Like just about everyone else in the world (or so it seems), I was struck with the flu last week. Because I was unable to move, I watched a lot of television — primarily because I was too tired to find the remote to turn it off. 

One of the shows I watched was Katie, Katie Couric’s new talk show. Known for being a perky co-host of the Today show, she now interviews all sorts of people in the comforts of a plush studio. The day I tuned in, she was interviewing 50 Cent, and quite frankly, it was kind of embarrassing. She had to ask him how to pronounce “Fiddy” (blaming it on being a white person, thus unable to figure it out), and then she kept urging him to take off his shirt so she could touch his muscles. It was weird, and I could only imagine if she begged another celebrity to take off their clothes so she could touch them.

Once the hour was over, I wondered, what makes a good television interview? That certainly was not one of them. I’ve seen ones where the interviewer asks rather unremarkable questions, but because the person answering the questions is so interesting, it’s good. I’ve seen others where the questions were probing, but the interviewee was having none of it, so they remained unanswered and the interview was boring. There is definitely a fine line, and a good interviewer needs to be able to think on their feet, ask good follow-up questions, and not let a silent interviewee stand in their way.

Watching the dullness that was Katie actually reminded me that I love a good interview. Are there any that you remember that stand the test of time?