New ‘Full Nelson’ Talk Show Gives Format a Gen-X Twist

At a rehearsal for Rob Nelson’s new talk show, “The Full Nelson,” what some people might consider to be a walking, talking argument for gun control stood up and spoke in opposition to gun legislation. He was the type of guy whom the neighbors would describe as “quiet” and “kept to himself.” In fact, his demeanor was so eerie that the studio audience and guest panelists found him frightening. Nelson, youngish (35), dapper in a Calvin Klein suit, and holding the mike, was delighted.

“That guy was fascinating to watch,” Nelson says later, laughing. “I was thinking it almost doesn’t matter what he is saying. He is speaking so loudly with his body right now that everyone watching the show is having a visceral reaction that’s much more interesting than the 2nd Amendment, because it’s real, it’s unpredictable, it’s unexpected.”

The 2nd Amendment was the ostensible topic, but the show became a forum for personal convictions rather than wonkish theories about the founding fathers’ original intent. Nelson, who’s a talk-show novice, could hardly keep a lid on the proceedings. After refereeing an escalating debate between panelists, he raced around the audience, tripping over feet, trying to keep the speakers from interrupting one another. It almost made “The Jerry Springer Show” look like a model of decorum.

Springer or Phil Donahue he is not, nor does he want to be, at least in terms of subject matter. He cheerfully admits that in a post-mortem conducted prior to the show’s official debut. (It will air on Saturday nights on the Fox News Channel from 11 p.m. to midnight and premieres this weekend.) “The Full Nelson” is billed as a talk show about political, social and economic issues, with guest experts and plenty of audience participation. This puts it somewhere between “Springer” and, say, a town meeting.

Though Nelson is loathe to narrow the show’s demographics, he concedes that the target audience is between 25 and 45. He’s certain that, despite evidence to the contrary, there’s a real appetite in this age group for serious debate. His boss, Roger Ailes, chairman and CEO of Fox News, thinks so.

“A lot of young people are very interested in the issues,” Ailes says. “Some of them don’t watch a lot of television because they don’t see anybody who reflects them on TV. I think Rob does, and I think he’ll draw. I don’t think people that age will say, ‘You know, what I’d really like to do is watch an issue-show tonight.’ But I do think they might say, ‘You know, I saw this guy Rob Nelson on the Fox News Channel, that guy’s really hot.’ ”

Nelson’s Appeal, Political Independence

According to Ailes, what Nelson reflects is “a liberal libertarian point of view, if there is such a thing.” It’s not quite clear what he means by this, but it’s safe to say it’s outside the two-party system. Nelson describes himself as a “very pragmatic, solid independent.” For example, he favors privatizing the Social Security system and funding a war on poverty, stances at opposite ends of the political spectrum.

Whatever the message, both men agree that the show stands or falls on how the issues are framed and on Nelson’s personal appeal.

“If you said, ‘We’re going to do a show about the Christian right,’ well, that’s a big topic, and we know the pat answers,” Ailes says. “But if you said, ‘Should the Christian right spend less time condemning and more time forgiving, since that’s what the Bible suggested they ought to be doing,’ that’s an interesting way of framing that.”

The point, he says, is that many topics, no matter how far afield or exhaustively covered, can be made sexy if the premise is provocative enough. China-Taiwan: Would you be willing to fight for the Taiwanese? Taxes: Should the government pay for a septuagenarian’s liver transplant?

A canny selection of guest panelists can frame the subject too. Though he’s not necessarily interested in celebrities or the usual talking heads, Nelson thinks it might be interesting, for example, to hear what Pamela Anderson has to say about cosmetic surgery. (An early notion they had of dramatizing issues of personal freedom by parading a topless woman in Central Park was dropped because, as Ailes puts it, the idea was “underdeveloped” and “unfocused.”)

Whether any of this flies, of course, depends on Nelson’s telegenic qualities. Born in Wisconsin and raised on a farm, he is earnest without being treacly, polished without being slick. His ideas may be iconoclastic, but he’s not edgy or aggressively hip, which means that he’s likely to appeal to or alienate viewers as much on the basis of his opinions as he is on his personality.

Stanford Law School, White House Externship

Though he’s never held elective office, Nelson is no stranger to public debate. After graduating from Principia College in Illinois, he went to Washington and got involved in direct-mail fund-raising. Disillusioned with the political process, he co-founded (with Jon Cowan) Lead or Leave, a grass-roots organization devoted to pressuring lawmakers into cutting Social Security to help lower the deficit--”generational equity issues,” as he calls it. He later attended Stanford Law School, which included an externship in the Clinton White House, and wrote a “manifesto and memoir,” to be published this fall, titled “Last Call,” about how “we’ve lost our direction and our idealism and our vision and unplugged and here’s 10 bold ideas that would put us back on track.”

Ailes signed him in January to develop “The Full Nelson.” Since then he’s appeared as a commentator on various Fox News shows to give him on-camera experience.

Asked to evaluate the gun-control rehearsal, Ailes says, “I think it was only a second show. I don’t pay much attention until three or four shows in. I thought it was a lot better than the first tape I looked at. I think he was focusing a little better. He was able to move it around. I was watching how his mind worked, how likable he was on the screen, and how he handled the mechanics of television.”

Nelson is refreshingly candid about his shortcomings. He knows that he has a lot to learn but doesn’t at all seem daunted by it. A case in point is the audience and panelist free-for-all during the rehearsal.

“I found that when I was far away from people, it was harder to keep them under control,” he says wryly. “So when the guests started going, I had to get up to them. It’s like Dad’s gone away.”

Teamwork With Producer Growing

He thinks crowd management will become easier once he’s established in audiences’ minds as a moderator. He’s also comfortable with the idea that the show will take on a life of its own, that scripted segues, or teasers, leading into and out of commercial breaks will be thrown out if the discussion becomes lively. He’s also learning to depend on his producer, Nick Van Hoogstraten.

“My producer will often say, ‘You have four minutes left, get some audience involvement here,’ ” he says. “Or he’ll say, ‘There are three people behind you who are about to jump out of their seats.’ It’s very helpful because I can’t see everything at once, I can’t keep track of the time, and sometimes I lose track of where we’re at structurally. And should I forget what I’m talking about, which could happen, he could remind me. And sometimes you don’t realize when you’re going down a path that’s not going anywhere and you want someone to say, ‘You know what? Move on.’ ”

Now it’s up to audiences to move with him.