Ok, Donald, you might be thinking, enough with Star Trek, Steven Spielberg, Sylvester Stallone, and whatever other crap you've been boring us with, what's your opinion on what's happening with the late night talk shows? Talk about something that's actually been on TV or in the theatre within the past decade, jackass.
Ok. What's my opinion on what's going on in the late night scene? Um... no opinion? How's that for an answer?
Honestly, had there not been so much hype (though, to be sure, there hasn't really been that much hype. There certainly hasn't been as much chatter about this than there was back when Jay replaced Johnny, and that was well before the internet) I would've even have noticed any changes. Would most people? I seem to remember a time in my life where I watched late night talk shows, but I honestly can't remember when I stopped. I remember the Dancing Itos, so it must've been sometime after the O.J. Simpson trial. To be honest, the fact that the Dancing Itos is the most indelible memory I have of Jay Leno's show must tell you something.
Though, to be sure, I don't dislike Jay Leno. I think he's a very funny, witty, likable comedian. But I have no interest in watching his show because it's boring and kind of annoying. And that goes for David Letterman too, except that while he's witty and funny, he's not very likable. And Conan is just an entertainment black hole that makes me want to slit my wrists every time I listen to his whiny voice or watch him mug for the camera. Ughh. My opinion of Conan is actually the opposite of the commonly held opinion that he started slow and became something special. I thought he started out ok, and never changed, telling them same jokes, doing the same bits, and generally staying mediocre.
I did watch an episode of his new Tonight Show the other night, however, since I was going through the channels while watching TV in bed and saw that he was introducing Tom Hanks. I like Tom Hanks so I figured I'd watch his interview. And, for the most part, I suppose I'm glad I did. That is to say, I don't regret that I did. Tom Hanks is always funny. I can't say that Conan added anything to the conversation nor do I think he really brought out anything that Hanks wouldn't have brought out on his own. But, you know, it was Tom Hanks on my TV.
Am I going to watch Jay's show? Do I have any predictions about how a talk show will work in prime time? No and no. Jay is a funny guy and I wish him well, but seeing as how I neither watched his Tonight Show nor anything that's currently (or remotely recently) on NBC in that time slot, I won't start now.
How do I feel about Jimmy Fallon's show? Never watched, and can't imagine I ever will since I hated him on SNL and never saw any of his movies. The same goes for Jimmy Kimmel. I have watched a few episodes here and there of that Craig Ferguson guy, and thought he was pretty funny, but not so funny that I actively seek it out. I feel about his show the way I felt about him on Drew Carrey, if it's on, I'll watch, but that's the full extent of my interest.
Anyway, I've talked far too much about an interest in which I have no real interest. Personally, I don't understand talk shows and why they are such a big deal. Sure, it's entertaining to watch a funny, likable host chatting with funny, likable celebrites. But, let's be realistic here. That describes Johnny Carson chatting with Dean Martin and George Gobel, not Jay Leno chatting with the girl from Twilight. Whenever I watch a talk show, I always try to figure out what these hosts are doing to deserve 20 million dollars a year. Not even Johnny Carson was that funny, in my opinion.
Anyway, I only decided to discuss talk shows for one reason: So I could post a clip from my all time favorite, the Joe Franklin Show:
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