We begin with last night’s prime time coverage. Kabletown has been stressing that the evening broadcast would be a “curated” view of the day’s events (don’t call it a rerun), as the time difference means it’s the middle of the night in Paris. It began with the big “moment” from earlier that day--the Gold Medal Rugby match, with the home nation winning to rapturous cheering. We see NBC’s opening, with heroic but generic shots of athletes, interspersed with actual shots from the action so far, covered by a Hans Zimmer-esque version of the QISE theme, before sliding into the traditional version.
Now, to the elephant in the room--the “curation”. How do you re-show the day’s action without people tuning out? Tirico, from the French apartment/museum/studio, lays it out. They will show the main action, then the reactions afterward, along with interviews with figures from sports and entertainment, giving their thoughts.
This doesn’t really jibe with how it was portrayed in the afternoon. Poor Ahmed Fareed had to perform the equivalent of swinging a pocket watch in front of the camera, intoning “you didn’t just see the event an hour ago, watch it tonight in primetime...”
But back to Tirico, who sends us to Men’s Gymnastics Qualification. They’ve added new graphics, with huge virtual signs showing us the competitors. It’s been edited to tell more of a “story”, which in this case is Brody Malone flaming out (and all I can think of is the bizarre kids gangster movie Bugsy Malone). Gannon and Daggett take us through it all. The confusing scoring process is simplified via traffic light icons--green is good, yellow is meh, red is ugh. They keep cutting back to the athlete’s families in the stands (now possible post-COVID) for their reactions. In a gimmicky moment, they attached a heart monitor to an athlete’s mom, to see the stress levels.
There’s a package with Team USA members and events, backed by Taylor Swift music (the tie-in? She recently had a concert at the same site as the swimming competition). Another package, this time covering gymnasts talking about each other, then back to the action.
Over to swimming, with “limited commercial interruption”. More swimmers talking about their competitors/teammates in the “Race of the Century” (NBC is labelling everything). Did we mention Taylor Swift performed here? Comedian/QISE super fan Leslie Jones is brought in to interview Katie Ladecky (”how do you pee in the pool?”). There’s also a package about the US/Aussie rivalry. NBC did manage to sneak in some swimming as well.
Cut to SNL’s Colin Jost from Tahiti, where the Surfing competition is being held, standing in the surf in a blazer. Then it’s more gymnastics, and a Bugsy Brody Malone package. As would be expected, NBC concentrated almost entirely on the US team, with Gammon slamming through the other competitors in a quick package.
Tirico returns for a whiparound, then it’s the aforementioned “Event of the Night”--the Women’s 400m Freestyle Relay, followed by the men, resulting in a silver and a gold. We return to earlier that day and synchronized diving, in an edited package showing a US silver win. Prime Time wraps up with Snoop dropping by--he watched the swims at the site, alongside Caleb Dressel’s wife and infant son, and gives his thoughts. The medal podium for the first US gold is shown, with a smattering of swim stuff as Tirico calls it a day.
Off to another early day, and women’s gymnastic qualifying--Biles seems flustered in warmups, and has her ankle taped--Kabletown’s stock value drops. Commentators Gannon and Laurie Hernandez (”I’m think I’m gonna throw up”) crank the drama to 11. Hernandez is not a broadcaster--at one point, she begins a spiel, only to realize she’s not speaking into the mike. Biles then does better, as does the stock price. There’s also star-gazing in the stands--this is the E-ticket ride.
It’s a two-hander for hosting, with Lowe and weekend daytime anchor (and Today show guy) Craig Melvin. Over to swimming heats. Quote of the day: “Walls are important”. Hear hear!
A preview of the “amateur” millionaires playing b-ball for the US, and more swim heats. Then it’s Women’s Mountain Biking. An overhead view reminds me of an ant farm, with bikers wending their way around the trails. Someone in the stands is honking a horn which, ironically, sounds like a kid’s bike horn. The US gets a silver. Then it’s the conclusion of a water polo match, and a studio interview with Chloe Digert, a biking bronze medalist who went through a horrific injury, comeback, and a crash during the race.
NBC moved onto Millionaire Parade aka Basketball, and I moved onto Peacock and Women’s Street Skateboarding. This is part of the ‘X-Gamesification” of QISE, and there’s a lot of crashes going on. Moving onto canoe slalom--hopefully, this water is clean--and some non-US gymnasts qualifying (or not). France (the home team) is trying to qualify, and failed to do so.
Then it’s more Surfing, and I can’t say it’s particularly thrilling. I guess it’s like NASCAR--you watch for the crashes. I took another spin of the Multiview wheel, and landed on Women’s Rugby, which is not particularly dainty.
I caught back up on broadcast coverage, starting with more Surfing--we got another Colin Jost report alongside. Onto Equestrian, and the Eventing competition (essentially, cross-country meets steeplechase). Tirico takes us around the horn--basketball, cycling, tennis. Those darn youngsters with their limited attention spans!
The home crowd went nuts at the swim meet as their own, Leon Marchand, wins the 400m Individual Medley. The crowd screamed with every stroke. Meanwhile, the US went gold/silver on the 100m Butterfly. A quick check-in Kornacki and his US/Aussie stats, then Women’s Soccer, and more swims, including the Mens’s 100m Breaststroke final--and a shocking win by Italy.
A quick report from fencing, where US goes Gold/Silver, and finally, more Beach Volleyball--we have bikinis.
OK, it’s late and I’m bushed. More to come.
#vivalaqise2024