Rose’s New Show Helps Give Identity to Learning Channel

TV or not TV. . . .

REBOUND: Charlie Rose is a franchise-maker.

He made CBS’ 2 a.m. talk show, “Nightwatch,” a must-see for insomniacs, before moving on. And in just two weeks on the air, he already is helping to give an identity to cable’s Learning Channel with his new talk series from New York, seen twice nightly in Southern California.

After our item last week mentioning Rose’s new venture, a number of readers who, like us, regretted his departure from “Nightwatch,” called to express delight that he’s back and to ask for particulars about the Learning Channel.

We also spoke to Rose, who reminded us that he might never have left CBS if he’d been given a shot at a series at 11:30 p.m. or midnight after Pat Sajak’s late-night show proved a weak entry that eventually failed.

“They (CBS) asked me what would keep me there,” says Rose. “I said to them, ‘We’re not doing anything in late-night. Let me come in there and try something.’ I said 11:30 because I thought it was an appropriate time to do it, but I wasn’t target-specific. It could have been 12. But they said, ‘We can’t do that.’ ”

CBS now is airing action series opposite “The Tonight Show,” David Letterman and “Nightline.” And the Washington-based “Nightwatch,” which was turned over to a variety of hosts, soon will disappear and be replaced by a news format.

But if CBS blew it by losing a master conversationalist that it had in its own back yard, Rose erred too.

After building a reputation as an interviewer who brought generous dimension to his subjects, he came to Hollywood and became host of a superficial Fox series called “Personalities,” which he fled after only weeks on the air. That show is also gone.

“Yes, I made a mistake,” he says, “because it wasn’t the right thing for me to do.”

After the “Personalities” fiasco, he adds, “I went to my farm (in North Carolina) and stayed there. People came to me and there were lots of offers.”

His new series, “Charlie Rose,” reflects TV’s new cross-pollination. It first airs live on New York’s PBS station, WNET, and then is rerun on the Learning Channel the next night at 7 and 10 p.m (PST).

“ ‘Nightwatch’ gave birth to this broadcast, no question,” says Rose. “There is no band, no co-host, just a forum for people to tell a great story.”

But there are differences. “Nightwatch” is two hours long and then is immediately rerun, resulting in a program that is broadcast from 2 to 6 a.m. “Charlie Rose” is an hour in length, and the host says the fact that it first airs live gives it added pizazz:

“I can do things with the phone that I couldn’t do with ‘Nightwatch.’ If I read something in the early edition of a morning paper, I can call the reporter or another person to talk about it.

“ ‘Nightwatch’ was taped and then put together, drawing on segments I might have done that morning and others that I did the week before. It was like a magazine.”

The live impact that “Charlie Rose” may have in New York doesn’t really mean that much in a show that is delayed a day before appearing on the Learning Channel. Well, yes, you can sense the spontaneity. But what really counts in the end is the quality of conversation, and that loses nothing in the delay.

Says Rose of his new show: “It feels right.”

BAD NEWS: John Marshall, one of the best TV reporters in the business, was let go Friday by KNBC Channel 4, the station confirmed Monday. “We didn’t pick up his option,” said a KNBC spokeswoman. With all the airhead reporters on local TV, the station only diminishes itself by its decision to take a pass on the veteran newsman. A smart competitor should snap him up.

CONTENDERS: “The Whoopi Goldberg Show,” a new, fall, late-night talk series featuring celebrities, has already lined up about 60 stations, including KCAL Channel 9 in Los Angeles. . . .

And another new, late-night TV talk-show entry come fall, conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh, is billed modestly in a trade-paper ad with his well-known self-description: “Talent on Loan from God.” Would I kid you?

GIANT: Caught a great broadcast during the weekend--on KUSC-FM radio: a rerun of Garrison Keillor and his traveling road show. Is there any doubt that he’s right up there with the very best American entertainers of this century? And with the very best writers too. His Lake Wobegon monologue must have run about 25 minutes. Breathtaking. Mark Twain couldn’t have done any better.

TEST: Peter Jennings’ Feb. 2 town meeting, “Growing Up in the Age of AIDS,” will go head-to-head with “60 Minutes”--an apparent tryout of ABC’s reported summer plans to challenge the venerable CBS program with a weekly news series of its own.

CHOICES: The way our local TV stations gave the back of their hand to Gov. Pete Wilson’s State of the State address was unspeakable, but right in keeping with their cynical treatment of political coverage. On the other hand, Bill Rosendahl marks his 300th political broadcast on Century Cable this week--by far the best in-depth coverage of government on a Los Angeles TV channel.

BEING THERE: “Music begins where words leave off.”--A saying in “The Prisoner.”

Say good night, Gracie. . . .