Things that can be changed: Tara and Johnny

Silkie · Feb 20, 2017

There are some problems in the world that are not easily changed, but some fixes are simpler: can't NBC find better figure-skating commentators? Tara and Johnny can make insightful comments about skating, but their constant talking over the skating is unnecessary and irritating. Example: Tara, in the midst of Patrick Chan's short program at Four Continents, ruminating on how he is feeling about younger/more recent competitors. And what was with the negative comments about Mirai Nagasu? She performed very well in both programs and earned a medal.

As I was watching, I thought, "Oh, no, will I have to listen to these two throughout the Olympics!."

What can be done?

SkaterX · Feb 20, 2017

I agree with you. I think they do have some insightful technical comments but they talk over the skaters too much and skew towards more negative remarks. There needs to be more of a balance in both the frequency and tone of their commentary.

blackey · Feb 20, 2017

charlie is doing so much better than them. i mean i was ok with johnny and tara, but charlie really make me can't enjoy them anymore.

CoyoteChris · Feb 20, 2017

Silkie said:
There are some problems in the world that are not easily changed, but some fixes are simpler: can't NBC find better figure-skating commentators? Tara and Johnny can make insightful comments about skating, but their constant talking over the skating is unnecessary and irritating. Example: Tara, in the midst of Patrick Chan's short program at Four Continents, ruminating on how he is feeling about younger/more recent competitors. And what was with the negative comments about Mirai Nagasu? She performed very well in both programs and earned a medal.

As I was watching, I thought, "Oh, no, will I have to listen to these two throughout the Olympics!."

What can be done?

I have a dream that we could all write their producer or even Terry Gannon and ask that they not ramble during the performances. But then again I dont know if maybe the marketing dept sees these skating "shows" as 1/3 being ABOUT Tara and Johnny.

Barb · Feb 20, 2017

Silkie said:
There are some problems in the world that are not easily changed, but some fixes are simpler: can't NBC find better figure-skating commentators? Tara and Johnny can make insightful comments about skating, but their constant talking over the skating is unnecessary and irritating. Example: Tara, in the midst of Patrick Chan's short program at Four Continents, ruminating on how he is feeling about younger/more recent competitors. And what was with the negative comments about Mirai Nagasu? She performed very well in both programs and earned a medal.

As I was watching, I thought, "Oh, no, will I have to listen to these two throughout the Olympics!."

What can be done?

OMG, yes!!! please, shut up during the performance.

chuckm · Feb 20, 2017

Their comments about Mirai have to do with her not "selling her programs". Mirai skates with a blank face and no audience interaction. That's why she never gets PCS scores in the 8s internationally even when she skates completely cleanly. The skating is good, but there's no 'Mirai' in the performance.

sarama · Feb 20, 2017

Silkie said:
As I was watching, I thought, "Oh, no, will I have to listen to these two throughout the Olympics!."

I'm deeply sorry for you. I have to put up with them only for US nationals and they drive me insane. I can't imagine having to watch the Olympics with them rambling all the time :drama:

brightphoton · Feb 20, 2017

I'm going make a case study. I adore the music East of Eden, and I adore Mariah Bell. So it's very, very important to me, that when I watch Mariah skate, the program isn't ruined by chatty commentators. Very, very important.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NLeV8LT9yrM

In a 3 minute and 10 second program, 1 minute and 43 seconds had commentary over it. 50% of Mariah's program had commentary!

Of that commentary (values are rounded and may not add up to 100)

Tara: 57%
Johnny: 22%
Terry: 20%

"But brightphoton!" you say, "maybe a lot of the commentary is insightful and meaningful!"
No, no it's not. Especially Tara's commentary. At least Terry and Johnny offer technical insight. Tara's commentary can at best, wait until after the performance, and at worst, are inane and Captain Obvious.

Time spent commentating	"Insights"
0:30 - 0:45	Tara saying that Mariah was hyped up since her silver medal at Skate America, but she made a TERRIBLE mistake in the short
0:50 - 1:00	Tara tells us that Mariah needs to have an ALMOST PERFECT program to get on to the podium. She tells us that Mariah BARELY held on to her opening 3-3. Thanks Tara, we couldn't tell, we were wondering why Mariah was hopping around on the ice
1:05 - 1:10	Terry says that Mariah is about 7 points away from the 3rd place, after the short program
1:10 - 1:11	Terry says "yikes" as Mariah falls on a jump
1:15 - 1:21	Johnny says that Mariah was favoring the left side during the warm up. It could be nerves.
1:40 - 1:53	This is during my most favorite part of the East of Eden music by the way, so whatever you're saying during this time, it better be darn important. What was the commentary? Terry says Mariah had the highest free skate score of any American lady at the Grand Prix, higher than Ashley Wagner and Gracie Gold.
1:53 - 2:10	Remember, as this is going on, my favorite part of the music is playing in the background, and I can't hear it! Tara says that she doesn't think Mariah is ready for the big competitions yet. She says Mariah wants to become a more mature skater and a better competitor. She then says that Rafael (coach) says that he doesn't know what Mariah will do on the ice. It's like being in Vegas.
2:10 - 2:12	STOP TALKING STOP TALKING STOP TALKING Terry says that can be a good feeling. Tara says heeheehee.
2:30 - 2:40	Johnny says the next jumping pass is so important. Triple flip, half loop, triple salcow. Beautifully done.
3:00 - 3:16	This is during a swelling of the music, the climax. What do we get to hear? What's more important than this? Tara says Mariah's skating is very light and very fresh and very sweet. She has a unique style. She says Mariah is picking up speed, as the program progresses.
3:17 - 3:24	Johnny says that after her triple lutz, she relaxes into her choreography.
4:22 - 4:23	Tara says something like, "Oh geez!!!!" but by a miracle of God, she doesn't say anything after this.

silverfoxes · Feb 20, 2017

In the age of Youtube & with so many people uploading videos almost instantly from every possible source, why watch them at all if you don't like their commentary? Barely anything NBC shows is live anyway & they never show all the skaters.

brightphoton · Feb 20, 2017

silverfoxes said:
In the age of Youtube & with so many people uploading videos almost instantly from every possible source, why watch them at all if you don't like their commentary? Barely anything NBC shows is live anyway & they never show all the skaters.

If I'm sitting at home in my pajamas and eating health high-fructose Bugles corn chips, yes, that is true. I can watch anything I want.

But sometimes I invite people over to watch figure skating, and I have to pretend I'm fancy. NBC is the legitimate source of figure skating on TV.

Silkie · Feb 20, 2017

Excellent data!

Mrs. P · Feb 20, 2017

brightphoton said:
If I'm sitting at home in my pajamas and eating health high-fructose Bugles corn chips, yes, that is true. I can watch anything I want.

But sometimes I invite people over to watch figure skating, and I have to pretend I'm fancy. NBC is the legitimate source of figure skating on TV.

You could do the same thing hooking up a laptop to your tv with an HDMI cable.

mrrice · Feb 20, 2017

silverfoxes said:
In the age of Youtube & with so many people uploading videos almost instantly from every possible source, why watch them at all if you don't like their commentary? Barely anything NBC shows is live anyway & they never show all the skaters.

EXACTLY!!. I can't take Tara anymore.....My biggest problem with Tara is that she ruins the opening and therefore, "Mood" of so many programs before you can get into them. Her obsession to tell us all what Karen NEEDS or what Mirai has done badly in the past, is not the way for the audience to get a good feel for where the program is going to go. Give me CBC or BESP any day over Tara. I really don't mind Johnny because he's far less condescending than Tara. I realize she caught lightening in a bottle for a couple of seasons but, IMO, she's not the legend she's created in her mind. She has 1 National, and 1 World Championship. She won the OGM and Vanished. Her Senior career was quite short and for those of us who have been around for a long time. She was basically a flash in the pan.

I can't believe NBC hasn't told her to "Cut Back" on how much talking she does during a program. Oh well.

brightphoton · Feb 20, 2017

Mrs. P said:
You could do the same thing hooking up a laptop to your tv with an HDMI cable.

I pull out all the stops to make a great TV watching experience. I take a shower, put on non-pajama pants, and buy non-Bugle snacks! You can't be as fancy as me and watch streaming websites on your TV that is hooked up to a computer.

jaq · Feb 20, 2017

I wish they'd change over to Charlie White and John Coughlin. Both are excellent at their job. I loved John's pairs commentary at 4CC recently. God, what I wouldn't give to change to any other commentators.

I also love that other guy who tends to do the Universal commentary. I THINK it's Ryan Bradley.

Tanith is a decent "straight/info" commentator, but when paired with Johnny and Tara, she obviously holds back opinions, which sucks. She usually has good things to say. Tracy Wilson is always welcome of course.

Mrs. P · Feb 20, 2017

brightphoton said:
I pull out all the stops to make a great TV watching experience. I take a shower, put on non-pajama pants, and buy non-Bugle snacks! You can't be as fancy as me and watch streaming websites on your TV that is hooked up to a computer.

I don't know. I usually order BW3s (buffalo wings), drink sparkly wine ....and still have the HDMI hooked up to my television. Nobody's written a bad review yet.

jaq · Feb 20, 2017

Lol Right? As soon as you have what could be, you can't even stomach what you have anymore

silverfoxes · Feb 20, 2017

mrrice said:
EXACTLY!!. I can't take Tara anymore.....My biggest problem with Tara is that ruins the opening and therefor "Mood" of so many programs before you can get into them. Her obsession to tell us all what Karen NEEDS or what Mirai has done badly in the past, is not the way for the audience to get a good feel for where the program is going to go.

I rarely watch their videos, because I always go to BESP and/or Match TV first, but I did see some from US Nationals. I'm not bothered by Terry or Johnny, but Tara's inane comments throughout the entire programs were too much. Does she get paid by the word? :laugh:

Who is giving her positive feedback?

sabinfire · Feb 20, 2017

silverfoxes said:
In the age of Youtube & with so many people uploading videos almost instantly from every possible source, why watch them at all if you don't like their commentary? Barely anything NBC shows is live anyway & they never show all the skaters.

The only reason I tune into NBC is to hear the thoughts of the commentary team on top skaters. Their minimalist tape-delay coverage will always be inadequate and a very poor way to experience a skating event as a primary source.

The argument of "talking over performances" always comes up but there is no other way with the realities of editing on NBC. They show a performance, then they take an ad break. If they're lucky, they get a quick 10-15 seconds of replay/K&C, and then it's on to the next skater or commercial break. No opportunity for more than a few seconds of non-performance commentary, that won't cut it. Definitely not with a niche sport presented for a national audience.

I could see casual viewers appreciating commentary. In other sports that I'm not gung-ho crazy about, I enjoy hearing the commentators while watching the sport. If there were several minutes of silence, I would probably get bored or not fully understand what was happening.

moriel · Feb 20, 2017

In american broadcasts, apperently, there is no or almost no replay - it is replaced with commercial stuff.
So commentators MUST chat during the program, not after it. Its unavoidable to a point.

Things that can be changed: Tara and Johnny

Silkie

SkaterX

blackey

CoyoteChris

Barb

chuckm

sarama

brightphoton

silverfoxes

brightphoton

Silkie

Mrs. P

Uno, Dos, twizzle!

mrrice

brightphoton

jaq

Mrs. P

Uno, Dos, twizzle!

jaq

silverfoxes

sabinfire

Doing the needful

moriel

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