I WAS devastated when Oprah Winfrey hung up her talk show heels. With 25 seasons in the bag, she earned the title “queen of talk shows” because she was unparalleled in what she did.
As a talk show host, she embodied all the traits that have made her irreplaceable – sorry Queen Latifah. But Winfrey truly was a host in a league of her own: she was empathetic, entertaining and trustworthy and, most importantly, she had such finesse and tact when it came to getting her guests to open up about subjects they never imagined they would tell the world.
In every episode, she took her audience on a journey. She made them laugh, cry, she surprised them (once with a car each), shocked them and, more importantly, entertained them.
Now that is unadulterated skill.
And then we have Noeleen Maholwana Sangqu and her 12-year reign, although it felt more like a hostile takeover, with 3Talk. She is South Africa’s queen of something to fans, but I wouldn’t call it “hosting”.
She took over SABC3’s coveted afternoon slot on the back of Felicia Mabuza Suttle’s reign ending on TV. At the time, of course, it was a big deal.
While Maholwana Sangqu resonated with the masses, there were many things that irked me about her insipid style of hosting. One of the most unforgivable things being how utterly clueless she could be at times.
Of the handful – and I do mean handful – of shows that I caught, two have remain etched in my mind’s eye.
One was an interview with some of the lead actors on Isidingo like Robert Whitehead (Barker Haines), Tshepo Maseko (Parsons) and one other person. At the time, SABC3’s flagship soap was rebranding itself as a daily drama. Despite drawing this to the attention of the host, several times during the course of that interview, she kept calling it a soapie. I can’t imagine she was so star-struck that she kept getting it wrong.
Another case in point: she bagged international gospel artist Kirk Franklin on the show. As introductions were made, he called her “Boo”. At which point, she, on live TV, asked him if the producers didn’t tell him her name was… He laughed and then pointed out that it was a term of affection. Out of reality much?
And I’m really not slating her because I’m a TV critic and I can. But when benchmarks in this genre have been set, the aim should be to raise them, not drop the ball.
I know the channel have been fiercely protective because she brought in the ratings. And that is the bottom line.
But I have found it to be more of a circus act like Sona than a talk show that stirred debate, provided food for thought and really reeled you in for the entertainment value.
The only time I found Maholwana Sangqu truly came alive was during those food inserts. She seemed to relish those interviews… and sampling afterwards.
I do love the way the whole canning of the show is given a PR spin of the host feeling it’s time to go. But I suppose the channel does owe her a graceful exit.
With Tongue in Cheek and Katch it with Khanyi gaining popularity among viewers, I can’t say I’m surprised that SABC3 pulled the plug on 3Talk.
Maholwana Sangqu’s legacy will live on, but, for this writer, it will be for those iconic gaffes and the pervading facileness. Not even Ariel can wash that away!