TELEVISION REVIEW : KGTV Sticks to Shallow End in Chats With S.D. Celebrities

Barbara Walters has made the celebrity interview into a successful art form, cranking out highly rated programs of chats with pop celebrities. The questioning rarely goes deeper than, “If you were a tree, what kind of tree would you be?,” producing light and easy shows with all the meat of a People magazine feature.

KGTV (Channel 10) follows Walters’ latest foray into pop fluff tonight with its local version of the tried and true format, hosted by “Inside San Diego” personalities Laura Buxton and Bill Griffith. It is scheduled to begin at 10 p.m., depending on the length of the Academy Awards telecast earlier in the evening.

To their credit, the “Inside San Diego” producers found three interesting people to spotlight--former mayor turned radio talk-show host Roger Hedgecock, San Diego Union cartoonist and stand-up comedian Steve Kelley, and former KFMB-TV (Channel 8) anchorwoman Allison Ross. Hedgecock and Kelley proudly carry “controversial” labels, while Ross, who has been laying low since being dumped by Channel 8 last summer, has a story to tell.

Walters was touted in an article last year for her ability to attract reclusive guests to her programs, which is hardly surprising. The celebs love the shows. It’s an opportunity to present themselves on their own terms, paced by Walters’ softball questions.

The Channel 10 special follows the format line by line, presenting each of the three guests in the cozy environments of their own homes, including Kelley in his “penthouse.” Rarely scratching below the surface, the show falls far short of its promise to present the three as they’ve never been seen before.

Buxton takes Hedgecock over well-trod ground, playing up Hedgecock’s role as a family man. It’s interesting, but Buxton never comes close to cracking Hedgecock’s mask, nevertheless presenting a “very personal profile of a very private Roger Hedgecock.”

Incessantly perky Griffith’s chat with Kelley provides the program’s biggest laughs, and not just from Kelley’s jokes. Griffith wades in with such subtle, thought-provoking questions as “Are you a racist?” and “Are you sexist?,” as if Kelley might answer, “Why, yes, I am a racist.” Kelley provides some insights into the calculating world of comedy, but Griffith’s questioning is laughable.

Of the three, the interview with Ross is most interesting because Ross uses it as a forum to publicly discuss, for the first time, her problems with manic depression and the stress of being a popular anchorwoman. It is a side of Ross most haven’t seen.

Ultimately, the Ross interview rings shallow. It is hard to feel sorry for Ross, who had an unprecedented 11-year run at Channel 8 in a business where two to three years is considered long term, and she never faced the type of aggressive media coverage found in most cities. Buxton had a far tougher time of it, ultimately being fired as KNSD-TV’s (Channel 39) main anchorwoman after years of competing with Ross.

Ross declines to answer questions about her sudden departure from Channel 8, the question on the minds of most viewers.

In addition, Ross (like Hedgecock) has been talking to Channel 10 about a job, giving the whole segment the ring of a commercial for Channel 10’s next hiring.

Yet, the interviews are light and friendly, and will probably be enjoyable to viewers who read People magazine and watch Walters’ special.

But don’t expect to get an Esquire feature from People magazine.