As I awoke this morning to the return of Fox & Friends Saturday mediocrity, I kind of dreaded the viewing: I got a reprieve. After watching the weird first weather segment voiced by Rick Reithmuth, my reception went out because of thunderstorms in the area.
It is back on but I’m not that happy that it is. The crew of Ainsley Earhardt, Clayton Morris, Eric Shawn, Courtney Friel, and Rick Reithmuth do not really inspire alot of love. Eric Shawn supplies a bit of gravitas but he seems quite out of place: he is like the kid who wants to fit in a bit too much. Clayton tries to be the leader with his “take-charge” wackiness and Ainsley sweetly follows along. It’s like watching Happy Days without the Fonz. FNC has to add a sexy, knowledgeable, and confident female co-host like Kiran Chetry or Page Hopkins, or this show has “jumped the shark.”
Tags: Clayton Morris, Eric Shawn, Fonz, Fox & Friends, Fox News, Happy Days, Rick Reithmuth
Carpe Diem 
April 26, 2008 at 8:56 am
I so agree…F&F Weekend totally sucks now. I have switched to headline news and it isn’t much better.
April 26, 2008 at 9:28 am
Jakeho, I give you credit for watching, I for one have tuned out. I really like Eric Shawn, he is a fabulous reporter, but terribly miscast with this group. With the exception of Rick, I totally despise this group, there is nothing cute or likable about any of them. Gayle, may I suggest the food channel or ESPN?
April 26, 2008 at 9:57 am
Hopefully this show will soon be cancelled. Eric and Rick will still work and hopefully regain their reputations, while CourtCourt and Ainsley Airhead will have more time to shop for their skirts that don’t cover the goods, too tight shirts and stripper shoes.
April 26, 2008 at 11:08 am
WITH ALL THE TALENT FOX HAS ,THEY COME UP WITH THIS GROUP!!!!!!!ERIC SHAWN IS A GOOD REPORTER LEAVE HIM TO WHAT HE WAS DOING ,THEN YOU GOT DUMB & DUMBER ,FOX HAS REALLY f##KED UP FOX & FRIENDS.BRING BACK PAGE & THE KELLY BOYS !!!!!!!
April 26, 2008 at 11:42 am
I agree with “Fox and Friends” storm. I didn’t know where to talk about it this morning, so put my comment under something from last week about Clayton.
I have never done this before, even though, I’ve threatened….I just cut the darned television off. I will continue to tune in to see who the line-up is, and if it is Ainsley and Clayton with anyone else, no matter who, off goes the t.v. Clayton talks down to Eric like he’s the kid that tags along with the popular kid, and Ainsley just talks to the crew and everyone else she can. Does she ever shut up? I am so sick to lose a show that I enjoyed, but I can just watch my tivo’e shows and catch up. I got the headlines this a.m. on CNN Headline News and I just deplore giving my business to CNN, but at least you know what the heck they’re talking about, and on F & F you cannot get past the giggly gibberish. Is there anyone at Fox that cares that no one likes their show? I tried to e-mail them, but couldn’t find a place to do it. Their website is even unclear anymore.
April 26, 2008 at 4:36 pm
Ainsley Eerhardt is no where near as sexy and watchable as Kiran Chetry or kimberly Guilfoyle both of whom show tastefull and sexy cleavage. Ainsley knows that the Executives at fox want sex appeal because it means ratings but, instead Ainsley dresses like a news woman of the 80’s. But, she is to bratty and childish to give a damn. I can’t stand her and I switched to CNN. I am still waiting for fox to fire her and to send her back to wherever she came from.
April 26, 2008 at 10:00 pm
Fox News on weekends isn’t much better than MSNBC nowadays. Clicked on the telly to see who was hosting F&F this morning and then clicked it back off.
April 27, 2008 at 6:50 am
Watching Clayton is like watching a 12 year-old trying to get attention. I keep waiting for him to jump on the couch like Tom Cruise. Eric is a tremendous, totally professional talent and doesn’t need to be a nursemaid and especially not a straight man. He never looks serious; I think he’s so focused on himself and how he WANTS to look to the audience, he totally misses the opportunity to really engage viewers and make them listen. I really like Rick; he’s a great on-air talent and makes you comfortable watching him.
April 27, 2008 at 6:53 am
Clarification: I meant CLAYTON is so focused on himself and never looks serious, etc…
Eric and Rick are indeed a tremendous talents. It’s Clayton they need to reel in, can or put on Prozac.
April 27, 2008 at 7:02 am
The Formula 1 race from Barcelona is tons better than anything on FNC …
Hell, even The Wiggles & Doodlebops on Disney Channel are better than Tweedle Dee, Tweedle Dum & Tweedle Dumber …
I like Rick Reichmuth and Eric … But, the other three just KILL the show …
Clayton’s that used car salesman that you just want to run over with a semi truck … over & over again …
Fox & Friends Weekend officially jumped the shark on Feb 16, 2008 … Put it out of its misery …
April 27, 2008 at 8:15 am
I love Ainsley!
Why was Courntey wearing a glittering shirt today?
April 27, 2008 at 8:40 am
I love Clayton and use to watch him on the Daily Buzz. He is very talanted. I want page back and Eric Shawn is not good on F&F. He is much better as a reporter.Maybe they should try 2 girls and one male.
April 27, 2008 at 10:15 am
[…] seen her either. It appears she has returned to FNC Never-never land. Carpe Diem maintains its Don Quixote like assault on Fox and Friends and wants Hopkins back on the air. But I have come to the conclusion based on […]
April 27, 2008 at 3:05 pm
i agree with several of the writers above – eric shawn is a superb reported but looks so unconfortable on f&f – part of the problem is that this show should have two anchors, one man and one woman – that being said, i can’t stomach ainsley and can’t beleive they continue to let her anchor after all of her gaffews – page hopkins was so much more articulate, i just don’t get it
April 27, 2008 at 4:11 pm
M.Davey, you can write to yourcomments@foxnews.com. I’ve written a few times, but we can see just how effective that was.
So I now don’t watch FNC at all on weekends, until MAYBE sometime on Sunday afternoons, if at all. I tend to be one of those people who leaves the TV on the same channel most of the time, unless motivated to change it, so from when we turn off the TV on Friday evening until sometime late on Sunday or Monday morning, there is no FNC in this house.
To put it another way, when we go out shopping on weekends, it is after watching some other channel’s commercials, NOT Fox News’.
April 27, 2008 at 4:55 pm
Eric Shawn was great hosting the 2 hours after FNFW so wtf did they put him on FNFW? He’s not right for the morning show. Ainsley I could stand when she was being propped up by two of the best morning anchors in Doocy and Kilmeade but without the funny and witty pro’s around Clayton and Ainsley have to take charge but they suck at it.
Clayton just looks like a sleazy used car salesman and tries too hard to be funny and witty. He sucks!
Page is like the female version of Doocy, Kilmeade and Jerrick. A must have on a morning show. Why was she replaced? Who the hell is making these line-up changes? CRAZY!!
I want to see how a line-up of Greg Gutfeld, Page Hopkins and Janice Dean turns out.
April 27, 2008 at 6:22 pm
For whatever good it will do, here is the Email address for FOX & FRIENDS: friends@foxnews.com. I agree, the weekend show if NOT watchable.
April 27, 2008 at 6:28 pm
I, too, turned off F&F this weekend. Just couldn’t stomach the show. For months I had recorded the weekend shows, but no more. It’s not worth my time or the strain on my electricity bill. I was watching some old episodes (prior to 2/16/08) and was amazed at just how far down that show has fallen. Whoever is driving that bus has now gone over the cliff and crashed!!! Clayton is obnoxious, Eric Shawn is a good reporter whose talents are being wasted here, Courtney and Ainsley are the biggest airheads I have ever seen on TV. Rick Reichmuth is the only one left worth watching, and he is on air only briefly. Greg and Kelly have moved to later-in-the-day shows; but poor Page is still tied up in some broom closet in the Newscorps building. Someone really needs to rescue her. Sorry, F&F, I’ve got better things to do with my time than waste it on your weekend show!
April 28, 2008 at 1:49 pm
Loved the weekend show. It seems Clayton is a younger Steve and being groomed for bigger things at Fox?? Great fun, news, and I prefer Ainsley to Megan? She is more “down home”- sweet- and yes she does try to interject a lot- but I think it works. I’d say it is Clayton’s show for sure!! But I love it!!! Live TV must be extremely hard to do- with guests , cut ins- etc!! Keep that in mind when we are being so critical!!
April 28, 2008 at 7:10 pm
Veronica, are you Clayton’s agent? I’m not trashing you, but it seems like you’re avidly trying to push him on the rest of us, who clearly don’t care much for him.
April 29, 2008 at 6:17 am
Oh, Vernonica, please, fun is o.k., but there’s too many things that happen just over Friday into Saturday and Sunday that we need to know about, good and bad. And…watching funny is not for most of us. I, once again, tuned in on Saturday and Ainsley said something like, “Well, we have a lot of GREAT new for you today!”, in her perkiest of voices and then video running beside her was of some tragedy that had happened. I can’t tell you what it was, because I was horrified looking at her and watching that promo.
If you want hilarious, you can watch Leno and Letterman and all those psuedo politial news shows like Colbert and that other guy that makes fun of the news. I think they all have to be pleasant and good looking and not be sour-faced, but just running clips and slapping each other on the back is just not right. Eric Shawn looked so out of place and I think his face was even turning red. And Clayton talks down to him as if to show Eric that he is “the man”. None of the other head people ever did that to their co-hosts.
I say if they’re going to continue running clips, get a news reader to introduce them and just save all those salaries. You could have weather by Rick. Rick? Ohmigosh, why not try him as a host. He seems to be “fun” and has outgrown the silly stage.
April 29, 2008 at 1:58 pm
I used to watch but, I stopped watching as soon as they put that dumb woman Ainsley on the show. I will not go back to watching fox until they get rid of Ainsley and her fake breasts. She is an insult to the world of journalism.
Why don’t you idiots at fox just take it all the way by replacing Bill Orielly with Pam Anderson.
Don’t get me wrong, I am not against sexy women. The lady who anchors the line up is sexy. But, she is sexy and smart.
April 29, 2008 at 3:25 pm
Boogiewoogie, rather then sending your email to yourcomments@foxnews.com send them to david.clark@foxnews.com He is the executive producer of Fox and Friends
April 29, 2008 at 4:32 pm
Both Ainsley Earhardt and Courtney Friel appear to be able to do a good job of presenting news briefs or submitting professionally crafted stories, so I completely disagree with any notion of either of them being “dumb”. I think they simply aren’t (yet?) suited for a F&F style program.
April 29, 2008 at 5:56 pm
Thanks, Don.
Al: I have to disagree with you that Courtney is anywhere even close to competent at reading headlines or short stories. Her delivery is atrocious, because she often reads and speaks as if she’s reading a phonetic translation of English, and her voice is way too Valley Girl for her job. To put it another way, she has a face for TV and a voice for print.
Ainsley does a decent job at reading the headlines and her little reports for Hannity, but that’s about it as far as her abilities go. She doesn’t seem to have any depth or background in what’s behind the news.
April 30, 2008 at 6:09 am
boogiewoogee –
Based on other posts, I think “Veronica” is either Clayton himself or his wife or his agent … or the idiot at FNC that hired him … Too much brown nosing to be a simple fan of the guy …
Please don’t compare Courtney to a “Valley Girl” … I know Valley Girls, and she is NO Valley Girl … She’s a trampy girl from Philly …
I’ve seen Ainsley do the overnight headlines … But, she has problems with those too …
April 30, 2008 at 8:52 am
Isn’t the name of the producer of F&F David Brown? He’s the shorter, chunky guy that shows up every now and then on the show and the AtSS. I don’t think David Clark is the correct name. At any rate, I’ve already emailed the “yourcomment” address and will now try David Brown to see if I can get my point across.
Also, Al, while I don’t think either Ainsley or Courtney is stupid, I do think they are used to playing the dumb blonde routine to get ahead. Their off-the-cuff remarks are usually so ditzy that they fall into the “dumb blonde” realm. One example was the recent story about the Florida girl fight when Ainsley made the statement (several times) that there were “like 12 girls against this one girl”. Now the story itself was tragic, but Ainsley made it even worse by not having the factual information. Apparently no one corrected her, since she kep saying that throughout the show. Viewers go out and pass along information they hear in a news story. The least the anchors can do is be sure the information is correct (to the best of their ability) when it comes out of their mouth. It can’t be “like something”. It has to be factual. The cutsie, pootsie, dumb blonde act just doesn’t cut it with the female audience. As far as Ainsley being “down home”–believe me, I’m from the Deep South. There’s nothing “down home” about her. She still reminds me of a middle-school cheerleader (affluent middle-school cheerleader at that). My problem with Courtney is that she’s where she is today strictly on her appearance. She is not good at what she is doing, but the powers that be are letting her slide because of her looks. I’m offended that someone with actual talent (Page) has been relegated to the basement by these 2 no-talents. I also much prefer Greg and Kelly to Clayton. Clayton is immature, obnoxious, and seems to think it’s all about him. He’s a smug know-it-all. Can you tell I don’t like him either? That’s my opinion, and I’m entitled to one of my own even if it stinks!!!
April 30, 2008 at 11:42 am
I too have stopped watching F&FW. The most I’ll do is turn the TV on and check who is hosting. If it’s the “Idiot Brigade” that’s been on for the past couple of months, I just turn the channel. I refuse to aggravate myself anymore.
I also find myself watching less and less of Fox. Why should I support a channel that won’t listen to people that complain about the people that are hosting? They just continue to shove these dimwits down our throats.
Sorry Fox, I’ve had my fill.
When I tune in and see Greg Kelly, Rick Reichmuthe and Page, I’ll start watching again.
April 30, 2008 at 12:52 pm
Gosh, am I going to start feeling sorry for Courtney and Ainsley? No, I don’t think so, but I think they both look like they want to look and probably get lots of attention. But doesn’t just about everyone today on every channel have blonde hair and whitened teeth.
I don’t think California people want us referring to Courtney as a California Girl anymore. She’s not a native, according to the people writing in. She’s seems like she’s using tv to jump start a movie career, and that’s just WRONG! And, Ainsley, it’s her reporting style that I just can’t abide. She just seems to stick her foot in her mouth over and over.
Clayton? Well, it seems they’ve hired him, so what can they do with him?
Maybe Conan O’Brien’s job?
April 30, 2008 at 1:08 pm
Idiot Brigade? I love it, and will shamelessly “borrow” it!
Courtney calls herself a “California Girl” and is even “caligirl” on her YouTube channel. Yes, every reputable newscaster has a YouTube channel.
Her vocal style is very stereotypically Valley Girl, as is “Like, OMG, fer sure! Totally rad!”
For her sake, I hope she’s not counting on a movie career, unless it’s to show skin and keep her mouth shut, because the woman has zero screen presence other than her cliched looks. No personality, no ability to interact with others.
Ainsley does have some potential, but not in the direction she’s being pushed these days. She’s fine with scripted stuff and a little bit of chitchat, but a disaster at longer stretches of chatting and her overly saccharine personality is grating.
So, what do you people suggest for weekend mornings while we’re getting ready for the day? We’ve been keeping Headline News on the tube on weekend mornings, but it’s kind of drab and they repeat the exact same prepared segments over and over and over and over. I cannot stomach CNN and MSNBC, and am not always into whatever is on TVLand. We’re open to suggestions.
April 30, 2008 at 7:25 pm
Actually, I don’t have much of a problem with the weekday Fox and Friends, except on occasion. I loved it when E.D. was on and I loved Saturday’s with Kiran and Alysyn.
I still get the best news coverage from Fox, in spite of everyone calling them biased. I’m a conservative and sometimes even I think that they argue too much with more liberal guests and won’t let them have their say, but at least we are offered both sides.
I really would like to watch Kiran Chetry, but just news reading is so dry.
I haven’t watched it for very long so I don’t know exactly how the whole program goes, but I just don’t get the variety from CNN that I get from Fox.
April 30, 2008 at 9:56 pm
I’ll have to watch Courtney and Ainsley again while they’re reading the news and pay a little closer attention. Hmmm…. perhaps boogie and GRITS have a point.
Oh, what do I care? I still don’t like seeing either on F&F so it really doesn’t matter.
May 1, 2008 at 1:32 am
boogiewoogee – Just because Courtney calls herself a “California Girl” or a “Cali Girl” does NOT mean it’s true (esp if she put it on her YouTube channel) … She was born & raised in the Philly / Harrisburg area … Calling herself a “California Girl” is an insult to REAL California Girls and I take extreme offense at it (& I’m a native Angeleno) … Her vocal style is not that of a Valley Girl … She’s more of New Yorker style as she thinks she must yell / speak loudly to emphasize everything that she says …
Courtney is definitely trying to launch a movie career … hence, her cameo in a new movie (the name escapes me now) … I think Vivid Entertainment might be able to help her launch a movie career (*coughcough*) …
Courtney & Ainsley & Adam would be much better over on NBC or one of those freaky channels … where they choose style over substance on their “news” shows …
Someone needs to remind the idiot trio that “Vanity Kills” … Narcissism is NOT flattering in those who are attempting to be in the news industry …
Donewithfox – Just go to the Fox website on Friday evening to see who they have listed as hosting F&FW … Then you won’t even have to worry about having the tv on Fox when the show starts up …
May 1, 2008 at 7:42 am
BoogieWoogie, borrow away my friend.
I’m also a fan of “TweedleDee, TweedleDumb and TweedleDumber,” brought to us by Tiamatsrevenge.
May 1, 2008 at 7:04 pm
Weekend schedule is up….looks like Dave Briggs is making an encore appearance Saturday on F&FW.
May 2, 2008 at 5:45 am
Thanks, Brendon! We have a busy weekend coming up and now I don’t have to feel guilty about not watching F&FW. Heck, I’ve actually taken it off the DVR schedule a few weeks ago.
What with Ainsley, Clayton, Dave & Courtney, that show is like TV repellent.
So, does anyone have the ratings for F&FW over the past couple of months? I’m especially interested in how it’s doing compared to the same time periods last year, mostly a little after Page took over the center seat and viewers who had been sent fleeing because of Courtney returned.
May 2, 2008 at 2:26 pm
I did hear mention that Rick Reichmuth and Courtney Friel would be at the Kentucky Derby tomorrow morning. Oh-this should be great! Give Courtney an apple and let her feed one of the horses. That should be almost as entertaining as Courtney at the circus feeding the elephant. I did check out Dan Abrams’ “Beat the Press” clips and find that one. It was too cute! Courtney squealing like a pig!! Hilarious!! Hope it doesn’t rain in Louisville. That could be disasterous for a live shot. On second thought–let it pour! That would be so much more entertaining. Although, I do like Rick and hate that he would get wet. HA!
June 3, 2008 at 2:33 pm
Like most on this thread, I’ve grown weary of Fox. Watching Courtney report on the death of Dick Martin of “Raaaauuen and Martin’s Laugh-in” (the “o” in Rowan is “long”) I was embarrassed for her. And she kept on mispronouncing the name of the show, or at least Dan Rowan’s name. Her response, “I don’t know the show…it was before my time.” Give me a break. I Love Lucy was before my time, too, but I know the show. And I”M not the Fox Entertainment Reporter!