Keith Olbermann returned to television yesterday when his show Countdown: With Keith Olbermann debuted on Current TV, and is showing a bit of rust after his long hiatus. The show looked quite familiar but seemed to lacking in something. One thing that surprised me is how much he tried to make the new show like the old show rather than take the blank page he was handed and go take the concept further.
I don't know what I was expecting, but the debut seemed to be lacking in something. At his best, Olbermann is the modern generation's equivalent of Edward R. Murrow or Walter Cronkite. His special comments health care rank among the most poignant moments I have seen on television. He captured the moment and framed the issue in a way that it seemed our nation's leaders were afraid of.
Yesterday, let us be frank, was slow and uneventful. The day lacked the type of stories that would normally provide good fodder for commentary. We had the Obama impersonator getting yanked, Rick Perry flirting with RLC, and the Jon Stewart interview. Not much excitement there.
I will say that, compared to Lawrence O'Donnell's show, he came out on top. The Michael Moore and Markos Moulitsas segments really set the stage for what could be greatness yet to come. I look forward to seeing more of those segments, and perhaps new segments to add humor and insight as opposed to Worst Persons or Time Marches On.
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