Oprah Winfrey, not good... (sigh)
Retrieved by Pat Darnell
It surprised me to no end when I heard a strange voice coming from the TV room this afternoon. It sounded sometimes like Michael Jackson, and other times like a woman in labor. I finally got up from my work to go see who was watching what, and no one was in there.
A Documentary entitled "LIFE" was running non-stop on Discovery Channel today. It was advertised like crazy for weeks leading up to its airing. Discovery Producers might have done better soliciting the Three Tenores, had thay known the drawbacks of Oprah Winfrey's Midwestern Single-Mom dialect. Better yet, they should have made it a silent movie.Unfortunately, when Oprah Winfrey talks about all those creatures great and small, she sounds like she is ordering pizza.
That's not all; I actually thought my speakers on the TV had blown out, because of the obnoxious music score that was definitely trying for the tin pan alley effects. It turns out, it is the real soundtrack for the series. YIKES!
Someone should call Discovery Channel direct and ask them to pull the plug -- it would be more pleasing to listen to whistling of the Indian Test Screen for the rest of the weekend.
"Oprah Gail Winfrey is an American television host, producer, and philanthropist, best known for her self-titled, multi-award winning talk show, which has become the highest-rated program of its kind in history. She has been ranked the richest African American of the 20th century and beyond, the greatest black philanthropist in American history, and was once the world's only black billionaire. She is also, according to some assessments, the most influential woman in the world. (From Wikipedia)"Actually it is too tragic that Oprah failed to leave a good track for the show. Oprah, who could buy the whole planet if she liked, puts us, John Q Public in a precarious position: this sort of defeats the purpose of it all, no?
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from TWITTER and Tweetmeme --
"Life" series has awesome photography but choosing Oprah to narrate combined with the worst ever musical soundtrack makes it a fail for me. (GaryDarling )
(@gregbilsland) "Life is good, but Oprah is not a good narrator.
"The only reason I'm still watching #Life on #Discovery is because I'm waiting for Oprah to tell me there is a new car under my seat. (mirage9studios)
"I chuckle everytime Oprah says "Makak". #Life #DiscoveryChannel #Makak | TweetPhoto. TWEETPHOTO.COM - I chuckle everytime Oprah says "Makak". ( First tweeted by Blackwolf303)
"Planet Earth " an average animal planet documentary = Life." I expected more from you, Oprah.
(moliver816)
'I am Oprah's father,' claims farmer - Telegraph ..Made popular 1 hour ago (0www.telegraph.co.uk)
John Tesh confirms he once dated Oprah Winfrey
Posted on 04/12/2010 11:38:24 AM "John Tesh acknowledged Monday that he and Oprah Winfrey were once an item - one of the juicy tidbits in a new tell-all biography about the talk show queen.
(Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/topics/Oprah+Winfrey#ixzz0lVVxpfMY)
My favorite scene from Discovery Channel's LIFE Program is this mating ritual of a Scientologist ... it's not unlike the Grebes pictured above; it cracks me up, ... no, really, ... it cracks me up ... !
3 comments:
Observers even noted the "Oprahfication" of politics by noting "Oprah-style debates" and Bill Clinton's empathetic speaking style. Columnist Maureen Dowd commented on the symbolism of Bill Clinton seeking an "Oprah-style" talk show when he left the presidency:
“ There is a delicious symmetry in Clinton's exploring the idea of a daytime syndicated talk show: the man who brought Oprah-style psychobabble and misty confessions to politics taking the next step and actually transmogrifying into Oprah.[116] ”
Newsweek stated:
“ Every time a politician lets his lip quiver or a cable anchor "emotes" on TV, they nod to the cult of confession that Oprah helped create
watching "primates" now. Music is very predictable "discovery channel".
I don't watch "Oprah, but did realize the voice was familiar after 15-20 min lol. Had to Google to prove "how I knew" to the husband. Kind of (slightly) entertaining to hear her voice in such an odd place, but it's no more annoying, and even less so, than others. Even with the abundance of information and wonderful photography, these docs are snooze city for me most of the time.
Hi Anonymous. Thanks for your comment. I lived 18 years in Chicago, and "the Oprah" is foundation for many women in the area.
I think what I found annoying is how her 'dialect' does not fit the often multi-syllabic words that are used to describe scientific stuff... her accents are off just enough to make me cringe.
oh well... she's the billionaire, eh?
Pat Darnell
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