# Letterman says "Craig Ferguson is next." Finally! **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 18, 2005, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/letterman-says-craig-ferguson-is-next-finally/304361 "2005-05-18T05:06:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2005, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/letterman-says-craig-ferguson-is-next-finally/304361/1 "2005-05-18T05:06:47Z")
I’ve been watching Craig Ferguson’s _Late Late Show_ since he started back in January, and I’ve really grown to like him. I don’t always like (or even recognize) his guests, and some of the comedy bits, especially in the beginning, were kinda painful. But they’re getting better. He did a bit the other night in which he played a fake BBC reporter and interviewed people on the street that was very funny. But I like him. He’s funny. He’s personable. And I’ve been a sucker for a Scottish accent since the late 1960s when Jackie Stewart started calling races for ABC. (Cheeky wee monkeys!) It’s a pleasure to watch Ferguson, even when he’s not being funny. So I’ve been expecting Dave to end his show (as he always did for that asshat Kilborn) by saying, “Stay tuned for Craig Ferguson.” But he hasn’t done it. It’s been more than four months. Dave’s company produces the damn show, so why isn’t he saying a few words to promote it? Tonight he finally said it: “Craig Ferguson is next.” About time, Dave! Does anyone know if there’s some explanation? Ill will between them? Craig wasn’t Dave’s first choice? I don’t get it. ---
**Author:** ![Snooooopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Snooooopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snooooopy)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2005, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/letterman-says-craig-ferguson-is-next-finally/304361/2 "2005-05-18T05:23:20Z")
I doubt if Letterman really had a dog in the fight to succeed Kilborn. If he had, that person would probably have gotten the job right away. It’s not like CBS was overjoyed with having to waste months letting rotating hosts duke it out. ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2005, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/letterman-says-craig-ferguson-is-next-finally/304361/3 "2005-05-18T14:09:35Z")
Kilborn’s departure was unexpected, right? So they were probably all caught flatfooted. But some of those replacement hosts were really terrible. Was Ferguson one of the substitutes? I don’t remember seeing him in that mix, but after a few really bad subs, I couldn’t take it any more. ---
**Author:** ![ISiddiqui](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/97f17d/32.png) [@ISiddiqui](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ISiddiqui)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2005, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/letterman-says-craig-ferguson-is-next-finally/304361/4 "2005-05-18T18:08:59Z")
> [@commasense](#): > > Kilborn’s departure was unexpected, right? So they were probably all caught flatfooted. But some of those replacement hosts were really terrible. Was Ferguson one of the substitutes? > > I don’t remember seeing him in that mix, but after a few really bad subs, I couldn’t take it any more. Yes, Ferguson was one of the guest hosts. They liked him so much in the role, they asked him to take the full time job. ---
**Author:** ![Cliffy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/59ef9b/32.png) [@Cliffy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cliffy)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2005, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/letterman-says-craig-ferguson-is-next-finally/304361/5 "2005-05-18T19:17:55Z")
I don’t watch talk shows, as a rule, but when I stumble on Ferguson interviewing someone, I get interested instead of immediately changing the channel. –Cliffy ---
**Author:** ![The\_Hook](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ccd318/32.png) [@The\_Hook](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Hook)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2005, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/letterman-says-craig-ferguson-is-next-finally/304361/6 "2005-05-18T19:21:44Z")
Nope, sorry. Letterman has already said it several times before, though not always as you correctly stated. Coming from a man who says “Attack of the Blith” is the next Star Wars movie and sometimes has no idea what project his guest is promoting, I’ll say give ol’cranky grandpa a break. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2005, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/letterman-says-craig-ferguson-is-next-finally/304361/7 "2005-05-18T19:34:26Z")
Well, now that you mention it, I don’t _always_ watch through the end of Dave and into Craig, so I shouldn’t have made a blanket statement. But I’ve done it often enough to notice that I had never seen it, whereas he seemed _always_ to do it for Kilborn. ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2005, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/letterman-says-craig-ferguson-is-next-finally/304361/8 "2005-05-18T19:35:48Z")
… you mean it’s **not** _Attack of the Blith_? ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2005, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/letterman-says-craig-ferguson-is-next-finally/304361/9 "2005-05-19T17:08:05Z")
Just before Ferguson’s debut, Dave had him on his own show, and Dave seemed very enthusiastic about Craig. Ferguson referred to Letterman as his boss. ---
**Author:** ![fiddlesticks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddlesticks/32/18129_2.png) [@fiddlesticks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fiddlesticks)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2005, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/letterman-says-craig-ferguson-is-next-finally/304361/10 "2005-05-19T17:16:38Z")
> [@AskNott](#): > > Just before Ferguson’s debut, Dave had him on his own show, and Dave seemed very enthusiastic about Craig. Ferguson referred to Letterman as his boss. 'Cause he is, in effect. Dave’s Worldwide Pants produces the Late Late Show dating back to when Dave pulled Tom Snyder out of retirement. I’m guessing that producing a 12:35 show was part of Dave’s original monster CBS deal. And as for _Star Wars_, that’s just Dave having fun. I still remember his joke before the release of _Attack of the Clones_: > [@David Letterman 5/12/02](#): > > Attention Star Wars fans, only one day left until the big letdown. I have a feeling Dave might an oldline Star Wars fan permanently pissed off by the slap in the face that was _The Phantom Menance_. ---
**Author:** ![Fiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e274bd/32.png) [@Fiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiver)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2005, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/letterman-says-craig-ferguson-is-next-finally/304361/11 "2005-05-19T17:21:52Z")
I stay up late, but rarely “late, late,” so I’ve only seen Ferguson once. He was interviewing _Vera Drake_ star Imelda Staunton. I liked him very much, but then in my mind almost anyone would have been an improvement over Kilborn, whose target audience seemed to be drunk, fratboy assholes. ---
**Author:** ![Casey1505](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dc4da7/32.png) [@Casey1505](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Casey1505)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2005, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/letterman-says-craig-ferguson-is-next-finally/304361/12 "2005-05-19T18:13:13Z")
I thought the thread title meant that when Letterman said “Craig Ferguson is next”, he meant that when he (Letterman) retires, Ferguson gets the Late Show job. I’ll give someone $5 to correctly diagram that sentence, by the way… ---
**Author:** ![Bill\_H](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a5b964/32.png) [@Bill\_H](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bill_H)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2005, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/letterman-says-craig-ferguson-is-next-finally/304361/13 "2005-05-19T20:15:41Z")
I like Ferguson. Funny guy. Now if only he’d stop laughing so much at his own jokes. ---
**Author:** ![lee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lee/32/7455_2.png) [@lee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lee)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2005, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/letterman-says-craig-ferguson-is-next-finally/304361/14 "2005-05-19T21:36:16Z")
What happened to kilborn? ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2005, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/letterman-says-craig-ferguson-is-next-finally/304361/15 "2005-05-19T21:49:05Z")
Who cares? ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2005, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/letterman-says-craig-ferguson-is-next-finally/304361/16 "2005-05-19T21:50:18Z")
(Sorry. That was mean. It just popped out.)