'Early Show' idea deserves some time to grow

My, my, my. The critics certainly didn't waste any time unloading on the CBS network's newly revamped "The Early Show" (7-9 a.m. weekdays, Channel 5). The new morning format, in which four hosts take turns reading headlines and interviewing guests, debuted last Monday. By Tuesday the vultures already were circling. "Messy," said one. "Boring," yawned another. "Four's a crowd," said a third. Not that anyone remembers, but The Washington Post declared "Nightline" an instant failure, too. After seeing Tuesday's and Wednesday's editions, though, I thought "The Early Show's" new producer, Michael Bass, might be on to something. The former No. 2 producer at NBC's "Today" show seems to have figured out how CBS can compete with its slicker, higher-priced network rivals. And no, it's not by creating "The View" of morning news. That's what we smarty-pants in the media thought when we first laid eyes on "The Early Show's" racially mixed, female-skewing panel. In fact, the show's real inspiration is local television. News directors in most big-city markets figured out a long time ago that diversity sells. The more people on screen who viewers can identify with, the more viewers you're apt to keep. Another quality of local news that's evident in "The Early Show" is its almost calculated display of blandness. Rene Syler and Julie Chen, the show's minor anchors, are pleasant and inoffensive. Harry Smith, the polished, understated and utterly humorless male anchor, is the embodiment of bland professionalism. He could never work on "Today" or "GMA," but he lasted a decade in his first tour of duty here, before CBS foolishly pushed him aside for Bryant Gumbel. Last week I watched Smith interview a traumatized witness to the Arizona nursing-school attacks. He relied on grace and tact. He kept his questions short and didn't try injecting phony sympathy. If there were any justice, he would have the 7 p.m. show on CNN and Connie Chung would be stuck doing "Biography." The other major anchor, Hannah Storm, seems to have made the transition from sports to mornings in record time. Though gregarious and fun, Storm also lacks that sharply defined "personality" preferred by critics. Again, that may not be such a bad thing. Fun is not "perky." Perky is Katie Couric, and as her harried handlers at NBC have learned, perky is always much fun. The quicker clicker "Journeys With George," 8:30 tonight, HBO. Alexandra Pelosi followed the Bush campaign caravan for NBC News during 2000. Along the way she took home movies of the candidate clowning around, ribbing her good-naturedly, expressing his love of bologna sandwiches and Western wear. After Bush was elected, Pelosi, whose mom happens to be a Democratic congressman, decided to turn her video into a documentary. While others debate the ethics of that decision, Bush's handlers can't be too unhappy with Pelosi's film. It shows a truly interesting side of the future president. We're told that Bush campaigns best one-on-one, and watching him cuddle up to Pelosi over several months, it's easy to see why even those most antagonistic toward Bush are often charmed by him. That's Pelosi's point. At one point in "Journeys With George" she notes with irony that those reporters who are closest to Bush often have the least perspective. While his opponent, Al Gore, was routinely pummeled by the press corps on his plane, Bush usually got a free ride. The only thing stranger than fiction, it seems, is election night. With that in mind, Comedy Central's "The Daily Show With Jon Stewart" airs an election special at 10 tonight. Then, for one night only, "ABC News Nightline" airs at its god-given time of 10:35 p.m. The one-hour special is followed by local and national coverage. (KCPT, KCTV, KMBC, KSHB and WDAF will begin carrying election results starting at 9.) "Master Spy: The Robert Hanssen Story," 8 p.m. Sunday, CBS (Channel 5). William Hurt is convincing as the devout Catholic and loving husband who sold out his country. This two-part miniseries is based on research into the former FBI agent, now serving 15 life terms for selling secrets to the Soviets. The screenplay is by Norman Mailer, which may explain the heavy emphasis on Hanssen's sexual weirdness. In case you're wondering, CBS has canceled "Bram & Alice." That show joins ABC's "That Was Then" and "Push, Nevada" on the discard pile along with Fox's "girls club" and "The Grubbs" (which was yanked before a single episode aired). Forecaster Marc Berman says the next three to go will be NBC's "In-Laws," UPN's "Haunted" and Fox's "Firefly." To reach Aaron Barnhart, phone (816) 234-4790 or visit the TV Barn Web site at www.tvbarn.com. @ART CAPTION:Harry Smith, Hannah Storm (from left), Julie Chen and Rene Syler will anchor "The Early Show." @ART:Photo (color)