Can 'Celebrity Apprentice' Winner Arsenio Hall Repeat His Talk Show Magic?

Is America ready for another round of Arsenio Hall and his dog pound? Reportedly, three networks, though unnamed, are interested in giving Hall another shot at hosting a TV series. This comes from TMZ.

The fuel for the fire comes from the rocket ship called Celebrity Apprentice, on which financial magnet Donald Trump named Hall the winner of the latest round of the show. This puts Hall in the same company as past winners, Piers Morgan, Joan Rivers, Bret Michaels, and John Rich.

Frankly, I didn't see it coming. I was happy that the final two were Hall and Clay Aiken, and no, I am not one of Aiken's Claymates. I am not even sure I like Aiken, but he was the clear winner. He brought in more than twice the total of Hall in the fundraising portion of the finale event, which usually triggers a win.

Actually, though, I did realize that something wrong might just happen in the second to the last segment of the two-hour season ender. Trump talked almost exclusively to Hall. Aiken was barely shown at all. I had a sinking feeling then that Trump had some special affection for Hall or perhaps Magic Johnson whose foundation was Hall's charity.

Don't misunderstand me. I actually do like Hall, but he was a passive leader and he had at least one very inappropriate vocal tirade that was full of expletives. He just does not live in the same league as the more aggressive past winners. As a person, that really is not a bad thing, but I have a hard time imagining Hall interviewing the next season's finalists in the same way that the past winners have.

Truly -- there had to be something else going on behind the scenes that led Trump to making his decision.

However, Hall is the winner, like it or not, and he stated on the show that he is ready to come out of his somewhat self-imposed semi-retirement, during which time he has focused on his son.

From 1989 to 1994, The Arsenio Hall Show was a staple on the Fox Network, having replaced the fired Joan Rivers. He had a different style to the mainstream networks. I watched the show regularly.

My favorite episode was one of several that my favorite actor, Patrick Swayze, appeared on. Swayze was promoting The City of Joy, a wonderful movie that was critically acclaimed but just did not attract a theatrical audience. However, Swayze was passionate about this film, and when he appeared on Arsenio's show, he began talking, and talking, and talking, and talking. I was literally shouting at the screen, "Breathe!" because I could not breathe because Swayze was not breathing -- seriously. Finally, the man caught himself and even commented on his hyperventilating on camera. It just meant so much to Swayze to try to get people to understand the joy of this movie that had been shot on location in India. Hall, who normally was not one to just sit and listen, did just that. I have never forgotten it.

Can Arsenio repeat his talk show magic three decades later? If the Trump bandwagon carries on with its momentum, we just might find out.