYTX destroys their credibility, is a slap in the face to journalistic integrity, and is turning their news into trash TV.  Right.  Remember, this is a news station that has a weather dog named Stormy, gives audiences a “Word of the Day” and does major stories on potholes.  Annalisa is condescending, self-important, and unkind to Lauren.

Lauren has her first day on the news and she does fine, as would any normal person after a week of practice.  The bosses are happy and her fellow workers aren't upset.  In the second half-hour, the news team sends Lauren out on assignment to do a report on a local lake.  She exceeds all expectations.  And, that's that.

Anchorwoman is a somewhat entertaining show, thanks mostly to the quasi-airhead magnetic energy of Lauren Jones.  She isn't dumb, but kind of acts like someone who's dumb, if you know what I mean.  She's humble and kind to everyone, goofy and completely likable.  FOX made a good choice in casting her.  What Anchorwoman accomplishes best is make local news and their anchors look as silly as any cynic might suspect.  If that's what FOX was going for, mission accomplished. 


-Oscar Dahl, BuddyTV Senior Writer