>> from nbc news, this is "today" with kathy lee gifford and hoda kotb, live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. hello, everybody. it is a brisk october 17th, but it is a great day because it is the day hoda was born. >> she sees the show in dubai, right? >> she's a doll. and do you know what i love

about her? she speaks her mind. >> she does. frank and i stayed for a very rare night out in new york last night. we went to the center for media event in honor of pat summerall who everybody adored. he was a great broadcaster. fine football player. frank's colleague and remained friends although years. the nfl does such great movies on every, you know. and pat's wife was there and his family and it was very, very moving to see a person's whole life in one hour basically -- there they are. that obviously was not last night because pat passed away last april. but anyway, it was lovely. rarely do we go out at night. went to gabriel's afterwards. >> you're very busy. >> i know. >> so if you happen to see the daily news today, and who is not

looking at that, we have been degraded. >> demoted? >> no, we're no longer brilliant. >> we have fun doing it with them. they're great people. so we had fun with that. >> we have a big reunion coming up. and if you're fans of will and grace, and who isn't, we are going to have eric mccormick and debra messing. >> great to see you guys. i can't believe it's been -- get that shot. oh, yeah. oh, yeah. >> there it is. >> oh, yeah. that's going to hurt in about an hour. so it's been 15 years since that show was on. it kept us laughing forever. if you guys have questions for them, send it on our facebook or

twitter page and we may ask it on the air. all right. apparently, i don't know if this is going to work or not, but airports, first of all, congratulations to congress. we are business as usual. which is not the good news. it's good news that they're open, but it's business as usual, which is not good news. airport, mood lighting and music at check point. have you've ever gone through the security check point and you feel the stress and pressure, what they're going to do is post beautiful pictures and listen to calm music. it's around the time when you -- it's right before you walk through security with those long lines and you're panicking and trying to find your zip lock -- >> you don't need the zip lock thing anymore. >> yes, you do. you have to. >> i haven't been doing it for two years. i thought they stopped it. some no, you have to have your zip lock with the three ounces of liquid in it. >> no, i don't.

i suppose they will stop me now. >> people are stress when they go through, so they decided to put leather sofas in, mood music, a lamp so that when you put your shoes back on, and they're doing it in charlotte and dallas. >> i'm going to charlotte next week, so i'll let you know if it works. most people are in such a zone trying to get through, get there early. i don't know that they will say, gee, i'd like to stop for five minutes and just collect myself. it works a try, i suppose. unless they're playing my music, i would stop and listen. >> i should send them some cds. >> nothing is more calming than your music. but i do think people are always

anxious in the airport, whether you're in the tsa line or even when it's almost time to board, do you know how sometimes they haven't called the boarding but everybody is crushing up to the front and they say everybody we'll call by zones and nobody moves. and then there is a stampede. >> not the best of the human condition. >> and even worse getting off the plane, people trying to be first and knocking everybody over. >> i get like that, though. but we'd like to know if you experience that, if you think it works or not. so this is a little controversial, but yesterday we showed you a photograph of a mom who had three children who worked out. >> three kids under the age of three. >> and here is her headline, what's your excuse. and let me do it with the right tone. what is your excuse? so anyway, marie got a lot of feedback and some of it was positive and some not so. anyway, so she came on and she decided to respond to the criticism she was getting. they were saying they were

making people feel worse about themselves. so here's what she had to say. >> a lot of people say if i can do it, so can you. but if he were to cut back, it might be like i can do it, so can you. it's really again that dialogue that's happening in that person's head. >> do you get the criticism? she thinks she's so great and making me feel bad about myself. >> honestly, i think that a lot of people did it see it that way, but i think the majority saw it as inspiring. >> and hoda and i took a little different tact. hoda instantly disliked the woman. that's the nicest weather i can say it. >> here's the thing, i don't like people who brag about something good. i like to go by and go, wow, you look great, what are you do something when somebody says look at me, i don't like that. >> and i got that. but i tried to get you as usual to see another side of something.

>> what's the other side? >> the other side is that when you go to a psychiatrist or something, that psychiatrist needs to help you understand your problem and face your excuses that you make to make you happier and better and more fulfilled human being. now, i think that people react to something like that because it's their worst fear, they know there is a truth to it. now, maybe she didn't do it in the proper way, but i think it snaps in somebody's mind, she's right, i have not been work out because i'd rather sit on the sofa and watch, you know, reruns of will and grace. i understand that. who doesn't want do it some but we make excuses for ours. and i think because we live in an entitled world, we don't want to do the work that it takes. >> i think are a lot of examples

of people who look great -- >> you are one of them. >> she's like i know people -- there is just something about the tone and the showing the body and look at me and -- >> i get that, too. anyhow, we'd love to know how you feel. >> unless you don't feel the way we do. >> call ellen. this guy is a paddle boarder. and he's afraid of a lot of things in the water. he's in manhattan beach, california. look what was going on under his paddle board. this is scary. >> he's checking me out. >> oh, my god. >> oh, my god. look at that. shaking like a leaf. holy -- gnarly. >> gnarly. >> yeah, he's a surfer. i think he was relatively calm. obviously a very good paddle

boarder. you don't want to see that first time out. >> what happens to me when i see something like that, i envision myself, and i hate to say this, like falling in. i can remember when i was a kid riding my bike and i could picture myself falling, and then i would. >> self-fulfilling prophecy. >> i would have thought i hope i don't fall in the water and then i would. >> manhattan beach which is right in southern california, i don't know that they're well-known for sharks there. another study says men with lower voices seem more attractive to us. you hear like a barry white and you hear that sexy voice -- >> but he's singing about love making. so that's what's sexy about it. ♪

>> never did it for me. barry manilow, different story. >> so we'll play a couple voices and we'll find out if you guys agree. we'll listen to two voices. tell us who you think is more attractive just by the voice. listen to the first one. >> went through training and just throughout the whole process, it got bigger and deeper and richer and i just learned how to use it properly. prior to that, i sounded more like mickey mouse. >> is that josh turner? >> sounded like luke bryan. i don't know. you haven't heard the next one. >> i think it was the toughest time to be away for such a long period. >> you know who that is, that is david beckham. definitely david beckham. >> you like the second one better? >> no, just the british accent. >> do you think it's high pitched? >> i'm a sucker for an accent.

>> josh turner was the first one and david beckham the second. so remember christopher cross, remember him? he had the great song ♪ sailing takes me away ♪ remember for the longest time, that was the biggest hit. we're going back. ♪ soon i will be free >> well, remember, we didn't know what christopher cross looked like. they didn't want to vision to be associated by his voice. by that time, he was well

established and nobody cares. real quick, this is a cher song. this is a cher song. when you break up with someone and wish them well, and what's funny about this song, cher sang it on her album, but it's actually a miley cyrus song, called i hope you find it. ♪ ♪ i hate that you left without hearing a word i needed you to ♪ ♪ and what you looking for, i hope it's everything you dreamed your love could be and so much more ♪ ♪ and i hope you're happy wherever you are ♪ >> don't try to hit the high notes, please. now he's playing the cello, strings and the whole bit. >> is it okay or not okay to criticize a fellow performer? >> here's what we had to say. >> you know it's better when you can't hear a thing.

>> basically what we said was you have the right to your own personal opinions, but i think when it comes to other performers, it's always bad to bash anyone. >> and you said if you don't have anything nice to say -- then why did you bash the lady who works out? >> because these she's not a performer, she's just a person. >> all right. 15 years since will and grace. today debra messing and eric mccormick are here to tell you all about it. >> yes, we're excited. look at them.

we just thought we might want to toast will and grace on their 15th anniversary. but 15 years, you were just a munchkin, a little sitcom called will and grace was on television. it was ground breaking. it was met by criticism by some for its openly gay character, but it didn't take long for to become must see tv earning 83 emmy nominations and taking home 16 awards. and that little show turned in to one of tv's most successful series. for eight years debra messing and eric mccormick -- tried it but didn't work. >> hi, guys. >> hard to believe. does it make you feel old or just grateful? >> makes me excited. >> i'm grateful to be old. >> that's right. it means we're not dead.

>> and you're both still working. you've launched into whatever else successful you've done. >> yes. it's shocking that it's been 15 years. it does not feel that at all. >> so many shows end up on the air and they don't withstand the test of time. the fact that now you can turn on the tv and there you guys are. did you ever think it would have this kind of legs, the show? >> we knew we were doing something funny. but something else happened, you know. there was a relevance now because of what the vice president said last year, because of the whole gay marriage push and marriage equality, that's what we were -- from the beginning that's what we both were doing. we both were looking for a great guy. >> you presented a character that happened to be gay, but they were loveable people. they were human beings. and a lot of people have never met a gay person or they don't know that they are. >> they think they haven't.

>> anybody who has ever been to a thanksgiving dinner has met a gay person. >> but they aren't aware of it sometimes. >> did you know it was ground breaking at the time? >> we knew that the premise was edgy. and i think we didn't know whether or not we would be embraced. >> first time we came out, nbc it didn't even want us saying the word gay. but we eased in there so that by the time -- >> we laugh at ourselves. >> how did you get through it, though? like the old carol burnett shows when you're laughing at the antics of these people you're working with. >> we did for all eight seasons. at the end of every season, we would have the longest blooper reel because we would break up and laugh and swear and laugh. it was a joy.

>> you're clearly good friends. do the four of you get back together, do you have dinners? >> when was the last time all four of us were in a room? it's hard. we were together three of us last week. >> and you two get together when you're in new york, right? >> we try. >> we go out for dinner and freak people out. >> we're going out somewhere for dinner tonight in new york, but we're not telling anybody. good luck. >> we'll be out there! >> to people still identify you from that show or do they talk about things that happened -- >> they definitely talk about the new things, but when people are together -- >> one time we walked in to a restaurant and we didn't have reservations and i thought the waiter was going to drop his tray. >> he thought he was on tv. >> we have a couple of questions from fans. >> our facebook fan wants to know what would you have changed

if anything when you look back on the show. >> three more seasons probably. >> yeah. >> i think we made a very strategic to end it while we were on top, but looking back -- >> i think selfishly we would have loved to have gone to work and laughed together every day for a couple more years. ultimately he we loved the show so much, we wanted to protect it. >> hard to find that magic again, though. >> well, really happy for you. congratulations. we should point out that we tv is celebrating the anniversary with mini marathons of the series going on now through the end of the year. so pop the popcorn. >> ambush ladies are getting ready to show off their hot look coming up right after this. i know daddy.ol.

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what you can do to make your home look better over. and ambush makeovers for two lucky ladies right after your local news.

we're back with more of "today," ready to do what we always to about this time. >> plaza ambush makeovers. two lucky ladies are surprised with hot new looks. it never gets old.

hi, guys. >> the group better than ever. i say it every week, but this week, weren't they begging? mother, sister, husbands, you could not believe it. >> well, first up is pam, she's 54 years old. >> she had quite a few colors in her hair. >> she had a variety. she does not wear makeup. is this pal. because she doesn't know how to apply. >> a lot of ladies have trouble with that. >> so she was thrilled when we approached her. let's take a listen. >> they have the signs going please ambush me, please ambush my daughter. this is really a family thing. tell me why. >> she's the best daughter ever. she's a hard worker. she works 50 hours a week and she's a seven year cancer survivor and a wonderful mom. and grandmom.

>> grandmom? wow. you look too young to be a grandmom. so this is so important to you. you told me you have to have this. >> i just don't feel beautiful right now and i just would like to feel better. >> you look beautiful, but we'll make you more glam. what will your hubby say? >> i hope he'll say i look great. >> cover your eyes there, millie. bob, don't cry. i mean it. so keep your blind fold on just up i give you the green light, okay? so here is pam before. all right, pam, let's see the new you. oh, yeah. take off your blind fold. >> wow.

>> you're gorgeous. love your hair. >> i feel like i'm looking at somebody else. >> you are looking at the fabulous you. >> my tad said i was a princess and now i feel like one. >> that's sweet. >> thank you to everyone. thank you, mom. >> pam, look right here so we can see you. >> bob, i'm warning you. look at bob. >> that's a great look. >> what more could we ask for

than to look like a princess. a straight haircut with the bangs, very stylish, very simple to maintain. and what i did is i added depth to the color again. and the key tip here is remember, emphasize one facial feature. today we went with the lips. great color. >> love it. we have to talk to millie and especially bob, too. what do you guys think? >> she looks beautiful. >> we need some kleenexs. >> thank you. >> what do you think? >> my big sister. she has a very big heart and she looks fantastic. >> she's beautiful. >> jill, that's a perfect dress. >> right? black and white, a huge trend for fall and winter. >> just darling. so happy for you. >> thank you. >> i love it when people are so happy. our second lady we hope we have the same results with. her name is jenelle, 60 years old. she's always looking for something different to do with her hair but hasn't found a look she's really satisfied with. so she begged to us give her a whole new style. let's hear her story. >> well, we certainly did not pick you because of your

creative sign. it looks like you just wrote this up. but what's with all the colors in your hair? you got a lot going on. >> i do. i have a lot of desire to just keep changing. i did have purple in there, as well. >> and you said please do this. >> oh, i did. yes. she wants it. she's wanted to years. she always thought she could make it on the stage. >> oh, make it on the stage. well, kathie lee and hoda, get ready. >> she's fantastic. >> put on your blind fold. >> we'll take one last look of jenelle. ♪ >> oh, my gosh. all right, ross, take off the blinders. >> oh, my god. she looks as cute as when i picked her up in el salvador. >> turn around, baby. >> wow. i came in with white hair.

>> look at you. >> oh, my gosh. i love it! >> it's a little carol burnett. >> yeah. >> all right. so tell us. >> well, don't ever let it be said that i'm afraid to accept a challenge. i had three different colors to work with. but what i did is i made her a darker brown, but left new answers of color in her hair. the haircut has a lot of style, a little more towards the face. the long sexy bangs. and love the lipstick color, it makes the whole thing pop together. >> so flirty and sexy. and a great dress. >> look at your outfit. >> we coordinated. >> and the embellishment is attached. >> let's bring pam out. great job, everybody. i'm happy for everybody. a way to boost your curb

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with great suggestions. and we'll see if we agree with her. hi, barbara. >> easy to do and inexpensive. >> all the more better. >> let's start with carolyn's home. you said one of the first things she needed to do is take care of landscaping issues. >> what you see in that house is a large tree that dwarfs a typical ranch house. a problem with a lot of older homes. >> and what is that? >> gravel for good drainage, but forget about the drain allege. you want your house looking pretty. the front door has to be replaced. actually all i did was take the storm door off and paint the door and add a fancy knocker. and concrete steps. there were no steps. >> what happened to the tree? >> got rid of the tree. >> oh, barbara, no. >> but inside now it's doubly bright.

>> let's move on to laura's home. >> this is almost like a ranch style home with a carport. and the problem with homes like this, is main event is the driveway. so you have to fight that driveway. notice the lawn, they're missing that driveway every day. you can tell that. >> they stopped by the pub on the way home. >> and one category here, one category here. so that's been filled in on the driveway and that's pretty. and they put in a nice small tree here to balance the house. also the yard has been leveled. it felt like the house was tilting left. >> can we go back for a second? >> you're very bossy. >> no, why didn't you go to your neighbor and say let's put in a nicer fence. >> you can put it in on your side. you can cover that up. >> it's like barbed wire.

>> it says trailer park. and maybe that is a trailer park behind. >> it might have been a trailer to begin with and modified. >> hanging the wash on the fence or whatever it is. >> does look a lot better about that. >> looks a heck of a lot better. this is a house that has too much house and not enough front lawn. and then they donate a big chunk of the lawn to gravel and the mini me plants. all the lines are going parallel and too busy. it has to be quieted town. so now we painted the garage ors. wait until you see what happens. >> do you like the door? >> i love the door. you couldn't find the door a minute ago. at least you know where the door is. and look at how the house just got quieted down by toning down some of the paint colors and eliminating some of the cross lines.

it's a pretty house, but too much house. and listen, that's feature if you kind of like hoses, i'm not interested and neither are the buyers out there. >> all right. barbara, thank you. >> i could do a whole hour on this. all right. thanks, barbara. how to tell if you have lyme disease and how you can help prevent it. bonnie fuller right after this. >> alaska is a very extreme environment. >> hurricane force winds. >> med evacenroute. >> we go into really bad situations and we always pull it off.

>> get in the water. go. get it on. >> on the water, go! >> i love this job. i do it to save lives. >> a lot of the times the co-star comes before the family. when he is out flying, i do pray. >> i love you daddy. >> everything they throw at us we do. >> fall is finally here. >> and for every season there a

reason to watch. >> it's just right. >> all your local weather, travel updates and the day's top stories. >> you just can't beat this kind of weather.

according to the cdc, some 300,000 americans are diagnosed with lyme disease each year making it ten times more common than we always originally thought. >> one of our good friends was recently diagnosed, bonnie fuller. >> and we have lyme disease expert, dr. john halperin. he's the chair of neurosciences in new jersey. welcome both. >> thank you. >> one day you were supposed to be on with us and they said something was wrong. and doctors couldn't even figure out originally what was wrong. >> that's right.

it took about i would say three days for the doctors to come up with a diagnosis. and i was in the hospital. what happened is it didn't show up in my blood. there were no antibodies. but i had so many symptoms. >> what were the symptoms? >> i had what it turned out to be the whole right side of my face was drooping. it looked like i had a stroke. and i had double vision. i could hardly see. >> in both eyes? >> i couldn't figure it out, about you we finally discovered it was in the right eye. this eye was paralyzed. i also felt like i had an iron corset wrapping around me and i couldn't breathe, i was numb, i had back pain, neck pain. >> it was excruciating? >> it was. >> and what you're supposed to do is tons and tons of antibiotics? >> not so much tons. there is an appropriate amount. if you get the right one in a timely fashion, the disease a 95% curable.

>> how long do you take those? you take them for long periods of time? >> 2 to 4 weeks about. >> it doesn't always show up in a blood test the first time. so you should be tested what? a couple of weeks afterwards? >> depends on the circumstances. we measure your body's reaction to the infection and that takes 30 to 45 days to develop. so if someone comes in with a rash which usually develops in the first couple of week, about half of those people have a negative blood test. >> we should point out this is from a tiny tick bite. >> when you see it, it looks huge here, but how big, bonnie? >> i never saw the tick. and i never had the rash.

but i did have a flu-like illness about six weeks before all the major symptoms developed. >> had you been in nantucket or places like that that are known -- >> i live in westchester and we're overrun with deer. but what i've learned is that nice carry the lyme even more.

it is time for today's kitchen, and our up likely pair have cooked up a recipe for success. they own several restaurants in london together and they're out with their new cookbook. look at you two. how did you get together? >> i'm a jew and we sort of got together in london. >> a while ago. >> and we make delicious food and we have great restaurant and we've come to cook you. >> what are we trying to make at the end?

>> we're making a char. these will boil and i'm going to saute some spinach. >> in olive oil. >> of course you are. >> this is what we have. >> what is this? >> this is swiss shard. >> we love it. >> and you will like it, as well. >> this thing that you just peeled again -- where do you find that? >> any green grocer has it. it's a root. and it's absolutely delicious. >> come help me. >> i'll help her. >> so we have heavy cream. >> pour in the whole thing? >> oh, my gosh. >> is that fresh? >> i guess i'm going to have to try this because hoda can't. she has, you know -- some issues. >> are we talk about why there was no wine here on the set? we were promised wine. >> that is just wrong on every level. >> so salt. pepper. >> i know we have a very short amount of time, so -- >> smells good.

>> so the whole idea is you show the ingredients in the tart. you really want to show them. so that's spinach and we arrange like that. and then we take feta, best cheese ever. and we arrange it like that. >> do you put the sauce on it? >> and put the custard on. but let us see the other. >> okay. the swiss part. all right. let's eat it. >> are they still talking? >> we made some other ones, too.

>> tse are some additions from our book. >> i want to try this one. is there any dairy in there? >> i'm here to help. you and i will get through this together. ♪ [applause]