Anderson Cooper 360 Review: More Live Coverage From The Gulf

Hi everyone. Once again, the 360 kids are coming at us from the Gulf. Man, at this point they should just rent an apartment down there. I smell a sitcom! Anyway. When last we met our heroes, the oil had stopped leaking. Thankfully, that continues to be where we are. Now BP is talking about doing a "static kill" operation. Okey-dokey. I think it's time for the bullet points:

It is the top of the broadcast, so that means it's time for Anderson Cooper's nightly berating of BP over their lack of transparency. You keep 'em honest, Silver Fox!

Nice use of the Bob Dudley clip from three weeks ago. I always gotta give a shout out when 360 goes Daily Show-esque on us.

Anderson: "After so many days, after more than 90 days, it is clear that BP views us and you as a nuisance, as an inconvenience, small people who have to be dealt with, but who should be content being kept in the dark." Pssst. We didn't need 90 days for that to be clear. Hell, we didn't even need a friggin oil spill for that to be clear.

Chad Myers vigorously drew us pictures on the Magic Wall, which was kinda amusing to watch whether you care about mechanical-y things or not. Also, it's good for a chuckle if you have a dirty mind. (I know you're out there!)

We also heard from geologist Don Van Nieuwenhuise. Scientists represent! (First block of the show is below.)

Then we were joined by Congressman Ed Markey to talk about how much oil actually leaked, and the fact that BP doesn't give a damn whether or not they keep the public informed. Also, the whole "seepage" thing is freaking me out. Oh, BP says it's okay? Obviously it's all good then. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me 1327 times...

Annoyed by the ever-present train crossing bell? Guess what? Train! I'm calling it: in the epic train noise vs. 360 match-up, I believe the train has emerged victorious.

Our anchor's not one to let a little (okay big) distraction get in the way of his news duties, so he proceeds to inform us about financial claims in the Gulf and the man--Kenneth Feinberg--who will take over the job next month.

This sets us up for some discussion with Billy Nungesser and Douglas Brinkley, during which our anchor hacks up a lung. Yikes! That sounds bad. Get the man a cough drop (and perhaps a Z-pak) stat! At the end of the segment he assures us that he didn't get it in the Gulf; probably Haiti. Anderson really does not want you to cancel those hotel reservations, people.

Joe Johns gave us a little info about the testimony of Transocean's chief engineer for the Deepwater Horizon, Stephen Bertone, as well as the news that two BP officials who were on the rig will invoke their Fifth Amendment rights.

Jeffrey Toobin then joined us to discuss the latter. Kinda ironic listening to them talk about proving people are sick, all the while our anchor can't even make it through the segment without coughing.

Randi Kaye had a good report about BP recruiting scientists. And why not, right? They already have their own journalists. It's BP's world and apparently we just live in it.

Finally, Anderson interviewed Scott Russell, Mark Mead and Bradley Shivers, three fishermen who were among the first responders after the Deepwater Horizon explosion. Even 17 miles from the rig, they still felt the sonic boom. Truly a harrowing story. Good on Mead for seeking help. The interview is in the video below after Randi's piece.

I thought the show was okay, with the strongest piece being the fishermen interview. Speaking strictly as a viewer and not a news snob/critic, my interest waned during the first half of the broadcast. My first instinct is that they need to break up the coverage more, but that might just be me. Anyway. As for Anderson, what a trooper. I felt pretty terrible for him tonight. That cough sounded nasty even with him clearly trying to cover his mic. See, this is why I never want to be on live TV, like, ever. I would cough, or not be able to stop sneezing, or my nose would spontaneously bleed--it wouldn't be pretty.