The irony: Natali is becoming the biggest star at CNET

Ryan Seacrest is the male version of Natalie.

The skill-sets are very different, that is a good point. But, just as we see with Leo Laporte, to be successful as a talking head in tech, you need to know your stuff. And Natali does.

I think the problem is that she *seems* soft and light due to her looks and her voice, but the more you hear her, the more you realize that she does, indeed, have good tech insight.

What is also ironic in a related way, though, is that Molly left because she needed time to focus on bigger and better things, such as video. And yet, Natali is already doing those "bigger and better" things, and still has time for BOL.

right? Yes they are knowledgeable, but in the end they are real, regular ppl (just ppl with the coolest job EVER! lol). They aren't server admins or pimple-faced cubicle coders......

I mean what kind of standards are you holding natali up to anyway? they are tech personalities. natali fits that mold perfectly. why is brian tong any more fit?? srsly. your comment is weak sauce, my friend.

also your metaphor sucks. what you meant to say was "only politicians are capable of being pundits". you're welcome.

-karl

Bonnie Cha is a tech personality. So is Kent German. Neither of them, as talented as they are in their own right, is the right fit for a show like BOL.

This is a group host show which means it is all about charisma and the chemistry between the hosts. What's missing after Molly's departure is the glue that holds the group together. What we have right now is a pack without an alpha dog. Natali just isn't an alpha.

Nothing personal against her but its just not working and the show is getting boring as a result.

i was responding to the other guys post and it seems like he was dinging her on her geek cred, which is BS.

whther or not there is chemistry, i think that still remains TBD.

I think its hard since shes in NY i think that takes a lot out of it, srsly.

Also, i think its pretty funny when shes on with brian tong... wouldnt you agree?

-karl

Its sort of funny but also kind of embarrassing to listen to... like hearing an unhappy couple take biting and mean spirited snipes at each other at a dinner party.

But Brian, for all of his annoying hipster posturing, is quick witted and wacky enough to be a good center of attention around which Tom and Jason can play their straight man roles. The guy has got natural charisma and talent. Natali not so much. She's more of a solo act with a totally different style (slick and polished like a TV anchor) . When she tries to be the forceful one in the BOL group the results are not not pretty.

Doing a long distance podcast does hurt the chemistry and I know its hard. I remember the first Engadget podcast done via Skype after Ryan Block relocated to San Francisco. You could just tell that the rhythm was off (and it unfortunately never really returned).

But being hard is still not an excuse for a lapse in quality. My guess is that BOL is CNET's top podcast and therefore a major change like a host replacement shouldn't be taken lightly.

and it looks like they did deliberate signigicantly... look at toms post in this thread, he admits that they tried to get other ppl...
-k

It was not in this thread, but in a similar one. In response to someone saying that they could have gotten Chewbacca as a co-host and people would have complained, Tom said they tried to get Peter Mayhew, and he was not available.

Peter Mayhew was the actor who played Chewbacca.

A joke.

So, there is no evidence that Natali was not their first and only choice. And, as I point out in this thread, it would seem an obvious choice since she is the biggest of the CNET personalities. The only question was whether she would actually have the time, or inclination, to do it.

I don't come to BOL to just hear a "personality". I come to BOL to hear people who live and love tech through and through.

One of our hosts doesn't live tech. Tech for them is being able to turn the tv on to see themselves.

just threw away all geek cred, eh? lol. whoops!

I had to look it up myself! I figured it might be that from the nature of the posts, but I would never have known that was his name. So, I am right there with you!

i get all excited every time i see her on cbs (which is almost never seeing as i work during the day), but nonetheless she does awesome!

gotta see if we can find some clips on youtube or somethin

Shes great on Cbs and loaded, when you watch her, but on bol, I thought I was the only one not feeling the love since molly left, if anything Tong would have been my choice hes great with Natalie but even better when you get Molly and B Tong in the same room, I feel they wanted to keep a female host though so who knows..

I really could not take a daily ration of Brian. And, I actually think Natali is more knowledgeable on tech than BT is. I think he is fun as a guest, but he would be way too much daily. I am one of Molly's biggest fans, but being a bit older and more mellow these days,the slightly more subdued tone of the show actually fits my taste pretty well.

I don't know who would be the best fit. I'm not thrilled with Delconti. What about bringing Veronica back in fold? (pipe dream). At least she would be in the same state. In regards to Tong, no thanks! Perhaps it's my age but I find that dude grating. Plus his attempts at flirting with Natali are lame.

His attempts to flirt with Natali give me some of the biggest laughs I get.

What I think would be perfect, would be Veronica once a week, Molly twice a week and whoever else is available the other 2 days, cooley, tong etc.
I think twice a week of Molly, would be just enough to not get completely upset.

I guess am just bias. I just don't care for Tong. The flirting makes him seem like a tool. Plus he is too snarky. I thinks he should just put on some more thumb rings and do some other for self centered 20 somthings.