'Oprah Presents
Master Class,' be seated
Here's a first look at Winfrey's new cable network
By Tom Conroy
Dec 22, 2010
Sometimes people are accused of not being able to see the forest for the trees. But often the problem is that people can’t see the trees for the forest.
One of the first shows premiering on Oprah Winfrey’s OWN channel, “Oprah Presents Master Class” allows accomplished, famous people to share the big lessons they’ve learned through their life experiences. But too often they don’t detail the life experiences themselves, so the lessons come across as generalities or, worse, platitudes.
Fortunately, the stars are intrinsically interesting, and the show is handsomely produced. Viewers won’t be bored and may be inspired.
The first episode, getting a sneak preview on Saturday, Jan. 1, at 7 p.m., profiles the rapper and impresario Jay-Z. Speaking in close-up directly to the camera, he is much more diffident and self-conscious than one might expect.
He shares some of his personal philosophy, saying that he defines excellence as being able to perform at a high level for a long period of time — unlike most rappers. He also says that he regrets making albums that were intended to be hits but weren’t true to his own personality, adding, “I feel sorry for someone who has to walk out the house every day as someone else.”
Here and there, Winfrey shows up to share her own take on Jay-Z and to give a finer point to his musings. Referring to his less than successful albums, she says, “So many people are afraid of failure. If you’re open to it, every mistake has a lesson to offer.”
But the details of Jay-Z’s life remain blurry. We don’t learn how he became a drug dealer and how he stopped, nor how he managed to go from writing rhymes for his friends to releasing hit records. More specificity in these areas would, ideally, help reinforce the lessons we’re supposed to be learning and show how they can be applied.
The second episode, airing Sunday, Jan. 2, at 10 p.m., stars Diane Sawyer, who is a bit more specific about her biography, although there are some major gaps. She somehow transforms magically from Richard Nixon’s “literary assistant” to a CBS News correspondent.
In this intimate setting, Sawyer is exactly the same person we see in her TV news work: gracious, glamorous, chipper. Besides chuckling over her incompetence as a weather girl, she can’t seem to remember any major setbacks or hard times. She’s grateful for the opportunity to cover interesting stories and interview important people, and she says that the best part of her life is being with her husband, the director Mike Nichols.
When Sawyer talks about how she embraces change, viewers may find themselves thinking, “Well, that’s easy for you to say.”
Being a professional communicator, Sawyer expresses her acquired wisdom pithily, but many of her best sound bites come from things she’s read or heard. An on-scene interviewer might have pushed her to re-examine her assumptions or to drop some of the happy talk.
Winfrey’s comments about Sawyer are embarrassingly gushy. “She is a goddess,” Winfrey says, “and who doesn’t love a goddess?” Viewers may find themselves thinking something unprintable.
Like most of Winfrey’s projects, “Oprah Presents Master Class” requires us to suppress our cynicism and skepticism. She is the teacher, and she expects us to pay attention to the guest lecturers.
Receptive viewers will eat it up, and it might even do them some good.
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