Late Night Laughs

Don't let the title of this post fool you, it's not about the fledgling LATE NIGHT and its host Jimmy Fallon. I'm more interested with the other late night hosts and how they've handled the ambiguity surrounding the future of NBC's late night lineup.
The best joke I've heard is from Craig Feguson. I don't have a link for it or remember the actual joke, but I'll paraphrase it for you...


Craig: With all the turmoil surrounding late night television, organizations like TMZ have begun following us hosts around. 'Jay, will you be moving to 11:30?' 'Conan are you taking over at Fox?' 'Craig, what are you doing with a transvestite hooker in your car?'

Hilarious, right? I don't really care for Craig's show, even though i think it is funny. My problem stems from the style of the show, which is akin to hanging out with a guy that's funny. Some people find that appealing, but I like the skits and remotes on Conan's show. My brother is a devoted follower of Craig, so take that how you will.

Some critics I listen to from SLATE magazine assert that Jay has shined amidst this controversy, which I reject. He just seems smug to me and is doing the same boring approach. "Hey, Kevin, did you see this? I'm a prick." Ok, so maybe i made that up.

Letterman must be relishing his spot at CBS right now. My belief stems from the joy on his face as he attacks NBC executives, who 17 years ago opted not to give him the TONIGHT SHOW gig.

As for Conan, he appears to be in a tricky position for now. He doesn't want to lash out, but at the same time he must want someone's blood. His attitude can be seen in his recent interview with Ricky Gervais, during which Ricky went on the attack against NBC and Conan played the role of reluctant objector. He does take legitimate shots, though, which are hilarious.

This dynamic is great for material and ratings in the short run. Although, I can't imagine Conan continuing to do his show much longer until the future of THE TONIGHT SHOW is resolved. It must be so draining to go out there and do this right now. I feel for him, especially since he moved across the country for this opportunity.

Leno should go the way of the Dodo

So Jay Leno opened last night at a new time slot (10 pm) with his revamped approach to television (jay running?). Going into the premiere I was pessimistic at best. I’ve never been appreciative of Leno’s comedic styling in the past. I didn’t start watching The Tonight Show until Conan took over.
Leno was boring. Too broad for my tastes. There is obviously a very funny man buried beneath that outer shell that ensures his mass appeal, but at this point it is buried very very very deep.
It was with this pessimistic outlook that I entered into Monday night. Here are my disjointed and discombobulated thoughts on the evening.

Jay is still shaking Hands
At first glance this is the exact same show with a different packaging. The Tonight Show band has been renamed, the format seems the same, and Jay still comes sauntering out to the crowd before delivering his monologue.
The only visible difference is the set. Having never lived through the 1980s I can now say I’ve at least scene a set from the era. This is quite possibly the lamest design I’ve ever seen. The odd lighting and random potted plants make it seem like a grow house for Jay. Even my mom thought the opening was lame, and well, she’s pretty lame.
The lack of couch and desk is particularly appalling. The two chairs are obviously meant to be hip, but watching Jay leno and Jerry Seinfeld dish in matching arm chairs is as hip and current as a sex affair with Gennifer Flowers. I feel bad bashing Seinfeld, because he’s always hilarious and I’m a huge fan, but he’s not exactly the most relevant star to have on your opening night. Even the topic of conversation revolved around the fact Jay won’t go away, and while it was in jest, I felt it was a little too close to home.
As far as the product, I was not amused by the monologue. It was, to borrow a phrase from my opening, boring. I’m sure grandparents in Florida and average Americans in the flyover states were titillated by this experience. I have to say I enjoyed his cialis joke. But most of the opening could have used its own artificial lift, because it basically fell flat.
Speaking of penis jokes, there were two references to erectile dysfunction drugs. Nothing to really elaborate on, except that I spend all day making penis jokes and still don’t have my own show.

Turn Around Bright Eyes (Todd Philips fans will get this)
So in Old School, Starsky and Hutch, and most recently in The Hangover, you might have noticed a very inappropriate band. These guys appear in a lot of Todd Philips movies and steal any scene they’re in. Leno, we’re meant to believe, saw the lead singer doing stand up this summer, while he was on the road, and decided to have him on.
I was hesitant at first to believe Jay would let Dan (something) fly free with his sense of humor. I’m telling you, his movie cameos are pretty raunchy. I know Jay likes to make sexual allusions, but Dan is crude, rude and leaves nothing to the imagination.
That’s why I was really happy with the way the segment played out. It didn’t pull any punches, was funny and genuine. Basically I endorse any idea that results in less time for Jay…

Random Thought: Probably not a good sign when you’re ecstatic by the progress line on your DVR when you’re fast forwarding during commercials. Almost done…

Funny, but Eh…
So Leno’s “interview” with Obama was amusing. He was current, somewhat edgy and actually made me chuckle at one point. It dragged on, though, and Leno became his normal crowd pleasing self. That may sound like a good thing, but trust me it is not. There’s no reason why everything should appeal to the lowest common denominator in society. Maybe GE can sell more ovens and refrigerators this way, but don’t people care about the product?
There’s a reason why Conan and Dave win Emmy awards and Leno just wins ratings.

The OFFICE is Coming!!!!
This doesn’t really have to do with Leno, except that I saw the advertisement during this wasted hour I’ll never get back. Anyway, The Office premiere is this Thursday! Set your DVRS, clear your calendar and watch!!! This is one of the two best comedies on television and you need to watch it.

Kanye step away from the limelight!!
Surprise interview with Kanye West! What was most surprising was Kanye’s reaction to Jay’s question about his mom. Who knew he would cry? I did.
This was obviously a ploy by Kanye West to fix his image in the aftermath of his mistake at the VMAs on Sunday. I wonder if Jay feels dirty for taking advantage of all this…
At least I get a kick ass performance out of this night. I really like this song. Jay-Z could collaborate with a shoe and a box of crackers and I’d love it.

Skipping Headlines
I’m going to fast forward through the final segment. My mom saw it live and said it wasn’t that funny. You can trust her, because she usually likes it.
As she puts it, “It’s Typo land!”
It turns out people send these headlines into him??? He doesn’t even scour the papers himself? Lame.

Final Thoughts
Never watching this again. Never attempting to watch it again. Hope people don’t talk to me about it again.
Didn’t like Jay at 11:30. Don’t like Jay at 10:00. The only slot I like Jay is between “I” and “K.” Zing!
Your thoughts?

Return of Late Night Television: Sort of....

The first television shows to be effected by the strike were officially the first shows to return with new episodes. Late night television has been airing reruns since early November, and with the return of Comedy Central’s late night lineup all the late night shows are back and running.

One show was back earlier than others. December marked the return of Last Call with Carson Daly without writers, and if this is news to you it’s because you weren’t aware there were shows on at one thirty in the morning.

The mainstream shows of late night returned on January 2^nd. Late Show with David Letterman and Craig Ferguson’s Late Late Show both returned after Letterman’s production company struck a deal with the writers that would allow them to go back to work. The Tonight Show and Late Night were not able to reach such a deal because of the way they’re produced, which meant that NBC’s late night lineup returned without writers in an effort to combat CBS.

In this first week ratings have been up for Late Show, Late Late Show, The Tonight Show, and Late Night, as curious fans returned in mass after two months of reruns. So far The Tonight Show and Late Night have been winning their time slots. It’s too early to tell whether this trend will continue, but recent number slides by The Tonight Show and Late Night would indicate that people originally tuned in to see how these hosts would do without writers and that the novelty is wearing off.

It would seem that the Late Show and the Late Late Show may begin to see benefits from the strike, since those shows have writers and will attract high caliber guests that wouldn’t be seen on NBC crossing picket lines.

In the week since late night has returned I’ve sampled all the late night programming except the Late Late Show (Ferguson hasn’t been funny since he left Drew Carey), ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live! (yeah he’s funny, but there’s only so much time in the day), and Last Call with Carson Daly (even I have standards).

Letterman’s Late Show returned to business as usual, except for the addition of a grizzly man beard on Dave, which he shaved on the air Monday, and the occasional, “union approved” joke. If you liked Letterman before, than you’ll be pleased with the quality of show he’s currently producing. Things aren’t so rosy with his competitor over on NBC.

The Tonight Show is struggling with Jay trying to carry the load all by himself, except for the help of his wife who approves his jokes and who he assigns the blame when his monologue bombs. Jay’s jokes lack their general polish, and his observational humor sometimes feels more like dinner conversation fodder than food for thought. His guests have been far from A-list, but the show has benefited from expanded time getting to know Jay’s personality, which is what wins over those older viewers and keeps him ahead of Letterman. Question and answer segments with the audience will be popular for another week or two, but after awhile it becomes apparent that Jay may be charming enough, but he’s not funny enough to keep viewers as he helms his one man show.

Conan O’Brien’s Late Night hasn’t suffered the same way as its lead in. The show is definitely different, choosing to fill time with Conan playing guitar and spinning his wedding ring rather then pull the Walker Texas Ranger lever, but it’s still really entertaining. The one precursor to such an exclamation is that if you didn’t like Conan before, than you definitely won’t like him now in the expanded version. Late Night now revolves solely around Conan’s quick wit and showmanship, both of which are top notch and keep the show funny. Maybe after a month or so Conan will start to wear on my nerves the way he does for some already, but for now I like the fact that he just bursts into his own rendition of “Blue Moon of Kentucky.”

Comedy Central’s lineup returned a week later and is suffering from the writer’s strike. The quality of The Daily Show was definitely lacking, as the middle segment that usually involves a correspondent story was absent because of the writer’s strike. This meant the show fell solely on the back of Jon Stewart, and after his first night without writers I don’t think he’s up to it. I’ve never been impressed by Stewart’s interviews, which are generally the weakest part of the show and have now been expanded into two segments. Over the past year I’ve basically turned my back on what was one of my favorite shows because Stewart was becoming a know it all and was generally off putting. Stewart isn’t funny enough to adapt his show the way Conan has, he doesn’t have the personality to carry his show like Leno, and he doesn’t have the writers Letterman’s got to make up for his own shortcomings.

The Colbert Report reemerged as if almost nothing had changed, except for the pronunciation of the show’s title. The Colbert Report has always revolved around the character Stephen Colbert had created, and that’s why it should be able to survive without writers. The absence of writers does mean the disappearance of the popular segment, the “Word,” but it also means more Colbert. The Colbert character is hilarious whether on Meet the Press, conducting interviews, or just explaining why he’s against the writers. Again, if you didn’t like Colbert before, than you’ll probably hate him now, but if you were a devoted fan of the Colbert Nation before you’ll want to tune in to new episodes.

Late night television has always been about people welcoming a host into their bedroom and taking part in an intimate relationship. That’s why personality matters so much in the late night game, and why the absence of writers on certain shows may not affect what people watch. Just because Letterman has better jokes and better guests may not lead people to abandon Jay in his time of need. On the other hand, college students will probably play Halo 3 before they turn to mainstream late night for entertainment if they decide to abandon Comedy Central. It’s hard to predict where people’s tipping points will be with regards to when they decide to change the channel or just choose to tune out, but it should be interesting to watch.

In case you really miss the writers, and Letterman’s don’t cut it for you, I’d recommend watching the best of The Larry Sanders Show on DVD. This was a show that ran for six seasons on HBO during the 90s and revolved around fictional late night host Larry Sanders (Garry Shandling). The guests are real, and better yet you get to see and hear what happens after the cameras stop rolling. The show is brilliant and brings out amazing performances from Rip Torn and Jeffrey Tambor.