I understand that someone at Turner Classic Movies wants to appeal to the "hip" crowd with Ben, the new host, and the silly MTV style hiphop intro of the careless guy running through the street with the film falling out of the can is "cool".... but PLEASE stop with second camera views of Ben's face in close-up when he is not looking into the camera. Those, if properly done, should be in grainy black and white 8mm film to clue us in that this is a more "personal shot"... and instead looks like the director doesn't know what he is doing and Ben doesn't realize the other camera is on him. I give Ben high points for being friendly, pleasant looking and clear in his speaking... the set looks like a mock antique bottle collector's shop in SOHO (not sure what that has to do with classic film), and the montage intro a one on a scale of 10...... more because it has nothing to do with the "high style" of TCMs other beautifully produced intros and monthly montages.... this all looks very low tech and budget constrained. Keep Ben... but can the rest.
P.S. How about a "mid-century moderne" 50s style with Ben in a Hawaiian shirt and chinos.... okay.. well, at least it would be FUN!
