Leno's good-bye versus Carson's

[theblondewritr]

Originally Posted by strophariad

Carson Daly retired?

lol-No, he's the one that won't leave. ugh!

[alitel]

Originally Posted by Slappynipsy

I don't think they'll sit through the poor ratings Conan had when he started Late Night. Not that I think that will happen, I'm just curious what the reaction would be if it did.

NBC will snatch that Abrams fella and get themselves a borderline improvised storyline.

Originally Posted by theblondewritr

lol-No, he's the one that won't leave. ugh!

Didn't they kick him out of studio?

[Miko34]

Johnny Carson will always be my favorite Late Night talk show host. Letterman is close second.

Leno did a fine job as well, though yeah ... no real emotions about his last Tonight Show. He quit a job to get another. That's all there is to it.

On a side note, I think Craig Ferguson is underrated. He's much better than Jimmy Fallon and Carson Daly by far, though I admit it's too early to judge Fallon. Kimmel is pretty funny too, though I can only take so much of him. We'll see how Conan does. I didn't like him in the beginning of his career, but he improved over time.

[roscoegino]

The issue with Leno for me was that his monologue delivery seemed too one linerish, too corny. Not in what he said but in how he brought it across.

Kimmel is much more off the cuff, which is what I like. Ferguson's cool too. Never much cared for Conan. None of them can match Letterman's Groucho Marx like wit.

And Fallon?

Fallon sucks.

[alitel]

Originally Posted by Miko34

On a side note, I think Craig Ferguson is underrated. He's much better than Jimmy Fallon and Carson Daly by far, though I admit it's too early to judge Fallon. Kimmel is pretty funny too, though I can only take so much of him. We'll see how Conan does. I didn't like him in the beginning of his career, but he improved over time.

I think Ferguson runs laps around them easily, I read the guy improvises his entire monologue.

[WriteByNight]

Leno's goodbye vs Carson's? No contest. Leno couldn't empty Carson's ashtray.

[wcmartell]

Contracts! Everybody has 'em.

That's why Jay said goodbye to 11:35 - his expired.

Conan has a contract that will keep him in place, even if it takes him a while to catch on (which I don't think will happen - I think the Letterman move forward by an hour was a great idea, because as those young college kids get older, they go to bed earlier... and their favorite host being on earlier makes it seem like they're still rebels without early bed times. This *may* help the Leno 10pm movie, but...)

I think we have too many hours of guys behind desks, and we are programmed to think of 10pm as a drama hour. That will kill Leno.

If Leno were smart, he's burn the desk. In fact, he should have done that on his last show. Taken an ax to it, then torched it.

And at 10pm - no desk. No interviews. Just a variety show - with Jay doing a monologue, then music and comic and other performance guests and skits. Like Dean Rowan & Martin.

- Bill

[suzeaa]

Originally Posted by alitel

I think Ferguson runs laps around them easily, I read the guy improvises his entire monologue.

I do like Craig Ferguson, too, but sometimes the skits are a bit too much.

He is great with the guests and I enjoy his monologues. And his accent.

[TheKeenGuy]

Originally Posted by wcmartell

If Leno were smart, he's burn the desk. In fact, he should have done that on his last show. Taken an ax to it, then torched it.

And at 10pm - no desk. No interviews. Just a variety show - with Jay doing a monologue, then music and comic and other performance guests and skits. Like Dean Rowan & Martin.

Both Jimmy Kimmel and Carson Daly tried to buck the format in various ways when their shows started, and slowly, both shows came to exactly resemble all the others. So, there MUST be market-testing that has shown that the current late night talk show format is the only successful one.

And the variety show attempts have failed again and again in the last couple decades.

[wcmartell]

Daly ditched the desk. He does remotes from interesting locations now.

Leno is going to be a variety show with or without the desk - that's what the Tonight Show is, more or less. I think the problem is at 10pm we expect a whole different kind of show...

- Bill