The Battle of Hair

Charlie Rose's interview program on PBS is one of my favorite TV shows. The show is set around a wooden table with a completely black background. The focus is entirely upon the interview and conversation between Charlie and his guests. This format makes even the most mundane of conversations interesting.

However, Charlie Rose recently had heart surgery and has taken a hiatus from the show in order to adequately recover. There have been several guest hosts taking over for him. Most of them look really uncomfortable trying to fill Charlie's shoes and, in my humble (or not so) opinion, I don't think they are doing very good. I must admit, however, that last week's interview of Malcolm Gladwell by Brian Grazer had to be one of the most interesting moments in journalistic TV ever. Why?

It was all about the hair.




It was all a bit distracting wondering whose hair was going to hit the lights first and burst into flame. Then, I began to wonder what kind of product Brian Grazer used to get the elevation. The picture above doesn't really do justice to just how high his hair was. Charlie Rose has the ability to fade into the background, ask his questions and make his comments without distracting the viewer. Grazer's hair looked like the photo negative of the "White Cliff's of Dover". Impressive.

Nonetheless, Grazer was a gracious host and a great admirer of Malcolm Gladwell. It goes without saying Gladwell's hair could take Grazer's anyday.