In the interest of full disclosure, I was a huge fan of Red Eye on Fox News. I remember the appearances by SE Cupp, which I enjoyed, before she moved over to CNN. Since then, I have not watched her work in front of the camera until this show. Andy Levy was of course on Red Eye during its entire ten year run, and I treasure his humor and political opinions (even when I do not share them). After watching this show for two months, I think I am ready to permanently turn it off.
Perhaps SE Cupp was a better panelist than host, and I would say that this show goes a long way towards proving that. The format alone is a catastrophic identity crisis. SE Cupp goes from being silly (like a cheap Kennedy knockoff) to being serious, complete with moral lecturing. Her presence is simply not one that I enjoy - perhaps a subjective matter. As for Andy, I think that he still brings his greatness, but he is severely underutilized, and even hindered in some cases. There are often entire blocks that he is not included in (those would be the ones that I now fast forward through). However, Andy was not my sole reason for watching the show in the first place.
The panel is actually often comprised of some talented and diverse sources opinion, from Dave Smith to Terry Schappert to Van Jones. Yet, I don't think that they can save the show, as there are some weak panelists on as well. All too often, one person will do most of the talking for a block, and while a strong host would take charge and get more time to everyone else (as the audience probably actually wants), but this is just not the case here.
I have resolved to still appreciate Andy Levy through his Twitter feed and old Red Eye episodes. I am disappointed that I find myself unable to enjoy his new venture. I hope that in the near future there are extensive changes to the show allow for more of his creativity to shine through.
