Late Night Wars

[KrangPrime]

I think my first late night talk show was tom snyder.

It was a 100 degree night in an old , air condition less bungalow. couldn't sleep. dragged out the old black and white portable tv....and there he was.

I had an idea of who he was thanks to Dan Aykroyd and SNL..but had never seen the actual program. it was enjoyable from what I remember...rather relaxing.
the next night, I discovered reruns of david letterman on NBC, a few months before he wentto CBS, and was hooked on late night.

I stuck with Dave mostly for a decade or more. then along came Craig ferguson, and Dave soon took a back seat. It was very tough going back to dave's scripted style after craig and his more relaxed atmosphere.

I never bothered with conan much... although I think he got a raw deal at NBC (but actually might have wound up on top because of it!) Leno I just never found funny.
Fallon has a bit too much nervous energy for me to watch any more than clips of. never saw seth meyers. The clips I've heard of kimmel are rather good. I've always enjoyed him on win ben steins money.

I've only heard clips, but I don't find the new late late show guy funny at all. his voice wears on you after more than a few minutes. and his shtick seems based on you knowing the latest social media hangouts. as evident by his LLS going over to that youtube production studio and interviewing youtube 'stars' no one has ever heard of. Craig would never have done that....

I won't even bother with Colbert. Whether a character on TV he played or not, I tend to avoid anything even REMOTELY political...and some of the stuff I've read about what he plans to do seems more agenda ridden then just concentrating on doing a funny talk show that makes us forget life's issues for a bit.

So, for me, Late Night TV ended when the late night rebels left. Dave and Craig. I don't have the tv energy these days to give anyone new another ten year run or more ;o)

are you in the same boat? or not as picky as I am?

 

[Wolfsburg]

I've always been a Conan guy since the mid-90s. I don't hate Jimmy Fallon but I think its absolutely ridiculous that a late night freshman like himself got the Tonight Show and a late night vet like Conan got royally shafted. Imo, Fallon hasn't earned his stripes yet, and frankly his "boyish sheepishness" shtick and fake laughter get on my nerves.

 

[Axlotl]

I was a Dave fan for most of my post-Johnny life (Johnny = childhood, Dave = adolescence), but switched to Conan in the '90s for the music.
Music was what I watched late shows for, moreso than comedy, and Conan had the good stuff.

 

[KrangPrime]

so, I finally saw the whole Colbert thing. although I skipped jeb bush cause I hate anything connected to any politics.

That theme song is boring as hell. The Late SHow theme got your foot tapping. this thing almost lulls you to sleep. something about the band makes it seem more at home in a high school gym or jazz fest. ugh.

there WAS A lot of self promotion. I thought talking alot about yourself was that other character he did?

his jokes where no funnier than letterman was in his waning years. he just delivered them with a younger attitude.

only thing that I thought was clever and a little different was the mentalist switch and the cursed idol bit. not really ha ha funny, but it got a chuckle. the song at the end wasn't bad either, but nothing special..

and does anyone else miss the days when talk show hosts hated each other? How does having fallon on and promoting his show help with your show? did they do the reverse? I would have cut that part out and just left in the ending lockeroom bit.

there is also a LOT going on in that set. cut out a few of the digital projections and it'd look better.

so far, not getting the coblert magic.

 

[kegas76]

and does anyone else miss the days when talk show hosts hated each other? How does having fallon on and promoting his show help with your show? did they do the reverse? I would have cut that part out and just left in the ending lockeroom bit.

Colbert was on the first episode of Fallon's Tonight Show, the bit where a million people came out and gave him $100 to pay off their bet that he wouldn't become the host, Colbert paid his in pennies.

They done a lot of show crossover, from a feud over ice cream flavors leading to being BFSM(best friends for six months) and then eternal enemies for six months with musical collaborations scattered all around.

It may be a little rough at the moment but it's early so it may need some time to work itself out. Although, if I didn't have a DVR(or mobile apps) I'd be watching Larry Wilmore live.

 

[Sourdoh]

Meh ...

 

[AJTaliesen]

I was too young to remember Johnny live, but from reruns it's easy to see why he was king for so long.

Letterman was strong for a long time, but just seemed tired and bitter for most of the last decade.

I think Leno is a bit under rated. He did well.

I loved Conan in the late late spot, but he was way too hit or miss for the earlier time. If you watched him a lot, he was sometimes hilarious and brilliant, but just as often a total miss.

Back in the day, Arsenio was actually awesome, but he came back recently and it's clear the magic is gone and it's been gone a long time.

I like Craig Kilborn...I think I may have been the only one though.

Haven't given Kimmel a try. I know he can be funny, but ever since the man show I just don't like the guy. That show was the best opportunity of the decade and fell flat. It was the TV equivalent of getting a slow straight pitch right across the plate with bases loaded in the world series, and bunting to first. Sure everyone's happy you got a base and one rbi, but what an opportunity you wasted.

Haven't seen Colbert yet, or really given Fallon enough of a chance yet to comment.

 

[jcoffman99]

I was always a Conan man. I enjoyed the Tonight Show, but after what they did to Coco, I'll never watch it again.

I've been giving Colbert a shot. Although I agree with the above statement about the band. I get he's trying to do something different, but it's just not good.

It it will take some time to find its legs. I remember the first Conan shows on NBC were terrible. He was lucky to get a D list star. It takes a while to find a rhythm.