CBS Sunday Morning

Even in a TV Land where there is a year round production schedule, summer can experience broadcasting lulls, especially this week as we celebrate our fine nation's birth. In all my previous entries, I have desperately attempted to be funny. But there is nothing funny about the spacious skies and amber waves of grain that make up America the beautiful, so in honor of America's first gay orgy (AKA the Continental Congress) I am going to focus on one of the finest examples of journalistic television and Americana: CBS' Sunday Morning.

On the Sunday mornings when I wake up from a REM free sleep, wondering if it is really cocaine or that pesty, sixth Zima making my head spin, I don't roll back over and pretend my duvet is a pre-1977 David Cassidy. Instead, I make sure I am at least semi-conscious for the 9 AM EST airing of Sunday Morning. While my devotion of late belongs to Garrison Keillor, prepetual plugger of Powdermilk Biscuits, there is room for two slightly above middle aged presenters in my heart, particularly because something so soothing about Charles Osgood's well meaning intros. No hangover sticks around for long when Charles tell me that I will get a look into the latest trend sweeping Minnesota's dairy farm wife knitting circles!

It is a shame that television's most prime example of journalistic integrity only airs once a week in a time slot where it's main competition is sleep. Take Sunday Morning's weekday counterpart, NBC's Today, for example. A segment on Today follows this horribly vomitrotious format WITHOUT FAIL:
1) Voiceover of topic, followed by a compilation of movie clips to prove this topic to be ubiquitous (Hey, because if the Wilson Brothers face it in their latest romantic comedy, it MUST be a relevant topic).
2) Location shoot of someone who deals with this issue in real life (I know, I was just as upset as you to learn that the antics of the Wilson brothers aren't necessarily real life).
3) Matt Lauer interviews an expert on this topic (note: writing one of those yellow "For Dummies" books is enough for Today to consider you an expert).
And millions of people watch this formula EVERYDAY!!!!

Yet on last Sunday's episode ALONE, Sunday Morning managed to cover the following timely topics with intelligent and creative slants:
The craze of Lucha Libre wrestling
The birthday of the Bikini
A profile of Kris Kristofferso
The touching photos of soldiers in Iraqi combat by Lucien Read

AND I didn't even have to sit through any clips from Beach Blanket Bingo III to prove to me that the bikini is pop culturally relevant!

Tune in, everyone. At the very least, you will have something to talk to your grandmother about.