TV Eye

Glory, glory hallelujah!

That's what I text messaged to my friends, near and far, when Barack Obama was named the 44th president of the United States. I'm still shocked. Sometimes I catch myself humming and smiling a faint smile. Much has already been written about election night. I'm still digesting what happened but have these snapshots to offer, as I channel surfed and, later, caught other images I missed thanks to YouTube, Hulu, and other online sources.

First, the highlights:

Jon Stewart making the announcement of Barack Obama winning the presidency on the Comedy Central election-night special, as he and Stephen Colbert tried to keep it together and the studio audience roared jubilantly. Leading up to that moment, it was clear Stewart was as doubtful that Obama would win as some of us watching, so when Obama won, Stewart and Colbert were as choked up as some of the rest of us. Over on CNN, pundits finally piped down and let the experience sink in, letting the images of celebrants all over the nation and the world do the talking.

Second greatest highlight: scenes from Chicago's Grant Park and Obama's acceptance speech. I watched it again on Hulu, and it still gets me. Also, watching McCain's concession speech: classy and scary. McCain rose to the occasion (finally) while taming some truly virulent responses among his supporters.

The weird: I spent of lot of time watching BBC America, because I'm curious about what other parts of the world make of the U.S. While it was definitely the most low tech presentation, its rotating panel of pundits and guest speakers via satellite ranged from irritating to bizarre. John Bolton, former U.S. ambassador to the United Nation, was the largest boar of the evening, barking at BBC reporters for being wrong, uninformed, and stupid. At one point, he nearly pounded the table with his fist and suggested that one reporter be fired for being so ignorant of U.S. politics and culture. The reporter's crime? Stating that McCain ran a desperate, sloppy campaign when compared to Obama's. The only thing more bizarre than Bolton's meltdown was an apparently bored-with-it-all Gore Vidal going off on an obscure tangent that the BBC mercifully cut away from.

The lowlights:

Ralph Nader. There was no way, no how, that Nader was going to appreciate a presidential victory other than his own, no matter how historic. Even Fox News' Shepard Smith was aghast when Nader expressed fears that Obama would be an Uncle Tom instead of the leader all his supporters hoped for. When Smith suggested Nader might have misspoken, Nader only dug in his heels. On a third suggestion that Nader rethink his word choice, Nader barely got the hint, called Smith a bully, and finally substituted "Uncle Tom" with "toady," still without full realization of what Smith was getting at.

Talking about Michelle Obama's dress. I almost fell into one of those interminable, online chats about what Michelle Obama wore on election night. I withdrew immediately, because I don't want to talk about these mind-numbing diversions. I want to talk about what's possible. I'm almost as excited about Michelle Obama being first lady as I am for her husband's victory. To say I'm elated to have this smart, accomplished, and poised woman in the White House is an understatement. Michelle Obama is a devoted mother, but in what other ways will she define her role as woman of the symbolic house of the nation? I don't want to talk about her in the language of gossip rags. Leave that kind of talk for the Lindsay Lohans and Paris Hiltons of the world. I still want to believe we've arrived at the dawn of a new era, and I'm going to hold on to that hope for as long as possible.

What Else Is On?

Ricky Gervais: Out of England, the Stand-Up Special debuts Nov. 15 at 8pm on HBO. The Emmy Award-winning star of Extras and BBC's The Office brings his stand-up act stateside. Taped this summer in New York, Gervais' act features his off-kilter take on a wide range of subjects: fundraising, fame, nursery rhymes, Nazis, stupid friends, and obesity.

At long last, a cure for your 24 withdrawal: a special TV movie titled 24: Redemption. The two-hour "event" is billed as a precursor to the seventh season (which premieres in January). The special finds our hero, Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland), working as a missionary in Africa, called upon to keep a warlord from recruiting child soldiers. 24: Redemption airs Sunday, Nov. 23, at 7pm on Fox.

Check out "TV Eye" online at the Chronicle's Picture in Picture blog, austinchronicle.com/pip, for information about President-elect Obama and the Federal Communications Commission, as well as the Nov. 14 Texas Cable Association lawsuit hearing and its implications.

As always, stay tuned.