Harlequin on Nightline

Nightline (CBS in the USA) is doing a segment on Harlequin’s 60th Anniversary. Unfortunately for me, Nightline is one WAY the hell past my bedtime, but I’ll be asking the DVR to save it for me. However, there is a video on ABCnews.com showing many a random celebrity reading an excerpt of a Harlequin. The silliness factor: high. The accompanying article: enough of a business slant that my WTF-o-meter didn’t go screaming.

But I am a little fearful that the Nightlight segment set to air tonight is going to be more condescending than not.

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  1. earthgirl says:

    The British anchor ftw.

  2. Bonnie says:

    **groan***… oh, the ABC video was painful to watch. 

    But I am a little fearful that the Nightlight segment set to air tonight is going to be more condescending than not.

    Ya think?  Oh, it will be.  Trust me.

  3. library addict says:

    Nightline airs on ABC, not CBS.

    The clip of celebrities reading certainly doesn’t bode well 🙁

  4. JenD says:

    It’s not *too* bad. 

    I could definitely do without the sex scene reading. The interviews were quite well done.

  5. library addict says:

    Yes, the interspersed clips of celebs reading scenes were extremely cheesy, but I think the report itself wasn‘t as bad as I’d feared.  I was expecting it to be more condescending, like NBC’s Today show piece last week.  Of course, the emphasis of the entire segment was on sex and the word steamy was used a lot, but Donna Hayes managed to get a few serious points across.

  6. Claudia says:

    Oh dear.

    *blush*

  7. quichepup says:

    I’d like to hear the British guy read the whole book but George Will? Why? Why? It’s going to take awhile to forget that. *wince

    my word-firm35
    It’s been awhile for both

  8. Victoria Dahl says:

    I thought it was wonderful. The most positive take on romance I’ve seen on network TV, personally.

    I also think we’re in danger of taking ourselves too seriously. If the piece had been on sixty years of sci fi, there would have been footage of the most embarrassing sci fi fanatics at conventions along with clips of old, really bad Mystery-Science-Theater-worthy movies. If it had been about 60 years of horror, there would have been shots of knives and women screaming and lots of spooky movies.

    There was more business talk and common sense in this piece than in any others I’ve seen. And even in the funny, cringe-worthy, read-aloud part… they did NOT pick the most salacious passages to read. Nor the worst. There was no throbbing. Personally, I loved the hard-boiled PI one.

  9. Victoria Dahl says:

    If it had been about 60 years of horror, there would have been shots of knives and women screaming and lots of spooky movies.

    I meant spooky music, btw. Oops.

  10. skuld12 says:

    It was a decent piece but the reading were embarrassing

  11. But I am a little fearful that the Nightlight segment set to air tonight is going to be more condescending than not.

    I thought it would be too. I was more than ready to fire off an indignant email if it was belittling but surprises of all surprises, it wasn’t.

    I could have lived without the readings and I did notice that they chose the more spicy passages but who knows, just reading the books could encourage one of the readers/actors to pick up a book.

    I enjoyed it but of course thought it could have been longer. LOL. Things are never long enough for me. Hehe.

  12. Kathleen O'Reilly says:

    I loved the readings.  🙂  I loved the whole bit.  Sometimes I feel like newsies look down on romance, but I didn’t get that vibe from this piece, more about the fun that is the romance industry from an insider’s perspective, not an outsiders. And BTW, I did like the George Will piece, reminds me of that bit eons ago when someone recited the Beatles lyrics proper English poetry style.

  13. ev says:

    Damn.Missed the thing last night. Too busy reading I guess. And watching Castle. Will need to look for the segment online when I have time.

    I did like the PI one though. But don’t you think these showed how wrong the public perception about romance is and why? The only things they read were the more “intimate” scenes (although not the INTIMATE scenes) as opposed to an actual story line. Which the books do have.

  14. Amy says:

    The entire Nightline clip is now available online for anyone who missed it: http://abcnews.go.com/Video/playerIndex?id=7329822

  15. Kathleen O'Reilly says:

    Ev,
    I think the problem with readings that involve well-written, non-romance scenes is that it’s too disconnected from the genre expectations.  If they did a well-written, dramatic scene, yes, it might make a bunch of romance writers cheer, but the average view would be going, ‘What the heck does that have to do with romance?’  Frankly, after having seen too many snide readings of the naughty bits, I was happy with the sappier stuff. 

    Maybe I’m too much the polyanna, or should I say, the romantic?  LOL.

  16. thebooklass says:

    If Paul Rudd did romance audio books I would sooo listen to them, but I also had a crush on him since Clueless.  It doesn’t paint romance as serious lit, but it very much showed how powerful romance books are.

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