Someone told me that Ed Bark, former TV critic for the Dallas Morning News, wrote “a really mean review of the show.” I’ve tangled with Bark before. I was looking forward to a good hate-read and an opportunity to fire back at him here on FrontBurner. You know what, though? I agree with everything he said. Yes, The Broadcast and D Living are a bit of an odd fit with the rest of KTXD’s lineup. That discordance will fade as we come up with ideas for new shows in the coming months (and years). And, yes, Suzie Humphreys is the sea anchor of the show. Or, as Bark put it: “Humphreys serves as the Ma Barker of this mix, but with a lot more starch in her. And she knows a crock when she sees or hears one, which viewers witnessed very early in the game Monday. … It’s [hard] to imagine what D: The Broadcast would be without Humphreys. It might just float away.”
This morning’s show brought a couple more examples of Humphreys’ greatness. At one point, Courtney Kerr said something about a hashtag. Humphreys jumped in and said, “Now, what is a hashtag?” Coming out of anyone else’s mouth, the question would have sounded stupid, out of touch. But Humphreys’ twangy delivery was shot through with something else. Call it wisdom. To my ear, her questions sounded like: “What the heck are you saying? Do you realize how silly people sound when they pepper polite conversation with neologisms like ‘hashtag’? This, too, shall pass.”
Anyway, I’m with Bark. Humphreys is the early leader in the clubhouse. Once more: for U-Verse, DirecTV, and Dish customers, it’s on Channel 47. On Time Warner, it’s Channel 24. Verizon is Channel 18. Charter is 22.
