A man in need

So, how is Piers Morgan doing in his first week replacing the inimitable Larry King on CNN? I’d give him a tentative three stars out of five.

Interesting that his first two guests also do interviews for a living: Oprah Winfrey and Howard Stern. Presumably Morgan the Brit wanted to show the world he could go toe-to-toe with the toughest in America. Well, maybe he can, but I find Morgan a tad aggressive for that time of night. He even admitted in his hour with Stern that he was trying to ask outrageous questions. At one point, he wondered whether Stern colored his tousled hair and tugged a few strands to see if they were real. I’m not sure if that counts as outrageous or whether the action tipped into the territory of ludicrous. There was a similar weird moment with Oprah when he demanded, “Emote with me here.”

Perhaps the most telling query of the two nights came at the end of his interview with Oprah. Even though Oprah had already said, “Ooh, you’re good,” Morgan had to ask, “How did I do?” “Surprising,” was her response. Morgan couldn’t help himself and pressed, “Do I take that as a positive?”

What a sad narcissist. Even Stern allowed as how he was learning there was more to life than “me.” I was getting tired of Larry King’s overweening sense of self. Piers Morgan has done the impossible; he’s managed to replace King with an even larger ego.