5 1/2
hours every weekday. That's a lot of late
night. But if I expect to be a part
of that (rounding it out to 6 hours) I
have to know exactly what's going
on. Now, after 2 straight weeks of
watching these shows I certainly have my
opnion on all of them. As Mr. Wonder said,
"there is good and bad in everyone". Of
course some more than others:
Letterman
- My
absolute favorite as a kid. I loved Carson first
and then saw Letterman and was instantly hooked.
What Letterman was on NBC in the late 80s - early
90s, was the definition of Late Night TV to
me. It was why you stayed up because you knew he'd
push the limit. Approaching 60 in April he
is now the monarch and his show has certainly
changed...as it should. You can't do the same thing
at 60 you did at 35. I wish he'd still dunk himself
in a water tank with an alka-seltzer suit on, or
screw with the corporate owners but he simply
doesn't have to. And honestly, he's the only show
I have watched much of in the past 10 years of
all the late night shows. I've always been a
Letterman guy. Was amazed he didn't get the Tonight
Show in '93...
Leno -
...which of
course leads to Leno who I've been biased against
since that moment. I will say however, if not for
the Letterman vs. Leno war, I wouldn't mind Leno.
He makes me laugh from time to time...but it just
doesn't feel like Late Night to me. It feels like
LA. Bottom line? I love NY, and that gritty,
edgy feel comes from NY. Leno feels very "safe",
"warm" and laid back. But again, this is the 11:30
crowd - they've earned the right to not kill
themselves every night. For that we move to the
after midnight crowd:
Kimmel -
What a pain
in the ass for Kimmel (who I really like), a
12-1 timeslot a half-hour off of everything. The
truth of the matter is however, Nightline's
half-hour still destroys everything in the ratings
and as long as that continues, Jimmy gets pushed 30
minutes. Jimmy's writing shines and his bits are
always creative. Unnecessary Censorship is one of
the most original late night bits I've seen...ever.
And the man hoofs it. He goes out and puts together
bits that show energy. My only problem with Kimmel
is he doesn't scream "long-time talk show
host" to me. I'm not sure why that is. As
well, it doesn't feel like an 11:30 show. Granted,
it isn't, but it's weird how when you do more and
are more creative it actually sets you too far
apart from the 11:30 slots.
Ferguson
- I'll
be honest, until I got the "Up &
Adam" news, I had never watched a show.
I remember him getting the position after
Kilbourn, but I never watched Kilbourn so I never
thought about it. After watching him for 2 weeks -
wow. He's hilarious. I mean his opening 15
minutes, every night, is always funny,
ALWAYS comes off as personal, he is a seasoned
comic and it's literally the best opening monologue
I've ever seen. They never seem like a series of
jokes and it's easily his strongsuit. His bits are
very goofy and slapstick and his charisma always
makes them funny. Very European though, and
I know many people that are put off by it.
Whatever, he's funny.
Conan -
Love him.
Just so funny. Every part of this guy makes me
laugh. His interviews oftentimes are comedy bits in
themselves worked out with the guest, the ones with
Carrey last night were awesome, and it's apparent
he still works his butt off. He doesn't ever seem
to "take nights off". And the bottom line, he's
just funny. He also had zero television experience
(other than background on SNL and a comedy writer)
when he got the gig at 30 years old. He is a very
worthy successor to Leno on The Tonight Show in
'09.
Daly
- (sigh) ...
where do I start. I can say this in all
honesty, I liked the early version of his
show. In fact, I really liked it. He
would have a musical guest on, have them play the
entire show, and talk to them in between songs. It
was completely original and he seemed completely in
his element. In August of 2005 however, he went
from NY to LA, and turned his show into the format
of every other talk show: monologue, bits, guest,
music act. The problem? He's not comfortable in the
format. The other problem? His appearence is so
distracting that it is actually difficult to focus
on what he's saying. He's lost easily 75 pounds and
it's just a frightening difference. And, I hate to
be so frank, but the show is just never
funny. I'm sure he's a great guy, I liked him on
TRL, I liked him on the earlier incarnation of this
show, but the show now has zero energy. His
opening monologue is so poor and amazingly - always
like a week late. Watch it sometime, last night he
said: "Did you hear Jet Blue left passengers on a
plane for almost 11 hours?" Yeah, like
TWO WEEKS ago. I mean the man only does
2-3 jokes a night, how the hell does this happen?
I'm really suprised someone hasn't come in and
revamped the show. I can only wonder what
NBC's feelings are on him now. He's thrown his hat
in the ring for Conan's show in '09, but
I just can't see it happening. Seems they
can't either as Jimmy Fallon is rumored to have a
holding deal with them for a potential stab at the
gig in '09. I have a feeling it'll be quite a
rat race in a couple years.
So what have
I garnered from all this analyzation? Confidence.
My ideas for Up & Adam have so much energy and
ambition I believe it will gain acclaim in record
time. I work my ass off in everything I do, and
this show will be no different. I believe at the
end of every show, people at home will be shaking
their heads: "How did he do that"... and then realize
I do it every night. I don't want to
get into specifics, I'll save that for the NY entry
when I meet with Vinny on the 7th, but it just
has so many positives. I simply can't wait to get
started. I've never been more excited...
...I am however,
pretty done watching late night TV. I'm on complete
overload. All it does is make me want to start my show
NOW, and I know we're months and months away. It
also reminds me that this certainly isn't
final, no matter how tailor-made everything is.
I now want something I didn't even know existed 2
weeks ago...so bad it is all-consuming. Talking with
Martha last night, she really feels that was the
entire point. They knew damn well what they were doing
when they told me 4 weeks out: want a late night talk
show? It's to get me willing to do anything. I
think there's gonna be some sort of deal with The
Early Show while dangling Up & Adam as the carrot.
Fine with me, just put it in writing. I have no
problem being loyal to that morning show and Steve
Friedman.
This is
unbelieveable. I feel like I'm writing
fiction.
