Share your thoughts on the Michael Jackson memorial service

Michael Jackson's memorial service begins at 1:30 p.m. ET/10:30 a.m. PT Tuesday in Los Angeles, and TV networks across the spectrum are covering it live. 

We at Zap2it didn't score tickets to the service at Staples Center, but we'll be shooting around the dial Tuesday and offering our thoughts on the service and the way the networks are covering it. We'd also like to hear your thoughts in the comments section. (You can also check our various Twitter feeds: Zap2it, Brill Bundy, Rick Porter, Korbi Ghosh, Andy Grieser, Darcel Rockett and Joseph Kapsch.)

Pics: Michael Jackson, 1958-2009

9:15 Pacific time: The Jackson family took a little longer than expected to get to and through the private funeral at Forest Lawn cemetery, so the service at Staples has been pushed back to a 10:30 Pacific start time. Which means yet more time for the cable news channels, MTV and VH1 to ramble on.

Strangest sight so far: Former ESPN NBA analyst and short-lived talk show host Stephen A. Smith as part of an MSNBC roundtable discussion about the King of Pop. By the end of the day, though, that will probably be pretty far down the list of odd things.

9:50: CNN's Don is inside Staples, observing fans dressed in Jackson regalia and seemingly surprised that they are. He also suspects that some folks might try to sell their commemorative programs on eBay. Ya think?

10:25: The broadcast networks have joined in. Hey look -- it's Martin Bashir on ABC! He's the guy who did the "Living with Michael Jackson" documentary in 2003, which helped bring about Jackson's child-molestation trial two years later.

10:30: More than one network is saying there are about 3,000 police officers around the Staples Center. If they're all LAPD, that's almost a third of the entire force.

10:33: The woman who was just hectoring ABC's Brian Rooney is my new hero: "I heard there were some empty seats in there. Why aren't they letting us in?" Charles Gibson has to cut Rooney (and the woman) off as the choir starts singing.

10:35: Audio problems from Staples Center had CNN's online hosts scrambling to fill the time. The abrupt resumption of said audio mid-choir cut off a poor 13-year-old girl from talking about skipping school to attend.

10:40: Mariah Carey starts off a little shaky on "I'll Be There." But she's back in full melismatic, hand-gesturing form by the end of the song.

10:53: Everyone seems to be getting the same camera feed from inside the arena. About the only variations between the networks are time -- MSNBC is running a few seconds behind CNN, for instance -- and the occasional cutaway to shots of people watching the service in other locations.

11:05: Berry Gordy gets a standing O for calling Jackson "the greatest entertainer who ever lived" and expresses his love for Michael. What was striking about his eulogy, though, was its acknowledgement of Jackson's flaws. He only obliquely referred to some "maybe some questionable decisions," but even that's more than you might expect to hear at an event like this.

11:15: Stevie Wonder -- heartfelt and lovely. But why, exactly, are Kobe Bryant and Magic Johnson on stage now?

11:21: OK, Magic's anecdote about Michael eating KFC was pretty good.

11:41: Rightly so, this service is a celebration of Jackson's life and talent. But somehow it's nice to know that the people remembering him on stage are actually saddened at his loss. So thanks for that, Brooke Shields -- and also for the line "I was like, 'What's up with the glove?'"

Noon: Starting to wonder how many people in this parade of speakers actually knew Michael Jackson well, and whether this is the best forum for a congresswoman to speak.

12:10: Maybe it's just us, but Usher stepping down off the stage to sing "Gone Too Soon" to Jackson's casket just seems a little bit weird, and like more than a little bit of stagecraft.

12:13: Things get back on the right track, though, with some sweetly funny memories from the class act that is Smokey Robinson.

12:20: NBC is identifying the kid on stage only as "12-year-old 'Britain's Got Talent' star" while neglecting to tell us his name. It's Shaheen Jafargholi. He also said something nice about Michael Jackson, which I didn't catch because I switched to ABC and Charlie Gibson and Martin Bashir were talking over him.

12:25: We're getting close to the end with "We Are the World," which choreographer and director Kenny Ortega says would have been a part of Jackson's London concerts. Why the mikes aren't being passed to some of the people on stage who were part of the original recording is a little harder to understand.

12:35: The service closes with everyone who's been on stage today, plus a children's chorus, singing "Heal the World." It puts a cap on what was, all told, a pretty lovely service, mostly free of excess and with moments of real joy and sadness breaking through.

Michael's family members have the final words, and the emotion they're feeling comes through the screen. We'll let you have the last words here -- let us know what you thought about the service and everything surrounding it.

Related:

Live streaming video from KTLA
Where to watch the Michael Jackson memorial
Jackson's family arrives at Forest Lawn
Jackson fans mourn worldwide