Boring show. Lame talk.

This is a huge and inexplicable mistake on the part of WGBH.  At best - Jim and Marjorie applied a liberal voice to topics that normally drive commercial talk radio but let there be no doubt - in the end, the program was intended to be low brow entertainment and not serious discussion of the topics at hand.  To this end, the banter was filled with Majorie's steady jabs at Jim over his former obese body, ivory tower views of life, " low "  rated TV show on NECN  and a host of other foibles and flaws.  To counter, Jim, seemingly channeling every Borscht Belt comic ever to play the Catskills, countered with comments about his partner's " ratty " wardrobe and dope induced haze.

A couple of  long running gags were Jim recalling his desperate efforts to look up Katie Couric's dress when she had the morning show and a constant stream of poor taste jokes about the Catholic Church sex scandals.   It was the " Bickersons " rebooted - a good counter to AM Morning Drive radio diet of sports and run of the mill rant but honestly - is this the stuff of Public Radio?  So the question is, can they play it straight?  Well - the answer is that a one day gig is a very small window to make a decision but if you go back in radio history - when E & B first started out at TKK, there was much less comedy and it was atrocious.  Majorie just never had the facts or the quickness to aruge a point and Jim was overbearing in the extreme.  It was clearly uncomfortable for all parties including the audience and that format was soon dropped to make way for the yuks.

Is there room for improvement at WGBH mid day programming - Yes!  The current mid day format with Emily, Callie and Kara ( if she says the word " innovation " one more time ... ) seemingly receiving assignments from an editor and conducting joyless long winded interviews usually drives me away.  Would J & M be better - is there room for a mid day, two hour radio version of the Daley Show, drenched with irony and self paraody where the topic exists only to set up the next round of banter and bicker?  I think not.  However, if the programmers of WGBH think this level of programming is what there paying audience demands, then have at it - now where is my Internet radio directory?

good...gbh needs something a little more down to earth and real....for diversify it's base...long winded, tedious interviews and esoteric conversation has its place..but not 24/7 Jim and Margery will bring some fresh air and reach out to a new base of listeners ...isn't that the role of public radio..to reach out to the greater public??