"The Galaxy of Late Night Stars"
Since Steve Allen's Tonight Show debuted on NBC in 1954, the late night talk show has been a staple of the American Television landscape. In the time since then, America has become accustomed to having its favorite stars beamed into its homes nightly, and the effect on comedy has been nothing short of revolutionary. The changes that have been in the works in late night have had me thinking about all of that. Allow me to offer you the opinions of a connoisseur.
How did I become a late night connoisseur? Chalk it up to a life-long battle with proper sleeping habits. I first saw late night talk shows in 1993 or 1994 when David Letterman migrated to CBS and Conan O’Brien replaced him at NBC. I was hooked in spite of being far younger than the audience producers were shooting for. It was the first time I had stayed up that late. I recall posing for a picture with a clock proving I was awake at midnight. Before I had finished grade school, I had already made plans to have my own show as soon as was possible. Now, to get down to brass tacks:
Today, Jay Leno hosts the Tonight Show. He is the direct successor to the great Johnny Carson. Of course, he got the job in 1992 after a contentious battle with David Letterman made famous by the book and movie The Late Shift. Leno is a genial host who specializes in “found” humor. A prime example of that is his “Headlines” segment, which shows humorous clippings from nationwide print periodicals. The Tonight Show currently broadcasts from here in Burbank, but will move to Universal City when it passes to Conan O'Brien later this year.
Since 1992, Leno's chief rival has been contemporary David Letterman. After Leno won the battle for the Tonight Show, Letterman moved to CBS to host the Late Show during the same time slot. Letterman's new show consistently led in the ratings until a notorious Tonight Show interview with Hugh Grant turned the tide in July of 1995.
Letterman has an interesting sort of pedigree. He idolizes the late Johnny Carson, but his work has more closely resembled the aforementioned Steve Allen, particularly during his time hosting Late Night on NBC. He did things like dive into a tank of water wearing an Alka-Seltzer suit and strap a camera to a monkey, then turn it loose in the studio. Today we see an older and more low-key Letterman who still maintains the witty and acerbic style of his younger days.
ABC's Jimmy Kimmel Live goes on at 12:05, sandwiching him in between the A-List 11:30 shows and the B-List 12:30 shows. Kimmel has a droll and ironic quality that is apt to please many, and he makes use of the town he airs from better than anyone. With regulars like Uncle Frank and Guillermo, a viewer feels like they are in a house full of Kimmel’s family and friends. Nonetheless, watching an episode of the show doesn’t leave me wanting more.
The dean of the 12:30 shows, NBC’s Late Night has passed to Jimmy Fallon as of the 2nd of March, but not enough can be said about the tenure of Conan. He began in the early 90s as a neophyte, found his way in time to save the show, and became every bit the success that his predecessor was. Conan embodies the same off-the-wall, no holds barred spirit in the service of getting laughs that Letterman had before him. Conan doesn’t have the same aggressive, sometimes mean-spirited interview style as Letterman, disappointing those who like an interview with teeth, but Conan is probably glad that he has avoided the feuds in which Letterman has been embroiled from time to time.
Also airing at 12:30 is Scotsman Craig Ferguson, who succeeded the distinguished Tom Snyder as the nightly follow-up to Letterman’s program on CBS. Being the sole foreign-born host in late night (and perhaps the first in late night’s history) has worked in his favor, as does his status as a recovered alcoholic. Hosts usually operate from above the muck that bogs down most people, but Ferguson has been there, and it shows. Even by the standards of the timeslot, he hasn't really got a budget to speak of, but like O'Brien and others, he has a skill for making such a disadvantage work for him, and makes a small show into an intimate one.
New to the scene is one-time Saturday Night Life standout Jimmy Fallon, who represents a new generation distinct not just from the likes of Letterman and Leno, but from O’Brien, Kimmel and Ferguson as well. His show is peppered with bits that those men have never done, and likely never will. Additionally, he stands to considered the first late night network host exclusively of the Internet era- He uses online communication and user content perhaps even more so than Comedy Central’s Stephen Colbert, and is likely to be on the cutting edge in that regard as long as his tenure on Late Night goes.
This man is quite content with where late night is after much deliberation of where it has been during my lifetime. I’ll always regret coming to maturity after the time of the legend Johnny Carson, but I have seen his work, and the ripples from its wake remain in the work of the worthy followers who I have mentioned. As for those I have omitted, it surely must be agreed that they fail to meet the high standard set by hosts of antiquity.
What will come in the future? As much innovation as we have seen, it remains possibly for new blood to stir things up. The late night arena, once restricted to a few broadcast networks, has now been opened to hundreds of cable channels with something to prove. The best of cable lies in the programming of Comedy Central, but many other shows across the dial reach for that brass ring. We have but to wait and see.
What is the meaning of these shows? Why have I taken up your time to speak of them? It’s for this reason: The talk shows of late night reflect on our nation. I believe that at our core, we are a light-hearted lot. We absorb matters of a serious nature with a sense of humor, and take our humor most seriously. Maybe my interpretation and analysis of all this is wildly off the mark, but I know this: I’ll be watching.
How did I become a late night connoisseur? Chalk it up to a life-long battle with proper sleeping habits. I first saw late night talk shows in 1993 or 1994 when David Letterman migrated to CBS and Conan O’Brien replaced him at NBC. I was hooked in spite of being far younger than the audience producers were shooting for. It was the first time I had stayed up that late. I recall posing for a picture with a clock proving I was awake at midnight. Before I had finished grade school, I had already made plans to have my own show as soon as was possible. Now, to get down to brass tacks:
Today, Jay Leno hosts the Tonight Show. He is the direct successor to the great Johnny Carson. Of course, he got the job in 1992 after a contentious battle with David Letterman made famous by the book and movie The Late Shift. Leno is a genial host who specializes in “found” humor. A prime example of that is his “Headlines” segment, which shows humorous clippings from nationwide print periodicals. The Tonight Show currently broadcasts from here in Burbank, but will move to Universal City when it passes to Conan O'Brien later this year.
Since 1992, Leno's chief rival has been contemporary David Letterman. After Leno won the battle for the Tonight Show, Letterman moved to CBS to host the Late Show during the same time slot. Letterman's new show consistently led in the ratings until a notorious Tonight Show interview with Hugh Grant turned the tide in July of 1995.
Letterman has an interesting sort of pedigree. He idolizes the late Johnny Carson, but his work has more closely resembled the aforementioned Steve Allen, particularly during his time hosting Late Night on NBC. He did things like dive into a tank of water wearing an Alka-Seltzer suit and strap a camera to a monkey, then turn it loose in the studio. Today we see an older and more low-key Letterman who still maintains the witty and acerbic style of his younger days.
ABC's Jimmy Kimmel Live goes on at 12:05, sandwiching him in between the A-List 11:30 shows and the B-List 12:30 shows. Kimmel has a droll and ironic quality that is apt to please many, and he makes use of the town he airs from better than anyone. With regulars like Uncle Frank and Guillermo, a viewer feels like they are in a house full of Kimmel’s family and friends. Nonetheless, watching an episode of the show doesn’t leave me wanting more.
The dean of the 12:30 shows, NBC’s Late Night has passed to Jimmy Fallon as of the 2nd of March, but not enough can be said about the tenure of Conan. He began in the early 90s as a neophyte, found his way in time to save the show, and became every bit the success that his predecessor was. Conan embodies the same off-the-wall, no holds barred spirit in the service of getting laughs that Letterman had before him. Conan doesn’t have the same aggressive, sometimes mean-spirited interview style as Letterman, disappointing those who like an interview with teeth, but Conan is probably glad that he has avoided the feuds in which Letterman has been embroiled from time to time.
Also airing at 12:30 is Scotsman Craig Ferguson, who succeeded the distinguished Tom Snyder as the nightly follow-up to Letterman’s program on CBS. Being the sole foreign-born host in late night (and perhaps the first in late night’s history) has worked in his favor, as does his status as a recovered alcoholic. Hosts usually operate from above the muck that bogs down most people, but Ferguson has been there, and it shows. Even by the standards of the timeslot, he hasn't really got a budget to speak of, but like O'Brien and others, he has a skill for making such a disadvantage work for him, and makes a small show into an intimate one.
New to the scene is one-time Saturday Night Life standout Jimmy Fallon, who represents a new generation distinct not just from the likes of Letterman and Leno, but from O’Brien, Kimmel and Ferguson as well. His show is peppered with bits that those men have never done, and likely never will. Additionally, he stands to considered the first late night network host exclusively of the Internet era- He uses online communication and user content perhaps even more so than Comedy Central’s Stephen Colbert, and is likely to be on the cutting edge in that regard as long as his tenure on Late Night goes.
This man is quite content with where late night is after much deliberation of where it has been during my lifetime. I’ll always regret coming to maturity after the time of the legend Johnny Carson, but I have seen his work, and the ripples from its wake remain in the work of the worthy followers who I have mentioned. As for those I have omitted, it surely must be agreed that they fail to meet the high standard set by hosts of antiquity.
What will come in the future? As much innovation as we have seen, it remains possibly for new blood to stir things up. The late night arena, once restricted to a few broadcast networks, has now been opened to hundreds of cable channels with something to prove. The best of cable lies in the programming of Comedy Central, but many other shows across the dial reach for that brass ring. We have but to wait and see.
What is the meaning of these shows? Why have I taken up your time to speak of them? It’s for this reason: The talk shows of late night reflect on our nation. I believe that at our core, we are a light-hearted lot. We absorb matters of a serious nature with a sense of humor, and take our humor most seriously. Maybe my interpretation and analysis of all this is wildly off the mark, but I know this: I’ll be watching.
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