The Katie Couric Rule

Just when does a fad or craze become uncool? Apparently, when Katie Couric decides that it would be fun to indulge in: Depending on the trend, it can be easy to figure out when overexposure has set in. Language overkill has become especially easy to figure out in recent years -- just follow the Katie Couric Rule of Lexicon Demolition: A saying goes out of style at the precise moment when "Today" host Couric uses it for the first time. For example: "For shizzle" was ruined at about 8:35 a.m. Dec. 9, 2003, when Couric uttered the phrase during an interview with Fran Drescher. And "bling" lost its bling a little after 8 p.m. Oct. 16, 2003, when Couric used the term incorrectly -- "talk about bling-bling-bling, man" -- to describe a diamond ring. For those partial to the phrase "that's just how I roll," have fun while it lasts -- Al Roker already has used the phrase this year, and history proves that Couric will follow soon.) How can one person be so hopelessly uncool? Her clothing, her jokes, her hair-- Katie Couric has been madeover, retouched, reformed, retooled, and yet, there has been minimal improvement. If I happen to sleep through my alarm in the morning, her voice wakes me up, because even subconsciously, I know that I have to hurry to find the remote in order to change the channel, because she is usually saying something inane. Even if I don't concentrate long enough to realize what she is saying, the sound of her voice alone is enough to make me grind my teeth. I had hope for the Today Show, I really did. I'd given up on the 9am-10am hour, as Matt Lauer seems to have done, because he's never around for the cooking/fashion/product placement/various other fluff segments anymore. Katie has become scarce as well, but NBC has decided to thrust Alexis Glick upon us, a Couric clone who I'd assumed was being groomed to take Katie's place. I often wonder why NBC canceled "Later Today". Surely it wasn't as bad as The Today Show's third broadcast hour? Katie Couric used to be "America's Sweetheart", after saving the show from dismal ratings when viewers didn't warm to Deborah Norville's takeover of the co-anchor chair (after Jane Pauley's exit). Katie was fresh, friendly, and energetic back then, but now, she seems so artificial. Katie seems to be trying desperately to hold on to something from the past, youth, freshness, coolness, acceptance... Now Katie seems to be as annoyingly trite as those Live Strong (or insert charity of choice) bracelets.