Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, June 23, 1995 TAG: 9507190003
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: ERIC MINK NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
In the real-life version, TV's dual-personality personality is a ruthless, unprincipled exploiter by day; a thoughtful, considerate, low-key, effective professional by night.
With apologies to Robert Louis Stevenson, it's the case of Dr. Rivera and Mr. Geraldo.
By day, he's the host of the syndicated ``Geraldo,'' the person who brought sleaze to daytime talk shows - although he has plenty of company these days.
By night, he holds the reins of CNBC's ``Rivera Live,'' offering sharp, insightful, tasteful and often witty discussions of the O.J. Simpson murder trial each weeknight. (The show is expected to return to its mixed bag of news-oriented topics when the trial ends.)
The contrast between Geraldo and Rivera and ``their'' respective shows is beyond astounding. They might as well exist on different planets.
``Geraldo'' may no longer be the tackiest show of its genre, but its host still has all the moves that stoke the fires of confrontation and combativeness that talk-show audiences have been conditioned to crave.
Putting in a guest appearance on the ``Tonight'' show last week, Geraldo even mocked the cowardice of talk show hosts who take cover instead of wading in as he does - ostensibly to break things up - when violence erupts on their shows.
On one recent show from Los Angeles, Geraldo pulled together prostitutes in various price-and-service ranges, a drug dealer and some pathetic hangers-on to the music/celebrity party scene. The studio audience was appropriately and predictably outraged.
Another show marked the first anniversary of the Simpson-Goldman murders with a kind of ``Best of `Geraldo' on Simpson'' review - complete with a deplorable taped introduction that turned grisly news footage into something akin to a murder/music video.
Most appalling of all was the daytime show's cynical or, at best, thoughtless, exploitation of children.
On a show about divorce - ``It's dangerous; it's dirty!'' - little kids sat in the audience and even asked questions while adults verbally battered and threatened each other onstage. At one point, a teen-age boy was placed onstage between his battling mother and father and asked for his views.
And on a seemingly upbeat show about 911 emergency calls, a 10-year-old girl told how calling 911 saved her and her little sister from an intruder trying to break into their home.
Shockingly, this 10-year-old survivor of a traumatic event remained onstage while Geraldo described the abduction, rape, torture and murder of a 16-year-old girl. Included was her horrifying 911 call for help.
Talk about child abuse.
Yet, by the time 9 p.m. rolls around, Geraldo has donned glasses and spiffier clothes and become ... Rivera.
Despite his unconcealed belief in O.J. Simpson's guilt and occasional flights of hyperbolic language, Rivera applies the sure, steady hand of a seasoned broadcaster to the nightly proceedings. He's unfailingly evenhanded with and solicitous of all his guests - a large, rotating cadre of smart, articulate legal eagles - and his callers from the viewing audience.
He's an effective devil's advocate when necessary from both the prosecution's and the defense's points of view, he's remarkably well-informed about the case, and he's invariably careful to distinguish between fact and assertion.
Anyone who misses the daytime coverage of the trial and who wants a spirited, meaty and responsible review would find ``Rivera Live'' tremendously satisfying.
And doing the show probably helps its host sleep at night.
by CNB