Archive for category late night TV
Missed It: Stephen Fry on Craig Ferguson
Posted by admin in late night TV, talk show on March 14, 2010
The week I was on vacation, away from CBS TV, Craig Ferguson pulled off an experimental episode of his Late Late Show. On the February 23 episode (which unfortunately is no longer archived on the CBS website), after the opening monologue he interviewed the British actor and writer Stephen Fry for the length of the whole show without a studio audience. That element of the show hearkened back to the format done by original Late Late Show host, Tom Snyder, who always had done the show without a studio audience.
The opening monologue, which I linked to above, reveals the transparency in which Ferguson consistently conducts the show. He conceded that he was slightly bothered by the dust-up on NBC involving Jay Leno and Conan O’Brien. Coming out of that, it got Ferguson thinking about the dynamics of his television show and itching to try a show without a studio audience (an aspect of his normal show that he fully concedes he appreciates and feeds off of on a regular basis).
If anyone doubted his being inspired by Snyder’s old format, Ferguson eliminated that possibility with the closing line of the monlogue, quoting Snyder’s traditional line to his audience: “Fire up a colortini, sit back, relax, and watch the pictures, now, as they fly through the air.”
CBS did not post the entire episode, but I’m sure if you look through You Tube, you might find snippets here or there. But for now, I provide you the five-minute snippet CBS was kind enough to post. Should I find out they will be replaying the episode, I will try to post a note here or on my Twitter account (TalkingwithTim).
One last thought on this experiment, to echo Entertainment Weekly’s Ken Tucker, who wrote a great analysis of this episode: “I vote for one edition a month of The Late Late Show in this format.”
Suggestions for NBC to Fill the 10 PM Slot (Expanded)
Posted by admin in episodic TV, late night TV, talk show on January 12, 2010
OK, so the other day, I said I lost the draft of a post. It appears that I misplaced it. Since this version is a tad more informative and less primal, I present it for you. Sorry for the technical snafu folks.
Something amazes me about NBC’s primetime/late night challenges. The Jay Leno 10 PM experiment did not work and will stop by mid-February 2010 (as confirmed by NBC and detailed in this New York Times article). Now NBC is struggling to quickly fill the slot in the short term, while ordering up multiple new pilots for the long run (including one that I’m very excited to hear about, a reworking of the Rockford Files, produced by House co-creator David Shore and Office star, Steve Carrell).
What amazes me about the short-term struggle is that after a few years of placing some of the Law & Order product on USA Network, why has NBC never considered airing Burn Notice (or any of the USA Network [owned by NBC Universal] original series), in the 10 PM slot? Back in August 2009, as noted in this TV Squad article, Burn Notice’s “August airings are burning down nine million viewers at a pop”. NBC wishes Leno could have pulled numbers on that level at 10 PM consistently.
Things I Almost Missed from December: TMBG on Ferguson
Posted by admin in Music, late night TV on January 7, 2010
So, I’m finally catching up on some missed Craig Ferguson episodes that were still residing on my Tivo list. Back in mid-December, They Might Be Giants (TMBG) were on the show, promoting their latest children’s release (CD & DVD), Here Comes the Science.
And much to my delight, they played one of my alltime favorite TMBG tunes, Why Does the Sun Shine? (The Sun is a Mass of Incandescent Gas).
Enjoy.
Classic Interview: Dick Cavett on Charlie Rose
Posted by admin in episodic TV, late night TV, talk show on November 27, 2009
I should have mentioned this earlier in the week, but due to the U.S. holiday, I opted not to run a new interview this week. Hopefully, you have enjoyed the slightly increased posting level this week, however.
I love a good interview, and Dick Cavett is a damn good interviewer. So is Charlie Rose. So a chance to watch the two of them talk (from back in 2001)–a good opportunity.
I hope you agree.
Mike Sacks on And Here’s The Kicker
Posted by admin in comedy, episodic TV, late night TV on September 17, 2009
And Here's the Kicker
I fancied myself fairly well-informed about the art of comedy and the folks who practice it. But then I started reading some of Mike Sacks‘ And Here’s The Kicker: Conversations with Top Humor Writers About Their Craft, and soon realized I was not as informed as I thought. Sacks, who is presently on the Vanity Fair magazine editorial staff, interviewed 21 humor writers as well as a variety of editors and entertainment executives for the book. I was really impressed with the variety of writer he was able to interview–and I consider myself fortunate to get to interview him about the book. Please be sure to visit the book’s website as Sacks provides excerpts from each of the book’s interviews. With that in mind, I linked to each interview excerpt (and/or their respective website) when they come up in the discussion.
Tim O’Shea: Before your book, I had never even heard of Irv Brecher, and I considered myself a fan of the Marx Brothers (clearly not a well-informed one). Why do you think his name is not more widely known in comedy circles?
Mike Sacks: Well, I do think he was known within comedy circles, but only among those in a certain age demographic–or those who were very knowledgeable about Hollywood’s past. I guess it’s similar to younger baseball players not knowing much about the great players from the 30s and 40s.
Also, Brecher worked on two Marx Brothers movies (“Out West” and “At the Circus”_ that are lesser known than “A Night at the Opera” or “Duck Soup.” But I think anyone who is a professional humor writer (or even just interested in comedy) should acquaint themselves with Irv. He was an amazing man with an incredible career: from writing for Milton Berle to writing for the Marx Brothers to punching up the script to “Wizard of Oz.” He was also very bawdy and incredibly honest. It was great talking with him and I’m really happy I got the chance to before he became very sick.
Martinbrough, Yost and My Thoughts on Jay Leno
Posted by admin in late night TV on September 15, 2009
How to Draw Noir Comics
The past few days have included two of my interviews running at Robot 6. In the first one, I got a chance to speak with Shawn Martinbrough, about both his book How to Draw Noir Comics: The Art and Technique of Visual Storytelling as well his current work on Marvel’s Luke Cage Noir. Then yesterday, I enjoyed a discussion with writer Christopher Yost on his writing of DC Comics’ Red Robin series.
In other news, I’m working on more pop culture interviews for this fine blog. Until the Internet logistical stars align and I have some new interviews to run, I will try to boost the level of unique content I have at this site. With the recent upgrade, I find it much easier to update the blog and give it the look I prefer.
I was never a fan of Jay Leno’s Tonight Show. When he retired, and Conan O’Brien took over, it was the first time I could watch it since the retirement of the late, great Johnny Carson. I sincerely doubt I could objectively review an episode of Leno’s new show. Heck I cannot even bring myself to link to it in this post. My personal dislike of Leno originates with his late former manager, Helen Kushnick. As amazingly detailed in Bill Carter’s The Late Shift: Letterman, Leno, and the Network Battle for the Night, Kushnick set the wheels in motion for Johnny Carson’s early retirement and for Leno to take his place.
Leno always claimed he never knew the mercenary tactics and stunts she pulled to get Leno where he wanted to be. But really, Leno avoided knowing about her methods until her conduct got so out of control that NBC had to fire her. In my mind, Letterman should have been the only one to replace Carson. And as evidenced by the fact that Carson never again appeared on the Tonight Show, but made appearances on Letterman’s CBS show, that’s what Carson thought as well. I always loved that toward the end of his life, Carson actually started writing jokes for Letterman’s monologue. Letterman waited (in accordance with Carson’s wishes one assumes) until after Carson’s passing to acknowledge this arrangement.
Anyways, I think I’ve established I’m no fan of Leno’s. So it warmed my heart to read the following line in LA Times TV critic Mary McNamara’s review of the first episode: “It’s not a good sign when the Bud Light commercial is funnier than the comedy show it interrupts.”
On another note, in double-checking Kushnick’s spelling of her name, I ran across this amazing EW piece by Dana Kennedy about Kushnick’s final years (she died in 1996)–where to her credit she made peace with family and friends from whom she’d been estranged for many years. For years, I always regard Kushnick only in terms of her conduct managing Leno, so to see her in this light (as a genuine person, not just an entertainment executive) was valuable perspective.
Thoughts on Carlin, Free Expression
Posted by admin in comedy, late night TV on July 5, 2008
So a week or so ago, one of my sisters emailed me to ask–even as she conceded I was clearly on a summer “man that wedding date is coming up fast (August 9)” schedule–if I was going to comment on the passing of George Carlin. And I agreed that I should.
As a kid, I listed to Carlin’s comedy albums. He helped shape my sense of humor, no doubt. But there’s not much I can say that has not been said about the man.
Two things. Visit his website, as he gets the last word, in a sense, there–including the following great words:
“Upon my death, I wish to be cremated. The disposition of my ashes (dispersal at sea, on land, or in the air) shall be determined by my surviving family (wife and daughter) in accordance with their knowledge of my prejudices and philosophies regarding geography and spirituality. Under no circumstances are my ashes to be retained by anyone or buried in a particular location. The eventual dispersal can be delayed for any reasonable length of time required to reach a decision, but not to exceed one month following my death.”
NBC, Hulu and Letterman: How Long Before…
Posted by admin in late night TV on May 22, 2008
So I swung by Hulu.com the other evening and on a lark, I did a search for Letterman to see if they had anything. Much to my surprise they had a documentary (my term, not theirs, and I use this term quite loosely) called Early Dave: The Letterman Tapes (1978-1993). It’s a mixture of Tom Brokaw, Jane Pauley, Tom Snyder and other NBC interviews with Dave, not really a documentary.
They are tightly edited, sometimes annoying so. For example, one Snyder interview they do has Dave along with Merrill Markoe and other folks–whom you never see. Letterman refers to Markoe at one point in the interview, that’s the only way I know, because they edit her bits completely out. Markoe, I dare say, is as funny as Letterman at times and I’m annoyed she was edited out of the piece.
It’s vintage Dave, shown driving his old pick-up truck to his gigs to substitute for Carson. Dave doing a stand-up routine. A tour of his new home, where you can see his beloved dog, Bob, is another interesting bit. A 1970s era Johnny Carson associate Fred de Cordova (with baseball cap no less) talking to Letterman before a taping of the Tonight Show. Later we see a clip of Letterman talking to Mariette Hartley about his morning show for NBC (I forgot he got a whole 90 minutes with that show…) and an upcoming feature on the show called Stupid Pet Tricks (still in its infancy, I believe). It’s a fun romp leading up to Brokaw’s interview with Letterman on the night of his last NBC show.
I was surprised to find this on Hulu, given that as a Universal property in some ways it is very much an NBC product. And more importantly, while I know Carson had the rights to his Tonight Show (meaning unless the estate/company makes a deal, it will not be showing up on Hulu), was this an effort by NBC to test the waters and ultimately start offering Letterman’s old NBC shows on Hulu?
Part of me would love to see that, but I’m sure it would irk Dave to no end. Maybe I’m wrong on both counts. We’ll have to wait and see. Either way, be sure to check out the documentary for vintage and I do mean vintage Letterman. I would love to know what producer thought it a good idea to have Today show host Jane Pauley interview Letterman while the both sat on an inactive merry go-round…
Robert Schnakenberg on Secret Lives of Great Authors
Posted by admin in Literature, late night TV, pop culture on May 19, 2008
Tim O’Shea: How often in trying to research facts for Secret Lives did you find out the anecdote was not true?
Robert Schnakenberg: That happened occasionally. Sometimes I’d find a really good anecdote about someone, and then another source would say that it happened to someone else entirely. You know, one book says it happened to Ernest Hemingway, another says it happened to F. Scott Fitzgerald. That happens with quotes a lot. They are always attributed to two or three different people. So you throw those out, or you find the one source that you trust and you go with that. I can’t promise that every anecdote in my book is 100% true—I mean, I wasn’t in the men’s room with Hemingway and Fitzgerald when they compared schlongs—but I can say everything is reliably sourced. Double and triple sourced, in fact, as much as possible.
Dick Cavett Has A Blog!?!
Posted by admin in late night TV, sports on March 20, 2008
The Internet is a big place, you may have read this obvious statement before. Why I write it this time is to somewhat reassure myself that I cannot be aware of everything. I’ve always been a fan of Dick Cavett. I was too young in the late 1960s/early 1970s to watch his late night show, but thanks to Netflix I have caught up on some of what I missed. So, imagine my surprise (given that I have been a regular NYTimes.com reader since its launch in the mid 1990s) that I was unaware that Cavett had been blogging for the website since early 2007.
It was Cavett’s show where Norman Mailer and Gore Vidal got into a vehement dispute back in 1971. Cavett describes it here as “without doubt the damnedest show I ever did. Or ever heard of.” There was also the time a guest died on the set (not on the air, as the show was never aired), as Cavett explained in an effort to dispute an obscure bit of folklore. It’s so strange to watch these shows now on DVD and see guests smoking–sure it was common then, but now, well it seems like people on another planet.