# The parade of lousy pretenders to the vacated Kilborn throne **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 9, 2004, 7:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-parade-of-lousy-pretenders-to-the-vacated-kilborn-throne/268346 "2004-10-09T07:48:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Snooooopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Snooooopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snooooopy)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2004, 7:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-parade-of-lousy-pretenders-to-the-vacated-kilborn-throne/268346/1 "2004-10-09T07:48:49Z")
Has ANYONE who has appeared as guest host for “The Late Late Show” in the wake of Craig Kilborn’s abrupt departure been even CLOSE to being worthy of helming the show full-time? Drew Carey was awful. D.L. Hughley was awful. Mike Gibbons (the show’s head writer) was awful. Adam Carolla is on tonight, and he’s the only one who has looked like he has ANY CLUE what the hell he’s doing. But even then, he’s more what I’d call competent-substitute-host material as opposed to someone I’d want to build a franchise around. Man, if I were CBS, I’d have bribed Kilborn to stick it out another couple of months in order to do a more thorough search for a replacement. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2004, 8:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-parade-of-lousy-pretenders-to-the-vacated-kilborn-throne/268346/2 "2004-10-09T08:10:37Z")
Craig Killborn is the single most irritating human being this side of Dennis Miller. A Tickle-Me-Elmo doll would be a better host, so I sincerely doubt these auditioning guests are any worse than Killborn. ---
**Author:** ![Freejooky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ba8739/32.png) [@Freejooky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freejooky)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2004, 8:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-parade-of-lousy-pretenders-to-the-vacated-kilborn-throne/268346/3 "2004-10-09T08:24:02Z")
Just wanted to chime in to say that anyone - ANYONE - is better than Craig. ---
**Author:** ![SPOOFE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c5a1d2/32.png) [@SPOOFE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SPOOFE)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2004, 8:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-parade-of-lousy-pretenders-to-the-vacated-kilborn-throne/268346/4 "2004-10-09T08:26:29Z")
I heard that in one taping, they couldn’t get a host, so they just had the guests sit behind the desk, ask a question, and then run around to the sofa to answer it. Heard it had the highest ratings out of the Late Late Show’s entire run. Honest. You don’t need to go check it out, you can trust me on this. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2004, 10:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-parade-of-lousy-pretenders-to-the-vacated-kilborn-throne/268346/5 "2004-10-09T10:39:20Z")
People watched Craig Kilborn? I still can’t believe a Late Late Show exists. ---
**Author:** ![Legolamb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4491bb/32.png) [@Legolamb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Legolamb)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2004, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-parade-of-lousy-pretenders-to-the-vacated-kilborn-throne/268346/6 "2004-10-09T13:21:07Z")
I saw a little bit of Adam Corolla as host. He wasn’t bad except the whole time I watched it, I kept thinking that he looked weird in a suit. He looked so uncomfortable. ---
**Author:** ![GraceTX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c4cdca/32.png) [@GraceTX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GraceTX)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2004, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-parade-of-lousy-pretenders-to-the-vacated-kilborn-throne/268346/7 "2004-10-09T13:21:49Z")
Whoops! That was me posting, not Legolamb. ---
**Author:** ![KGS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/90ced4/32.png) [@KGS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KGS)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2004, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-parade-of-lousy-pretenders-to-the-vacated-kilborn-throne/268346/8 "2004-10-09T22:54:39Z")
[semi-hijack]: Now that Kilborn’s gone, will Jon Stewart & the Daily Show get “5 Questions” back?? ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2004, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-parade-of-lousy-pretenders-to-the-vacated-kilborn-throne/268346/9 "2004-10-09T23:08:46Z")
> [@KGS](#): > > [semi-hijack]: Now that Kilborn’s gone, will Jon Stewart & the Daily Show get “5 Questions” back?? No, I’m sure Kilborn has a trademark on it. I’ve heard he also has the trademark on “The Daily Show,” which is why it’s not “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.” ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2004, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-parade-of-lousy-pretenders-to-the-vacated-kilborn-throne/268346/10 "2004-10-09T23:26:33Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > No, I’m sure Kilborn has a trademark on it. I’ve heard he also has the trademark on “The Daily Show,” which is why it’s not “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.” It IS “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart”. I’m pretty sure the title is owned by CC. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2004, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-parade-of-lousy-pretenders-to-the-vacated-kilborn-throne/268346/11 "2004-10-09T23:37:29Z")
Not was supposed to be “now.” ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2004, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-parade-of-lousy-pretenders-to-the-vacated-kilborn-throne/268346/12 "2004-10-09T23:40:39Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > Not was supposed to be “now.” Gotcha. I’ll have to look at the credits next time to see if his name is there. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2004, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-parade-of-lousy-pretenders-to-the-vacated-kilborn-throne/268346/13 "2004-10-09T23:46:25Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > No, I’m sure Kilborn has a trademark on it. I’ve heard he also has the trademark on “The Daily Show,” which is why it’s not “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.” Kilborn was not the first host of The Daily Show, so I doubt that this is true. In any case, Jon Stewart, on his worst day, would only be brought lower by a gaggy gag like “five questions.” ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2004, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-parade-of-lousy-pretenders-to-the-vacated-kilborn-throne/268346/14 "2004-10-10T00:04:37Z")
> [@lissener](#): > > Kilborn was not the first host of The Daily Show, so I doubt that this is true. Who was the first host? ---
**Author:** ![Snooooopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Snooooopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snooooopy)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2004, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-parade-of-lousy-pretenders-to-the-vacated-kilborn-throne/268346/15 "2004-10-10T00:17:11Z")
> [@lissener](#): > > Craig Killborn is the single most irritating human being this side of Dennis Miller. Heh … I remember way back when “The Daily Show” was being launched, the voice on the promos sounded so much like Dennis Miller that I thought he was doing it, when it turned out to be Kilborn. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2004, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-parade-of-lousy-pretenders-to-the-vacated-kilborn-throne/268346/16 "2004-10-10T00:19:59Z")
IMDb lists only Stewart and Kilborn. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2004, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-parade-of-lousy-pretenders-to-the-vacated-kilborn-throne/268346/17 "2004-10-10T00:20:05Z")
The New York Times mentioned that Michael Ian Black (of The State, Ed and I Love The 70s/80s/90s) is being considered to replace Craig Kilborn. ---
**Author:** ![cichlidiot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/5f9b8f/32.png) [@cichlidiot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cichlidiot)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2004, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-parade-of-lousy-pretenders-to-the-vacated-kilborn-throne/268346/18 "2004-10-10T01:18:32Z")
> [@lissener](#): > > A Tickle-Me-Elmo doll would be a better host, so I sincerely doubt these auditioning guests are any worse than Killborn. This had me laughing out loud. I’ve been watching Kimmel more often than Conan of late, but I have flipped over to watch how Adam was doing. I agree he looks uncomfortable in a suit, he was pointing out the tightness of his collar for most of one evening, poor guy. He’s my favorite of the guest hosts so far. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2004, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-parade-of-lousy-pretenders-to-the-vacated-kilborn-throne/268346/19 "2004-10-10T01:47:13Z")
> [@Snooooopy](#): > > Heh … I remember way back when “The Daily Show” was being launched, the voice on the promos sounded so much like Dennis Miller that I thought he was doing it, when it turned out to be Kilborn. I thought the exact same things. I remember thinking Dennis Miller was on Sports Center when Kilborn did that as well. ---
**Author:** ![Snooooopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Snooooopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snooooopy)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2004, 7:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-parade-of-lousy-pretenders-to-the-vacated-kilborn-throne/268346/20 "2004-10-16T07:47:48Z")
Now they’ve got former “Drew Carey” co-star Craig Ferguson … the accent is fun, but still not bowled over. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-parade-of-lousy-pretenders-to-the-vacated-kilborn-throne/268346.md?page=2)