When Good Clothes Go Bad

THE SHOW: “Hard Copy,” 7:30 weeknights on NBC, Channel 4.

THE SETUP: This TV tabloid, hosted by Barry Nolan and Terry Murphy, features such pearls of journalistic excellence as a three-part series recreating the life and death (mostly death) of Elvis Presley.

THE GUY: Barry Nolan wears sharp clothes. Well, banker sharp. The man’s no hipster, but his outfits are well put together. Always-dark, Perry Ellis suits, solid white or striped shirts and conservative ties give Nolan a dignified total newsman look. He even kept it together on location. Sure, some other newsmen would use an assignment in the farm belt as an excuse to go casual, but Barry doesn’t even loosen his tie. The one part of his look that’s hard to figure is that perfectly coiffed rug ‘do (bangs and all). His hair may be his own, but he could be doing commercials for Hair Club for Men. You could not make real hair look more toupee-esque if you tried.

THE GAL: Again, that look of total seriousness. Terry Murphy’s threads, from “Entertainment Tonight” wardrober Lillie Rubin, are picture perfect for any boardroom in the country. Mainly suits, and very conservatively cut suits at that. Even Murphy’s hair is middle of the road. Blond but not too blond, and never, never too big. Occasionally, there’s an accent color from Mars thrown in. One bright yellow blouse was weird enough to almost make you nauseous (well, that might have been caused by watching the dying Elvis retch for the 12th time). But, like Nolan, she generally looks straighter and more conservative than any of the network or local newscasters.

WHAT THEY DID TO THE KING: If you threw a rock in Los Angeles, it would probably land on an Elvis impersonator. There are a lot of them in town and a lot of good ones. So where did “Hard Copy” find these three unattractive and amazingly puffy-faced actors to portray the young, the sold-out and the evil Elvises?

THE WEIRD PART: Looking at Nolan and Murphy, you’d really think they were reporting the trade talks from Geneva and not the bizarre sex and/or murder stories that make up much of the show’s fare. Do the producers really think that if the hosts look serious we’ll take the show seriously? I mean, Amish hosts couldn’t legitimize this show. But so what? Like the tabloids at the supermarket check stand, it’s a guilty pleasure.

THE MORAL: Even in America, you can only push style over content so far.